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Local Strongmen Making Impact Outside Of The Weight Room

In the past, The Post-Journal has had the opportunity to document the impressive athletic feats of both Aaron Lee and Nick Kahanic.

Thanks to their work in the weight room when it comes to heavy lifting, the two area residents have excelled in athletic competitions like the Highland Games — a Scottish sporting event that includes acts of strength such as the shot put and hammer throw — and strongman competitions throughout the country.

Lee was the overall champion of the super heavyweight division at the Fullsterkur at VikingsCon 2019 in Maryland earlier this month. Kahanic’s lengthy resume includes great success on the national level while also being a two-time Highland Games New York state champion.

But the work that the good friends have recently done outside of the weight room and in an around the local community is arguably even more noteworthy.

Following the passing of Aaron’s young son, AJ, in 2018, the duo has made it a point to raise money and donate the proceeds to several organizations and charities to help children.

The best friends have used “#AJstrong” to help spread their message of inspiration in the face of loss.

And the results have been impressive.

In collaboration with Rosie’s Run Foundation — spearheaded by area resident Jamie Billquist — Lee and Kahanic have been able to make a substantial donation to several organizations, including the Child Advocacy Program of Chautauqua County.

The tandem has also raised money for Court Appointed Special Advocates, an organization that supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.

According to Lee, team “AJ Strong” has already raised in the neighborhood of several thousand dollars to disperse to the separate charities.

Lee and Kahanic have utilized Facebook in their effort to raise money and have ordered “AJ Strong” bracelets to give out to the public for a $2 donation. Lee is in the process of establishing an official foundation in memory of AJ as well.

“There was a goal in trying to help people and trying to bring some kind of positiveness out of a tragedy,” Lee said. “We really started working more toward that this year. I had to deal with some stuff in my grieving process. And now, with a lot of help from Nick and everything, we’ve been starting to really push with the ‘AJ Strong’ brand and really start making some progress doing some good stuff for people. We raised some money for the Child Advocacy Program. They helped me out a lot through my whole situation. Now we’ve been selling ‘AJ Strong’ bracelets and we are already over our goal for that.”

Lee added: “We worked with Rosie’s Run Foundation with some of the stuff because that’s our friend, Jamie Billquist. It’s nice to kind of have that collaboration, because he’s been doing this stuff a lot longer and we’re just kind of getting started and learning. …We’ve got a lot of big plans for raising some good money next year and working with Jamie next year. You know, we’re going to try to take this to the next level, try to get the 501(c)(3) status and everything. … The fundraising we’ve done, and everything has been kind of low-level. … That’s a big part of why we teamed up with Jamie’s foundation.”

Lee’s desire to make a difference in the lives of children has been an inspiration throughout the whole process to Kahanic.

“I don’t even know if I can explain how proud I am of Aaron,” Kahanic said. “He’s always been strong. He’s always been tough. It’s not always easy. He has bad days. But to do what he’s done, I mean this guy lost his only son. And he’s holding the people up around him? Myself included. …I pray that it never gets tested, but I can only hope to someday be as strong as he is in faith, physically and mentally.”

Lee said that the charity work has even been considered a form of therapy at times.

“It’s been tremendous,” Lee said. “I’ve received so much kindness going through everything that I did. To help give that back and to carry that on to the next person has really been just a great feeling. … Just to know that my son didn’t pass away for nothing. That there’s good coming out of it. … I want this to be the voice of the people facing adversity, the voice of the hurting child. The voice of the children who can’t do everything that we’re able to do. We’re all together, we’re all strong and we’re not going to quit. And to just spread that message and just uplift other people. There is so much suffering in this world. And if we can do a little bit to relieve that, it’s a privilege.”

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