by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Rob Parsons

For race car drifters, drifting is a way of life, so when Rob Parsons was injured nearly six years ago, a gear-head through who fell in love with drifting with his dad, he couldn’t give up his number one life passion. Instead of saying goodbye to what he loved, he said hello to a whole new way of doing it.

But it wasn’t a gift from some sympathetic donor or sponsor that helped him return to doing what he loves. After looking at how expensive adapted cars would be, he decided to start building an adapted drifting car in his own garage, and it is nearly to completion. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Amy Van Dyken

Amy Van Dyken was a superstar long before she graced our SCI Superstar series. A former American competitive swimmer who won six Olympic gold medals throughout her Olympic career, she was the most decorated athlete at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

But last year, years after retiring from competitive swimming, Amy became a paraplegic in a freak accident with her whole life changing an instant.

But she’s moved on from her injury better than most have expected, and she’s already reaching out to help others with spinal cord injuries. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Anne Wafula Strike

When you’re born, you never know what the future holds in store for you. For Anne Wafula Strike MBE, the first East Africa Paralympian who is now changing lives in Africa with her foundation, her disability may have the best thing that ever happened to her.

But at the time of her disability, there was no one from her little Kenyan village that would have agreed. Not yet anyway.

An athlete, mother, author and chair of a foundation in her name, this is the story of Anne Wafula Strike. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Robert Thompkins

There is a beautiful thing happening in San, Diego California right now and it’s not the beaches or the beautiful weather. It’s the good vibes Robert Thompkins is putting out, a paraplegic chairskater who’s sharing his passion for his emerging sport in an amazing way. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Monika Kuszyńska

A lead singer of a popular polish band in the early 2000′s who went on to forge her own successful solo career, Monika Kuszyńska is a woman with a spinal cord injury you may not know…but not for long.

The funny thing, she’s been living loudly in her native Poland but echoes of her awesomeness have yet to trickle to the States, which is why we’re excited to bring her story to our readers. Very rarely do you see a paralyzed woman rock out like she does and at her elite level.

A soulful artist poised to perform in one of the world’s biggest singing contests – Eurovision 2015 – this is the unforgettable Monika Kuszyńska. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Michael Graves

You may have heard of Michael Graves’ before, especially if you shop at Target for kitchen gadgets. A man who had been paralyzed for only 11 years but designed both memorable buildings and high-style health products (and teaching design at Princeton along the way), Michael’s goal in architecture was to always be about making functional things more beautiful. And boy did he succeed.

Michael is the mind behind hundreds of stunning buildings all around world, including Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California. He was a powerhouse architect since the ’80s and continued designing until the day of his death. A few health setbacks never turned off Michael Graves’ desire to design, it only fueled his desire to design.

His disability inspired him to start thinking about redesigning everything in the healthcare world too, from patient rooms to wheelchairs, and he’s come up with some beautiful stuff. Read on for the backstory of one of America’s greatest architects, Michael Graves. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Wes Bandemer

He may have grown up a country boy, but Wes Bandemer is no longer living the simple country life. This is former motocross racer has transformed into a passionate advocate for embryonic stem cells, having traveled to India twice. And the moment he has regained is huge.

But it hasn’t been an easy road. Wes had to work hard to find funding and still relies on a wheelchair and PCAs everyday. His dream of becoming 100% independent may still yet have to come to fruition, but he has big hopes it may one day happen.

For more on a quadriplegic who refuses to put a timeline on his recovery, this is the effervescently optimistic Wes Bandemer. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Carolyn Pioro

Fifteen years ago, Carolyn Pioro’s life forever changed. Carolyn was a circus performer for a Toronto-based company, Cirque Sublime, where she was a rope/bungee trapeze performer and trained with a group of three others on the flying trapeze. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Stuart Turner

A roboticist with a focus on drones, one of the best accessibility consultants on the planet and a well-known speaker who’s shared his thoughts with the likes of TEDx and WIRED, Stuart Turner is without a doubt one of the most tech-savvy quadriplegics in the world.

Also the founder of RobotandCake.com, a site dedicated to illuminating the importance (and possibilities!) of integrating robotics into assistive technology, Stuart is one impressive Brit. His main drive is to open up the world to people with spinal cord injuries.

A man with an eye to the future in a profound way, this is the amazing Stuart Turner. Read this entry

by Tiff -

SCI Superstar: Bethany Hoppe

Bethany Hoppe of Nashville, aka the “Rolling Diva,” wears so many hats she could open her own hat shop. A dancer, voice-over artist, college instructor, author, advocate, wheelchair athlete, public speaker, wife and mother, in spite of her disability Bethany has been unstoppable in the game called life.

Her journey however into becoming the fierce woman she is today began in an unassuming place – a simple dairy farm. Once old enough, Bethany left home, setting forth on a path that even most able-bodied people wouldn’t be able to keep up with.

One of the most vocal advocates out there for women with disabilities, and an artist at the very core of who she is, this is the amazing Bethany Hoppe. Read this entry