Paralyzed athlete climbed a mountain four times. Now he’s skateboarding in his wheelchair
'Shock at first, then despair; then I didn’t think about anything. I felt that this life really was no more mine.'
“Endure the storm, and you will inevitably see the rainbow.” This is what Xie Junwu has reminded himself each time he fell and then rose through despair, confusion, and helplessness into an inspiring public figure. Dubbed the “Wind-Breaking Rider,” Junwu from Southeastern China broke his back at the age of 19. After spending nearly a decade largely isolated at home, he experienced the devastating blow of his mom’s death and became determined to reclaim his independence. Today, Junwu is an “iron-willed wheelchair-bound athlete” who has climbed mountains multiple times, participated in marathons, and is now on his way to open China’s first wheelchair skateboarding training center, as detailed in a November 3, 2026 report by the Good News Network.
‘Shock at first, then despair’
Now a 55-year-old athlete lives in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. Junwu was just 19 when he fell from a tall bayberry tree. It was May 31, 1992, and he was climbing the tree during a geology internship field trip when he lost balance and fell down. When he woke up, he was in the hospital. His thoracic spinal cord had been damaged, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He was 21 years old when the doctor told his parents that he wouldn’t be able to stand on his legs for the rest of his life. “Shock at first, then despair; then I didn’t think about anything. I felt that this life really was no more mine,” he described the moment.
For 8 years, he isolated himself inside his home. He didn’t step outside, while his mother became his primary caregiver. His dreams were shattered, and he had lost all hope. “The pain was secondary,” Junwu recalled, per South China Morning Post (SCMP). “The real tragedy was losing sight of a future.”
A devastating blow
Necessity and heartbreak spurred him into action. The death of his mother in 2000 triggered him to reclaim his independence. At first, he felt like life was unfair. He broke down and felt like digging a knife into his heart, but then he had no choice but to rise and look ahead. “I found I was on my own. My father was old. I couldn’t rely on anyone. So I started trying to make my own living,” he described. “Brush your teeth. Wash your face and eat. Even go shopping, pushing wheelchairs.” All the while, something inside him was constantly flaring up. He was getting determined to honor the promise he had made to his late mother.
Shifting gears of fate
In 2004, he attended a spinal cord injury meetup in Qingdao, aided by his sister and brother-in-law. During the meetup, he noticed someone balance their wheelchair on its back wheels alone, in what could be called a “wheelchair wheelie.” As time went by, Junwu found himself watching videos of people performing advanced wheelchair maneuvers. He resolved to mimic them and taught himself stunts like wheelies, climbing stairs with a wheelchair, playing basketball, and street dance.
Unstoppable!
After lots of falls, sprains, and bruises, he finally got it. In May 2012, he was shaking hands with the officials of the Guinness World Records, as he completed “the longest-ever wheelchair wheelie at 25.8 kilometers, or around 16 miles,” surpassing the previous record of 19.96 kilometers (12.4 miles), held by an American. At this point, he was unstoppable. In the following years, he climbed an almost 6,000-foot (1,800-metre) summit of Mount Huangshan four times and completed 32 marathons, including the New York City Marathon. The shelves of his house were soon clanging with glittering medals, framed certificates, and award badges. More recently, on May 31, 2026, Xie added another Guinness World Record by completing 74 manual wheelchair spins in one minute in Nanchang.
Reviving a long-lost dream
Junwu still had an unfulfilled desire. Ever since his youth, he had always dreamed of roller-skating. So, in 2014, he set his mind on skateboarding. He attached some metal rails to the skateboard that would keep his wheelchair’s wheels from rolling off, and he started using them to press left and right just like a skater’s feet. His goal was to find a slope, which he eventually did. Later, in his practice, he bought an electric skateboard. “My hands became my legs, and my wheelchair became my shoes,” Junwu said, per SCMP.
Finding a suitable venue
In November 2025, Junwu stumbled upon a training center in Nanchang. While others downplayed this center, he found it great, with a “perfect courtyard” and “a series of curves and gentle gradients" for wheelchair skateboarding. He started calling it a "skatepark." Today, with more than 100,000 social media followers, Junwu serves as deputy director of the Jiangxi Accessibility Promotion Committee and as a rehabilitation consultant for people with spinal injuries.
Wheelchair Sports: More popular than ever
Adaptive sports have continued to expand in visibility and participation. The CDC reports that more than 1 in 4 U.S. adults have some type of disability, while the 2026 National Veterans Wheelchair Games brought together more than 500 athletes across 25 sports.
Rise to fame
As fame struck his door, he continued his determination to pursue his wildest dreams. He opened a sports rehab clinic called the Nanchang City Hope House for the wheelchair-bound users. He would guide them by saying that coordinated activities help people build muscle, strengthen the heart, and fortify one’s immune system. Under his guidance, a fellow wheelchair-bound user learned to manage everyday tasks independently, including mopping and grocery shopping using his wheelchair. Looking ahead, Junwu dreams of hosting a wheelchair skateboard competition in China someday, the first of its kind. “So really, anything is possible,” he remarks in a video.
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