After sustaining a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down, world-class adventurer, nanoscientist, and professional athlete, Grant Korgan – who had never shied away from a challenge – refused to balk at his new reality because he still had a mission in store.
Ten years prior, when his college best friend and climbing partner passed away in an avalanche, his parents entrusted Korgan with their son’s equipment, entreating him to continue climbing out on life’s skinny branches. Spurred by his commitment to a friend, an overwhelming sense of self-belief, and armed with the unconditional love and support of his soul mate and wife Shawna, Korgan decided right from the start of his life-altering journey that he would overcome. By doing the hard work and tirelessly visualizing his progression, he found the strength to rise and reclaim his active lifestyle by becoming the first spinal cord-injured athlete in history to ski 80 miles to Antarctica’s South Pole, setting world records kayaking around the circumference of Lake Tahoe, returning to the sports he loves, and pioneering new sports that he now shares with others in the adaptive athlete community.
Today, Grant is an emerging face of spinal cord recovery. He and his wife Shawna travel the globe heralding his message of choosing positivity through adversity, so that we may all climb a mountain for someone we love, and/or any mountain that stands in our way. Korgan chronicles his injury and road to recovery in his book Two Feet Back. This ‘must read’ is a first in a series of autobiographies, aimed toward reminding us all, that “regardless of ability (or perceived dis-ability), every single one of us has the power to come to the awareness that you can achieve everything you desire in this life”.
