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WATCH: Why ‘can’t’ isn’t part of this Kelowna man’s life

Bruce Cook lives his life as a paraplegic, but it hasn’t stopped him from pursing his passion

  • Cook recently made an appearance on American's Got Talent: Extreme
  • He was paralyzed from the waste down in 2014 when attempting to do a double front flip

Never say can’t is how one local freestyle motocross star describes his passion for riding and life, despite challenges not many others face.

In 2014, while touring with Nitro Circus, Bruce Cook attempted a double front flip on his dirt bike, but he under rotated and crashed.

He was instantly paralyzed from the waist down.

“It’s always asking the doctor, how fast can I get back on my dirt bike,” Cook told Kelowna10. “This time was no different, a little more intense, but I think having that goal of getting back on the bike and doing shows again was huge in my recovery.”

Ten months later, he was back on tour when he landed the world’s first backflip on a dirt bike as a paraplegic.

That’s lead to another career highlight, with Cook recently featured on America’s Got Talent (AGT): Extreme, where he showed off his backflip skills for judges Simon Cowell, Nikki Bella, Travis Pastrana, and host, Terry Crews.

“The response has been more than I was expecting, it’s been blowing up,” Cook explained. “There really are no limits, it’s just the ones you put on yourself and if you want it bad enough, then you can achieve it.”

Cook said he wasn’t sure if it was possible to do a backflip on a dirt bike as a paraplegic before he attempted the trick for the first-time years ago.

He said normally riders stand while performing a backflip and use their legs to shift their body weight while making adjustments mid-air.

Now, when he rides, his legs are strapped down to the bike, limiting movement.

“I basically go as slow as I can, and then use the bikes power and essentially do a wheelie off the ramp and that’s what gets me around,” he said. “Once I leave the ramp there’s not much I can do.”

Cook said motocross offers a bounty of life lessons.

“Scrape yourself up off the ground, dust yourself off, and get back on the bike,” he said.

Details for the next episode of AGT: Extreme haven’t been released yet and Cook said he will be watching like everyone else.

“It’s been a lot of hype in Kelowna and that helps a lot because it is a lot both physically and mentally doing this,” he explained.

“Having the people behind you is definitely important.”

Published 2022-03-11 by Jordan Brenda, Ara Andonian, Keelan Bourdon

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