Parker was immediately interested. He’d always been interested in trying kite surfing and had no use for the old surfboard anyways. “It was definitely the deal of the century for me,” says Parker, now a self-professed wind junkie. “It got me hooked.”
Kite traction activities like kite surfing and kite buggying harness wind power to propel riders on the ocean and land. Considered extreme sports, riders can reach up to 70 mph.
_Video: Parker’s kite buggy, the Spider Crab, is a two person kite powered vehicle designed to be used by people with disabilities._
Parker’s love of the outdoors brought him to HSU, where he helped start HSU’s surfing club his sophomore year. The summer before his senior year, he was disabled in a swimming accident that left him a c6 quadriplegic. Today, he is paralyzed from the neck down with strength in his shoulders and biceps. “Luckily,” he says, “that’s pretty much all you need to fly a kite.”
Since the accident, Parker has been working on a device that will allow him to continue participating in the sport he loves: a two-person kite buggy adapted for people with disabilities.
Built for people with upper arm strength, the cart has hand controls for flying and steering, and a cage to prevent further injuries. “You get in it with your friend and the wind drags you along the beach or desert,” he says.
Parker believes his two-person kite buggy is the first of its kind. Kite buggies for the disabled are uncommon and buggies that do exist typically accommodate only one person, he says. “The idea is that one person flies the kite while the other steers.” The buggy also accommodates a disabled person and an able bodied person, in which case two kites are flown at the same time.
In his free time, Parker enjoys another extreme sport—wheelchair rugby. Also known as “murderball,” the full contact, fast-paced game is much like regular rugby. “The wheelchairs are made to crash into each other, so it gets pretty intense,” he says.
This spring, Parker will graduate from HSU with a degree in Construction Management. His goal is to become a building information modeling manager, melding his interests in construction and 3-dimensional modeling. Friends who know Parker say the kite buggy is typical of his character.
“He’s getting out there and having fun,” says Brett Stacy (’13, Oceanography), who walked across the stage with Parker at Commencement last spring. “I can’t wait to go for a ride with him.”