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Tiffiny Carlson, a quadriplegic since 1993 and hailing from Minnesota, is the Executive Director of SPINALpedia and an accomplished writer who has spread her creative and insightful posts all over cyberspace, starting with her website, Beautyability.com in 2003. Tiffiny was also a columnist for New Mobility Magazine, writing their Spin 2.0 blog for several years, as well as their SCI Life column for 14 years. Read on for her story.
Why She’s Fearless
Since graduating with her Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communications in 2001, Tiffiny has been an avid writer in the disability world. Even pre-dating her graduation, she was a writer for HalfthePlanet.com in 1999, one of the first disability websites. Over the years, her work has been published on multiple sites and publications, including being the SCI Life columnist in the biggest disability print magazine in the US, New Mobility Magazine, from 2003-2017.
Tiffiny began writing for SPINALpedia in 2013. She has also been published in publications like Penthouse, Playgirl and Nerve.com, discussing disability and sexuality. Tiffiny enjoys de-coding, sharing and de-mystifying all things spinal cord injury in her writings.
Paralyzed since the age of 14 from a diving accident, Tiffiny made her way through the early years of depression post-injury by rediscovering her personal style, sharing loads of wheelchair fashion advice on her site BeautyAbility. She developed a particular interest in motivating others, helping them discover their inner beauty while feeling confident about their external beauty. She has shared her invaluable tips and tricks for everything from applying makeup without the use of your fingers, to stylish adapted clothing.
Tiffiny is about as real as they come, painting a picture of life with spinal cord injury that isn’t sugar coated, but she finds a way to be optimistic while still being realistic. Her spirit and honesty has gotten her a growing followership, all of whom appreciate her insights and stories. She has opened up herself and her story and mentored thousands who has sought out her advice. Tiffiny was also a peer mentor for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. She opens up about her struggles and triumph, helping people relate to her.
Why We Love Her
After blogging for several years for SPINALpedia, Tiffiny became the Executive Director of SPINALpedia in 2014. Since 2019, Tiffiny has hosted her podcast for SPINALpedia, Life After Paralysis, that shows highlights all aspects of life with paralysis. Her show has reached thousands. She has been hosting SCI podcasts since 2008 with her very first podcast, No Free Rides, that was on Xable.com.
In the words of Dana Brown Ritter, the voice behind the blog, Love Like this Life, “When Tiffiny wrote about our blog, and complimented it, I felt like we were seriously legit!…I knew she was a big deal in the SCI community, so I was honestly honored she would write such nice things about us!” Tiffiny is not only legit, but she’s a huge player in the SCI scene and has worked her butt off to get herself where she is today.
Tiffiny is still always finding new ways to get herself and her message out there. She’ll tell you how it is and will always look to support others who share the same challenges. Whether you’ve followed Tiffiny online or know her personally, we know that you’re better for her influence.
— Visit her site BeautyAbility
ideas@spinalpedia.com
