SOUTH SEATTLE BEACON NEWS / JUNE 3, 2009

"Five months after my hip replacement , I did a Power-meet competition, "Bryant said. " I did it to show people not to become a powerlifter but not to give up on themselves. That was my statement up on stage. "Bryant placed first at that competition and currently holds the state record for his weight class for pulling 405 pounds, at age 49. Having achieved such prominence, Bryant uses his experience to set an example of how much someone can achieve if they never quit. Bryant underwent the hip replacement surgery on April 17, 2008. During the operation, doctors first removed a section of his thigh muscles, then proceeded to replace his entire pelvis bone with an artificial structure made from titanium rods. The competition was on October 18, 2008.