Richard is one of Sargood’s most long standing and much loved guests. Although he lives in Townsville, Richard’s love for travel and adventure has seen him enjoy frequent stays at Sargood since we opened.

Despite living with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) for over 45 years Richard has rediscovered his love for surfing thanks to the Sargood team.

As a young man, he was a true Northern Beaches local, so imagine his delight when after many years, he was able to go surfing again with Seb our fabulous and fearless Program Co-ordinator. Using one of our adaptive surf boards, 70 year old Richard felt safe and couldn’t get over how easy and drama free the whole process was.

“It was just an out of this world experience – to be in the ocean again and catch a wave was just like a dream, seriously – it was one of the greatest moments of my life,” Richard said.

Richard enjoys the healthy focus of Sargood and enjoys the opportunity to try out new equipment – in particular, the chance to ride the X8 up to Barrenjoey Lighthouse convinced him that this was a great piece of equipment. For his next visit, Richard is keen to try the yoga and meditation course.

“It’s great to be able to try new things in this amazing no fuss environment – where we can have fun and debate ideas with the staff. Setting out on a new adventure is no big deal for the staff – their attitude is just – ok guys – we can do this, with no hype and no bother, they just make things so easy and normal for us. But don’t forget that they’re making it possible for us to do some really extraordinary activities – things that we’d never have imagined it would be possible to do – it’s just a genius place!!”

Richard mentioned the joy he finds in connecting with other people at Sargood – sharing ideas and making new friends.

“The chance to meet new people and socialise with them and learn from each other is just inspiring.”

Having been involved with Wheelchair sports for many years, Richard is a big traveller and finds that Sargood is truly accessible – he didn’t believe that a place could be so accessible and welcoming for people with an SCI but over his stays he’s found so much pleasure and made such great connections with both our wonderful staff and guests from all walks of life.