A disabled campaigner and adventurer who gives people of all abilities a taste of life in a wheelchair has said he wants Andy Burnham to have a go next. Nick Wilson has climbed Mount Snowdon and crossed national trails in his all-terrain wheelchair since embracing his identity as the Disabled Adventurer in 2023.
Previously, he spent 14 years in the Army, serving in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan before being medically discharged with PTSD and a spinal injury. More than a decade on, the prolapsed discs in his spine cause him excruciating nerve pain 'every minute of every day', Nick told Metro.
Condition 'only ever going to get worse'
He said: 'It's just declined and my condition is degradation, so it's only ever going to get worse. And paralysis is going to be at some point potentially in the future. So that's kind of the back of your mind.'
Because he is still physically able to stand for short periods and 'take a few steps around the flat', he was turned down by wheelchair services and turned to online fundraising to get the £1,500 he needed for a second-hand chair.
Nick said: 'That's where I came across accessibility. I naively thought that we were a lot further ahead. You know, it was 2023 after all. It was a smack in the face. It really was a wake-up call. Massively. And all the people that I've spoken to who weren't born wheelchair users have all said the same. People get temporary injuries like a broken foot and they end up in a wheelchair, manual chair for a short period of time. They're like, oh my God, I had no idea.'
Pop-up circuit lets public experience barriers
His struggles inspired the creation of a suite of social media accounts under the Disabled Adventurer banner, highlighting the difficulties wheelchair users face daily. The move has been an enormous success, and Nick now gets an average of two million views every month.
At a music festival last year, he offered punters the chance to get in an all-terrain wheelchair and go around a grass and dirt trail circuit, regardless of their physical ability levels. Since then, the idea has developed into a pop-up circuit that can be set up in town centres with obstacles and ramps so people can experience how he tackles the world.
Nick said: 'It might be the first time that they've seen the kind of accessibility, because I guess accessibility is not a one-size-fits-all situation. It's completely different. It's very personal and it's very subjective.'
Challenge to the Prime Minister
And now, Nick has his sights on the very top. Andy Burnham is the third prime minister he has invited to take on the wheelchair challenge, and he's feeling positive. He said: 'I just think, with Andy Burnham, I get the opinion he's more down to earth. He's kept up doing his videos on socials, which I have all respect for him for doing that.'
There's another reason to be optimistic about his chances, too. In 1998, before becoming an MP, Burnham was shown around London's Wembley Stadium in a wheelchair to see first-hand the difficulties faced by disabled supporters. The clip appeared on an ITV London news report and resurfaced ahead of this year's Makerfield by-election.
Nick said: 'I think it's a great opportunity – 28 years later, especially now he's PM, to redo it. But to do it with someone who's got lived experience, come and experience what I do now.'
