Legendary bodybuilder Flex Wheeler has not been the luckiest with health and injuries. However, in 1994, the bodybuilder felt “blessed” to come out alive after meeting a dangerous car crash. But it was not easy for the injury-ridden Wheeler to bounce back from the life-threatening incident. The incident took the bodybuilder to a dark phase in his career.

Once during an interview, “The Sultan of Symmetry” described the brutal injuries he sustained from the horrific accident.

Flex Wheeler recalls a ‘real nightmare’

In 2022, Wheeler appeared on the Arnold Sports Festival UK stage for a live interview. During this conversation, the legendary bodybuilder got candid about the disastrous car accident that almost left him paralyzed.

When the host asked Wheeler about the crash, he explained how bad it had injured his body. “It had broken me. I resorted back to my suicidal thoughts, you know. Because the same injury I had, I broke my C5 and C6, that’s the same injury that killed Christopher Reeves. I also broke my collarbone, my ear was almost ripped off, and my eye was almost ripped out off my skull,” Wheeler said.

Although the accident left Wheeler traumatized, he still made a strong comeback to bodybuilding. Once, in a Facebook post, the bodybuilder also mentioned that even a broken neck did not stop him from chasing his dreams.

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Wheeler’s will and determination towards bodybuilding made him continue competing despite his ailing kidney disease until it forced him to quit bodybuilding one day.

A brief about Wheeler’s kidney disease

Early in his bodybuilding career, Wheeler got diagnosed with a rare kidney condition named focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Although Wheeler tried to compete in bodybuilding events even after the diagnosis, the pain soon became unbearable. Hence, he then underwent a kidney transplant, which was successful and unsuccessful at the same time.

Although the transplant was a life-saver for the bodybuilder, it continued causing several health issues. It soon became troublesome for “The Sultan of Symmetry” to continue with his training. Hence, in 2002, Wheeler had to bid adieu to the bodybuilding stage. Due to this kidney disease, Wheeler also underwent a right leg amputation in 2019.

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Despite suffering from various physical and mental issues, Wheeler never gave up on himself and his goals. Even today, while roaming around in a wheelchair, the bodybuilder continues sharing his positivity and advice with young bodybuilders.