Due to being young and in a wheelchair people would regularly stare at me, so I decided to modify my wheelchair and give them something to stare at! 

My name is Danny, I’m 28, from Sheffield and since birth I’ve lived with arthritis, meaning I use a wheelchair. I wanted to show that wheelchairs don’t have to be boring, as most wheelchairs all have the same look.

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I started by contacting various companies to see if they had anything which might fit on my wheelchair and ICELED, a company that makes top of the line car lighting offered to help. I gave them the measurements and they kindly sent me a custom under-glow kit. Using this kit I can select any specific colour and pattern and I can also make my own patterns, it is even sound activated.

To help extend the life of the batteries and to keep them in good condition, the wheelchair is also fitted with an 80w solar panel. As you can’t really buy custom wheels for wheelchairs I decided to get mine modified by having them sprayed white and then applying stickers. I also have a second set for shows which have a cool blue marble effect. The next mod on the wheelchair which really impresses people at shows is a ‘Wizards Of NOS’ Nitrous Purge Kit, which shoots jets of nitrous out of the sides like dragsters do. This can be activated using a wireless remote so I can surprise people as they walk past, even when I’m not actually sat in the wheelchair.

For years I have always had people say “Wow cool, but you should fit a sound system” and I’ve always brushed it off by saying that it isn’t possible. Well, thanks to Kenwood and JL Audio I now have a fully working car audio system including two speakers. Even though the speakers are only small it is surprising how much power the system has, but I only use it at shows as the batteries don’t last very long.

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Now that the wheelchair stands out so much I now take it to car shows all over the UK to display it and raise funds for Arthritis Care. The response from the public has been amazing and I now get people coming to talk with me instead of ignoring me. I have even taken the wheelchair to York Dragstrip to see what time it could do the eighth of a mile run and to raise funds for a local youth centre. The next show I’ll be displaying the wheelchair at will be the Yorkshire Modified Show at Pickering Showground. All this wouldn’t have been possible without help from all the companies who have supplied and fitted the mods for me.

This isn’t the end of the mods for the wheelchair because I am constantly thinking of new ideas to help make it stand out. Unfortunately, my current wheelchair is an NHS wheelchair so I am limited with what I can do as everything has to be removable so it can be put back to ‘standard’. Ideally, I would love to get a second wheelchair or scooter which would allow me to modify everything, including the frame and running gear.

More details, pictures and videos can be found on my website and Facebook page. If anyone would like to personalise their wheelchair feel free to contact me.

www.facebook.com/pimpedwheelchair

www.pimpedwheelchair.co.uk

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