A NEW VISION
That determination carried Edwin through years of rebuilding not only his body, but his vision for the future.
After returning to live with his parents in Dallas, Edwin found himself facing one of the lowest points of his life.
"I knew I could help a lot of people, but I'm just paralyzed now," he remembers thinking.
Everything changed when he discovered the Adaptive Training Foundation in Carrollton. Surrounded by wounded veterans, amputees and other adaptive athletes who refused to let their disabilities define them, Edwin found his competitive spirit again.
"I almost died a couple of times, but the adrenaline rush from being around them brought a little life back into me."
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the gym, he found himself back in a slump, sitting in his parents' backyard drinking coffee eight hours a day. One afternoon, he pointed to a corner of the yard and told his mom he wanted to build his own gym, and he did.
Friends began showing up to work out. Then more friends came. Soon, therapists were volunteering their time, walkways were poured to accommodate wheelchairs, and what began as one man's determination to keep training evolved into a community.
That grassroots effort eventually led to Edwin’s Foundation, Fearless Ventures, a nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals with physical disabilities experience adventures many assume are no longer possible, like snow skiing, hiking, surfing and cycling.
Inspired by a ski trip where he learned to adapt to the slopes after his injury, Edwin envisioned something bigger than rehabilitation.
In 2024, Fearless Ventures organized a 3,500-mile cross-country handcycling trip from Portland, Oregon, to Washington, D.C. Over 60 days, Edwin and a team that included wounded veterans and individuals with spinal cord injuries crossed the country to raise awareness and prove that limitations don't have the final word.
Even after nearly losing his foot to a severe infection just two days before completing the journey, Edwin refused to quit.
"I still had to go back and finish," he said. After four foot surgeries, he did.
As Fearless Ventures grew, another need became impossible to ignore. Between Dallas and San Antonio, adaptive rehabilitation and long-term fitness opportunities were scarce for individuals with spinal cord injuries, amputations, stroke side effects and neurological conditions.
Together with co-founder Antonia Silva, a Waco-area physical therapist he first met during his own rehabilitation, Edwin began building what would become Waco Adapt, an adaptive fitness and neurorehabilitation gym.
"We wanted it to feel like you were walking into a CrossFit gym," Edwin said of Waco Adapt, which opened in April. "I think that creates kind of a different mindset when you're going into therapy."
Just like any gym, athletes train to upbeat music on custom-built rowers and ski machines designed for wheelchair users. Electrical stimulation bikes – the only ones of their kind in Central Texas – help activate muscles affected by paralysis, while a high-frequency Galileo vibration plate reduces spasticity. A gait trainer helps wheelchair users safely practice standing and walking, and a CrossFit rig has been adapted for standing exercises and squats.
The facility serves people with spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease, amputations, strokes and other neurological conditions while offering rehabilitation sessions at a fraction of the typical cost with the help of grants and community support.
But the equipment is only part of the mission.
Every other Saturday, able-bodied participants join adaptive athletes for community workouts that challenge everyone to think differently.
"We blend able-bodied and disabled individuals, and they adapt to our workouts," Edwin said. "The goal of the Saturday open workouts is just to educate the population."
His hope is to change perceptions as much as physical abilities.
"The world's not made for a person in a wheelchair, much less anybody with a disability," he said.
The Fearless Ventures Foundation takes a two-pillar approach: rehab, which athletes access through Waco Adapt, and outdoor recreation experiences. The workouts aren't an end goal – they are preparation for mountain hikes, skiing, surfing and biking adventures that give participants a goal to work toward.
"Eventually, working on transfers and sitting balance gets old and boring," Edwin said. "But if athletes have something to look forward to, like a ski trip or a surfing trip, they will be excited."
