Paralyzed Drag Racer
When he was 8 years old, Marcus Culvert, a T5-6 paraplegic from New Jersey, drove a car his very first time while sitting on his dad’s lap. He drove from the toll station back to their home in New York City, and this was just the beginning of his need for speed.

The next year Culvert was introduced to drag racing by his uncle, and his love of motorsports was born. “In the sixth grade I was taken to Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., and I saw the man himself — ‘Jungle Jim’ Liberman — tearing up the track. I knew my history was written in stone,” he says.

In his 20s, Culvert competed in drag racing as a nondisabled man. He also got heavily into motorcycling, but while working as a civilian in a sporting goods store at a Navy Base in Yokohama, Japan, in 1992, he injured his spine motorcycling home one night.

“Words cannot describe the depression, the tears, the wondering how you are going to go on with your life,” he says. He was 31 at the time. But Culvert credits God and racing for bringing him back from the brink. Within months of his injury, Culvert was driving again. He was back on the drag race circuit within the year.

Next up, Culvert is aiming to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest quarter-mile drag race, hoping to top near 220 mph, and he’s actively looking for sponsors. “My ultimate goal is to win a ‘Wally,’ a trophy for your class. In my case the world record has never been attempted by anyone who is disabled a paraplegic or otherwise, so I will be the first in history.”

To help him out, check out his site: marcusculvert.com

A Tenodesis Splint on Steroids
It may not be a cure, but for those who can’t move their fingers, this device is better than anything else out there. Gripability e3 is an automatic, powered gripper adapted to the hand or any other part of the body, and it allows the wearer to move limbs they couldn’t otherwise. Applying makeup, holding glasses, playing cards, holding forks — all of this can now be done with the help of this tool.

Developed in Düsseldorf, Germany, the Gripability e3 powered tenodesis was developed by a quad, and it comes with custom switches or an oral switch pad, if needed, to make using it possible for higher injuries.

To make it work no matter where you are, the gripper is powered by a mobile energy supply (a pneumatic air reservoir) that’s kept in a bag on the back of your chair to ensure you always have enough juice.

Visit: gripability.de

Why Let Kites Have All the Fun?
A wind-powered chair/kite for wheelers, the Spider Crab is the brainchild of Skye Parker, newbie quad from California who was determined to find a way to continue having serious fun post-injury. The Spider Crab is for use on the beach, and it can be used by all injury levels, which we absolutely love.

Check out thespidercrabblog.blogspot.com