Hardcore Sitting
In case your radar is foggy, we would like present to you the following individuals who have bucked the odds and are harnessing the raw energy of the wheel.
Aaron Fotheringham
- Aaron Fotheringham
Aaron Fotheringham (born November 8, 1991 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a wheelchair athelete who performs tricks adapted from skateboarding and BMX.
Aaron calls this “hardcore sitting”. He is famed for being the first person to successfully perform a back flip in a wheelchair at the age of 14. He performs other tricks in his wheelchair including a 180 degree ‘aerial’. He plans to fuse the back flip with the 180 aerial into what is known as a ‘flair’.
Aaron has Spina Bifida; he has had a wheelchair since the age of three and although he used crutches early on, he has been in a wheelchair fulltime since the age of eight. He would watch his brother riding his BMX at the skate park and one day his brother told him that he should try riding his chair in the park. Aaron later noted that “I did, and I was hooked”.
Aaron got a new wheelchair, a Colours In Motion’s Boing! which was both lightweight and featured four wheel suspension. This enabled him to perform the same sorts of tricks that skateboarders and BMXers can do as the suspension cushioned his landings. Aaron has further worked with Colours Wheelchairs to help refine their designs in real-world situations, and as been given a custom-made chair that is in his words ‘pretty much indestructible’.
He now competes in the Vegas Am Jam series in skate park competitions usually competing against BMX riders. He placed fourth in the intermediate BMX division in a competition held at Sunny Springs Skate Park on Aug. 26, 2006.
Aaron’s advice to others attempting to try these tricks is to wear a helmet. He has suffered several injuries performing these tricks including a broken elbow. He tries out new tricks by performing them first into cushions. Then he graduates to a ‘rezi’ a harder plastic sheet over the cushions, before attempting the new trick on a regular skateboard ramp.
When asked about having to practice, Aaron responded “ don’t think of it as practice, I think of it as a fun way to live my life.”
- References
- Aaron’s page at the Vegas Am Jam
- An interview with Aaron at eBility
- An interview with Aaron at Wheelchairs
- An article about Aaron
- Backflip Video
Darwin Holmes
- Darwin Holmes
I'm not sure what happened to Farfrumwalkn.com, but Darwin Holmes is still the guy they label the Tony Hawk of the wheelchair world with his wheelchair as his skateboard.
38-year old Holmes, an 11-year Army veteran from Modesto, Calif., rides all things skateable in his chair, and made a name for himself by riding the Megaramp, the monster halfpipe of the Summer X Games, which has a 65-foot wall. Holmes has done the Megaramp but not during the actual X Games due to insurance contraints. Don’t get too excited... he is not catching air… yet.
Holmes recently appeared in Transworld magazine, at the Burnquist facility way up in the 3/4 bowl while Bucky Lasek looks on, and is filming a DVD movie called “Dare-Wheeling” with some other skaters.
His sponsors include Etnies sneakers, Dakind gloves, Spinergy wheels and Gravity skateboards, among others.
Apparently, he’s preparing to launch a clothing line called Gimp Clothes. I don’t know if that is such a good idea, but that is Darwin for you.
Mike Conneen
- Mike Conneen
Mike Conneen is a skateboarder who is now in a wheelchair and is down for a session. Mike is good people.
Scott Horton
- Scott Horton
Wheelchairskater.com has been helping this fledging sport plant its roots in the wheelchair and skate communities. We are currently working on updating the webpage, preparing for the Chair Devils DVD premeire and planning our summer tour. Expect new material soon and please check back with us. Help us support the wheelchair extreme sports community and show you what it has to offer. We are always looking for new talent, help, or sponsorships so any interested parties please contact us.
Courtney Cooper
- Courtney Cooper
Courtney Cooper is a female force to reckon with in the new Chair Devils DVD. Good style, all around fun seeker. Courtney rips.
Chris Bailey
- Chris Bailey
Chris definitely deserves a bio. Jeez. You oughta see this guy!
Stacy Kohut
- Stacy Kohut
Stacy Kohut rode motorcycles, bmx, skateboards, anything fast and dangerous. In 1992 he had an accident which left him paraplegic... for Stacy a minor setback. By 1994 he was wearing an Olympic Gold Medal that he won on his sit-ski. This guy drops into 14ft half pipes in his wheelchair! He’s jumped 76ft and hit 100kph on a sit-ski, he has graced the pages of Dirt magazine, had a 6 page interview in Bike magazine, has appeared in bike videos and races his ‘R-One Fourcross’ bikes all over North America and Canada.
- References
- More on Stacy
- An interview with Stacy at Wheelchairs
Team Tyler
- Tyler Deith
In Muskoka Ontario, where I live, there isn’t much to do for a chairbound guy like myself; lots of rock, water and sand. I love to fish and I can spend a whole day tinkering around with wood and things in my workshop.
Hardcore sitting gives me a rush that is hard to explain. Most skateboarders will say they know the feeling but I too have skateboarded in my life and is not exactly the same thing as sitting in a chair on wheels, twelve feet above the ground.
Mostly I’m an adrenaline junkie, I love the feeling of dropping in on a ramp or catching some air on anything that moves. I hope to show the world that disabled does not have to mean unable.
The purpose of Team Tyler is to promote activity to disabled and fully able people alike.
