Team Trust Productions, LLC., is excited to release its short film on the sense of community created by AccesSurf.
AccesSurf is a adaptive surfing nonprofit in Hawaii, and they host clinics and competitions to help persons with disabilities experience the ocean in new ways.
We tagged along at its Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championship (HASC) to capture not only the competition, but the felt sense of belonging AccesSurf creates among its participants.
To learn more AccesSurf and its programs, visit its website.
I grew up in the middle of cornfields in a small town in Illinois.
It seemed I was the only person in the entire county in a wheelchair, though that is not statistically accurate.
When I transitioned to the University of Illinois, an hour and a half away from home, I encountered, almost immediately, extremely talented athletes with disabilities and massive hearts.
They let me into their communities and worlds.
It was amazing.
At the same time, I noticed most media outlets — radio, newspaper, TV, digital — were not covering these athletes.
It was disappointing, and certainly a missed opportunity.
So, I assembled a few friends, and we proposed to create what was the only Paralympic-specific radio program in the nation at the University of Illinois.
Our pitch was successful, and we eventually landed a Friday drive-time slot.
We interviewed many of the greatest athletes in the world in our studio, even the one and only Jean Driscoll.
She, like all our other friends who visited the studio, signed the wall.
The show did fizzle out after my graduation, but it unquestionably inspired the creation of Team Trust.
There never really is a bad day to authentically promote the disability community.
I watched every NBA game with Shaq, and I dreamt of playing alongside Shaq, winning NBA titles like never before.
But, as I watched his games, I saw something that dimmed my Shaq-sized dreams.
It was the commercials of kids who looked like me, and even had my disability.
They were always shown in hospitals, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, plugged into a number of devices, and surrounded by friends and family as if the end was near.
I did not need or want to see reminders of my days in the hospital.
Rather, what I needed as a kid was to see kids who looked like me living the dream I had.
Playing basketball.
And winning.
After developing personal relationships with many Paralympic athletes in the U.S. and around the world, I realized disabled people can play basketball, and we can win a lot.
When I spent time with Paralympic athletes, like Amanda McGrory (shown), my perspective on my own dreams changed
That’s why I created Team Trust: to show — and prove — that disabled people, sure, endure some challenges, but we also have very, very awesome lives.
Every video we produce is special. The stories we hear and tell are magical.
I feel grateful to be in a position of listening to people, and validating their experiences.
We recently had the honor of telling a rather personal story to me. It is the story of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation. The OIF helps support ground-breaking and even life-changing research for persons living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta like myself.
OI, as it’s commonly called, is a condition that causes one to have brittle bones. In other words, we — well, I — break a lot of bones.
In our video for the OIF, we highlighted the organization’s long-standing commitment to support ground-breaking research for persons with OI.
The OIF often also brings together the community of us OI-ers for a number of events.
This connecting and learning from others is particularly important for anyone in the disability community.
Even with the tremendous amounts of information we can access online, persons with disabilities may not find that one resource that or person who will change their lives.
But … the OIF makes it so much easier.
If you would like a similar story told about your organization, please reach out.
I hope you all are well. This is Ryan Wilson, director of Team Trust.
I wanted to personally thank each of you for helping Team Trust reach our current heights. Whether you helped us with a shoot or we helped you tell your story, we are very grateful … for each of you. I personally hope we made a difference in your lives in some way, shape or form this year. Each of you have done the same for me and our Team.
Interestingly, Team Trust started to take off after I regained consciousness earlier this year (https://teamtrustproductions.com/little-things/). That, I must admit, was unexpected, but it gave me many reasons to unplug — ahem, escape — from all those IVs as quickly and, sure, safely as possible.
Enjoy your day and family.
Reach out if we can ever be of any assistance, even if that’s buying you pizza. (We’ve got tasty connections!)R
