He might use a wheelchair, but Matt Keam hasn’t let that get in the way of his ambitions to become a competitive bodybuilder.

The inspirational 22-year-old, from Kerryhill Way in Maidstone, has just returned from one of the biggest contests in the sport, the Hercules Olympia, having won second place in the disabled category on his first attempt.

Not only that, he has just started working at the gym where he received his coaching, Redemption Fitness in Maidstone, where he now helps others to improve their physique as a personal trainer.

Mr Keam has cerebral palsy, meaning that while he can walk, he has mobility issues and spends much of his time in a wheelchair.

He told KentOnline's sister paper the Kent Messenger: “I come from a family where we don’t let things we can’t do stop us from trying. Being in a wheelchair might slow me down or limit what I can do, for instance I can’t do leg poses in the competition, but you can find ways around it.”

Mr Keam has been training at the St Peter’s Street gym for three years, with around four months of intense preparation for his first competitive show. In that time he has bulked up from 55kg to 73kg, and can now benchpress 115kg.

He first got into disabled sports when his mum dragged him to an open event inspired by the London 2012 Paralympics.

Mr Keam said: “I didn’t want to go at first but after trying wheelchair rugby I fell in love. That prompted me to start going to the gym and it snowballed from there.

“I never saw myself as a bodybuilder or being able to do something like that but it just shows what you can do if you put your mind to something.

“Lots of work goes into it, it’s 24/7 training hard and dieting, but it has been worth it.

“I just want to keep growing and help to raise the profile of disabled bodybuilding.”

The competition, which took place in Milton Keynes, was run by the World Amateur Body Building Association (WABBA) International UK. Now Mr Keam has set his sights on another contest, the Grand Prix run by the same organisation, in July.