Despite Unfortunate Body Condition, 55-Year-Old Man ?Crawling Into the Water? Set To Create Surfing Revolution

There is something about surfing that makes it a highly loved sport globally. Besides different age groups, people with special needs also perform it with great admiration. 55-year-old Jesse del Mar from Hawai’i is an avid surfer who chases waves despite his paralyzed waist. In fact, he is making a revolution in the industry by attracting more adaptive surfers to the competitive sport.

On May 15, Hawaiian news website, Hawai?i Public Radio shared the inspiring story of surfer Jesse del Mar. It also revealed how the 55-year-old deals with people frowning on his surfing abilities.

Surfer Jesse del Mar faced several surfing accidents and developed life-long injuries

Jesse del Mar developed an affinity for surfing after watching his idol Montgomery ?Buttons? Kaluhiokalani, at the age of 7. His inspiration was performing shortboard tricks that startled young Jesse. However, very early in his surfing career in 1997, Jesse encountered an unfortunate surfing accident that broke his neck. The life-changing injury paralyzed his waist. But his surfing passion was bigger than his injuries. He continued to go out with his friends to follow his surfing dream.

The 55-year-old expressed in an interview with the Hawaiin news website about how people react to seeing him surf, ?When we get out there, and they see us like, ‘Oh my God, that guy is crawling into the water. Oh, he?s going surfing”. He added that people find it amazing to see him surfing despite his wheelchair situation.

Moreover, to surf, Jesse lays on his stomach and uses his surfboard like a boogie board. He recently competed in the world tour event known as the AccesSurf Adaptive Surf event. Jesse was one of 104 surfers competing in the Waikiki contest from 18 different nations. In the following months, the championship will travel to Costa Rica and California.

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Nevertheless, since 2006, he has been an ardent member of AccesSurf Hawai?i, which empowers differently-abled people with various water activities. At that time, only eight people would compete in the championship. Over the years, it has attracted more people, which is a revolution in itself. It was also through this organization, that Jesse got to meet his idol.

Jesse del Mar on meeting his idol at the AccesSurf Hawai?i

After seeing surfer Montgomery ?Buttons? Kaluhiokalani in his childhood, Jesse also met him at the AccesSurf Hawai?i after his injury. He revealed in the interview that his idol was the main reason he pushed himself into surfing.

However, Kaluhiokalani’s demise from lung cancer in 2013 deeply devastated Jesse. He wanted to make his idol see where he got in his surfing career despite his setback. Later on, Jesse paid tribute to him idol by printing the Hawaiian flag with a photo of Kaluhiokalani on his surfboard.

Nevertheless, Jesse is proud that he could revolutionize surfing for differently-abled surfers, encouraging them to not give up and to continue following their dreams.

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