Joe Guintu
Joe Guintu, a California native, was on vacation in Hawaii in 2007 enjoying a surfing lesson. By the end of the surfing lesson, something seemed off. As he got out of the water and headed toward the stairs, he was shocked to realize he couldn’t climb the stairs, let alone walk. What transpired over the next hours, days and weeks in the hospital and under the care of physicians, was paralysis from the waist down, identified as the rare Surfer’s Myelopathy. Little did he know, but a journey into adaptive sports was in his future.
Fast forward to 2015 and Joe had just moved back from Australia where he had started to become active in wheelchair sports, tennis and basketball. He was looking for programming in Southern California and his search just so happened to coincide with the inaugural Angel City Games. He was pumped!
“It was so amazing to be part of the start of the movement in Southern California and I felt the personal and community impact right from the start,” Joe shares.
“It’s so easy to take the easy way out and make (very legitimate) excuses to not be active, especially given the difficulty of access to equipment. Angel City Sports breaks down those barriers and makes the ease of access so much easier. It’s so important for those with disabilities to be active as there are so many positive health benefits and conversely, many negative impacts if inactive.”
For the inaugural Games, Joe stuck to wheelchair basketball, but also participated in the various support programming like the opening ceremonies kick off and awards presentation. It was great for him to be at an event where he says, “individuals with disabilities were the central focus and not the afterthought. I was starstruck interacting with and learning from Paralympians and am still so amazed how tightly knit and supportive this community is.”
Like all new experiences, Joe was nervous not knowing how formal or competitive the Angel City Games were going to be. “I’m really your “average Joe” (pun intended!) – your normal person who wants to be active but will probably not compete at the highest levels and wants to be engaged in the community. The welcoming environment from Founders, Clayton and Ezra to the volunteers was so heartwarming.”
After Joe’s first Games and each time he attended an event, thereafter, bringing family and friends, the energy and inspiration of the event and those attending always brought an unexpected joy and passion for life and each other.
“Each Games I’ve been to, there are moments, interactions, connections that are just magical. From hearing a newly injured person talk about how their life and career is over now that they are in a wheelchair and then being able to share my personal story and professional successes and seeing them light up. Or hearing about a parent and child who travelled for days to try a new sport, fell in love with the sport, and then was gifted equipment all within the same hour. These moments that Angel City Sports fosters are amazing and helped re-invigorate my life as an actor (from introductions within the ACS community), which I had stopped pursuing years ago. Being connected to the Angel City Sports community can bring new perspective,” Joe shares.
For Joe, Angel City Sports is more than sport. It’s a community for those with a physical disability, a community for caregivers (whether parents, partners, friends) to be together and share the common experiences and emotions of hardship to the jubilation and fun of newfound life, hope, and community.
Although Joe still gets bouts of taking the lazy road, having Angel City Sports in his life keeps him on track with his goals to stay active, continue to build a routine and regimen to live a healthy and holistic life, and continue to build the adaptive community. Joe is as involved as one can get. He is an adaptive participant/athlete and now a Board Member for Angel City Sports and we’re proud of his successes and grateful for his investment in the power of adaptive sports and the adaptive community.