- References
- More on Tyler
- An interview with Tyler at Wheelchairs
Honorable Mentions
Og De Souza
Skateboarding Kevin
Jesse Billauer
Gene Rodgers
- Gene Rodgers
Gene Rodgers became a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down, at age 17 as a result of a fall from a cliff. Since then he has continued to enjoy diverse recreational activities in 39 countries on six continents. Travel and videography are his favorite forms of recreation. Gene has enjoyed extreme sports ranging from scuba diving in the Red Sea to paragliding in the Swiss Alps. He has also enjoyed sailing, snow skiing, parasailing, sky diving, boating, exploring, trekking (including an expedition to Mt. Everest), and of course, cliff climbing. His motto is, If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.
Gene’s academic life includes a bachelor’s degree in education, an MBA, and graduate and post graduate studies in rehabilitation and special education. He has taught at Western New Mexico University.
Gene has worked in New Mexico, California, and Texas in the field of disability/technology as well as in Independent Living Centers. Gene earned a Switzer Research Fellowship in 1997. His published research is still used as evidenced by the email he continues to receive from all over the world. He continues to work part-time in the disability/technology field for the Disability Law Resource Center based in Houston, as well as motivational speaking and video editing. He also produces a show, for Austin Public Access Television, called Geno’s Place.
Amped Riders
Our mission is to create an organization for amputees and people with related disabilities that will encourage them to be more active in aggressive sports such as skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding, and to establish a network of resources that will allow them to achieve their goals.
Rob Nelson, right - Nice bean plant to tail, higher than the rail. Rob suffers from Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injury - his right arm is paralyzed. You would never know from this picture.
By pushing beyond the perceived limitations associated with being an amputee we will create new opportunities for all amputees to be more active. These opportunities will be realized directly through advocacy, and indirectly by causing prosthetic and insurance companies to adjust to the demands of the highly active amputee.
Adaptive Action Sports MySpace
UK Four Cross Downhill Mountain Biking
The primary reason for launching this club is to give anyone the opportunity to enjoy the thrills of 4-wheel off-road downhill mountain bike racing, promoting it as an integrated sport nationwide.
By raising awareness, we are looking to drum up a great deal of interest in this new activity, thereby creating a vibrant and inclusive MTB racing scene here in the UK. We are very enthusiastic about this project, and have already been in touch with various organisations, who have all reacted very positively to these new bespoke 4 wheel downhill bikes, the integrated racing scene and the club’s ambitions.
We want to start a fully inclusive “downhill racing community” here in the UK, to help us to spread the knowledge and different experiences of the various people involved. As our membership grows we hope to create enough interest to open a dialogue with the relevant organisations with a view to developing more accessible fourcross friendly sites across the country.
TankChair - Extreme Off Road Wheelchair
This isn’t exactly an extreme sport as such, but it is an extreme piece of wheelchair engineering!
Tank Chair is a Custom off-road wheelchair that can go anywhere outdoors. Conquers Streams, Mud, Snow, Sand, and Gravel, allowing you to get back to nature, and can also climb up and down stairs.
The seat is self levelling so people that are paralysed from the chest down are able to go up steep slopes, and down, with no fear of falling out and low enough to transfer with a board.
I’m not sure it’s very good as an indoor chair though, it would probably shred your carpets!
SitSki
What is adaptive skiing? Well in the simplest terms, it is to bypass your limitation and adapt your self, be it with training and or special equipment to go on and ski. There are many types of adaptive skiing, but with one thing in common, it’s skiing!
The mono-ski was developed for individuals who ski in a sitting position. A mono-skier should have good upper body strength, balance and trunk mobility. An individual with double lower extremity amputations, spina bifida, or with a spinal cord injury of T-6 or below is a good candidate for the mono-ski.
The bi-ski was developed for individuals who ski in a sitting position. This may include those with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brain injury or individuals with spinal cord injuries.
Wheelchair Junkie
When you discover WheelchairJunkie.com, you may initially experience shock - who knew there was a globally-united, wacky, wheeling community of over 100,000 wheelchair users, industry professionals, family, and friends, all hanging out at this one web gig?
This stage is often compounded by your first visit to the WheelchairJunkie.com Message Board, where over 2,000 registered members voice issues and experience similar to your own - profound, inspired, empathetic, and warped, really warped.
Overwhelmed by the unabashed celebration of disability culture, wheelchair technology, and mobility mayhem, you may find yourself unable to fully comprehend the site during your first visit, and that’s normal - each person must address WheelchairJunkie.com at his or her own pace, from 4mph to 12mph.
Extreme Chairing
This site and club is created for all people who enjoy watching or participating in extreme sports.
This site focuses on the new sport of Power Wheelchair Racing and Chairing. There are also other extreme sports that are done by wheelchair bound athletes found on EC.
The riding consists of trail riding, stunting, and street rides. We are also trying to setup organized racing and hope to in the near future.
No Limits
An accomplished wheelchair athlete, Mark is best known for the first historic paraplegic ascents of the sheer granite faces of El Capitan and Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park.
His notoriety has been acclaimed on national television, by congressional commendation and meetings with two Presidents of the United States. The first paraplegic to sit-ski unassisted across the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, Mark has also carried the flaming torch up the 120-foot rope, shocked by thousands of spectators, and lit the cauldron for the opening of the Paralympic Games in Atlanta.
