Blind skateboarder inspires visually impaired teens at Omaha event

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Skateboarder Nick Mullins has an almost worst case story to tell about his blindness.

In 2009, he suffered road rash in a fall, an ordinary injury for athletes in his line of work. But what followed was a life-threatening bout with MRSA and eventual blindness. He was still a teenager.

“Right when I turned 18 hit was a huge life change, immediately,” Mullins, now 30, said. “I had the world right in front of me, and next thing I know, it wasn’t there.”

Saturday at Roberts Skate Park in an event sponsored by the non-profit Outlook Nebraska, the Detroit skateboarder was on his board, showing youngsters with vision impairment that the tricks don’t have to stop with loss of sight.

“There’s a lot of barriers and a lot of things you have to overcome,” Mullins said. “Once you finally overcome those things and put yourself forward, and conquer that fear, you fall back into the love of what you were doing before.”

The session, involving adaptive sports therapists from Outlook Enrichment, aimed to help young people with vision loss gain a sense of independence and highlight the capabilities they still have.

“Definitely get back out there and just try,” Mullins said of his message to the kids. “Do. Have fun. It’s all about having fun.”

The session finished up a big weekend for Outlook Enrichment, an Omaha-based non-profit that offers resources and support for folks dealing with vision loss.

Friday night their Vision Beyond Sight fundraiser, featuring an indoor skate ramp for a Mullins exhibition, raised over $80,000 for the non-profit. Mullins was recently featured in the documentary, You and the Thing That You Love, chronicling his story.

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