Darci: Broc was about five foot two when he was in kindergarten.
And then for high school he was seven foot.
Broc: Monster.
I hopefully want to work for a sporting goods store have my own job.
My name is Broc Brown. And I landed my first job at the YMCA.
Stacy: Broc is a great young man. He was born with Soto syndrome, which is a genetic disorder.
It causes him to be very large. He's now over seven foot tall.
7 ‘8, 7’9 we're not quite sure, it's hard to measure him due to the fact that he can't stand up
straight and straighten out his knees.
He doesn't complain. He's in pain a lot of the time.
He wears out how easily things like that. But he doesn't complain about anything.
Broc: I agreed to go swimming today even though it’s not on this schedule.
Stacy: Right then, you ready for work?
All right, you’ve got your shoes on good job.
He doesn't fit in a bathtub, he doesn't fit in a movie theater, he doesn't fit in a vehicle.
But he will get in the smallest spaces and ride you know it wherever we need to go.
It’s the only way you can fit in my car isn’t it?
Everybody's always amazed at Broc. First of all, it his height obviously and his stature.
He's you know, over seven foot tall and he's 500 pounds. He's very noticeable.
Broc: They would be like, Oh, you're that guy on TV. And I’ll say yeah
I’m that guy.
Stacy: Broc just got a job at the YMCA here in Jackson.
And we're all very excited. He obviously is more excited.
But he went in to get a membership because he loves to swim. And as he was leaving,
Shawna Tello, she is the CEO down at the YMCA offered him a job.
Broc: I feel really good about having a job. And they’re pretty nice to me, they sometimes
one of them says, hey, how're you doing today? And the other one say
hi Broc, how you doing and stuff like that.
Stacy: It’s very important for Broc to have a job because he has always had a hard time, just in general
throughout life. He has some special needs.
Not only his physical state, but his mental state.
And he hasn't always been able to hang around with a lot of people.
You think of your typical 22 year old and they like to go out a lot, they play sport.
And Broc has a hard time with some of that. So this job just gives him another sense of being an adult
having some responsibility and more interaction with people.
Megan: So I've known Brock for a couple months now
since he started working at the YMCA, he is funny, he's humorous, he loves to joke around.
And he's a really fun guy to work with.
Brock comes on Saturday mornings, and he sets up a table and he checks in the families and the kids
who are here for sports.
And he just gives them a high five welcomes them to the Y.
And it's just that dependable familiar face that kids see every week.
Stacy: Mobility has decreased a bit, he has continued to grow a little and he's you know, not only in height,
but in weight and things like that. And so that does take its toll on his body.
We're trying to work on eating habits and get that in line so that it will help him overall.
Broc: My family they do good by me, and everything. And they help me out with stuff.
Stacy: And his mom was a single mom most of his life.
And so, we tried to help her whenever we could, just with different things, and my sister is in the hospital,
she has been for almost three years now. And so that's been pretty difficult for him.
So, you know, we all just have to pull together, and we have to, you know, be there for him,
and try to make it as good as we can.
Brock and I have always been very close.
But I think we've always just kind of had a special bond.
I'm probably one of the few people that he listens to really well.
Even though I'm two and a half feet shorter than him.
Brock is a survivor. And he in his 22 years has overcome a lot of challenges. He's just a very forgiving
soul, he's a very kind soul and he, he just loves everybody.
Broc: My hope for the future would probably be, make cash.
Probably be, like owning my own business, or even a restaurant or something.
Stacy:Just getting this job is the first step. And I think that we're going to see great things from him.
I hope that as he continues to learn more and more about the YMCA,
that he's able to find other things that he enjoys as well.