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Retired Middletown firefighter Mike Deal reflects on loss, sport and community service
Summary
Mike Deal, a retired firefighter and 2023 world disabled strongman champion, told the Middletown Now podcast about a 2015 workplace accident that led to an amputation, his return to competitive Strongman, community relief trips to Leslie County, Ky., and his experience with PTSD and therapy.
Clayton Castle, communications manager for the City of Middletown and host of the Middletown Now podcast, interviewed Mike Deal, a retired firefighter, Navy veteran and retired Strongman competitor, about his recovery after a 2015 workplace accident and his work with local relief efforts and students with special needs.
Deal said the 2015 accident left him “pinned by a fire truck to the wall,” and that medical staff and he decided on an amputation so he could return to living and working. “I told myself that I was really tired. And I told myself if you go to sleep, you're gonna die. You're never gonna see your son again,” Deal said of the moments after the crash.
The episode placed Deal’s athletic achievements and community work in context. Deal described beginning in powerlifting, training with James Spurgeon and being invited to compete at the Arnold Classic in Columbus. He said he won multiple events over a six-year competitive stretch and earned the 2023 title of world’s strongest disabled man. “To be etched in the record books like that is...a really big deal,” he said.
The interview also covered Deal’s post-competition, local service work. He described two trips to Leslie County, Kentucky, to deliver supplies after flooding and said he used donations staged at Carroll Speakeasy in Middletown to help residents in need. “Middletown, Ohio made a really good showing of what we're about,” Deal said.
Deal spoke about his time working in the Middletown City School District with students with special needs and said that role gave him purpose after his injury. He described the students as treating him “like I was one of them” and called that acceptance a guiding force in his recovery.
On mental health, Deal said he lives with “pretty pretty severe PTSD” and credited therapy and a supportive circle for helping him manage stress and daily life. “Therapy saved my life,” he said. He urged people struggling with depression, anxiety or PTSD to seek help and to lean on trusted friends and professionals.
Castle closed the episode by thanking Deal and noting the podcast location, the Event Center of Middletown on Central Avenue, and by mentioning venue contacts for rentals.
The conversation is a personal profile rather than a policy discussion or public meeting. No motions, votes or formal government actions were part of the episode.
