Three SCI Videos! Cooking with a Celeb Chef, Rome by Wheelchair, Quadriplegic Beauty Vlogger on The Doctors

We’re constantly adding new content to our site, hoping to inspire and educate the entire community of people affected by spinal cord injury. Now we’re re-introducing our regular blog series highlighting the best of our latest videos. Simply called “New Videos!,” you’ll find videos guaranteed to keep you watching until the very end.

From a quad rugby player cooking with a celebrity chef to a wheelchair beauty vlogger’s interview with The Doctors TV show, sit back and watch – then let us know what you think of our three highlighted videos below!

Video #1: Cooking With Team USA | Chuck Aoki Makes A One-Pot Wonder In The Kitchen

We love a good cooking video here at SPINALpedia, but finding one featuring a wheelchair-user can be difficult; especially one that’s also TV-quality AND features a famous chef (although we once saw a paraplegic on Guy’s Grocery Games). That’s why this video from last fall – “Cooking with Team USA’s Chuck Aoki – Chuck Makes A One-Pot Wonder In The Kitchen” – is so great.

Chuck is one of the leading scorers on Team USA’s Quad Rugby team. While he is not a quad (some of his fingers are amputated), he is a lifelong wheelchair-user. Watch him team-up with renowned chef Richard Blais (winner of Top Chef, host of Hunger Games on the Food Network). Together they make a mouth-watering pork chop over sauteed greens with cannelloni beans, and what’s amazing is that his so-called inabilities aren’t referenced once. Richard Blais – you are one classy guy. Watch here

Video #2: Rome Wheelchair Travel VLOG

Traveling to Rome in a wheelchair is nothing new, but it’s never been done quite as snarky as the way Vince Preap has covered it. He is a paraplegic from Canada who recently traveled solo to Rome, documenting the sights along the way. An expert at taking the “rolling selfie,” Vince has a panache for showing up late to all of the cool tourist attractions (don’t worry; he ends up seeing everything he wants once he figures out how to plan his days better).

In his vlog, he gives a tour of the Leonardo train, the Vatican museums (including how to deal with the crazy crowds and the accessible chair that gets you into the Sistine chapel), eating gelato and pasta, and the ultimate sight on his Rome Bucket List – the Coliseum. He shares how this famous arena is free for wheelchair-users and shows off some surprising accessible features. Watch here

Video #3: Beauty Vlogger Tragedy – The Doctors

Paralyzed seven years ago in a car accident, Steph Aiello is a rising star on Instagram known for her incredible makeup vlogs (she has more than 97k followers!). Steph was recently featured on the CBS TV show The Doctors to talk about her injury and how her recovery was boosted by her love of makeup (practicing with the tools enabled her to become more of a C7 quad dexterity-wise vs. a C6-5 quad.) And she dubs herself @uwalk_iglide, a perfect analogy for how she’s transitioned into life as a wheelchair-user.

But it hasn’t been easy, as she shares in this emotional video. After sharing her story and demonstrating on-camera how she applies makeup, Steph makes an appearance on the show and becomes emotional after watching herself in the video. It’s powerful and boy are we happy the entire country has the opportunity to hear her story. Watch here

Remember – we’re always searching for videos that are captivating to those with SCI! We hope the above three delivered. If you have a video you’d like to recommend for our next “New SCI Videos!” blog, please send the link to spinalpedia@gmail.com.

Quick Links to the Videos

– Cooking With Team USA | Chuck Aoki Makes A One-Pot Wonder In The Kitchen
– Rome Wheelchair Travel VLOG
– Beauty Vlogger Tragedy