I was a police officer when I was injured.  It's a job that consumes you; I ate, breathed and lived it, and so much of my identity came from being a police officer.  I was injured in the May, and by the following January I was back in work but the wheels were already in motion to discharge me on a medical pension.  I know they were trying to look after me, but it was done in a clumsy way and I was really disappointed.

Instead of getting frustrated I looked at what I could do and how I could reinvent myself.  I definitely like a challenge and I get bored if I stay doing one thing for too long; over the years I've reinvented myself a few times!  I did a sport science diploma and ran my own personal training business, worked for a local authority getting children into sport, trained and worked as an OT both at a Spinal Centre and in the community and then managed a mentoring programme at a charity.

Being disabled is totally irrelevant, it's all about the skills you have.

My latest reinvention is as a bike mechanic.  I've always been into cycling, before my injury on BMX and mountain bikes and then as a hand-cyclist.  I was commuting long distances to work in an office and I was missing out on my young son growing up.  I wanted a way I could look to simplify life a little bit.  Like all cyclists, I had my favourite bike shop and a chance conversation with the owner led to him offering me a job there and then.  When I called my wife to tell her, she wanted to know about the hours, salary and so on, all the details I hadn't been bothered about as I was too excited!

I've always liked getting my hands dirty, and I like the quick gratification that comes from repairing something, from solving a problem and using your own knowledge to put it right.  Being disabled is totally irrelevant, it's all about the skills you have.  It can be difficult to get a heavy bike up onto the stands and the realities of a busy bike shop is that there is always crap all over the place that can get in the way - but someone will come and give a hand if I holler.

I'm in the right job for me at this time, but who knows when I might fancy another challenge.  It's not always easy, I've had my share of knock backs and you do have to be resilient.  But everything is possible.

Go back to the stories