The Birth of Sky ThAIRapy!

My name is Justin Boer and this all started with a dream, to Fly Again!

After I suffered a spinal cord injury while speedflying in June 2013, my future seemed uncertain. The thought of never being able to fly was devastating so I knew I needed to do everything possible to heal my body. My spine fusion was not healing well so I moved to Maui and began my own therapy regiment. A healthy mind, body and soul was key to my recovery. I feel lucky to have found Ocean therapy, CBD and Apitherapy. With crutches and leg braces, my first flight back, 10,000′ above the Pacific confirmed my future in free-flight!

I was getting to know some local pilots in Hawaii and wanted to help our friend Daniel Velasco get back in the SKY!

Back in 2011, Daniel was in a paragliding accident on Mt Haleakala that left him with a serious spinal cord injury. His life was changed forever that day, but his determination and positive mental attitude has enabled him to continue a happy life. You’ll never catch him without that great big smile! Fast Forward to May 2016 Freeboern Air Sports assisted in shipping a loaner wheelchair trike, from an amazing US based nonprofit (Project Airtime) to Maui, HI. With the help of Red Bull team pilot, Veso Ovcharov (Founder of Fly Again) and a bunch of our wonderful friends, we raised money for Daniel to get his own flying chair! As a result of a group of friends coming together we helped our brother Fly Again!

The vibes were absolutely phenomenal! It really felt like the community got instantly stronger.

We’ve since met up for flying adventures around the Hawaiian Islands a couple times per year to progress and document adaptive paragliding.

In a way, Fly Again evolved into the Sky ThAIRapy non-profit. The crew is still hoping to produce a short film about our past year’s experiences with adaptive paragliding.

As of May 2018, HSB Flight Park officially opened and has been proving to be an excellent location for access with perfect roll off launches and a nice big landing area.

Joe Stone a fellow adative athlete (Joe Stone Foundation) pioneered the site, and all its launches, for wheelchair users. We know we will be seeing a lot more of Joe this year as our Sky ThAIRapy program grows! The flight park will be a perfect home base for anyone who wants to learn to Paraglide or Speed-Fly with an adaptive approach!

Why?

One thing that kept me positive when I was having a hard time after paralysis, was knowing there’s so many others on this planet that would do anything to be in my place. I’m so grateful to have found AccesSurf, a nonprofit based in HI that helps anyone surf, because it really opened my eyes about how we can help one another. Becoming involved in volunteering and even competing as an adaptive surfer really inspired me to help others realize they can do anything they want with some effort. We should all strive to motivate people with disabilities to follow their passion and always work towards improving our situation.

Motivated to Inspire through Paragliding!

We will have one event per month for tandem paragliding participants. The participant will be nominated by local and national groups. Please follow this blog and our social media pages to see some ridiculously inspirational stuff!

$5k For Trike

Almost There....Need your help.

Sky ThAIRapy is currently fundraising to improve ADA accessibilities at HSB Flight Park!

Our mission is to inspire and motivate people with disabilities through adaptive paragliding. With your help we can really make a difference in the lives of the many, our goal is $20,000.

The first $5,000 will go towards purchasing a special flying chair that helps those who cannot run access the sky.
The next $3,000 will go towards a custom Sky ThAIRapy Tandem Paragliding Wing which is needed to take people with disabilities flying!
We want to give away 20 adaptive tandem flights! $200 buys one person a potentially life changing experience. So with $4,000 we can put 20 people in the sky! If you know someone with a disability who would benefit from a flight we would love to take them. Email us their info and we’ll get them in for some Sky ThAIRapy!
The next $4,000 will be used to purchase a shuttle vehicle that is ADA friendly! This is crucial for getting our friends and family who cant just step into a van up the mountain!
The final $4,000 will go towards making ADA improvements at HSB Flight Park. We need to flatten out the landing area and our Parking Area is un-level and rocky making it hard for wheelchairs to get around the park. Our shop is also not equipped with a ramp which would make it much easier for wheelchair access.

We Thank each and every person who helps us achieve our goals. Please take a moment and share this page with your friends!

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