ORLANDO, Fla. — Three to four times a week, David Kellam can be found working out at South Orlando CrossFit, lifting weights some can only dream of taking off the rack.

"I know I’ve done 315 three times, which is adding another 45 on each side," Kellam said, referring to his bench-press workout. 

He isn’t working out to stay in shape. Kellam competes in CrossFit. 

At the Adaptive CrossFit Games this past September, Kellam finished seventh overall in the world in his classification. 

His goal is to one day become an Olympic athlete. 

“Early on, I was trying cycling and just trying to see what other events I like," Kellam said. "Basketball not for me, I was a football guy."

The Winter Park High graduate had a scholarship to play football at Concord University in West Virginia. 

In 2010, a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, ending his football career and completely changing his life. 

But his mindset hasn't changed. 

"I was trying to get out and do things on my own as soon as I was able to," Kellam said. "As soon as I got out the hospital and they said I was cleared to do stuff, I said, ‘OK, let’s try to learn how to go a wheelie.'"

"I was always a competitor," he added. "And CrossFit gives me an outlet to get that competitive spirit out because without CrossFit, I don’t know what I’d be doing.”

Kellam’s norm is different. 

He still wears workout clothes and warms up like other athletes. He just has an extra step: switching into his heavy-duty chair. 

"Usually when I come in, I just grab my chair off this rack here," Kellam said as he took his green wheelchair off the wall at South Orlando CrossFit. "The weight limit on this chair (the one he usually uses) is about 160-165 pounds. But when I’m lifting weights and stuff like that, this one can hold a lot more weight. I really don’t know a weight limit on this chair.”

Kellam pushes himself and his chair to the limits. 

He said he hopes his story and journey of trying to make it to the Paralympics in 2028 can inspire others. 

"I’m not the only person out there in a wheelchair," Kellam said. "But doing this stuff shows people who think when they get hurt or (something) happens and they’re in a wheelchair, they think that life is over. I like showing people life is not over. You still can do more.”