Disabled adventurer Nick Wilson speaks to Editor Melissa Holmes about the importance of getting into the great outdoors, and the launch of his 50 at 50 challenge
Nick Wilson is no ordinary adventurer. As a disabled war veteran and the founder of Disabled Adventurer, Nick uses an all-terrain powerchair to venture into places often considered inaccessible – like doing a solo ascent of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). His journey is about more than just personal achievement: he wants to open up the narrative around accessibility and adventure for disabled people.
BREAKING BARRIERS
To mark his fiftieth birthday this July, Nick has launched his 50 at 50 challenge. The goal is to complete a number of long distance trails of up to 50km during the year ahead, to break down the financial and logistical barriers that often deter disabled people from exploring the outdoors. How? The challenge aims to raise £150,000 to fund and donate eight all-terrain Quantum Outback powerchairs to outdoor venues and charities across the UK, so disabled people can access the outdoors with more freedom and confidence.
This aligns with Nick’s advocacy for next-generation batteries which will expand horizons when it comes to adaptive adventuring. “I want people to see it is possible to actually get outdoors, even in a daily chair,” he asserts. “Everyone who uses powerchairs has range anxiety. The ‘boring’ innovation side of the campaign is about bringing EV battery technology into the mobility sector. Yes, lead-acid batteries can do eight miles on one charge at a push, but you’re only doing four miles per hour.” And that’s hardly the exhilarating experience Nick – or many disabled outdoor lovers – want to experience.
SAVED MY LIFE
The 50 at 50 challenge is taking place for emotional reasons, as well as to raise funds, as Nick explains: “I really want to show people they can get outdoors.” Nick has been an ambulant wheelchair user since 2023 – “It’s all new to me,” he admits – and lives with chronic conditions including nerve pain and fibromyalgia. He’s found solace in the great outdoors, and told me: “Getting outdoors literally saved my life.”
Nature gives Nick a mental and emotional release, which plays a crucial role in helping him manage his chronic pain. “When you’re fully engrossed in that space, it takes your mind off the pain,” he says.
“50 at 50 is about getting out and about, showing people where the trails are,” explains Nick. But getting outside isn’t always easy. “I remember first adapting to being in a wheelchair, seeing photographs of myself in the Army – the fittest I’d ever been… And now I wasn’t able to move without being in complete agony,” he recalls. Nick spends a lot of time lying on his bed where he’s most comfortable, and recognises how easy it can be to spiral from that. “You’re stuck in your bed all day staring at the four walls. And when you are… it’s not just your condition and feeling like you’re housebound. It’s the effort to get outdoors.”
Nick recognises this effort doesn’t even start with physical obstacles. “Just to get outside takes a lot,” he says. “Then as soon as you get out the door, it’s bad pavements, bad roads, obstacles everywhere. Mentally, you’ve got to be in the place to be able to accept that and for it not to impact you. And if you’re not, then you don’t go outside.”
PUSHING LIMITS
That’s why he wants the 50 at 50 project to help people see they can “push their limits.” He admits some people have said this goal is impossible due to their disability, but responds: “Pushing your limits could be having a shower every day. How do you know what you’re truly capable of unless you push yourself?”
Nick acknowledges this can look different for everyone. “Adventure could mean going up the high street,” explains Nick. “Pushing your limits could be getting outside the door once a day every day. It could be doing something more active from your bed whenever you can.”
AN ADVENTUROUS FUTURE
It’s said that nothing worth doing ever comes easy, and that’s something Nick has discovered too. It took him four attempts to ascend Yr Wyddfa solo, using Rock Climber, an all-terrain powerchair prototype, which took him and his team two years to build from scratch.
Nick’s work has reached thousands of people, including 13-year-old engineering fan Jude. Nick and Jude recently met each other at Silverstone Museum, and they plan to complete a section of a 50 at 50 trail together. “I’m a middle-aged fat git in a wheelchair doing stupid stuff,” Nick quips. “I never thought I’d be able to reach young people. But it wasn’t about age – it doesn’t matter who I am. Jude is a young lad who can see that he can have fun, excitement, and adventure in his future. I’ve learnt so much from that.”
With his online accessibility videos, adventure content, and the 50 at 50 challenge, Nick’s reach is going beyond the disabled community. He’s helping shift public understanding of what access really looks like, and highlights that accessibility is a universal consideration that has positive impacts for everyone. In his words: “Access isn’t a luxury – it’s freedom.” With the 50 at 50 project, Nick has his sights firmly set on creating a world where adventure knows no bounds.
