Whoever said life in a wheelchair means you are disabled is wrong, and
extreme sports athlete Darwin Holmes is out to prove it. Holmes, a
professional skater from the 1970s to the early 80s, has changed his
whole outlook on life and made it his goal to take the "dis" out of
disability. Holmes was coming home from his honeymoon, during his leave
from the army, when he was injured.
"I was paralyzed the second day of my honeymoon at Disneyland," he said.
"There was a defective floor. We were within the first 40 people in the
diner and the floor came apart, and I fell and hurt my back."
A pro athlete with a gold medal in fencing, three gold medals in
swimming and 14 other medals from various sports, it was difficult for
Holmes to get used to his new life. Though it was hard to deal with at
first, Holmes was not about to give into his disability. He quit rehab
after three days because, he said, "rehab is for quitters."
"There had to be something better than listening to people who are
trying to make you crippled, and that is basically what they do. They
want you to live on the system and be dependent on someone," he said.
Three weeks after rehab, Holmes tried to commit suicide and ended up
starting a new sport.
"I tried killing myself by pushing into a swimming pool and landed it.
The chair folded up and that's how wheel chair skating became. I started
the sport, a wheelchair on skate board ramps," he said.
Holmes did not have any insecurities or doubts of what he could do at
the time by being in a wheelchair.
"I was just finding myself after I was in a chair, and it took about six
weeks, and I said, 'If this is what its going to be and I'm not going to
be able to walk, I'm over it, let's get on with it,'" he said.
It was not the end of Holmes's dare-devilish attempts. Once more, he
became frustrated and attempted what no other disabled person would do.
"My friends were riding, and I said this is it; I can't stand being on a
board anymore. I don't need to breathe so I pushed over the edge and
tried to land on my head. I landed on all four wheels, the chair turned
up, and I looked up at the ramp and I said whoa you can get an
adrenaline rush in a wheelchair," he said.
It was a suicide attempt that turned into a passionate sport for Holmes.
From this point forward, Holmes became a professional wheelchair
athlete.
"I was pretty much a jerk before, I was into smashing and bashing and
just tearing it up all over the world because I was in the military. Now
I do it from a wheel chair," he said.
He said children are his main motivation.
"Children that are disabled are given a Playstation or an XBox, and
then, basically, are forgotten about. So what I try to do is raise
awareness. I'm not looking for a cure; we are just getting people out of
their beds and out participating in sports," he said.
Not everyone believed Holmes could make it in wheelchair skateboarding.
Holmes said normal everyday able bodied people said you're going to get
hurt. You're not allowed in the park. Then I started researching it
through the ADA, and if you don't need assistance, then they can't stop
you from doing it." Through his passion of sports, Holmes is trying to
show that disabled people can be endorsed athletes and deserve as much
recognition as everyone else.
"As we are starting to compete in the Olympics, they are taking
everything down, but they keep everything open for the able bodies,"
Holmes said. "I don't think that is fair, and my goal is to raise
awareness and show people that we are worthy of all the sponsorships and
endorsements just like the able body people are." Some of Holmes's
sponsors include Hurley, City of Las Vegas, Spinergy Wheels, Kenda Tire,
Care Giver Support Group, Livity Outernational, and many others. He is
also managed by 3 Lil' Monsters. Holmes, a lively and energetic person,
is using his story to influence others. He founded the FarFromWalkin
organization, which raises public awareness about spinal cord injuries.
Holmes said, "my whole organization is about depending on yourself,.It's
okay to ask people for help, but depend on yourself." Holmes also has a
clothing line called Gimp.
On the clothing line name, Holmes said "We are gimps. You gotta take the
dis out of disability, so we are gimps." Profits made from the clothing
line go to the FarFromWalkin organization to provide sports equipment
and grants for disabled needy children as well as young adults. For
people who can relate to Homes his advice is to "get off the coach,
quite sucking down sweets and come out and live life." Holmes wants to
encourage people to live life he said. "We might be far from walking,
but life rolls on."
If you are interested in joining the FarFromWalkin organization
you can contact
MizNed@3lilmonsters.com
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