A paralyzed man designed a mountain bike for people with mobility disabilities, allowing them to ride up and down rough terrains where they could not go before.
It all started nearly 25 years ago when Christian Bagg was snowboarding in Banff National Park in Canada, and he fell and broke his back.
“I knew right when I hit the ground that that was it,” Bagg, 45, told CNN. “I don’t ever remember having any moment where I thought I would walk again. Something in me just knew it was over.”
The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, but it did not stop the adventurer from getting back up a mountain.
Decades after the accident, Bagg founded Bowhead Corp., a company that designs bikes for people with mobility disabilities.
These custom-made bikes allow the disabled to explore rough terrains, climb mountains, and jump to impressive heights.
Bagg was inspired to create the company in 2008 when he was working as a machinist alone in his basement to build a bike that would give him a sense of adventure whenever he pleased without needing help or holding anyone back.
He had already built himself a wheelchair to fit his tall frame within a year of breaking his back, Riders West Magazine reported. He never intended to start a business, but that changed when a 14-year-old with cerebral palsy wanted to try out his bike.
“I fit her up in the bike and tied her to her friends so they could pull her with them, and four hours later, she comes around the corner. I hadn’t really heard her speak much at that point, but when she got to her mom, she said, ‘Mom, that was the best day of my life,'” Bagg said.
“The emotions I got from hearing her say that was greater than any emotion I had riding the bike. It was the moment I realized, this shouldn’t be just for me,” he added.
In 2018, Bagg started Bowhead Corp. and started to design bikes for the disabled around the world.
His bike can be customized with different models to fit riders’ specific physical needs.
With more than 200 orders already placed in the coming year, Bagg hopes his bike will allow those with physical disabilities to go to the places of their dreams or return to places they might have never seen again otherwise.