Bodybuilding is an international sport that has fans from across the globe. It has grown in popularity in Canada, and one young fan in that part of the world was Raelyn Janssen. Her father served in the military, which meant they traveled throughout the country. When asked about her childhood, she shared that she considers St. Albert her hometown.
“My childhood was normal I would say, I played with my neighborhood friends outside at the park as much as I could, we didn’t have phones or iPads at the time. So, it was peaceful.”
She began training at home but started going to a local gym a few months later. She discovered fitness and first connected with bodybuilding specifically within her first year. After meeting Clayton, a retired competitive bodybuilder who she referred to as her “gym dad,” she decided to give the sport a shot.
“He saw the potential in me before anyone else. He definitely played a part in my decision to try bodybuilding.”
Janssen was originally inspired by Whitney Simmons and Sophie Van Oostenbrugge , both of whom served as indirect teachers for her. As she began studying and pursuing bodybuilding, she started following IFBB Pro League athletes Peyton Dutcher and Tamara Dawn, also known as “Tamz.”
“I was planning on competing in wellness, I looked up to her a lot.”
Her goals went beyond just competing. Janssen had Olympia aspirations, and seeing Trisha Pollydore make her Women’s Physique Olympia debut this past year only fueled those dreams.
Life Altering Experience
Unfortunately for Janssen, any plans she had of walking onto the Olympia stage came to an end after an SUV swerved from the driving lane into the parking lane where she and coworker Carter Higginson were standing behind a trailer. The vehicle crashed into Janssen and the trailer, resulting in the vehicle severing both of her legs. She also suffered a broken arm and was pinned by the vehicle. Higginson was unharmed and had to make sure the driver did not move, which would have caused Janssen to bleed out. That saved her life.
“After Carter got a nearby citizen to call 911, he comforted me and kept me conscious while we waited for paramedics. Carter is one of the many heroes that saved my life.”
That experience had to be recalled to Janssen because she has no recollection of the experience. The experience itself was very traumatic, but somehow she managed to focus on positives once she was able to process what happened. She credits her faith for that.
Janssen shared, “At times I was overstimulated and overwhelmed, but for the most part I was okay. This is because I felt Jesus by my side while I was in the hospital. I know he was right there with me during the blackout that I have no memory of.”
A New Journey
Another positive that came from the experience was the support her has experienced from her family, partner, friends, and even the fitness community. A GoFundMe was started to help her financially as she began to move forward. The gym she went to in Edmonton and a local supplement store have donated money to her as well.
“Such a great community I have. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The faith, family, and friends are all going to be great assets for Janssen as she now learns to live with this new reality. Many would consider this a tragedy and hope to make the best of a bad situation. She is much more optimistic about the days, months, and years ahead.
“I knew so many doors that were closed and chained, would open.”
Her story has been reaching and inspiring many people. That has also helped keep her going. She has been documenting her process on social media, which has been met with a very positive response.
“I truly never thought I was going to get any type of large following or be inspiring people from what I post,” she humbly said. “Content was a little different, but it was still worth sharing to my 400 followers. I gained over 100,000 more followers in less than seven weeks.”
Janssen continued, “I’m so beyond grateful to every individual who followed me whether it’s due to being inspired by my story, wanting to see my journey, in a similar situation as me, in need of guidance to our Lord, wanting to change their outlook to be more positive, or anything else. I’m so thankful, I thank my Saviour Jesus Christ every day, for helping us all connect and helping those in darkness find my account. I never expected this to happen, but it was meant to be. My purpose in life is to help all these people into the light.”
As for that dream of walking on the Olympia stage, she has made it clear the only part of the dream that may have died is the walking part. The Olympia does feature a Wheelchair division, and while that may only include men for now, more women are getting into fitness now than ever before. A women’s division can certainly be possible, and being a part of that would be a way that Janssen could be a part of bodybuilding history that she didn’t have an opportunity to achieve before.
“It may be in a wheelchair, but I don’t care. It will be a dream come true.”
If you want to support Janssen and her efforts, you can do so by visiting her Go Fund Me page.
You can also follow her on Instagram @raebolic.lifts .
