FEATURE | The Weight of Redemption

A Biddeford man turns his life around by pushing himself physically and mentally through rigorous weight-lifting training

By JOHN FORSSEN, Contributing Writer

Mark Cash of Biddeford describes himself early on as having been a “nerdy kid,” playing video games and hanging out with his friends on the street — a good deal different from the man who emerged a few years later, hooked on drugs and caught in a downward spiral.

**MARK CASH OF BIDDEFORD** | *Photo by John Forssen*

“It was a time when I made just about every mistake possible in my life — up to and including a hard run with drugs,” Cash said.

Cash, 37, is candid about his journey and about how he was able to turn his life around. One night, Mark thought his former girlfriend had overdosed and he called 911.

When police arrived, they made arrangements for Mark’s former girlfriend to get treatment — but they also arrested Mark.

It was at this point, that Cash knew something had to change.

“It was like finding religion,” Cash says of the day — sometime after his arrest — when he walked into Planet Fitness in Biddeford and started weight training, a subject he knows well and speaks about with great enthusiasm.

That was 10 years ago. His former girlfriend and their young son today live well north of Biddeford, but Cash is finding redemption and reclaiming his life at the Biddeford gymnasium.

Cash is not the most “bulked up” among the other lifters at Planet Fitness, and more than likely not the strongest either, but he is easily the closest to perfection in terms of the body image so often chased by weight-room junkies throughout the world.

There is not an ounce of fat on the man, he gives the appearance of a skeleton dipped in muscular magic and then covered with a tight-fitting skin that reveals every twitch and tremor.

“The gym became my religion,” he says. “It was something I could do to turn my life around, something which would produce visible results as long as I did the re-quired work and remained faithful to the schedule.”

The process is what one might call the “weight of redemption,” a measure which casts a long shadow.

“You can’t come in here for just a few days or even a few weeks and expect to see results, which is where many people fail,” Cash explains. “Me? I’m here every day, and I work for two hours —and here we are 10 years later showing the results of that work through close attention to a rigorous schedule.”

Like many of the other lifters, Mark is also into tattoos — arms, shoulders, chest and back — taken together they have the appearance of multi-colored fabric, like a light sweater that one might pull on —and, subsequently, pull off.

He can see the expression on my face and he understands that I’m trying to form my question in the least objectionable way. Without waiting, he says quietly, “…because, I like them.” It’s a half challenge.

And I nod, understanding that such questions, on the face of them, are impossible to answer —like trying to describe the taste of a Brussels sprout…and going onto explain why it should be universally loved. Logic has no place in the heart of a tastebud.

. . . he gives the appearance of a skeleton
dipped in muscular magic and then
covered with a tight-fitting skin that reveals
every twitch and tremor.

Next for Mark is body building competition, particularly the artistic side where it’s not so much the amount of weight lifted as it is how well the body has been craft-ed and the ability of contestants to master their poses.

Bottom line: Mark Cash has put himself today in a position to open the door for others, gaining certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a certified personal trainer.

. . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | John Forssen of Kennebunk is a retired writer and painter who enjoys telling good stories, He may be contacted at jforssen@gmail.com

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