Today we’d like to introduce you to Zack Nelson.
Hi Zack, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started filming videos for YouTube about 9 years ago. It’s been a lot of fun! Just recording my projects – anything from fixing jeeps to repairing cell phones. I started out at first just hoping to help out a few people who might be working on something similar – since it’s always easier to fix something after you’ve seen someone else do it before. Lucky for me though it turns out that people like watching these kinds of projects – even if they never anticipate doing it themselves – and the channel grew pretty quickly.
About 4 years ago I met a girl who was in a wheelchair and we started dating. Obviously – with a manual wheelchair – there are limitations on what kind of terrain it can handle. Meeting Cambry was my first real exposure to the accessibility world – and I was shocked to find out how expensive everything is. An off-road wheelchair can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000.
I decided – as a surprise to her – that I would make my own off-road wheelchair by welding two electric bikes together. To my own surprise, it actually worked! I was able to make a pretty decent off-road wheelchair for a fraction of the price.
With her help we took our first ‘prototype’ and turned it into ‘The Rig’ our first product from our new company ‘Not-a-Wheelchair’. It’s been quite the adventure launching a new business and new product in the middle of a pandemic. But we’ve been successful in shipping our machine to nearly all of the 50 states, and we have plans to expand to even more products in the future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The pandemic was a pretty huge hurdle. The supply chain around the world was already at a standstill and since everyone was staying home more there was a huge rush on bikes. Which affected us since our Not-a-Wheelchair is made from mostly bike parts.
Luckily though our manufacture- whose also here in Utah is one of the largest trikes manufactures in the United States and had plenty of experience to help keep us ‘rolling’.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
It’s been a lot of fun running my own YouTube channel. (JerryRigEverything) And even more so now that we’ve been able to adapt it into a business that lowers the price of accessible off-road equipment for people who need it. Businesses pay a lot of money for advertising new products and we don’t have that expense since there are already people joining us for the ride; which helps keeps the price of our off-road wheelchairs lower than anywhere else.
What matters most to you?
I think ‘Making a difference’ is what matters most to me. Independence is a huge deal and something that can be take for granted every single day. Accessibility never really crossed my mind before I met my wife. And I think it’s probably safe to say that’s probably the same for a lot of other people too.
Bringing awareness to the accessibility situation, and more importantly bringing solutions, is our goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Notawheelchair.com
- Instagram: @Notawheelchair
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerryRigEverything/
- Twitter: @ZacksJerryrig
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/JerryRigEverything
