Hope On Wheels: RISE Adaptive Sports Stories

Think life after injury means pressing pause? Rick Brauer would like a word. From the floor of the Abilities Expo in Dallas, we sit down with the “original test dummy” of Rise Adaptive Sports to unpack how free access to adaptive equipment—and a culture that celebrates trying—can flip isolation into momentum. Rick has spent years pushing hand cycles and court chairs to their limits so newcomers don’t have to, translating hard-won lessons into safer, smarter pathways back to play.

We trace Rise’s origins from a friend’s promise to help a Vietnam veteran, through the 2007 launch of community programs built on grants, donated spaces, and zero participant fees. Rick explains why the free model isn’t charity; it’s strategy. When a hand cycle can cost thousands, a gear library becomes a gateway to discovery. Players can dial in the right fit, test different sports, and build confidence without gambling savings. That approach feeds a vibrant scene around quad rugby every Friday night at the Georgia Farrow Recreation Center in Irving, where the city opens the gym, Rise brings the chairs, and the community brings the energy. Expect contact, laughter, and the kind of resilience you only learn on the floor.

Looking forward, Rick shares a bold vision: a dedicated adaptive sports complex that anchors quad rugby, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair football under one roof. No more fighting for gym time, no more scattered gear, just consistent access and a visible home for anyone ready to move again. Along the way, we talk about the deeper impact—parents easing their grip as they watch kids thrive, newly injured adults replacing dread with goals, and the power of gratitude to keep the mission grounded. If you care about adaptive sports, inclusive communities, or what it takes to rebuild identity after a life-changing event, you’ll find something here to carry with you.

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Transcript

Purpose: Getting People Out Again

SPEAKER_01 0:00

One of the big impacts that we can provide is we can bring people out of their homes and help them to realize that things aren't over. There are a lot of things to do.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

What's up, guys? It's Quadfather and Life to Max. And we're back at it again at the Ability Expo because it's not in Dallas. Please enjoy this Life to the X because just a couple of ones not trying to get back.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Just a couple of teams are trying to go back. Don't live it twice.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

We are at the Abilities Expo in Dallas, and today I have the pleasure to speak to Rick Brouwer, the original test dummy of Rise Rick.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

That is correct, Max. My name is Rick Brouwer, and happy Friday to you. I hope you are doing great.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

I'm doing great, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Awesome. Yeah, I'm uh the original test dummy for Rise Adaptive Sports. Uh, we started in 2007, and as we brought programs in, um, I would take a lead role of trying everything and uh several occasions, like with hand cycles and things like that, I would push it to the max to find out uh what people shouldn't do. And uh so uh you want to know about uh wrecking hand cycles and things like that?

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Oh, everything, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

You you you want to know about uh what wiping out uh chairs on the court? That's me too.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

So what uh what made you start uh this uh foundation?

Why Rise Began And Early Days

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Well, a good friend of mine, his name is Paul Gray. He's passed away right now. And uh he had started it because he had a uh friend uh from uh the Vietnam uh war. And uh ever since then, uh his friend uh was a paraplegic uh at that time, or from the war, and uh he became very interested in helping others. Uh Paul was trying to set up a new group. Uh originally we were called Rise Adventures, and uh he was looking around for people to start. In 2007, he uh grabbed my shoulder and says, Hey, you want to ride a hand cycle? It's free, it's free, and it wouldn't leave me alone. It's like okay, I'll I'll give it a shot, just so he'll shut up. But he didn't shut up. Um, anybody who knew Paul, uh, you couldn't make the man shut up. So so uh I got on the board and uh been there uh since 2007 to today.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

And uh explain like the evolution of uh Rise and like how you guys have like um you know evolved with uh your equipment and everything that's been going on. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Uh Rise It After Sports. When we when we started out, uh we had primarily hand cycles and we were trying to dabble into water skiing and things like that. Uh one of the concepts behind it is we wanted to do things that were free for everybody. We didn't want to charge a cent, so we still don't charge a cent. Uh we would get grants uh and funding and we purchased hand cycles. Uh if people wanted to go hand cycling, uh, we would schedule a time and a place and uh meet them.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Uh the good thing about that is you know what uh medical expenses are like. Uh it's horrible. Uh we get taken advantage of on a lot of medical stuff.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Absolutely.

