Athlete uses his mouth to design gift for adaptive ski event

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Every attendee at an adaptive ski challenge next week will be getting a special gift for participating: a goggle cover designed by a 19-year-old who draws with his mouth.

Jonah Bradshaw lives in Saratoga Springs and loves drawing. Unlike most artists, though, he has limited use of his hands due to arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a disorder that affects his joints, muscles and range of motion.

But that hasn't stopped him from creating art with his mouth and studying graphic design at Utah Valley University.

"There are some things I have to change with how other people do stuff. So, I caught on that I would need to use my mouth to do stuff, at a really early age," Bradshaw said. "I think I started drawing before writing, so I've been drawing for forever — as long as I can remember."

Bradshaw's art is inspired by a lot of things, but he especially loves music and sports. He first started skiing at age 13 with the help of Wasatch Adaptive Sports, an organization dedicated to helping athletes with disabilities.

Since then, Bradshaw has been shredding the slopes each year on his bi-ski, a device that allows him to sit on top of a pair of skis. Bradshaw has also participated in the HGGC Steve Young Ski Classic and Doug Smith Subaru Athlete Challenge, a fundraising event that celebrates inclusive skiing.

"Everyone gets together to do races up on Chickadee, and we get to choose someone to race out of anyone who is there. You can choose Steve Young himself," Bradshaw said.

The annual event held at Snowbird Ski Resort features fun and friendly ski races with more than 60 adaptive athletes, Paralympians and professional athletes. This year's event will be on Saturday, March 22, and include live music, dinner, auctions and other activities.

"It shows that even if there's people that are limited, they can still do just as much as everyone else. These races show that off, and everyone can participate in the sport," he said.

A few months ago, Bradshaw learned Wasatch Adaptive Sports was looking for someone to design new stickers, so he offered his own drawing services. Not long after, the organization took him up on his offer, but the people there thought his sticker designs were so good that they should be used in a different way.

"I reached out to Jonah when we were coming up with a gift for the Steve Young Ski Classic because we liked his designs so much. We essentially took his designs of the stickers and put them onto the goggle sock, and we had him sign it, and he added another little drawing that said 'Hi there,'" explained Becca Murphy, Wasatch Adaptive Sports' communications manager.

All attendees at this year's Steve Young Ski Classic will receive a Jonah Bradshaw-designed goggle cover.

"I really like being part of this. I love drawing, and I love sharing my talents with Wasatch Adaptive Sports so it's awesome," he said.

Although his disability makes certain things hard to do, working with Wasatch Adaptive Sports has helped Bradshaw become more independent and learn how to overcome challenges.

"Wasatch Adaptive Sports is an amazing group of people," he said. "They're willing to help out pretty much anyone who wants to ski."

For anyone interested in adaptive sports, Bradshaw said to just go for it: "It's a great experience. You can't go wrong."

Wasatch Adaptive Sports helps athletes with adaptive skiing, cycling, mountain biking, paddling, yoga and more. Murphy said around 97% of the program's participants are on scholarship, allowing the athletes to participate without the barrier of money or costly equipment.

"I just started working in adaptive and I think the amount of resources and tools that they have to make anything available to anyone with any type of disability is incredible," Murphy said.

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