John Cena shouts out a 9-year-old who built a Rubik's Cube portrait of him: 'I admire you'
John Cena has long motivated wrestlers everywhere, but now he’s inspiring a young artist, too.
Benjamin Russo, 9, built a mosaic of Cena’s face with Rubik’s Cubes and shared it on YouTube, where it’s been viewed more than 28,000 times. Russo posted the video in late December with an explanation that he’s dyslexic. As Russo said with signs in the intro to the clip, his intention was to show what makes him different is not a hindrance, it’s a “superpower.”
That’s when Cena stepped in and made Russo’s day (year?) by posting about it on social media, and, by now, the whole thing has gone viral.
This is the embodiment of #NeverGiveUp.
Benjamin demonstrates courage, perseverance, vulnerability, tremendous strength... and he’s an ARTIST! I admire you, your work, and your outlook.https://t.co/HtChYVAj32— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 29, 2019
The Doolittle star praised Russo for his efforts. “I admire you, your work, and your outlook,” Cena wrote.
Russo’s mother Melanie Russo said the family’s intention is to raise awareness of the learning disorder, which affects celebrities including Salma Hayek, Tom Cruise and Octavia Spencer.
She told Today that she’s “amazed” by the response to the video.
“Our goal is to spread awareness about dyslexia and have Benjamin feel good about something he [can] do that most people can’t,” she explained. “Benjamin’s spatial awareness/intelligence is linked to dyslexia and that’s why it's so effortless for him to be able to copy any pattern on a cube.”
In fact, the artist is already hard at work on his next mosaic. No offense to Cena, but the younger Russo had to take apart his masterpiece for the materials. (He used 750 of them in the Cena design!)
Cena continues to share inspirational messages daily on social media, including this one:
You can find inspiration in anything, just don’t lose yourself in the process.
— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 9, 2019
The philanthropic star has granted more than 600 wishes to children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and donated millions to fight fires and support veterans.
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