SCI Spotlight: Kiesha Mastrodimos

Check out our SCI Spotlight person for the month of June – Kiesha Mastrodimos! A 21 year old from Alberta, Canada, she’s pushing ahead with her new life by helping others just like her with her how-to videos. Armed with a cell phone and a Mom who loves to record, Kiesha has made hundreds of videos showing how she does it all. Thank you Kiesha for helping the SCI community! Read more

SCI Superstar: Riley Poor

A lifelong action sports film director who worked for Red Bull, Riley Poor had to re-tool his career after becoming a quad. Now an executive producer at Nike, he’s someone you won’t forget. Also a relationship blogger with his gf Andrea (Poor House Love) and a new fan of adaptive gardening, read about Riley’s life (and see his awesome universal accessible home) in the city of Portland here

How to Play Pool from a Wheelchair

One of the most enjoyable things I learned how to do in rehab was play pool.  Who cares about everything else, popping wheelies, learning how to make grilled cheese sandwiches, car transfers – perfecting my quad grip on my cue was all I cared about.  There was something about rolling around the pool table and feeling like a tough chic.

But the pool table isn’t exactly set-up for a wheelchair-user, especially when you try to play in a crowded place.  It can be difficult getting that sweet shot, but it’s far from being a lost cause.

There are several awesome pool players with spinal cord injuries, as well as hundreds more who just like to play even if they’re not that good.  To see exactly how playing pool in a wheelchair can be done, check out our four videos below. Read this entry

Pledge, help make “Redneck Ninjas” a reality

Out of all the interesting people I’ve met online, Drew Bates is one of my favorites. A quadriplegic (C5, injured on a road trip in 2007), I adore this mouthy Southern boy for multiple reasons: 1) He makes me laugh (hard), 2) He’s foine (vs. fine), AND 3) He’s creative, like professionally creative. He is a voice-over actor and writer, with a super exciting project in the works. But he needs your help!  
 
 
His creation, Redneck Ninjas (think Blue Collar Comedy Tour, animated, and featuring a wacky family instead of whiny men), is an idea he’d LOVE to make into a 60-second short.
 
 
To make it happen: Help Drew raise $10,000 by September 30th, 2010. If he meets his goal, he will use the money to pay Powerhouse Animation (animation studio) in Austin, Texas, who will – using traditional 2D animation and Adobe Flash animation – bring to life Drew’s already written and produced 60 second short for Redneck Ninjas.
 
And have no doubt, IT WILL BE AWESOME. I don’t know about you, but it would be fucking cool to know a quad is behind an Adult Swim program one day. Just sayin’. 
 
Pledge and see Drew’s intro video here! Good luck Drew! 

 

Read more about Redneck Ninjas and it’s awesome characters on Drew’s official site here.