Pete – What role has adaptive sports played in your life?

I’ve always been a very physical person. The problem with the way that I had been physical in the past was that I liked rock climbing, mountaineering, hiking and getting my physical activity in a less competitive kind of way, but in a very physical kind of way. And when I saw people rock climbing, or read articles about people who had summitted particular peaks or what not after their spinal cord injuries, I saw it as something completely different. I saw it as climbing a rope instead of climbing the mountain, and I couldn’t see myself feeling accomplished by that. You know, to no disrespect to the people who do get their accomplishments that way, it just doesn’t feel like a fit for me. I gave it a try. I went to the rock climbing gym, and I just spent about an hour and a half, two hours doing it. And, it wasn’t the aggravation of not being as good at it, it was just a whole different experience. And so, then I challenged myself. I said “well, maybe I need to get involved in more traditional sports.” So, I tried track and field events. I got out there and racing the wheelchair, and I am 33 years old and this guy is 17. I’m puttering out and he’s just getting started, and I just didn’t feel like that was a good fit for me. I threw shot put and discus for a while. Same thing—17-year-old kid with spina bifida and arms like this, just flicking the shot put out there way further than I could ever hope to. And so, that didn’t feel like a good fit for me.