It’s Thanksgiving time and that means there’s nothing worth writing about going on, really. But fortunately there are brave media outlets like the Telegraph in the UK soldiering on, finding worthless news and writing about it. In this case, it’s a kid doing a backflip in a wheelchair, the first recorded instance.

Sixteen-year-old Aaron Fotheringham – known as ‘Wheels’ – got official recognition last month, even though he has been doing them for two years.

He takes his specially made wheelchair on to skate ramps in Las Vegas, where he has become a something of a celebrity in the skate scene.

He said: “It feels awesome to have the record.”

Aaron invented a sport that he calls “hardcore sitting” – using a wheelchair to perform moves more often seen done on skateboards or BMX bikes.

He has been doing stunts since the age of nine when his elder brother Brian took him to their local skate park. Brian encouraged him to go down a ramp and the obsession was born.

Now Aaron gets flown all over the world to perform stunts and spends at least three hours a day practising. He has become a role model to many young people who use wheelchairs.

On the plus side, that’s pretty amazing and it really shows a lot of courage and dedication. Honestly, the kid is inspirational and I truly believe it’s awesome that someone dealt a shitty hand in life is doing what they can with it.

On the down side, his legs and genitals might as well be made out of leprechauns or genies because they’d be just as functional if they didn’t exist. They’re useless, just dangling there. You might as well just tie spaghetti to your waist and call it a day.

(seriously though, the kid is kind of awesome and worthy of praise)

[source]