Incredible video shows 'Wheelz' attempting the longest wheelchair ramp jump and it's pretty badass

Aaron Fotheringham was born in Las Vegas, USA, on 8 Nov 1991. He was born with a mobility disorder called spina bifida. But he did not let it stop him from participating in extreme sports. As per the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention, spina bifida is "a condition that affects the spine and is usually apparent at birth. It is a type of neural tube defect (NTD). Spina bifida can happen anywhere along the spine if the neural tube does not close all the way. This often results in damage to the spinal cord and nerves." But, he fought his fate and created a wheelchair motocross to be a part of the sport, as per the Guinness World Records.

Even as a baby, Aaron could not walk but he quickly learned to use a baby walker and his crutches. He soon switched to a wheelchair and here he found something truly life-changing. Aaron was an adopted child among 5 others and he saw his elder brother, Brian, making a roar at the local skatepark. He was not just satisfied with watching his brother, he wanted to do it on his own. His wheelchair and his determination would help him. He was also helped by Brian and their father, Steve. Aaron fell off a  4-ft (1.22-m) quarterpipe but he did not stop there.

Since then, he has been to WCMX or wheelchair motocross. He has become better at it and has developed complex and refined tricks from "from carving and grinding to hand-planting and power-sliding", as per the Guinness World Record. This perseverance and commitment have given him an international career as an extreme-sports stunt rider.

As for his world records, he made his first Guinness World Record in 2008, "for landing the first wheelchair backflip, which he did at Doc Romeo skatepark in his home city of Las Vegas. He’d actually mastered the wheelchair backflip two years prior to this, but it was his formally documented 2008 flip that set him on the road to becoming an official multiple record-breaker." Two years later, he made his next record in Rome, Italy. Here, " in front of a TV audience on the set of Lo Show dei Record, Aaron pulled off the highest ramp jump by wheelchair, achieving a clearance of 60 cm (1 ft 11.6 in). He proved to be a big hit with the audience and was back on the same show two years later to attempt the longest duration balancing a side wheelie in a wheelchair, successfully holding his wheelie for a record 18.22 sec."

His ultimate day of breaking all records would come in 2018, "At the Woodward West summer camp in Tehachapi, California, under a baking-hot sun, Wheelz set three hair-raising world records at the skatepark there: the longest wheelchair ramp jump (21.35 m; 70 ft), the tallest quarter-pipe drop-in on a wheelchair and the highest wheelchair hand plant (both at 8.4 m; 27 ft 6.7 in). He even suffered from a few cuts and scrapes at this time but he said, "I got a little caught up in the moment and thought, 'Well, since the first gap worked, why not go for the biggest one?'. When I was up top I had a feeling I might not get the speed but figured there’s only one way to find out." “WCMX has been a great outlet in my life,” says Aaron. “It brings a lot of joy to me and I feel like WCMX is a great way for kids and adults to see their wheelchairs as more of a gift!"