KEY POINTS:
When the nomination forms for this year's Attitude Awards arrived in the mail, Havelock North man Samuel Gibson put them in the rubbish bin.
But when the organisers rang to see why he hadn't returned the papers, Mr Gibson realised he would be making an mistake in assuming he couldn't win.
So with a workmate's assistance, Mr Gibson was entered - and now he is one of the three finalists for the enterprise category.
Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, Mr Gibson has brittle bones and has always been small.
"I have to be very careful in the way I live, and I had needs that weren't being met by my wheelchair," said Mr Gibson, who works at RCR Energy in Hastings.
Not wanting to be held back in any way, he and childhood friend Campbell Easton designed and built a wheelchair that would elevate him so he could open doors, get documents off shelves and shop at supermarkets.
Mr Easton, who is a director of Dannevirke company Metalform, was able to make Mr Gibson's dreams for the EziRiser become reality.
It also takes him to the ground, a feature designed to appeal to the EziRiser's biggest market - children.
"They can get on the floor and play and do the things they couldn't otherwise do," Mr Gibson said.
The pair travelled to German to promote the EziRiser at a trade fair, and struck a deal with the world's second largest wheelchair manufacturer, Swedish company Permobil.
"We thought if we can't beat them we should join them so we bowled up to their stand at the fair," Mr Gibson said.
The company is now distributing the electric wheelchair, renamed the Permobil K450, in the United States.
Next year it will go on sale in Europe, and Permobil hopes to also sell it in Japan and Korea. .
"One of my criteria was it had to look good. Being in a wheelchair, you get a lot of attention because you're different, and I wanted to turn that into something positive," Mr Gibson said.
The machines sell for $25,000 to $30,000.
"It may sound expensive, but it's a small price to pay for a completely independent life," Mr Gibson said.
"I'm married, I work, and I don't have any assistance because of the chair."
"Without it, I would be a lot more limited and dependent but now I can contribute and give back to society."
* The winners of the Attitude Awards, including the overall Supreme Award winner, will be announced at a black tie event at the SkyCity Convention Centre in Auckland on December 3, coinciding with World Disability Day.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
