Eamon Wood in action with the Roller Blacks. Photo / Supplied
If there was somebody who has defied the odds and continually pushed the boundaries, then look no further than Eamon Wood.
That’s because the 36-year-old has lived life to the fullest, despite being wheelchair-bound since he was 4, when he damaged his spine in a car crash.
His list of achievements is staggering and Wood hasn’t let his limitations stop him on his journey to success.
He has completed an engineering apprenticeship, travelled the world, leading to a book being published, founded a business, represented New Zealand in wheelchair basketball for two decades while playing professionally in Europe, and is a father of two kids.
“The thing I’m probably most proud of is what people might just consider normal,” Wood said.
“I’ve achieved a bunch of things, but I’m most proud of having a family, finding a companion and making friends.”
Wood is now living in Australia, but his endeavours have taken him all around the globe.
Born in Nelson, Wood doesn’t remember much about the car crash that led to him damaging his T12 L1, also known as the thoracolumbar junction, which connects the thoracic spine (upper back) with the lumbar spine (lower back).
He does recall getting out of the car and immediately falling over, and ended up spending his fifth birthday in hospital.
Despite being in a wheelchair at a young age, Wood didn’t want anything standing in his way.
“I remember kind of just getting on with it as a kid,” Wood said. “Kids are really good at that.
“The challenges were when I started school and trying to find my place and fit in, and it wasn’t common to be in mainstream school if you had a disability back then.
“My parents raised me as any other kid and I was always in mainstream classes and school, but finding my place as someone with a disability as a kid and trying to fit in was probably my biggest struggle growing up.”
Eamon tried Para athletics and Para swimming, but he was to later focus on Wheelchair basketball and Wheelchair tennis – earning a No 1 ranking in New Zealand and top 10 in the world as a junior in the sport.
But it was the camaraderie in wheelchair basketball that caught his interest, with the team aspect that led to him going on to represent the Roller Blacks.
“I always felt good and I think it helped with the disability, having something to focus on,” Wood said.
“Having something positive, which helped me find a community of other people that had disabilities that I could see, them living normal lives, having kids, work, and finding their place in society.
“I’ve just loved playing basketball. I’ve tried to think of why I’ve been so addicted to playing it, but I just like getting on court, playing defence and shooting the ball is lots of fun.”
Then came a time when Wood, then 28, wanted a break. So he grabbed his backpack and a guitar to travel the world.
“I’d finished my apprenticeship, been bogged down with study and been playing high-level sport,” Wood said.
“I just wanted to have a break where I could go find myself. No training, no work, no study, and fall off the face of the earth for a little bit.”
He started travelling around New Zealand, before visiting the United States, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.
Wood said his favourite place on his adventures was in the west of Scotland.
“I was on the Isle of Iona,” Wood said.
“I rented a car and caught a couple of ferries and ended up on this cliff face, just chilling out, watching the sunset go down; basically, as far away from home as I could be.”
His wheelchair basketball experiences have taken him throughout the world. In 2018, he played a season for the Munchen Iguanas in Germany, the first Kiwi to play professionally in Europe.
He would have probably played longer there, but after Covid he found himself back in New Zealand and starting a family.
Since relocating to Australia, Wood has continued to play wheelchair basketball with the Manly Wheel Eagles in the Australian National Wheelchair Basketball League, although he will be taking a break for the 2026 campaign; but he still plans to help the team during the season, which runs from June to September.
He has also launched a business, Nudge, with the goal of providing products and services that are thoughtful and help clients live unrestricted.
“I started Nudge as a way to help other people with disabilities,” Wood said.
“The way Nudge does it is through equipment. So, I go out and I get people with disabilities, different equipment, for example, wheelchairs or shower wheelchairs or sports equipment.
“I deal in the higher-end stuff when something needs customising, but at the core of it, Nudge is there to help people find solution, and add more than it takes from society.”
Wood played with New Zealand during last month’s Asia Oceania Champs where, despite winning three of their five games, they finished 11th.
Despite the outcome, Wood believes the team are heading in the right direction, with an eye on the 2032 Paralympics in Brisbane.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the Herald who covers breaking sports news.