A New, Cool Set of Wheels
In 2000, Mike Spindle, a British engineer, was going on holiday when his flight from Luton airport was delayed. In the airport lounge, Spindle noticed a fashionable teenage boy in a traditional, boring wheelchair. Struck by the contrast, he immediately started planning what would, eight years later, become this:
It’s cool enough to make me wish I needed a wheelchair! My reaction is the same one I always have to progress on anything DisAbility related: About time, too! Stylish sports cars have existed for decades, yet, according to one expert, when it comes to wheelchair design, wheelchair users can often feel like second-class citizens.
One of the first users of a Trekinetic chair, James Foster, 36, says:
“The Trekinetic is an awful lot faster than a standard wheelchair and a lot better once you get off paved surfaces as well. I’m always camping, fishing and kayaking and I’d never get to some of the places I go without it. In a conventional wheelchair you are always looking down at the ground, taking care to spot possible obstacles such as stones or tree roots, but in the Trekinetic, you don’t need to bother. The drum brakes are great for holding the chair back and steering it when going downhill. The chair is good at getting over kerbs, as well; with the large wheels at the front, you don’t need to use the “wheelie” technique you would in a normal wheelchair to get the small wheels over the kerb. It also helps break down a lot of barriers. People won’t normally approach someone in a wheelchair but everywhere you go in the Trekinetic, it leaves a wake of turned heads and quite a few people come up to ask you about it. At the Isle of Wight Festival last year, I could hardly move because of the interest in it. I for one wouldn’t go back to using a conventional wheelchair.”
What a great review! A big thanks to Mike Spindle from me. He is obviously my favourite kind of person- sensitive, understanding and able-bodied. A very rare, but wonderful, combination. I’m sure that, someday soon, the Trekinetic will be a major player in the global mobility scene.
Same Difference 
