In Disaster There is Opportunity - Finding a Path Through Paralysis | Martyn Ashton | TEDxBristol

Martyn explains the unbelievable challenge presented by a career ending injury, and how he used a unique approach to tackle it. “If I’m going to be paralysed, then I may as well be good at it!”

Taking us through the antics of a man searching for a way to face the test of a lifetime, using the instinct of a competitor, plus the enjoyment and passion of a sportsman to not only discover new things but to ultimately find his way back to the sport he loves most, riding bikes.

Martyn has been a professional Mountain Biker since 1992 and in that time has won a World Championship and numerous British Titles. However he’s probably best known for his live stunt shows and his highly successful YouTube video series ‘Road Bike Party’ films in which he takes highly expensive (and fragile) carbon road bikes on an exhilarating journey of stunts, obstacles and vertigo inducing skill that the viewer could never expect.

However, in 2013 Martyn suffered a spinal cord injury whilst performing in a live stunt show. The accident seemingly ended his riding career, leaving him paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life… but in his own words

“Who would have thought that my greatest days of riding were ahead of me?”

This talk is from TEDxBristol 2017: Dare To Disrupt. In a world of constant change and uncertainty, these are the ‘positive disruptors’ ripping up the rule book to challenge received wisdom, demand better, and transform seemingly insurmountable problems into break-through possibilities and new beginnings.

From making a big splash on single-use plastics, to a global campaign to end unwanted hair-touching, or a revolutionary approach to combining robotics with human creativity, we hope you’ll enjoy and feel inspired by these talks.

Watch all our talks here https://tedxbristol.com/talks

Our talks were produced, filmed and edited by a brilliant team of talented volunteers and pro-bono partners:

Produced by:

Mel Rodrigues, Curator TEDxBristol
Daniel Edmund, Assistant Curator, TEDxBristol
Samuel Williams, Hodos Consultancy
Barney Grenfell, Hodos Consultancy

Filmed and edited by Floating Harbour Films:

Richard da Costa
Ben Scrase
Tom Young
Dan O’Connell
Gareth Croft

With camerawork and production support from:
Steve Webb
Giles Edwards
Bath Spa University

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Martyn has been a professional Mountain Biker since 1992 and in that time has won a World Championship and numerous British Titles. However he’s probably best known for his live stunt shows and his highly successful YouTube video series ‘Road Bike Party’ films in which he takes highly expensive (and fragile) carbon road bikes on an exhilarating journey of stunts, obstacles and vertigo inducing skill that the viewer could never expect. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx