In the basement of a home in Livonia, Michigan is where we spent our first night filming for, “Chromosomally Enhanced What’s your Superpower?”

It is here where the Plymouth Canton Stars team comes together twice a week with a great deal of focus and discipline to train for the annual summer Michigan Special Olympics. We filmed with four team members: Kyle Siarto AKA Iceman, Kevin Welgosh AKA Hollywood, Sean Bowers AKA Tank, and Robby Heil AKA Sparty!

The basement gym is in the home of Scott Gordinier, who helps train the guys. This environment feels like a hardcore, old school gym, you can't help but feel like you’re in the gym of Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Make no mistake, these gentlemen from the Down syndrome community can lift some serious weight!

The team coach and clearly one of the top cheerleaders is Gail Bowers, who just happens to be the mother of Sean AKA Tank. And coach she does along with the help of her brother Jeff, but this momma bear is not a sideline gal, she gets right in there with the boys spotting, correcting form, and pushing her team to be the best they can be.

During our sit-down interview with Gail, she shared with us her personal story and reflected on that moment after giving birth to him of how the initial moment was hard for her to learn he had Down syndrome until she looked down at him and just fell in love with the new little man in her life saying, “He has given us so much joy, it’s hard to put into words.”

For us, this was our first filming session of our documentary, which will take us roughly 8 months to complete for PBS. We are excited to be the ambassadors for these wonderful families and people who just happen to have an extra chromosome. I am certain, we as producers will be educated and inspired by the many stories and filming sessions. We look forward to creating a wonderful film that all of you will embrace and, in the end, understand the key characteristics of someone with Down syndrome: the ability to see good and beauty in the world while radiating joy and happiness. We are so glad you are with us for this journey.

We hope you will continue to follow along with our production as we move forward. If you’d like to help support film by making a donation, you may do so by way of ordering a film t-shirt by clicking here.