By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Matthew Barba is a 5-foot-11, 320-pound amateur Strongman competitor, but COVID-19 still took a toll on the Brownsville native.
Barba tested positive for the coronavirus June 27 — shortly after his wife and days before his son were diagnosed — and dealt with many of the symptoms.
“It was like three days of death,” Barba said. “The no taste, the lethargic-ness, I couldn’t breathe, I had everything. It was tough. I was bedridden for three days. It was five days of just feeling terrible.”
The Barbas are among the 15,865 Cameron County residents to test positive for COVID-19 as of Aug. 6, as the Rio Grande Valley has become a coronavirus hotspot. All three have since recovered, and now Barba wants his story to inspire the hometown he loves.
On July 18, Barba finished second at the Ronnie Coleman Strongman Classic in Midlothian. His performance qualified him for the 2020 North American Strongman/woman National Championship scheduled for Oct. 15 in Birmingham, Ala.
Even though qualifying for a national event is a dream Barba has been chasing for six years, he felt the accomplishment was about more than himself.
“I really love this area, this community. This is such a great place, and to be known for something so terrible with everything that’s happened with COVID, it’s just really frustrating and sad,” Barba said. “Going and representing our community at this large event was bigger than just me. This was a much deeper win for my community and for Brownsville.
“I was able to win the battle with COVID and then be able to push through and compete and qualify in one of the hardest leagues of Strongman,” he continued. “I was really happy to be able to represent our town in a positive way, and I felt like this is great for our community. We can fight this, we can beat COVID, we can win.”
Barba credited his wife, Mary, for pushing him to compete despite some initial hesitation. After one week of battling COVID-19, he got back to training July 5 with some local lifters who participate in a “Strongman Sunday circuit” at his house. With 20 days passed and him no longer being contagious, Barba headed to the competition.
“I felt OK, but there was one event, the log press, where I did not feel 100 percent,” Barba said. “I just didn’t have that power. There’s a lot of breathing involved with log press, there’s three different breaths you have to take, and I just felt like my lungs weren’t strong enough like they were prior. I did feel affected during that first event, but I was able to persevere through it.”
Rodney McClanahan, owner of HardKnox Strength and Performance, praised Barba’s impact on the fitness community in the RGV. Before setting his sights on Strongman competitions, Barba won a USPA national championship in 2014. McClanahan applauded Barba for his dedication to training, both as an athlete and as a coach.
Barba, a 2007 Los Fresnos graduate, was a powerlifter and football player for the Falcons and now coaches both sports. He started the powerlifting program at Brownsville Lopez, and in 2017 led the boys team to the THSPA Class 5A state championship and the girls to a second-place state finish. He then coached at Weslaco East and is currently working on rejoining Brownsville ISD.
“(Strongman is) honestly one of the most taxing and physically demanding things you can do because of the weight you have to carry and because of the intensity of some of the events. For him to come out from (COVID-19) and still perform, or even think about doing it, just blows me away,” McClanahan said.
“He has always talked about the importance of giving back to the community and building the community up, and his way just happens to be through strength and training,” McClanahan added. “A lot of people in town, especially the youth, look up to Matt. When he trains out of his garage, he doesn’t charge anyone that goes, and there’s quite a few people that go and work out with him. He does it because he’s extremely passionate about it, and he’s the first to stop what he’s doing and help you out if you want to learn.”
Mary Barba said she’s proud of her husband’s athletic journey and looks forward to the day their 1-year old son will look up to all his dad has achieved. In the meantime, she wants his accomplishment and his drive to be a positive light for the area that raised them as the Valley continues fighting COVID-19.
“It’s something that really motivates him and the people that train with him or follow him, to see that they can do things that seem impossible,” Mary Barba said. “My husband has shown me through sports what it’s like to set really difficult goals and then accomplish them, what it means to be not just physically strong but mentally and even spiritually strong, and I think that’s an important message. I hope this will encourage people to not give up during this time. We can do hard things, and we can keep going and be strong even in the midst of difficulty.”