Skateboarding usually requires a solid core, good balance, situational awareness, and solid depth perception. You might think it would be impossible to do the final two requirements when you are blind.
Nick Mullins certainly thought so when he was an up-and-coming amateur skateboarder who suddenly woke up blind from a medically induced coma. And yet — Mullins, a Troy resident, is not only still skateboarding but will be representing America with a skating demonstration at the Paris Olympic Games this year — blindness be damned.
“Skating with without sight is very different, because obviously I can’t see the obstacles that I’m approaching,” Mullins explained to Hour Detroit . “So, I have to rely on my spatial awareness, and also listening to the echo my wheels make going across the ground.”
When he skates now, he says, “I’m making a 3D picture in my mind with what I’m remembering, and sound. It’s a whole different thing to be able to see, just jump on my board, and be able to ride up and go in any direction I want.”
Everyone who grew up in America in the last 50 years knew a kid like Nick – a laid back, lanky kid more interested in skateboarding than school or anything else. About 15 years ago, when Mullins was 18 and living in Toledo, he was attempting to pull off a new trick on uneven ground near a warehouse while a friend filmed him.
That footage ended up in the 2020 short documentary You And The Thing You Love , explaining what happened next when Mullins fell as he went over a gnarly crack. It is hard to watch as Mullins takes a moment to gather himself after he slid to a halt. He gets up and staggers off, emoting understandably, and it quickly becomes apparent that the road rash he suffered was the least of his worries.
Video credit: You And The Thing That You Love from Nicholas Maher on Vimeo .
The rash led to a MRSA staph infection. Once it got into Mullins circulatory system, it compelled his doctors — skeptical of whether he’d live — to put him into a coma. As the flesh-eating infection circulated through his system, it eventually damaged the connection between his retinas and optic nerves.
“I honestly thought ‘Well, I can’t see now,’” Mullins recalls about halfway through the documentary. “’I have no money, I have no job. I have no work history. I don’t know how to take care of myself,’ …I just sunk into my bed one day, and laid there, for probably three months.”
But the important thing is that Mullins didn’t stay there. “One day I just remember sitting up and laughing,” he says.
Mullins got up again. He made his way back outside with his skateboard. It took a lot of trial and error, but eventually Mullins started skateboarding proficiently again. He moved to metro Detroit in 2012 and is now sponsored by Royal Oak’s Modern Skate & Surf , where he also gives skate lessons.
Next week, Mullins heads to Paris — he was invited to perform a demonstration for a crowd on the Olympic Skateboard Course on July 31 along with about 8 other skaters, he says. The demo will occur between the street (July 27-28) and park (Aug. 6-7) skateboarding finals.
Mullins’ Instagram page, Blind Lionn , showcases him tackling half pipes as ably as any other skater with years of experience, even if he does occasionally use a blind person’s walking stick in some of them. The comment sections are awash with admiration of just how well Mullins can still skate, made even more impressive once viewers become aware of his condition.
When asked if he wants to be seen as a skateboarder who is blind or just a skateboarder, Mullins said “I want to be perceived as just a skateboarder.”
The post Local Skater Nick Mullins to Perform at Paris Olympics Course Demo appeared first on Hour Detroit Magazine .
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