Imagine being born with a paralyzing disease that will take you from braces to crutches to fulltime in a wheelchair by age 8. Imagine turning that into an opportunity to fly; to invent your own sport; to achieve a never before done acrobatic maneuver; to inadvertently become an international celebrity; to land in the Guinness Book of World Records!

That is the story of Aaron Fotheringham, born Nov. 8, 1991, with spina bifida. Aaron is one of six adopted children in the Fotheringham family of Los Vegas, Nev. It was his older brother, Brian, who used to BMX in skate parks that encouraged Aaron to give it a shot in his wheelchair. And at age 9 he took the plunge. They called him ìWheels.î No longer on the outside looking in, he was suddenly an insider. He was hooked.

At age 14, Aaron became the first person in history to complete a wheelchair back flip, and it was caught on tape. The video was immediately posted on the Internet and shot round the globe. The sky was, now, literally the limit!

Fotheringham will be bringing his talents to McDermontís cool new Indoor Skate Park (the Central Valleyís only indoor skate park with a foam pit). He will be part of a day-long rocking skate show which starts at 10a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10. The indoor and outdoor event will include bands, vendors, and a concert. Tickets are $10. McDermont Field House is located at 365 N. Sweet Brier Ave. in Lindsay. Directions are available on their website at www.mcdermontfieldhouse.com.

In a January 2007 interview on German television, part of a European publicity trip, the host asked Aaron if he started out using all the tubes and slides.

ìNot at first,î Aaron replied, ìAt first I fell on my face.î It would also appear that Aaron took an ironically humorous tack in naming his new wheelchair sport ìHardcore Sitting.î He also chose the song ìDie Tomorrow (ÖWhat if You Should)î to perform his back flip for the TV audience.

Aaron said it took him two full days to get the back flip and do it right, adding, ìTwo full days is a long time!

On the Vegas AmJam website Aaron recalls some of the challenges in accomplishing the back flip. ìIt wasnít easy getting there. I keep going for it and landing on my back, or landing in the foam pit and almost suffocating because I was stuck upside down and couldnít unhook my buckle on my seat. Iíd have to wait ëtil someone got me out! After I actually did it, it took me a minute to realize Iíd really landed it.î

Two years later, in October 2008, Aaron would do the back flip in Las Vegas for the Guinness Book of World Records and make it official.

Aaron uses a custom chair from Colours ëN Motion wheelchairs, a lightweight chair with four-wheel suspension that he describes as ìpretty much indestructible.î Along with a seat belt, he wears a motocross helmet and elbow pads for safety. It is not all high flying, There are ample video clips of his crashes on the Internet, but a broken elbow is apparently the worst injury suffered.

Does he mind practicing up to 30 hours a week? ìI donít think of it as practice, I think of it as a fun way to live my life,î Aaron says.

But there is more than competing and learning new tricks. Aaron is teaching other youngsters with disabilities to master the necessary skills to be a Hardcore Sitter. Asked by ESPN to define spina bifida, ìItís a great opportunity,î Aaron said.

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