- I use Spike actively in my physiotherapy classes
Our next ambassador is ready - say hi to Mathias Hestmann!
Mathias is an active 19 year old who likes to keep himself busy within physical training, movies and music. For several years he’s been playing drums in a band, and recently he finished High School with a major in media and communication.
Combining indoor exercising with outdoor training in Spike
Mathias has cerebral palsy, and training and physiotherapy has therefore always been an important part of his everyday life.
- Previously, I spent my physiotherapy sessions indoors doing exercises on different devices. But after I got Spike, me and my physiotherapist have started to combine indoor exercising with outdoor training in Spike. My physiotherapist is really engaged in this project, and Spike makes exercising a lot more fun.
Exploring new activities
We first met Mathias in 2018 at Ridderrennet, the worlds' largest annual winter sports week for people with visual or physical impairments. He had just finished the race in his kneeling cross country sitski. At this point, Spike was still an early prototype.
- One of my goals during my rehabilitation stay at Beitostølen Health Sports Center is to discover new activities. When I first saw the early version of Spike I thought that this had a really good potential of becoming both useful and great, which it has also become!
Great workout with Spike
In addition to cross country sitski, Mathias has been challenged to try both sitski and sledge hockey for the first time at Beitostølen Health Sports Center.
- I’ve always been into physical training and I’ve tried a lot to find something that fits me. When I first started with cross country sitski during winter season I really enjoyed it, but when I was supposed to try it out during summer it didn’t turned out so great. There were no options for changing direction so I ended up only doing skiing in the winter. Now that I have Spike I can keep practicing my technique and do nordic skiing all year around.
Spike makes Mathias able to be active on his own.
What I like the most about Spike is that it is easy to use and that I manage to get in and out of it on my own. I love the cushions - they are so comfortable. Most importantly, I feel that I can get a great workout using Spike.
Up for new adventures this fall
This fall, Mathias is up for new adventures: he’s starting to study film and television. He is dreaming of working full time within the film industry in the future. Speaking of film…
Check out the awesome movie we made with Mathias 👇
