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SW Side man could be named Mr. Health & Fitness
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By Tim Hadac
A man whose life is all about helping others is looking for a vote of confidence to help him do more.
Fitness advocate Bill Truesdale is currently in the running to win a national contest to be named Mr. Health & Fitness, which includes a $20,000 award and the fame that comes with being featured in Muscle & Fitness magazine.
The purpose of the contest is to raise funds for the non-profit Andrew McDonough Be Positive (B+) Foundation in their mission to provide financial assistance to families of children fighting cancer, as well as fund scientific research to treat, cure and ultimately prevent cancer in children.
Andrew McDonough, a 14 year-old student athlete who loved playing soccer, was stricken with leukemia and died. The boy was always positive. His mantra of life was “Be Positive.” He also had the B+ blood type. After he was diagnosed with cancer, his sister started drawing posters on the door of his room: “B+. Don’t come in here unless you are going to be positive.”
Funds are raised through supporters voting online for those in the contest a vote free vote and option costs a dollar to cast; but there is no limit on how many votes a person may purchase/cast.
Southwest Side native Bill Truesdale, 61, hits a double biceps pose. –Supplied photo
The starting field and Round 2 competitors have been eliminated. As of this writing, Truesdale is in second place in Round 3 the Top 15 national competitors remaining; but he is taking nothing for granted.
To cast votes for Truesdale in Round 3 Top 15 at https://mrhealthandfit.com/2024/bill-truesdale
Southwest Side roots
Truesdale’s life was shaped by tragedy at an early age. It struck in March 1970, when he was just 7 years old. His father, William, died suddenly—of a heart attack—at age 34, leaving four children and a wife, Helen, in her ninth month of pregnancy with the couple’s fifth child.
He grew up in a home in the Scottsdale neighborhood, near 85th and Kostner, attending the old Crerar School and later graduating from St. Bede School.
Truesdale went on to Bogan High School, where he graduated in 1981.
A self-described “really skinny kid” as a teenager, he competed in sports—most notably, ice hockey.
While a student at UIC, playing hockey a shoulder injury pushed him into rehabbing with weightlifting.
Truesdale was hooked.
The skinny kid built himself into a national champion powerlifter. He is now a master fit bodybuilder. He dead-lifted 640 pounds and even coached others in the sport as he earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in physical education exercise science at University of Illinois at Chicago in 1989.
He served as a physical education instructor with the Chicago Park District at Durkin Park.
A lifelong learner, Truesdale went on to earn multiple degrees and certifications, pursuing a career in education. He was principal at Taylor Elementary School on the Southeast Side, where his leadership helped build the school into a successful model that attracted national acclaim.
After he retired from the Chicago Public Schools, he continued his path, both as a learner as a consultant and special education administrator with the Illinois Board of Education. These days, he is a resident of the Clearing neighborhood.
Truesdale never quit as a fitness enthusiast who understands how building a healthier body often leads to a healthier mind set. These days, at age 61, he teaches a physical conditioning class at West Lawn Park—helping others live better lives. This stretching class began in 1991, a program idea from West Lawn Park retired Supervisor Paul Pope. The current West Lawn Supervisor, Paul Veliotis, transformed the class to a conditioning class in 2017. A student from that class nominated Truesdale into the Mr. Health & Fitness contest.
“I model what I teach,” Truesdale says. That becomes clear to anyone who asks him to roll up his sleeves and hit a double biceps pose. He has the impressive build of a man half his age and is living proof that you’re never too old to be physically fit.