Xie Junwu Set a Wheelie World Record, Then Built China's First Wheelchair Skateboarding Class

Xie Junwu was 19 and working a geology internship when a fall from a tree left him paralyzed from the waist down. He spent roughly eight years largely at home, cared for by his mother, until her death in 2000 pushed him to build an independent life. Inspired by online videos of wheelchair users performing advanced maneuvers, he taught himself the techniques and set a Guinness World Record in 2012 for the longest wheelchair wheelie: 25.8 kilometers, about 16 miles.

The records didn’t stop there. Xie has summited Mount Huangshan four times and completed 32 marathons, including the New York City Marathon. In 2014 he built metal rails to adapt a skateboard for his wheelchair, and he now teaches wheelchair skateboarding in Nanchang, where he also opened a sports rehab clinic called Nanchang City Hope House. His next ambition is hosting China’s first wheelchair skateboarding competition, which he calls“a small goal I’m pursuing.”

His message for anyone facing a long recovery is straightforward:“If you carry on through the storm, you’ll surely see the rainbow.”Adaptive equipment and community access are what turned his own recovery into a sport other people can join, and that’s the part worth passing along.

Would you try wheelchair skateboarding if a class opened near you? Tell us in the comments.