1 FUNKY MUSIC Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 FOLKSY GUITAR MUSIC Right, I'll go and get your meds. Protein? O` OK. You... kumara. You want kumara? I... am... fading... a-way. You want protein cos you're fading away. M` my... name... is N` Nick Chisholm. T-H-I` This... is... M` my... wife, Nicola. # You are the only shelter from my memory. FOLKSY GUITAR MUSIC I... had... several... seizures... which resulted in... one... big... stroke... causing... L-O` locked-in syndrome. I... could... still... talk... after... the seizures. But not after the stroke. Tongue out? He's struggling to eat. He struggles sometimes. Oh, he's getting cross. OK. G-O` Got... space... G... M-E... space... A-N` angry. N-O` now... C-A-N` can't... S` swallow. What happened? > Oh, he just got angry, so he can't swallow. Cos he got angry cos he wasn't getting his meds and his protein. And then he kind of can't swallow cos he's cross. Once you get to know Nick, you kind of don't even think about the disability. Just his passion for life. Determined, stubborn... he can be grumpy. Especially if he needs to communicate something really quick. Every... everything... revolves... around... the board. So we align the letters in between both our eyes in a straight line so I can see clearly what letter you're looking at. So, I hold the board over there, and you look at a letter. The first mistake is people don't move the board enough, so they just keep the board in one position, and then they can't tell what you're looking at. People kind of also try and stand a bit away from you, so we always tell people to hold it close to Nick's eyes. So he tries to be really patient with people. I think Nick appreciates it if someone will just pick the board up and have a go. So, he just really appreciates that they're trying. ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC He doesn't have to use the board to tell me what things to do. (LAUGHS) You learn facial signals too. More? N-I` Nicola... has... M` make... everything... easier... F-O` for... me. Yeah. And better. And I sing to you. (LAUGHS) S` show... no! It's private. Because then they'll take me away from you, and I'll end up in Hollywood. And then you'll have carers. N... in your mind... I-T` it's... Hollywood (CHUCKLES) BLUES MUSIC BLUES MUSIC CONTINUES BLUES MUSIC CONTINUES Better? Sure. > BLUES MUSIC CONTINUES So, we've got an online bodybuilding show coming up. This will be maybe his fifth or sixth show, and it's for the NZ Wheelchair title. With every show, Nick will decide, from the photos, an area that he wants to work on for the next show. He's always been really well known for his razor-sharp conditioning. This time we're gonna let that slide a little and push the limits with the size. Got it? There it is, come on. There it is. Nah, nah, now we're just starting. Now we're just starting, come on. These are the growers. Let's go. All right, here we go. Let's go. Wind it out. Yeah, good boy, all over it. And again. What's gonna hurt more, bro? These few reps or coming second? Eh? (PANTS) > Yeah, there it is. Just found it. All over it. Come on, more, more. Come on! Yeah. Good boy. And again. And again. Pick it up! Good boy, good boy. See, he's even` he's smiling too. See, he's in heaven right now. He's just destroyed his body, and he's loving every minute of it. His rehab progression's always tracking forward and moving forward and coming long ways, but a lot of that's based upon what he's doing with his bodybuilding, so we've developed his training to complement both. We look at the early photos from when he first started competing, three or four years ago, to where he's at now, and he's just getting bigger and better with every show. So with having that extra muscle and strength, it's helping him with his, um, you know` The real functional stuff like getting up and walking, being able to control muscles on his own without the resistance. So, Nick hasn't got much movement on his own. But if he's got resistance, he's really strong. So if you push against, or if he's got weights pushing against him, he's really strong. He can push. (GROANS) Um, yeah, he turns his wrist just like that to tell me to, um, push a little bit harder. Or he's about to put a little bit more power into it so he's` hold on. And here we go. (GRUNTS) Which can be sometimes quite a struggle. (GRUNTS) And then his eyes tell me that he's good to go with the next stretch. And then... this one. (LAUGHS) (STRAINS) (CHUCKLES) Nice. The gym's a release. It's everything. I... make... gains... Y... physically... and... mentally. Which makes his life better and better. 5` 500ml. Reloading again. So, we're giving Nick his protein. We're going in via this tube here because, um, when he takes fluid he can't control, because it just comes down so fast, he can't control where it's gonna go in his body, and it could end up in his lungs. So he takes all liquid via that way, and he's actually taught himself to eat again, which is pretty awesome, because everything was gonna have to be done like this at the start, so that's another thing that he's been able to do is teach himself to eat, which is pretty cool. It's not just, you know, a trainer-client relationship. It's a lot more than that. It goes way deeper than that. He's one of my best mates. And, um, you know, I'm not always the best at making the right decisions. I'm quite impulsive, but, you know, he's there to always keep me in line, that's for sure. One more, one more, one more. All right, here we go. (PANTS) Here it is. Stick it out, stick it out, stick it out. Good boy, good boy. It took a while to sort of understand how special he really is and the struggle that he's had. And it's not until you understand that that you` you really see the person that's locked inside. They're so close to