Equipment Grant for Josh Hancock

Josh Hancock was an avid outdoors sports enthusiast who enjoyed rock climbing, backcountry skiing, fishing and mountain biking until a climbing accident at age 31 changed his life forever.

Josh Hancock

Lying in his hospital bed, a T-12 paraplegic unable to even sit up, he wasn’t sure any of these activities were possible. Fortunately, that same week, he saw a video of paraplegic sit skier, Josh Dueck flying down powder runs at Whistler for a glimpse into what is possible. He was introduced to Erik Shultz, a T-4 paraplegic white water rafter and realized that with hard work and determination, an outdoor sports life was still possible. “I threw myself into my physical and occupational therapy. I started lifting again at the gym my second month out of the hospital. I started swimming again after two months. After five months, I teamed up with my friend Danielle Watson and we rode our hand bikes across the Olympic Peninsula. I did a float trip on the Salmon River with Erik and another down the Grand Canyon. I started learning how to whitewater and sea kayak and dreamed about the next winter when my doctors would finally let me start skiing. Almost a year to the day after my injury I sold my car, bought a van, turned it into a camper, moved out of my apartment and hit the road to learn how to mono-ski.” Josh wrote in his application essay.

Josh testing the DynAccess Hydra mono ski

During his travels, he tried many different mono skis by renting and borrowing but that’s not the same as having your own ski and dialing it in. You might spend half the day trying to get the seat to fit. Josh asked GoHawkeye for a equipment grant to help close the gap between what he had saved and raised so far and the cost of a DynAccess Hydra mono ski which he had decided was the sit ski for him, “I recognize that I am an ambassador for people with physical disabilities, and am proud to answer people’s questions, advocate for universal access and support for adaptive sports.”

DynAccess Hydra

GoHawkeye is impressed with his hard work and determination as well as his dedication to adaptive sports. We are excited to help Josh finish his quest for funds to buy this mono ski, with a $3,000 grant, to make his dream come true. We are proud to join organizations like High Fives Foundation and the Kelly Brush Foundation by providing funds to help Josh to achieve this goal.

Happy skiing Josh!