Friday Night Quad Rugby Details

SPEAKER_01 3:57

But by us providing the equipment for uh free usage, uh it allowed people to try things out and they can determine if they like it or not. They didn't have to waste their money spending, you know,$5,000 on a hand cycle, or nowadays it's 8 to 12 or whatever. Then we got into uh quad rugby. We do that every Friday night at the Georgia Faroe gym in Irving. Yeah, I'm telling you all about that rugby. Every Friday night, Rise Adaptive Sports at the Irving Recreational Center at uh no Georgia Faroe Recreational Center, brought to you by the City of Irving Parks and Recreations. Uh we're there every Friday night from 6 to 9, and uh we provide the equipment. Uh the city provides the gym, and the guys go out there and gals go out there and they have a really good time just smashing into each other. Hey, it's it's full contact, well, not full contact, but it's a pretty good contact sport, man. Sometimes we get bodies on the floor and we're not playing the song when the bodies hit the floor.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Let's go bodies at the floor. Well, that's that's also what's up. What do you uh see in the future for Rise?

SPEAKER_01 5:20

In the future, yeah. Uh that's a very good question. What I would love uh is to get us a sports complex. Uh that's one of my particular goals. But you're talking big bucks. Um right now we're having to compete with able-bodied people. I don't mind the competition, but a lot of the city parks and recs department, uh, there's such an influx of people that uh we're losing gym time. So we need to try to find a place. Well, I don't want to find a place, I want to have a place. So if we can have a facility, then we can always uh be assured that we have a place for people to play quad rugby, wheelchair basketball, uh perhaps some wheelchair football. We do wheelchair football as well.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

So your goal is to have your own place, like a sports complex.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

That's a dream. That's a dream. My goal is to help any and everybody who needs it.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Well, I believe you're probably doing that right now.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I'm giving it a shot. I am giving it a shot.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

So, what is one of the biggest uh impacts in your life?

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Uh one of the big impacts that we can provide is we can bring people out of their homes and uh help them to realize that things aren't over. There are a lot of things to do. I know that when I was uh injured, and that was close to 50 years ago, um, there was not really much other than wheelchair basketball. Uh, and that was owned by the colleges primarily. Things were so expensive, I couldn't really do anything. But uh with Rise, again, we can purchase the equipment, we can provide the equipment, and people can try things and do things. Uh, and when they come out of their homes, sometimes you you get those big bright smiles. The other thing that happens is there are two types of disabilities. There are people that are born with disabilities. Their parents uh may either be mother hens and they're gonna cover them for as much as they can because they fear that something else may happen to their child. Well, by coming out to rise, they can see all these other kids doing programs, and it may open their eyes and it brings joy to them. Then you have life-changing events, sadly. Uh, we have life-changing events. Some people may think, well, life's over, I'm done, uh, that's it. But it's not. Um, and by seeing other people out and about and doing things, we can help bring them some hope and some encouragement.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Um that's what we get to see. We get a lot of smiles.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

We ought to rise above. That's what we ought to do. Right. Hey, it was uh a pleasure speaking to you, man. Do you have uh anything you would like to say to people out there?

Gratitude, Mission, And How To Support

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Well, if you haven't already, you should say thanks to God for everything. Doesn't matter what. Uh anything else is that uh everything we do, we do for free at Rise Adaptive Sports. We're here for you because we love you.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

I appreciate that, man. Well, if you guys enjoy this content, please like, comment, and subscribe. It's always taking back for me. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Am I the next best thing?