death, and to come back from that and be where he is with the passion that he's got, it's just, you know, you can't, yeah, describe that. It's pretty amazing. UPLIFTING MUSIC Nick was so strongly independent and so fiercely, uh, competitive with his brothers. Maybe the most competitive of all. He used to love mountain-bike riding, loved rugby, skiing, skating, tramping. All those outdoor pursuits he loved so much. Just a happy lad. Was... playing... rugby... and... after... I... scored... try... I... went... all... dizzy... and... and collapsed. Several... seizures... then... stroke. I-C-U... was... like... long... night... nightmare. Eyes... C` closed... couldn't... even... breathe. I walked in to Nick being surrounded with tubes and, uh, him lying flat, and yes, it was very, very, very difficult. (SNIFFS) Hard to understand what had gone wrong. They... A` asked... I think they asked her what she wanted to do. You couldn't even open your eyes. You could just hear. The doctors said that we had to think about Nick's life support machine. And it was so distressing, thinking, does that mean that we're not going to have him any more? And, you know, Nick had made a decision to fight. Think... most... doctors... just... say... the worst-case scenario. He was actually presenting a challenge to` that's what it was. He probably knew. If I say this, that'll push him. It's... called... stubbornness. BLUES MUSIC I... always... thought... they... fix me. He always thought that they would fix him and that any gains that he made would help them fix him. Gains... just... got... bigger... and... better. If... I... didn't... gain... enough... movement... I... wouldn't... have... met... Nicola. So life's all about making gains so that he can do more with his life. So, even meeting me ` he wouldn't have met me if he hadn't been going to the gym and just making those tiny gains. (GROANS) '50S POP MUSIC But she made those winter dresses, and my bouquet that I made myself with felt. (LAUGHS) So, we had a vintage Mad Hatter's tea party for our theme. And I didn't come up with the theme, which was quite ironic considering Nick said, 'If we get married, you're doing everything. 'I'm not coming up with any ideas. I'm not doing anything. You're gonna do it all.' A-S-K... space... Y-O-U... space... Nicola... Jane... Cole... APPLAUSE Quite seriously, this is probably the best day of my life. My big bro, Nick, is a living legend ` a phrase that's used far too often. But in this case, it is appropriate. In terms of adapting and overcoming, making the most of what you've got, Nick's a guru. The class clown has become a great teacher. And to see him marry the angelic Nicola today, such a beautiful woman, is as good as it gets. They're... P` probably... thinking... how... he... scored... (GIGGLES) H-E` her. We met on a Facebook app called Are You Interested? Um, basically, the app` Once you join it, I think it just sends your pictures to anyone. It's a bit creepy, eh? And then you get to see people's pictures. And then there's, like, you click yes if you like them and no if you don't. And then Nick clicked on me. And it said, oh, Nick Chisholm is interested in you. So I clicked yes. He was the one and only I clicked on. The one person I clicked on. How many did you click on? (LAUGHS) Was it more than one, darling? M-O-S... Most... O` of them. (LAUGHS) You clicked on most of them. It was so lucky that we met if you were just yes, yes, yes, yes. So, anyway, Nick sent me the link to the 20/20 documentary. And he just said, 'Before we go any further, watch this.' And at first, cos when you see him at first and he's in the gym it's, like, ooh, he must be training. He must be training for something. Ooh, yeah. (CHUCKLES) Look at that. And then, obviously, it became clear why he'd sent me it. But it didn't put me off. Cos you're so handsome. And we just started emailing from there, didn't we? Every day ` every morning, every night. It was intense. We have, like, thousands of emails. A-F` after... seven... years... A` alone... I... just... wanted... good... F-R` friend... talk... to. Just wanted a good friend to talk to. Aw, that's nice. I can talk. UPBEAT MUSIC Gym... has... given... me... life. Everybody accepts you for who you are. He's just one of the boys. Right. Here we go, brother. Getting close now, man. Last big one. Give it a good nudge today. Photoshoot's taken on Thursday and submitted on the Saturday with the judges looking over that and giving us the results the following Saturday. He's probably the most professional I've ever come across. Just does everything right down to a T. < Do you wanna tell us how much time you actually spend in the gym? (CHUCKLES) What, your second home? Three hours each weekday. And... sometimes... in... W` weekend... if... Nicola... does... doesn't know (LAUGHS). Cool. Come on. B-E` bench press... 1-0` 10 reps. Yup. First time on the bench, he did 10 reps at 18 kilos. What are you doing now? Cos you're well up from that, aren't ya? He just goes hammers. 1` 124. Five at 124. Wow. 10 years. 