Former wrestler helps her community fight breast cancer through free workouts

RICHMOND, Va. — In a small corner of our community, there’s a hard-hitting gym. You won’t find easy training there. Find a trainer who is passionate about training. Push your muscles to the limit with tough love, loud commands, and upbeat music.

Ten years ago, former WOW Women’s Wrestling Superhero World Champion Erica Porter opened the doors of Endorphasm Gym in Midlothian, Virginia. She lives her life aiming high, which she calls “E-Strong.” That’s what she’s aiming for. Please feel it too.

“Endorphasm is a moment in motion when we feel that anything is possible and we can connect with that feeling, and it changes us as humans. That is the strength of Endorphasm.” explained Mr. Porter.

The 48-year-old wife and mother of one is strict with her students in group classes, but uses a different approach in her one-on-one sessions.

She has a softer voice and a gentler demeanor, but gives the same medicine: movement.

After all, Porter truly believes that “we humans are designed to move.” If we stop moving, we die. It is connected with “endorphasm”, the force of its movement, the movement of force. It is the ability to act with confidence and integrity and to feel like a complete person. ”

This feeling of power is exactly what Chrissy Wingfield craved.

“I wish I had known about this. I would have come here sooner for you,” Wingfield told Porter. “It’s been downhill over the years, so I worked out and felt better about myself. But now I’m here.”

“Yes!” Porter replied, “We’re going uphill.”

It’s been an uphill battle, but Ms Wingfield, a mother-of-two from Chesterfield, is fighting back in the wind.

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“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. It was stage 3. I got it by mistake,” Wingfield told CBS 6 anchor Jennien Samuels.

Her treatment plan and road to recovery had been extensive over the past four years.

She underwent a bilateral mastectomy and then four rounds of so-called “red devil” chemotherapy. She then took 12 rounds of Taxol.

A month later, Wingfield discovered she was a carrier of the BRCA2 gene. As a result, she required a hysterectomy followed by 20 radiation treatments.

“You never know when it’s going to end,” Wingfield said of the experience. “It’s like a roller coaster, just holding on in the dark, thinking you’re done.” You’ll be there in the end, but you’re not. ”

roller coaster still spinning

In 2021, doctors told Wingfield she needed surgery to repair her painful breast capsule.

Then 8 hours of breast reconstruction surgery with dip flap.

A total of 11 surgeries left Wingfield lacking motivation and spending a lot of time on the couch.

“Just recently, I gained 30 pounds in six months. Then my lower back started hurting. I just wasn’t moving enough. And I have two kids. I was out of breath and… , I couldn’t physically do some of the things they wanted to do, like play sports or ride bikes. So I thought something needed to change,” she said. .

Unable to keep up with his two sons, Mr. Wingfield sought strength within the walls of the Endorphasm Gym’s “Red Room.”

red room

“Ironically, I found her brochure in my oncologist’s office. “I thought, ‘Okay, this might be for me,'” Wingfield said. And from there I knew this was what I needed. ”

But she discovered there’s more to it than “just” training in the gym.

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She found other cancer warriors like Bonnie.

In between one-on-one sessions, Wingfield and Bonnie talked with Porter, her husband Carlo, and Jeanienne about the peace, support, and energy they felt at Endorfasm.

“This is going to be a great community for all of us,” Bonnie said. “Many of us feel like we’re alone in this fight. This is going to be something big. I just feel it.”

She said she felt like a new person after just one exercise session with Porter and was excited for what was to come.

Wingfield and Bonnie are not alone here, they are fighting this battle together.

It’s an accountable cancer fighting community.

“I came today because I knew about her.” [Erica] You were going to come here for me. She’s helping us with that effort,” Wingfield said. We can have that bond. It’s very helpful. ”

Wingfield and Porter quickly bonded over their shared struggle and understanding of what it truly means to fight this terrible disease.

Porter was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in June 2020.

“For me, it was almost an out-of-body experience. I’m a cancer patient, and I understand the impact of going through treatment, not just the emotional impact, but the physical impact. I understand how to be treated,” she said. ”

Porter founded the Endorphasm Foundation in October 2020, four months after his diagnosis.

This is a free community of certified cancer exercise specialists helping people overcome cancer.

“The medical community is great at treating diseases, but not so great at treating the whole person,” Porter says. “There are two kinds of people in this world: those who allow the world to influence them, and those who choose to influence the world. And the diagnosis is, what is being done to me? I was determined to make an impact on the world.”

A shock she noticed in Wingfield after the first one-on-one session.

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“I saw a change in her mindset from day one. When someone says, ‘I wish I had this all along,’ you know what you’re doing is impactful,” Porter said. he said. she lives it. I think it’s also very valuable for her right now to have someone there that she can talk to and connect with. ”

Wingfield also realized that after just a few exercise sessions, physical activity was just as important as any other medication.

“I felt energy, but I felt pain,” she said. “And I think the pain made me feel better. It wasn’t a bad wound. It seemed good. I felt like I had done something. I wasn’t just sitting around at home. was.”

Wingfield, who saw herself in Porter’s recollections, vowed to live her life to the fullest and spread awareness about breast cancer so other women would not be blindsided by an unexpected diagnosis.

“The biggest thing I can tell women out there is to make sure you do your monthly check-ups at home. I could have done it,” Wingfield said. “Everything happens for a reason. I had to go through a lot to get to where I am now, but it made me stronger.”

Erica Porter and the Endorphasm Foundation community she has cultivated is centered around movement, support, and responsibility.

“I have a very important job to do as an individual who has expertise but also a very different understanding than other people,” Porter said. “I respect and honor each and every person who walks here and trusts me. How they get out of this is so important to me.”

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Endorphasm Gym offers group workout sessions to suit different fitness levels.you can Please join the class.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with cancer, physical activity is key to promoting a holistic approach to care.

The Endorphasm Foundation is a free resource with certified exercise professionals to guide you every step of the way and help guide you through your treatment.

You can also participate in the Endophasm Foundation’s 4th Annual Burpees for Boobs fundraiser on Saturday, October 14th to raise funds to further the nonprofit’s mission. click here Learn more about how you can support the cause.