I don’t look at my disability as a stumbling block. I don’t look at it as an obstacle. You know what? This is who I am, and I’m going to take it and run with it.
Transcript
Mark Braun: When I first came here to the United States, my feet were totally upside down. So the doctors had to re-correct them so they were right side up. So think about walking on the top of your feet and that being the bottom of your feet, and the bottom of your feet being the top of your feet.
Host: This is Keep Moving Forward.
George H.W. Bush: Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.
Host: Exploring the legacy and promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mark Braun: My name is Mark Braun. I am a US Paralympic athlete with Team USA. I am a head program coach, and I am a motivational speaker.
I was born with spina bifida. You know, I don't really look at my disability as a stumbling block. I don't look at it as an obstacle. I look at as, “You know what? This is who I am, and I'm going to take with it and run with it.”
I've been a four-time national champion in wheelchair basketball, a gold medalist in wheelchair basketball. But then I really found out that basketball what wasn't my thing, and so I was like, “Well, what is?” And so I was also doing track, and I was fast, and I like to go fast. And so do to track, I loved it, because one, I went fast; two, I performed well. And I am the second fastest sprinter in the US.
Host: Keep Moving Forward is supported by The Minnesota Council on Disability, The Minnesota Humanities Center and the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund, online at Ampers.org.