Colorado Springs native competing in online fitness competition defies the odds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., (KRDO) - A Colorado Springs native is competing to be this year's Mr. Health and Fitness after nearly losing his life in a car accident.

It is one of the largest online fitness competitions that serve disabled veterans. The competition was founded by former Carolina Panthers defensive end Jared Allen four years ago. Their mission is to provide financial assistance and support to injured U.S. military veterans by building and remodeling handicap-accessible homes to suit their individual needs one wounded warrior at a time. The "warrior vote" requires a donation that will serve the cause.

This year's winner will take home the title of Mr. Health and Fitness, a $20,000 cash prize, and will be featured in the nationally well-known Muscle and Fitness magazine.

Joseph Robinson, 20, has a love for fitness and doesn't let any minute go to waste. After suffering a life-threatening car accident, he sees this as a second chance at life.

Robinson wants to use his platform to inspire people to live every moment to the fullest. His family and friends call him "Machine."

"Never take a moment for granted, get out there and push your limits in life and just be successful," said Robinson.

Every day, he wakes up at 4 a.m. to work out at Planet Fitness in Colorado Springs before heading to his construction job. But it doesn't stop there; after work, he hits the weights again. He says because of his non-stop nature, his family and friends call him a machine and even dare say indestructible.

In 2018, he was involved in a car accident that nearly ended his life.

"I had gotten to the crosswalk of my intersection and my light had turned yellow, there was a car that had eased into the middle of the intersection to make the turn on red, but as soon as that light turned yellow she took the turn and t-boned me, I was in a Lexus and she was in a Toyota Sequoia -- she smashed the driver side of my car," shared Robinson.

It left him with inevitable scars. 

"I had to be cut out, they cut out the roof of my car, they cut me out of the car and the firefighter was completely surprised I was able to have a conversation with him based on my accident," shared Robinson.

He suffered a head laceration and had to undergo serious surgery. The accident leaving the left side of his face completely distorted. He thought life was over but was able to reflect and turn it

"Luckily I had something with me that day because I walked away from an accident that firefighters thought I would be dead in with minimal injuries, just a laceration in the head and lots of scaring," added Robinson. 

Those scars now serve as reminders to never take a moment for granted.  

There are four groups in the competition, Warrior, Trending, Moving, and Popular. Voting for the top 10 in each group ends today before moving to the next round of the competition. Only one winner will be chosen for the overall competition.

Robinson is in the Warrior Group and is currently ranked 8th, but voting for the top 10 ends Thursday at 7 p.m. To support him, click here.

There are two ways to vote, clicking for the warrior vote requires a donation of a minimum of $1 that would help support disabled veterans. You can also submit a vote for free through Facebook.