Over the past 28 years, Ned Norton has helped hundreds of people living with disabilities become stronger and more independent by providing them with strength and conditioning training. A former personal trainer, Norton worked with star athletes, including Olympians and bodybuilders, for years before opening his gym, Warrior On Wheels, in a public housing building in Albany, N.Y.
“The best thing about me training people with disabilities is that it’s more than just touchdowns or winning trophies. It directly relates to improving their lives — that’s always been the best part,” Norton says.
Warriors on Wheels is a nonprofit and because most of his clients are on fixed income, Norton set a suggested membership cost of $1 per week and took a second job to make sure he could make ends meet. Each week, about 120 people come train at his gym.
Discover his journey and inspiring work by watching the video above.
Tag: wheelchair
Meet the Cabbie Who Goes the Extra Mile When Others Drive Right On By
Just think of the frustration you feel when taxi after taxi drives right past you, despite your outstretched hand. Now imagine how much worse it feels when cabs are zipping by because you’re in a wheelchair.
Traveling with a disability can be difficult enough — but cab drivers like Tarig Kamill make hailing a taxi less difficult.
That’s because, as the Chicago Tribune reports, Kamill gave 1,821 rides to passengers in wheelchairs last year alone. His service has earned him 60 nominations from his customers for the Windy City’s annual Taxicab Driver Excellence Award.
MORE: How a Beautiful Model Dazzled New York Fashion Week — in a Wheelchair
The 52-year-old Chicago cab driver, who rents his wheelchair accessible van from a dispatch company, said he’s seen drivers who ignore potential passengers because they don’t want the hassle of loading a wheelchair into the cab.
“I see these drivers, and I think they are lazy,” the cabbie (who’s been driving a taxi for 11 years) told the publication. “They can make more money picking up passengers along the street, so they don’t want to bother. They don’t see that they have a responsibility to help other people.”
William Hayes, a passenger who nominated Kamill, praised the cab driver for helping these individuals from door to door. “[He will] try to help you in any way he can,” Hayes said. “He guides his clients on and off the vehicle with the utmost consideration for the client’s well-being and safety. He will assist you up to your front door and inside the building.”
ALSO: A Cute Little Car That Takes Wheelchair Users Everywhere
Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently presented Kamill with the award along with a free taxi medallion worth $350,000 at Olive-Harvey College.
Kamill, a former Sudanese computer engineer, said he wants to use the money to buy his own taxi. “I won’t see the savings this year because I have to purchase my own taxi,” he told the Tribune. “But once it’s paid for, it’s going to make a big, big difference for my family. I cannot even begin to explain the difference.”
“It makes me proud to read all these things,” he added about his nominations. “I want to do more. I want to provide more rides and help more people. That’s what this award has done for me.”
How a Beautiful Model Dazzled New York Fashion Week — in a Wheelchair
On the first day of New York Fashion Week, a beautiful blonde woman named Danielle Sheypuk moved down the runway of Carrie Hammer’s fashion show. Wearing sky-high heels and designer clothes, she was like any other model who catwalked the Big Apple’s annual couture parade — except she did it while sitting in her wheelchair. As Women’s eNews reports, Sheypuk is the first model in a wheelchair to grace NYFW’s runway.
According to the designer, Sheypuk’s catwalk left excitement in the air and the audience feeling empowered. “I made the decision to cast ‘role models not runway models,'” Hammer, who specializes in clothes for professional women, told the publication in an email. “It is so important to me that women have positive body image and are empowered in work and their life. My line makes dresses to fit women. We don’t make dresses that women need to fit into.”
MORE: This Grandmother Is Helping People with Down Syndrome Gain Confidence
Let’s face it: The fashion industry is one that’s often preoccupied with perfection that can project an unrealistic image of women. But Sheypuk, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy and has been in a wheelchair since she was 2, wants to break the mold. “People with disabilities need to see it,” said Sheypuk, who was crowned Ms. Wheelchair New York in 2012 and works as a clinical psychologist. “It’s a confidence booster. It’s like, ‘If she’s doing it, I can do it. Who cares about my wheelchair?'”