“Unstoppable Spirit: Meet Zion Clark, the Extraordinary Wrestler Born Without Legs on ‘AGT’!” 2023

 

 

 

• Zion is auditioning for America’s Got Talent.
• Zion was born with a rare birth defect.
• Zion is a professional mixed martial artist.

The America’s Got Talent auditions are coming to a close soon, but there are still plenty of amazing acts who will be performing for the judges. Zion Clark will be auditioning for a spot in the competition during the July 25 episode. Zion’s audition will undoubtedly inspire viewers around the world.

So, who is Zion Clark? The 25-year-old has persevered no matter what and stopped at nothing to achieve his goals. HollywoodLife has rounded up everything you need to know about Zion.

Zion was born without legs.

Zion was born with a rare birth defect called Caudal Regression Syndrome. He was born without legs. Zion stands at just over 3 feet tall.​

Zion recently made his professional mixed martial arts debut.

Zion began wrestling in high school and went on to compete in wrestling and wheelchair racing events at Kent State University. He made his professional mixed martial arts debut in December 2022 and won at the Gladiator Challenge: Seasons Beatings event. Zion hopes to be the first person to make both the Olympic and Paralympic teams, he told Men’s Health.

Zion was adopted.

Zion wrote on his official website that he was “given up for adoption at birth with no father in the picture and a mother who was unfit to take care of him.” He spent several years in the Ohio foster care system. He was eventually adopted by his foster mother Kimberly Hawkins when he was a senior in high school. 

Zion attempted suicide when he was a kid.

“I tried to commit suicide, over and over and over again as a kid,” Zion said in an episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, according to MMA Fighting. “I was 10 years old [when I first tried to commit suicide]. There was no other option.” He added, “I wasn’t eating food. I wasn’t getting to take showers. I was just stuck, and on top of that, if I voiced my own opinion, I got the s*** beat out of me. So I was just tired. I would rather sleep forever than deal with the crap I was going through.”

Zion wrote a memoir.

Zion released Work with What You Got: A Memoir in April 2023. He was also the subject of the short documentary film Zion, which was released on Netflix in 2018.