What It Is Like to Have a Prosthetic Arm

GoodRx Health

Chris Ruden, a 33-year-old powerlifter and keynote speaker from Dania Beach, Florida, was born with a shorter-than-usual left arm and only two fingers on his left hand.

His life now is a world away from his life in middle school, when he was bullied for being different.

"I ended up hiding [my hand] in a pocket and a glove, and I wore long sleeves," Chris says. "I wore a glove on my left hand for 17 years."

At age 19, Chris was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He says that was the catalyst for him to stop being a "broken kid." He told himself he wasn't going to just be a disabled person with diabetes and that there had to be more to life.

"Diabetes was the catalyst to start taking care of myself - through taking care of other people," Chris says.

He started a speaking career. And one day, while appearing at a diabetes event, he met a 10-year-old girl who changed his life.

"We were walking down this long hallway and - I'll never forget - I had my glove on my left side and she was walking on my left side, which was not normal," Chris says, explaining that he usually made sure to keep people on his right side. "She ended up grabbing over my glove - grabbed my hand and just kind of swung it, like a kid. She looked at me, and she said, 'It's OK. You don't have to hide around me.'"

It was a huge moment for him, he says: "There were thousands of people at this event, and all these people saw me speak. But she was the only person who actually saw me."

Getting a prosthetic arm and changing his life

Chris told himself that if he ever got insurance approval for a prosthetic arm, he would stop hiding his arm and hand. When he was 27, he got the approval and a prosthesis.

"I thought, 'Oh, I can't back out now. So I made a YouTube video and woke up to millions of views," Chris says, referring to a video he posted about his first day with his prosthetic arm.

In addition to leading to many business opportunities, Chris says, the video brought hundreds of messages from people who had been hiding disabilities or ailments. Because of it, he realized that he wasn't alone and that, in fact, he was going through something that was way too common.

The experience inspired him to lean into keynote speaking, during which he often focuses on three themes.

1. You can overcome adversity

Chris wrote a book on overcoming adversity and having a positive internal dialogue called "The Upper Hand." It's about gaining "the upper hand" over yourself by leveraging your limitations so they work to your advantage.

2. Diversity and inclusion is also about disability inclusion

Chris says creating an inclusive workplace culture should mean embracing inclusion, diversity, equity, and - specifically when it comes to disability inclusion - accessibility.

3. Making changes and managing change

Chris helps people manage the tricky parts about change, whether it's happening to them or they are the catalyst. His new book that's coming out in September 2024, "The Art of Changing Course," walks people through how to manage change.

Chris also coaches speakers, does consulting, and works as an adaptive model. Last year, he walked at New York Fashion Week for a company called Runway of Dreams, which creates adaptive clothing for brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Nike. "And they make clothing for people with disabilities, including for Victoria's Secret," he says. "It's an awesome, innovative way for fashion."

Learning to be proud of his body

Chris says he always wanted to be a bodybuilder because he grew up looking at pictures of what he thought were perfect bodies. "I wasn't born with the perfect body, but I was born with pettiness and stubbornness. So many people told me I couldn't, and that was just more fuel for me," he says.

Chris Ruden says powerlifting helped him become proud of his body. (Photo courtesy of Chris Ruden)

After Chris started working out seriously, a powerlifting friend asked if he wanted to try that, which he did. After winning his first powerlifting meet, he won his next seven meets, figuring out ways to compete with prosthetics along the way.

"I couldn't use my residual limb for more than 135 lbs, so I found a hook attachment that worked for up to 450 lbs," he says. "Then, it started sliding off, so I used an additional wrap. That worked up to like 507 lbs." With another adaptation, he got up to his goal of lifting 675 lbs.

Eventually, Chris broke three Texas state powerlifting records and one unofficial world record, deadlifting 650 lbs in front of thousands of people at the Arnold Sports Festival. "I was the smallest guy there, the only one with a disability, and the only one with diabetes. It was crazy to see the doubt on people's faces when I approached the bar and the cheers that happened after I locked that out," he says.

Two years ago, when he competed in his first bodybuilding show, he won that, too. "I was the only disabled person, and for me, that was everything, because I won a competition that you judge a body on," he says. "I had judged my body my entire life. I had always told myself I wasn't good enough. But these people, who didn't know me, saw my body and said I was good enough for first place."

Chris says he never thought he'd be doing half what he does these days, but it's all come from the cards he was dealt.

"I did a TV show with The Rock, and I have lots of PR, and the internet thinks I'm really cool. But for me, it's that I can go into a normal grocery store and not hide my hand anymore," he says. "That's the coolest thing: to be able to buy tomato sauce without having to hide my hand. People don't realize what they take for granted until you have to live your life around a lie. It's exhausting."

Helping others with disabilities

Chris says he feels fortunate that he not only made it through his own very tough times but also can now give back and help others.

"Everyone has struggles. I've just been fortunate to develop some frameworks to help people through those struggles," he says.

He wants people to understand that whether you have to run 100 miles, start a business, read a book, or clean up your house, it never happens all at once. All big goals break down into single steps.

"I told myself I had to be comfortable with my body, but I never made any steps toward it, because it sounded like a daunting task," Chris says.

"Do you know how exhausting it is for me to think about running 100 miles? But I can say, 'Hey, it's OK to take a few steps and then rest' or 'I can't run a mile right now, but I can stand up,'" he adds." It's OK to stand up and be proud of that step being accomplished."

Chris likes to say that perfectionism often stops people from starting things in the first place. "I want people to understand that it's OK to take a step and not have it be the finish line, because that's not how that works," he says.

When people ask him what's next, Chris says, he always wonders why there has to be something new, because he's so satisfied with where he is now.

"Why would I want more?" he asks. "I'm sure I'll keep doing different things, but I'm so happy with where I am. I don't need more."

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