Triple amputee skateboarding star to appear at X Games
Justin Beauchesne will never forget the first time he rode a skateboard. "It felt like freedom," the triple amputee said, taking a break from tearing up the skate park at St. Pete's Campbell Park. "Man, it was awesome, so much better than I ever expected," he said.
When Justin was just 18 months old. he lost both arms and part of a leg to meningitis. "For so long, doctors and nurses and teachers were telling me I can't do things," he said. But Justin has always been a fighter, an athlete who craved challenges. When he was 12, he played Tony Hawk's skateboarding video game. It wasn't too long before he was trying out a real skateboard. "My mom wasn't happy," he said laughing. "But being able to get on a piece of wood, and just feel that freedom was euphoric."
Now 21, Justin will make an appearance at this weekend's X Games, which air on ABC and ESPN.