Disabled Extreme Sitting Athlete Makes World's First Double Back Flip In Wheelchair & Roosevelt Island Bike Messenger Rides With One Leg - Wow!

Image From Asron Fotheringham

Roosevelt Island has a large disabled population, many of whom use wheelchairs. Have you ever asked yourself this question that Digital Journal recently reported on:

Who do you consider disabled? asks one extreme sports wheelchair athlete. When life gives you limits, you should push them, says Aaron Fotheringham, who knows all about that: he successfully completed the first ever double back-flip in a wheelchair

Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham is an 18-year-old wheelchair athlete from Las Vegas, Nevada. Aaron was born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect of the spinal cord. For Aaron this means his legs don’t work....

You Tube Video of World's First Double Back Flip In A Wheelchair

ESPN 's Breaking Barriers profiled Mr. Fotheringham:

... "People call it wheelchair skateboarding," he says with a shake of the head, "and it's like, oh man, it's its own sport. It's hard-core sitting."...

and:

... Initially using braces to walk, Aaron got his first wheelchair when he was 3. It sat among his toys, and that was how he viewed it: as a vehicle for fun. By the time he was 8, after a series of painful hip operations, he was in the wheelchair most of the time.

From the start, he saw its advantages more than its limits.

That's why, when his older brother Brian invited him to wheel into a local skate park seven years ago, he didn't hesitate.

"A bunch of skaters helped me up to the top of the ramp, and practically just pushed me over on to my face," Aaron recalls with a laugh.

But he got up, and got back into the chair. He kept falling, kept getting up, kept trying. Soon enough, he was racing around the park and wondering how to spin and jump.

"Just being included," he says, recalling the feeling of that first day, "and saying, 'Hey, I may be able to go somewhere with this.'"...

More on Aaron Fotheringham from his web site.

What this shows is that disabled people can have just as much guts or be just as nuts as any other extreme athlete. Not sure which it is but probably some combination of both.

Then there's Roosevelt Island's own Dexter Benjamin who works in an occupation which may be just as hazardous as an extreme athlete. He's a New York City Bicycle messenger - who rides his bike with one leg! (Thanks to Kris via Aus for finding the video)

You Tube Video From AM New York