When Aaron Fotheringham was put into a wheelchair as a small child, he decided to work with it rather than against it. Taking inspiration from his biker brother, he learned how to do similar tricks in his wheelchair, and now, the 18-year-old has just landed his first double backflip in a wheelchair — launching himself straight into the record books.
Fotheringham was born with spina bifida and as a result is paralyzed from the waist down. Despite this, he had always been an adventurous young boy. At just 8 years old, he took his first drop at a local skate park and has been wheeling himself off the edge of ramps — strapped into his wheelchair — ever since. Now he has his own bespoke, pimped-out wheelchair, and he’s breaking world records!
Having already conquered the single backflip in 2006, he knew the next challenge — the double flip would be tough but he never gave up. Multiple bruises, several concussions and a broken elbow later, he finally nailed it last month.
“It was the best feeling ever, I can’t even explain how happy I was,” he tells Tonic from his home in Las Vegas. “I’d been trying and trying so hard and to finally get it I was like, ‘Whoa, did I just really land it?’ I had to check my camera the next morning to make sure!”
Clinging onto an extended bungee rope, that pulled him and his wheelchair towards a ramp, he finally fulfilled his dream at a training camp on Aug. 26.
“It’s awesome!” he says, laughing, almost in disbelief. “I finally got the record — I’m so stoked!” While he’s certainly an adrenaline junkie, the happy-go-lucky teen also wants to show the world that being in a wheelchair doesn’t have to be a hindrance. “There’s no reason to look at a wheelchair as a medical device, it’s better to look at it like a bike, we’re on it not in it,” he says defiantly.
The inspiring youngster, known as “Wheelz” has little time to bask in his glory as he’s already busy practicing his next challenge (the front flip, which is scarier and much harder, if you were wondering) while getting ready for the next leg of his tour with the Nitro Circus in January 2011.
“I’m totally living my dream,” he says.”I keep thinking that I’ve just got a concussion, and one of these days I’m going to wake up!”
Photos courtesy of Barry Bland Photography.