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Joe Stone Highlight
The really scary moments sometimes are the best moments for us and you just have to take that leap. You just have to do it and not overthink it.
About Joe
- I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and spent a lot of time exploring the outdoors through rollerblading.
- As my rollerblading injuries started racking up, I decided to transition to another sport and try out skydiving—my ultimate goal was to take up base jumping.
- I decided I wanted to be in the outdoors full-time to pursue my passions, so I moved to Montana.
- I eventually realized that I wasn’t as passionate about skydiving as I had been about rollerblading, so I tried some other sports and found speed flying, which I absolutely loved.
- I tried to progress in speed flying too quickly and ended up in a life-threatening accident that left me diagnosed as an incomplete C7 quadriplegic.
- The transition to accepting life as a quadriplegic was incredibly difficult and slow—it took a lot of rehabilitation and determination, but I reached my goal of becoming independent within a year!
- I took up handcycling during my recovery in attempt to bring back some part of my old life—a few years later, sports and the outdoors were as much a part of my life as they were before my accident.
- I moved with my partner to Jackson, Wyoming, where I currently work as the director of mission for Teton Adaptive Sports.
