Active
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SCI Superstar: Aaron Fotheringham
“Just when you thought sitting was safe” is Aaron Fotheringham’s awesome tagline. Touring with the Nitro Circus (an extreme sports tour), speaking and doing demos at events and at school, such is the life of your-not-so-average 20 year old from Las Vegas, the very brave soul behind the world’s first wheelchair back flip. Aaron was born with Spina Bifida, but could never just sit. Wasn’t his thing. After being adopted into a close-knit family as a baby (they adopted 7 kids in total), they’re the reason he’s the extreme adapted athlete he is today. One of his brothers was into skating, and Aaron would always come along and watch… After…
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Perfect eggs with the founder of Ms. Wheelchair Utah
Meet Meg Johnson, the hip/2012 version of the happy-go-lucky housewife and she’s doing in all on four wheels. Her injury was a wild one; in 2004, Meg leaped onto a boulder that wasn’t stable enough while she was hiking. The fall broke both her femurs, her arms, collar bone and C7 vertebrae (ouch indeed). Now home and queen of her domain again, Meg is making some of the best how-to videos for quads/wheelchair-users I’ve ever seen. Did I mention she founded the Ms. Wheelchair Utah pageant too? Yeah, she’s all warm and fuzzies. The adorable Meg lives in a farmhouse in northern Utah (with her just as adorable husband Whit).…
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Push Girls Episode 13 Review: In The Deep End
In episode 13, Mia swims her first meet (and it’s against all able-bodied swimmers), Auti and Eric finally get some deep conversations going on having kids and Tiphany rolls a 5k. And you gotta watch Tiph do her faux chair “run” in Angela’s kitchen. And good news! Push Girls has been renewed for a second season! (look for it in 2013) SPOILERS AHEAD *** The episode begins by checking in with Mia at the pool, whose doing her last practice before her swim meet, and we get another melodramatic over dub of Mia’s story, and she talks about how hard it was to not be able to swim anymore (and…
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SCI Superstar: Cody Unser
Cody Unser, the daughter of NASCAR racing legend Al Unser Jr., was paralyzed at age 12. Since her bizarre injury, she has helped lobby for SCI research in DC and is a huge proponent of adapted SCUBA (and the beneficial nerve side-effects!). Read this entry
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Push Girls Episode 12 Review: Moving On
In episode 12, Mia and Tiphany go accessible apartment hunting so little miss Mia can get out of her grungy apartment and into a sexy “grown up” apartment she can be proud of. Not easy in LA, but is it anywhere really? Watch the girls visit the Rose Bowl farmer’s market to find Mia some stylish new things for her place. Also, Chelsie’s back story with her dad gets spotlighted, with her beginning to feel some reluctance in doing her “don’t do what I did” speeches at high schools. SPOILERS AHEAD *** This episode begins with Mia in her apartment feeding her parakeet Chirpy. We get the back story on Mia’s apartment. It’s…
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Breaking barriers with wheelchair breakdance
Back in the year 2000, all you’d see online about wheelchair dance was wheelchair ballroom dance videos or maybe something on wheelchair ballet, but not anymore. Oh no. Wheelchair dance has come a long way in the last decade, and Auti Angel of Push Girls, one of the best paralyzed hip-hop dancers in the world, has definitely helped make it more popular than ever. So we’ve uncovered a few others. Mobile phone technology is the reason so much more wc-dance info is online, including the dozens of adapted dance videos that are available. I’m always searching for videos that prove you can still be a dancer to be reckoned with…
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Push Girls Episode 11 Review: Breaking the Ice
In episode 11, the girls get to do one of the best adrenaline rushes you can still get when paralyzed – downhill skiing. They head to Big Bear, Cali for the classic weekend ski getaway. Tiphany and Chelsie have fun rating hot men during the road trip there, Chelsie can’t calm her nerves before she skis and Angela has so much fun she can’t stop smiling. Also, watch Mia prove paraplegics can conquer the top bunk! SPOILERS AHEAD *** The episode begins with a flurry of activity at Angela’s house – all four girls are there, plus Chelsie, to pack for their trip to Big Bear (Auti’s idea. She’s the…
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Push Girls Episode 10 review: Out of Control
In episode 10, Auti’s overbearing nature is spotlighted. She and Eric mix words while recording tracks for their new CD, and the Colours ‘n Motion dance crew butt heads after Chelsie and Mia get sick of doing the same old routine. Tiphany also takes Chelsie mini-golfing! SPOILERS AHEAD **** This episode begins with Chelsie getting dropped off at Tiphany & Angela’s house. Chelsie is staying at the house because she’s in town for an upcoming performance with the Colors n’ Motion dance crew. The dance team is scheduled to perform at an “abilities event” at a nearby aquarium that weekend. Tiphany shows off her luggage pushing method with her footrests. Man that girl has some…
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Self-defense, wheelchair style
Have you seen the episode of Celebrity Death match with the tough (and heavily tattooed) quad rugby player, Mark Zupan? He pretty much kicked Chris Pontius’ butt, and it was awesome. It’s about time the world saw that wheelchair-users can have mad self defense skills. There are a ton of us out there, and you’ll find us at every level of ability (I still have a ways to go). We can have great upper-body strength, so hey, shouldn’t be all that surprising right? And the following two videos you’re about to see are the BEST of the best when it comes to wheelchair self-defense. This first video comes from the…
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My first putt in 18 years
Check out what I did earlier this week. Oh…I just stood up and took my first putt on the green since 1993 (no big). So how do I look standing up? (not bad for being paralyzed for 18 years). If you have never seen or heard of the Paramovile before, you can learn all about it in my post on how the day went down (loved it, but my short game needs a lot of work). Read this entry
