Brooklyn’s Barrett Powers Into USA Games to Lift Others
By Randy Robertson, NYC Regional Storyteller
There were dozens of athletes chanting his name as Barrett An approached the deadlift rack at the Long Island Spring Games on May 2. “BARR-ETT, BARR-ETT” echoed across the middle school gymnasium, the anticipation rising. The young Brooklyn powerlifter flapped his hands briefly to settle himself, sending a wisp of white chalk dust airborne.
Barrett had already stepped away from the bar once, and despite entering as a clear favorite, he knew he must make this lift to continue in the competition. With heart-warming authenticity that is so unique to the Special Olympics, his direct competitors rooted for Barrett to succeed and find the strength to lift those 465 pounds.
“I heard them cheering for me,” Barrett said as he recalled that dramatic moment. “But I was locked in. I knew what I had to do. And yes, I used the cheering for inspiration.”
After a precise knee bend and a measured cross-hand grip of the bar, Barrett pulled with all his might and the weights moved upward. The cheering got louder as the strain started to show on Barrett’s neck, his face turning slightly red below his thick black hair. Finally, the bar reached his hips for a moment and the crowd roared.
Barrett dropped the bar, sending the weights crashing back down to the mat. Mission accomplished.
The Spring Games served as a powerful benchmark for Barrett, 21, who will represent New York state when he competes in the Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota in late June. An lives in Red Hook, Brooklyn and trains with the Manhattan Thunder, coached by Melanie Lino.
“Barrett’s a really great teammate,” Melanie said. “He wants everyone to succeed, people that are lifting, you know, not as much weight compared to him. It’s very positive. I’m very grateful to know him and his parents. They’re wonderful people.”
The son of weightlifting aficionados Soo An and Kristina Vogel, Barrett grew up around barbells and weight racks. Since joining the Special Olympics a few years ago, Barrett raised his passion for weightlifting to a new level. He enjoys competing and engaging with other athletes as they push their own limits and discover new capabilities.
“The Special Olympics, to me, means that people that are like me build each other up,” Barrett said. “So that way I can inspire more people, and hopefully they can empower themselves and their lives.”
Powerlifting to empower others. It’s bold and audacious and absolutely true. All one had to do was step into the gym during a recent competition to see Barrett inspiring others, and likewise.
The gold medal performance at the Spring Games was just the latest step in a life of continuous improvement for Barrett An. His father Soo said that Barrett is on the autism spectrum and didn’t speak until around age 4 or 5, and he started writing in third grade.
Once Barrett started making progress he just kept on building and growing. Like a powerlifter gradually adding more weights to the bar over time, Barrett kept adding more life skills to his personal toolkit as the years passed. Kristina noted that Barrett’s younger sister Kaitlin helped encourage him, as did his schoolteachers and speech therapists.
To see Barrett now, competing and interacting smoothly with nearly everybody in the gym is quite a transformation and the product of many years of hard work. Barrett played youth baseball for many years along with weightlifting, and Soo believes that athletics played a key role in Barrett’s development.
“I’m hoping that more children on the spectrum will play sports,” Soo said. “And I feel like the more they get involved and the more they’re not afraid to play even with neurotypical kids, I think people realize, oh, they can play too. I think what is great about Special Olympics is that if you want to try a different sport, they let you. They let you and they welcome you with open arms. The Special Olympics definitely has been one of the greatest confidence boosters for my son.”
Barrett’s confidence reached new levels with an outstanding performance at the Special Olympics New York State Games in Ithaca, NY in 2024. It was there that he qualified for the USA Games, and in early 2025 he was officially selected for the honor.
Athletes competing in the USA Games travel with the state delegation, and parents and most individual coaches are not part of the entourage. If you want to compete in the games you need to have a certain level of independence, and Coach Melanie recalls that the USA Games selection committee members contacted her to get her assessment of Barrett’s ability to travel with the delegation.
“He’s going to be fine,” Melanie said. “He’s been to state games twice and competed. He’s a confident guy.”
Parents Soo and Kristina both commented how proud they are of Barrett’s life skills and independence now that he’s a grown man. He attends Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and is studying Sports Management. He’s doing well there, with a little extra support from the school.
“Kutztown has a program to support people with autism,” Kristina said. “They give Barrett a coach and additional study and training support. Special situation in the lunchroom, if needed, too. All these things that really make it possible to go to school.”
It’s safe to say that Barrett wasn’t thinking about Kutztown University or the USA Games or even his parents or coach when his name was called at the Spring Games this May. Once he stepped onto the mat, he focused intensely and went through his pre-lift routines.
The first event was the bench press. All Barrett did was set a new personal record in the bench with a cool 300 pounds. He had lifted that much in practice but never in an official Special Olympics competition before.
“It was a bit of a fight at first, but I was confident I could get it,” Barrett said.
One hour later his deadlift heroics captivated the crowd in the gym, leaving everyone to clap and high-five as he closed out the competition in style. Everyone was entertained, and for a moment Barrett had the aura of a superhero. Seems fitting, because Soo noted that outside of athletics, the world of movie superheroes is his son’s other great passion.
“He is a superhero encyclopedia,” Soo said. “Any superhero, DC or Marvel, he could tell you everything about them.”
Although Barrett is from Brooklyn, he confirmed that his favorite superhero hails from nearby Queens.
“My favorite of all time is Spider-Man,” Barrett said. “I wouldn’t say it’s just his strength, but it’s like his Uncle Ben said, with great power comes great responsibility. To me, I feel like it plays a role in my life as well, because I have great power, but there’s always great responsibility that comes with it in whatever I use my power for. I have to be very responsible, and I have to understand that there’s always consequences to everyday life. I’m my own man and I have to be respectful. I gotta be responsible, so as I get older, everyone knows I can handle the big stuff.”
Barrett An seems to be handling the big stuff just fine these days. He’s lifting big weights and attending a big-time university. Next up on his list are the State Games in early June in Utica, NY, then it’s on to the USA Games in Minnesota June 20-26.
“As soon as we got involved with Special Olympics, it just felt like a very warm, warm place to be,” mom Kristina said. “We see the same faces, and the families, and the parents, and everybody’s so engaged, and I love that. I see a level of pride in Barrett, this is very rewarding for him.”
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