10 years just to get to that point, isn't it? Good man. Come on, come on. (PANTS) An` anger... is a gift. I... use... all... my... anger... and... frustration... help... me... in... the gym. There goes the look, there goes the anger, come on. Nice. Come on, come on, come on, come on. Boom. > (GROANS) Nice. > (GRUNTS) Done? > (PANTS) All of us have to find a higher power. And for Nick, he realised that he was going to attack this fiercely like everything he does. And he uses the Hot Tuna for his higher power. Aggression. Strength. So that's what the Hot Tuna represents to you ` aggression and strength. His Hot Tuna has been around and helped him get through some tough times, and it's everywhere. Probably needed it, actually, getting it tattooed on your head. < So, what's up with the strapping? The strap? (LAUGHS) Yeah. Um, it's because one day when we were in there eating, he coughed and came flying out. But the funny thing about it was one of the boys was over here training, and didn't realise that Chis had fallen out. Like, Chis is looking at him like this going, like, help me, help me! And this dude's like, Chis is watching me, I have to go hard. And he looks at Chis, he's going, yeah, like, in the mirror. But Chis is screaming out for, you know, for help. He thought he was giving him a rark-up. He's like, yeah, gotta turn it on for Chis. It's funny. BLUES MUSIC People say to me, 'Oh, it must be really hard.' But it's not really hard at all. There are restrictions in our relationship. I can't just go off and do things. I have to think about where Nick is and who's looking after him, and... He gives me confidence as well. And he encourages me. Anything I wanna do, anything I wanna try he encourages me, and he's like, 'Yeah, yeah, go on. Go for it.' Maybe we have that balance where we give and take to each other. They use the tan to define the muscles so everything` all the shadows and things will show off all those muscles. OK? Happy? Do you want to look in the mirror? I need to know if I've done a good enough job. Does it look okay? From what you can see? Yeah? Do you want glitter at all? (LAUGHS) A bit of sparkle? N-O` not... space... T-H-I` this... not this time. Yeah. It does look better... orange. (LAUGHS) Like an Oompa Loompa. He's pumped, eh? Forward. Just go forward. Look at that, man! Right, go, go, go, go! (LAUGHS) BLUES MUSIC There is different poses. You've got side chest, you've got double bicep, you've got... lat spread is the new one that we've just been working on. It's` Normally he's sitting down for this one, so we're going to have him standing up. Cos he can stand up and hold on to his chair and do that, so we're gonna do it that way cos it's more him. Let's go. Let's do it. There it is. > Come on! I want those abs in. > CAMERA CLICKS Did that one go? Foot out? Hips. Hips over. Put hips forward. Push, um, push his... Hold his hip. Yeah, look at that, yeah. Do you need me to stay there? You right? Can you get more light? Do you want me to...? Oh, yep, there it is. Yeah, he looks wicked there. We need to get that pose, though, but I still think it's a wee bit dark, but look how big he is. Yeah, don't worry about the darkness. That's not going to be the finale anyway. We're gonna do a couple rounds of... > Your ab poses are coming. We don't care about your abs, man. Look at your chest and shoulders. Let's go, OK. Let's go front lats. I'll call it. Front lats, let's go. Since no one can make their mind up, front lats. < No, front and rear lats are gonna be at the end when he's standing, remember? Just do it anyway. But I can't see getting the most... <BLEEP>'s sake! Let's just pose. What are you going on about? You trying to wind me up now? > < Not these ones! Same as the gym, come on. All the way, Chis. Come on. Good, Chis. Come on. All the way. The posing that we were just doing ` we're holding his arms in` in different angles and stuff to suit the different poses that we were` were looking to get and providing resistance against him, pushing to get the contraction in his muscles. There was obviously a bit of tension in there. > (LAUGHS) Yeah. Yeah. I think, um, bottom line is, like, we're just all real passionate about what we're doing here. So it's easy for emotions to get a little bit, um, haywire, eh? And you know, just` you know, we're all best mates, still, at the end of the day. He'll wanna stay warm. Yeah. What do you think of that, brother? Signed it? The king Spartan. Signed it right on the Spartan too. They can't go down like that. Where is it comfortable for you to hold them? Up like that? If they're up like that, I'm pretty sure I can hold them. When you done that heavy one last week, where` were they here? Yeah. OK. Me and Nick always like to have a wee project or something on the go, and Wheelchair Warriors is a training programme that we put together to assist and help people with long-term disabilities or injuries. E` now get... A-N-G-R` now get angry... J` Jamie. Jamie really looks up to Nick. Just a young fulla. He's 16, and everything he does, he tries to impress Nick and really really turns on and pushes himself well beyond what he normally would. One... two... three... four... five. So, for me, the gym gives you so much more mentally as well as physically. So that's why you want the classes. G-I` give that to other people. S-I` the social side... is... M-A` is massive. No one likes to be feeling down or not good about themselves, so it's a major part of just coming along and building that and having fun with the` the group. You know, if you don't get anything out of the` the classes, you're definitely gonna get some laughs, that's for sure. Last... last one. G` go... go hard. Go hard, brother. Last one. Let's go, wind it out. Come on. MACHINE WHIRRS What's your favourite shot? What one was that? This one. You can see with the eyes popping out your head. W-I` winning. Winning again. 5th time in a row. For the online competition. All that hard work paid off. Having... a barbeque. T-O` space... thank... everyone... who... helped. FUNKY MUSIC INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS I think you learn not to take life or things for granted, you know, because what happened to Nick could happen to anyone. Oh, I think the more` the more he does and the more I see, the more I think, wow. < How has Nicola changed your life? What has she brought to your life? F-R-E-E` freed... freedom. Freedom. That's a good word. Just live life to the full, eh? Captions by Madison Batten. Edited by Alana Drayton. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016