SCI Superstar: Shaun Gash

A trainee psychiatric nurse. That was the former aspiration of now-athlete and motivational speaker Shaun Gash who has lived quite the unique life the last 34 years. After he was injured in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 20, not only did his entire life change, he persevered and became an adventurer raising money for charity, which recently earned him a MBE. Read on for Gash’s story.

Why He’s Fearless?

A spinal cord injury is incredibly difficult to recover from both physically and mentally, and that was the case for Gash as well. After being thrown from the back seat of a car, he sustained several broken bones, including a broken back, and he struggled. “At first it was hard, as I was only 20 years of age and when I was told I was paralyzed and wouldn’t be able to walk again, I went down a dark side mentally as I couldn’t see where my life was going to go. ‘Could I have a girlfriend/wife; place sport; have children, etc,” he says.

“It wasn’t until I started to get up in my wheelchair as part of the rehabilitation process that I was surrounded by individuals who have broken their necks and needed more support than me. This was a turning process mentally for me to realize I could still do a lot more just in a different way and longer time until I developed strategies.”

Gash however, no longer interested in being a nurse, turned to teaching. “It wasn’t until further into my wheelchair journey that I decided to qualify as a teacher. I have never been out of work even in my early days (post-injury). As I volunteered in day centers as a way for me to keep my mind active and then I worked in children’s homes and schools, etc.”

And his journey of being a teacher has been deeply gratifying. “I have always been in the education/training sector from working in children’s homes to schools and colleges and now I travel the world measuring children and young people for wheelchairs. I look after Paralympians as well as users of RGK Wheelchairs (a popular wheelchair company in the UK).”

Adaptive sports as well, namely wheelchair basketball, has been a huge factor in his life, leading him to both compete and coach. “It was five years after the accident when I tried (wheelchair) basketball and fell in love. I set-up my local team, the Lancaster Bulldogs, and it has been going ever since. I also play wheelchair rugby and SCUBA dive as well.”

Gash, now 54, is known for the money he has raised for charities through his record-setting adventures. “One of the first charities I raised money for was a children’s charity that provided care for children with disabilities. I completed a 10km mud course called Born Survivor.” And after discovering adaptive mountain climbing, Gash went on to become the first wheelchair-user to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro via the Rongai Route in 2016.

What’s Next?

And his adventures didn’t stop after ascending Mt. Kilimanjaro. In 2024, Gash took two other paraplegics to Africa to canoe the Zambezi River, traversing 300 kilometers through Zimbabwe to the border of Mozambique, all for charity. “The Zambezi was unbelievable. We set a world record, we had crocs, hippos, elephants and lions all around us which was surreal. I must say it was the best challenge I’ve completed so far,” says Gash. His team became the first team with disability/paraplegia to canoe the Zambezi at that length.

We dare not forget to mention Gash’s amazing family, which he has been blessed with post-injury. He met his wife Dawn at a rehabilitation center. “There is always someone out there who will love you and accept you as you are,” he says about finding the one with a spinal cord injury.

They went on to have three children born in vitro (boy/girl twins and another girl), who are all now grown. “As a parent it is hard as well, but we adapt and modify our ways of changing nappies (diapers), but apart from that I’m still the same as every other dad other than I have wheels 24/7.”

As for his advice for anyone going through a new spinal cord injury, Gash says this. “It’s ok to feel upset and have bad days, but once you accept and like yourself, things get easier. Always realize that this is a journey and one that is destined for you to follow. Live life and love life. Push yourself every day. Make short goals every week and make sure to love yourself.”

— Follow Shaun