Aaron ‘Wheelz’ Fotheringham interview
Despite being born with Spina Bifida, Aaron 'Wheelz' Fotheringham became the first person to land a backflip in a wheelchair at just 14. Three years on, the Las Vegas native is currently showing off his freestyle skills in a new advert for HowStuffWorks.com. HUCK caught up with him to discuss this unique discipline of Hardcore Sitting.
HUCK: Could you tell us the story of how you got into 'hardcore sitting'?
Aaron Fotheringham: My brother Brian, who is 4 years older than me, rode BMX. I used to go to the skate park and watch him and his friends do their tricks. It was pretty cool. Then one day, when I was about 8 years old, he said I should try it in my wheelchair. He and some of his friends got me to the top of a ramp and I went down it. I fell on my face but it was kinda fun so I got myself a helmet and kept trying.
What have been people's reactions to this?
Most people think it's pretty cool. The people around Vegas are used to seeing me and mostly it's no big deal any more. But when I travel, it's fun to watch people and their reactions.
You now compete at the Vegas Am Jam, how is that going? Who do you compete against?
I compete in the BMX Advanced and have won it a couple of times, but mostly I do it just for fun. I think my wheelchair looks more like a bike than and skateboard.
I understand that you knocked yourself unconscious a few times practicing the backflip. Did that not put you off trying it?
No, I landed the back flip before I ever knocked myself out doing it. I knew I could do it, so I just kept doing it.
You must have done some customisation on your chair right?
Yeah, the wheelchair frame is a Colours Boing and has full independent suspension. There is also extra bracing for strength and I use a lot of skateboard and BMX parts. For instance, I use Fox Shocks, DT Swiss rims, Bones skateboard wheels and bearings for the front wheels and Schwalbe tyres.
Do you see more wheelchair users getting into this discipline?
Yeah, I've seen some people submitting videos of them practicing in the skate park on YouTube. I have also heard from people telling me that they want to get into it.
What direction do you see yourself taking with your tricks in future?
It's just Hardcore Sitting, it's not like anything else!
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Aaron ‘Wheelz’ Fotheringham interview (text) by Ed Andrews is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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