(WJW) – A Northeast Ohio man impressed the judges of America’s Got Talent after sharing his inspiring story and a demonstration of his athletic abilities.
Zion Clark, a 25-year-old from Canton, was born with a rare condition called caudal regression syndrome that left him without legs.
“There’s practically nothing known about it,” he explained on Tuesday’s episode of AGT. “Aside from the fact I don’t have legs.”
During the episode, Clark said he didn’t know either of his parents growing up. He was in the foster care system for the first 17 years of his life.
“Mother’s in prison, dad’s in jail. I was thrown into the system from the second I left the hospital,” he said. “I was disabled and a foster kid so I was just thrown away. I was less than human is what I was treated like, and I got scars all over my body to prove it.”
Clark said he was able to overcome his challenges because he was able to fight and wrestle.
Clark said went through about 13 or 14 different homes before he came close to aging out of the system. But then he got adopted by his mom.
“I got adopted, everything went into place. My grades went up in school,” he said about his mom.”She’s patient but she’s tough at the same time. I tried quitting wrestling, but she wouldn’t let me quit.”
“I became one of the top three wrestlers in the state of Ohio, but (before that) I lost about 200 times in a row,” Clark said.
Clark’s perseverance also led him to be an All-American and a member of the Team USA wrestling team.
Clark then became a professional MMA fighter. He also set three Guinness World Records for the fastest man on two hands, the highest box jumper and the most diamond pushups.
Before his performance, Clark said, “Today I am going to show you what it means to have the feeling of no excuses.”
After his performance, Clark got a standing ovation from the crowd, and a thumbs-up from Simon Cowell, himself.
“I am so happy you came on our show, you have no idea,” Cowell said. “You have such an incredible personality, you defined the word inspiration. How you’ve come through this, with this attitude, is remarkable.”
All of the AGT judges unanimously voted to send Clark through to the next round of the 2023 season of American’s Got Talent.
“He didn’t come on to tell us a sad story, he just told us his life,” Cowell said after the performance. “You can hear and you can see what he’s gone through, and he’s come through it.”
To watch Clark‘s AGT audition, click here. To follow Clark on Instagram, click here.
