Our second book

Groovin to Inclusion

Coming
April 2022

The origin of Meatball Man and Hoagie Boy

Meatball Man and Hoagie Boy in

The Fusion of Inclusion
Where Friends Meat

by Mark Graham and Sean Hanley

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Sean has been my coach and friend since 2001 and that’s a long time to be friends. We met when I was a freshman in high school. My gym teacher said I couldn’t be part of anything in class. So when my mom and dad heard about Sean and Developmental Fitness, they called to ask him to workout with me. And my mom made sure I did get to be part of that gym class.

Sean and I had fun teasing each other about eating too much at a friend’s graduation party. He is Hoagie Boy and I am Meatball Man since then. Sean is a wonderful person and outgoing, and he pushes me through my personal workouts and powerlifting. Sean is my buddy.

Meatball Man and Hoagie Boy are symbols of the power of friendship and inclusion between those with and without disabilities and the amazing outcomes that can happen from learning from each other.

There is no greater bond than the one between a coach and an athlete. As a coach, I had the privilege of coaching, sharing and most importantly – learning – from Mark.

I have had the honor of being good buddies with Mark for a very long time. Mark and I met while Mark was in high school. Mark soon became a trainee of Developmental Fitness Company. He also joined the Special Olympics powerlifting team in which I have the honor of coaching.

Mark and I were attending a graduation party together in which Mark was consuming his favorite – the meatball sandwich. As buddies tend to create funny nicknames for each other as a symbol of their friendship – Mark “The Meatball Man” was born.

The Home of Meatball Man and Hoagie Boy