Do you know how to do a wheelie in a wheelchair? Mo O鈥橬eill does.
O鈥橬eill is an adaptive athlete who rides wheelchair motocross, or WCMX. And when they鈥檙e not in college classes, snuggling with their cat and dog or making , you can find them dropping in at one of Burlington鈥檚 skateparks.
This story was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We鈥檝e also provided a transcript below.
Mo O鈥橬eill: Hey, my name鈥檚 Mo. I鈥檓 an adaptive athlete and I ride wheelchair motocross.
I think that being paralyzed was just a moment where I kind of realized how much dependency I was feeling, which didn鈥檛 align with my vision of myself. And I started immediately searching for a thrill.
And I started looking up pretty much any adaptive sport ever. And I went through monoskiing, murderball, before I landed on obsessively watching videos of wheelchairs at the skatepark.
Wren Dumais (on tape): Do you remember your first drop in?
Mo O鈥橬eill: I was with my girlfriend, Caroline, and I showed up at the skatepark. I was so nervous. I wasn鈥檛 in a specialized chair yet, I didn鈥檛 have a helmet, I didn鈥檛 even have a seatbelt on.
Once I got to the top of the tiniest drop-in at the park, I felt everyone鈥檚 eyes on me. As well as the height, the sheer height of it all 鈥� it was terrifying, I was shaking. But also, that was the first time I really felt that much adrenaline.
When I fall, the people at the skatepark don鈥檛 treat me like somebody in a wheelchair who鈥檚 fallen. They treat me like a skater who鈥檚 fallen. So they鈥檙e just like, 鈥榊ou good, bro?鈥� Whereas if I fall on the street, the world stops.Mo O'Neill
I didn鈥檛 want everyone to see me fail. So that was mainly the reason that I didn鈥檛 want to do it. And so once I realized that, I kind of realized how stupid it was.
And Caroline told me, she was like, "Oh, if you鈥檙e scared, just go in backwards." And that laughed me out of all of the fear because, I don鈥檛 know if anyone knows anything about wheelchairs, but the center of gravity would send me flying.
And so I just did it. And I landed it. And my legs flew off the footplate, and everyone stared, but it was smooth. And it was the best feeling I have ever had. It felt like home. And I鈥檝e just never stopped wanting to drop in since that moment.
The WCMX chair is built like a tank.
It is fully welded, including all of the side guards, something that would be removable on another chair. The wheels have extra spokes and are racing tires built for concrete. There is full suspension in the back of the frame, as well as shocks in both the frame and the casters. And then typically they will have a grind bar on the back. And then we usually replace any casters with skate wheels, like just skateboard wheels.
One time at the skatepark, I was kind of loitering at the top of the bowl. And people were kinda at the other side of the skatepark, and apparently they were watching me, 鈥檆ause after I landed this girl, like, sprinted up to me and she was like, lit up, and she was like, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know if this is offensive, but I saw you at the top and I had no idea, like, I did not expect you to do that, but it was the coolest thing I鈥檝e ever seen.鈥�
And it was just so genuine. And I feel like no skater 鈥� like when I fall, even, like, the people at the park don鈥檛 treat me like somebody in a wheelchair who鈥檚 fallen. They treat me like a skater who鈥檚 fallen. So they鈥檙e just like, 鈥榊ou good, bro?鈥� Whereas if I fall on the street, the world stops.
This is kind of the first time that, like, my recklessness and stubbornness has really, really served me. Like, WCMX is the reason that I鈥檓 able to adapt to life as a paraplegic 鈥� a lot more than pretty much any medical treatment that I鈥檝e ever received.
This story comes from a collaboration between 开云体育 and the , a University of Vermont journalism internship. Production support by Kelsey Tolchin-Kupferer.
