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
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
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
We’ve talked about the emerging sport of WCMX before. It’s hard not to profile these awesome videos. Whether you’re watching these fearless wheelchair-users throw themselves down steep ramps or precariously balance themselves on a stair rail (yes they do this), this sport is beyond entertaining. It’s so cool you can’t take your eyes away.
So to celebrate our obsession with this new wheelchair sport, we’ve decided to profile three of the most impressive WCMX videos out there, and we found some good ones you surely will forgot for a very long time.
From an epic handrail contest to a throwdown, read this entry
Whether he is at the skate park, on the court or out on the ice rink, Shaun Doss is at home. Injured before he was 5 years old, this little youngster has big plans to become the next big thing in the wheelchair sports world and he’s already got a great head start.
And don’t let his plans for the future fool you – he is still interested in walking again – and he has undergone procedures throughout the last handful of years to make this a reality; a great combination of looking ahead yet living for today that many see hard to strike a balance with.
But not Shaun! Read this entry
One of the most successful wheelchair athletes in US history, Amanda McGrory is reigning royalty of the US wheelchair racing circuit. With four Paralympic medals to her name, including gold in the 5,000 meter and 22 marathon wins overall worldwide, she’s now a professional athlete with two national sponsors.
But adapted sports weren’t the first thing Amanda thought of after becoming paralyzed. She went through the typical morning period before discovering her life’s passion – wheelchair racing. Check out her story of fanciful wins below! Read this entry
A pioneer in the field of mind-controlled prosthetics, Jan Scheuermann, 55, is a quadriplegic on a mission to make the world a better place. She volunteered to be part of a groundbreaking research project to get people with paralysis to move prosthetic limbs using their minds, and she’s been making international news in the process.
Jan’s journey without question is one for the history books, and even though the research she’s taking part in is poised to help millions, it likely will never be able to directly improve her own life. And she’s totally ok with that.
Jan’s main hope is that the research leads to big time discoveries to truly help people with spinal cord injuries be more independent. Read on for her truly selfless and fascinating story. Read this entry
One look at rolling red-haired beauty Starla Hilliard-Barnes, and you probably wouldn’t be too surprised to hear she’s Ms. Wheelchair Montana 2014. But you might be surprised to find out a few other things. An avid dirt biker and the devoted mother to a 2 year old girl, this 26 year old paraplegic isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.
Her journey into paralysis however wasn’t that long ago. Having already run for a national pageant title and won, as well as founded a nonprofit dedicated to help others with disabilities explore the world via outdoor adventures, she’s taken her accident and made something good out of it. We love people just like her.
A fighter, dreamer and epic survivor, this is the beautiful story of the Starla Hilliard-Barnes. Read this entry
“I don’t quit, you don’t quit.” This is the mantra of Kevin Brooks, one of the most memorable and well-known motivational speakers in Canada. Paralyzed in 2000 when he was just 21 years old, Kevin has gone on to put a silver lining on a bad situation, making a difference in the lives of the thousands who have heard him speak.
But becoming a motivational speaker didn’t happen right away. Responsible for a car accident that not only paralyzed him from the waist down but killed his childhood friend, feeling motivated was the last thing on Kevin’s mind the first couple of years. He finally however met Rick Hansen, another well-known paraplegic from Canada, and his entire outlook changed.
Read on for Kevin Brooks’ unforgettable story of unlikely perseverance in the face of paralysis. Read this entry
Wintertime isn’t all about staying inside. Venture to the nearest snowy hill, and what do you see? A bunch of people sledding, and it’s possible for you to get out there too!
From using a common household item like a laundry basket to harnessing the brute power of sled dogs to pull you up the hill and back down again, there are ways you can still get out there and experience the thrill of sledding even if you can’t walk.
Dreaming of riding that icy hill too? Check out these three accessible sledding videos we’ve uncovered below. Read this entry
