Much-loved TV Presenter Ade Adepitan MBE will be hosting a daily Paralympics programme for Channel 4 from Paris using the game changing Omeo wheelchair.
Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player Adedoyin Olayiwola “Ade” Adepitan MBE will be fronting a daily Paralympics programme on Channel 4 using an Adapt Ability Omeo.
Ade was introduced to the Omeo by Adapt Ability Director Matt Walker who has a T10 spinal cord injury and uses an Omeo. Unlike other chairs the Omeo is able to travel over uneven terrain, scale inclines and navigate troughs and bumps in the ground and has the possibility to completely change the lives of wheelchair users.
Ade was so pleased with what the high spec machine could offer him that he asked if Adapt Ability could lend him an Omeo so that he could use it during his time in Paris covering the Paralympics for Channel 4.
Matt Walker, Director Adapt Ability said, “It was a joy to demonstrate the possibilities that the Omeo could offer Ade and we are working with him on purchasing his own machine through the Government’s Access to Work scheme. As the paperwork would not be ready in time for the start of the Paralympics, we offered to lend him an Omeo that he could use in Paris, as he moves through the city visiting the different venues and meeting the Paralympians.”
Ade Adepitan MBE, Television Presenter, Wheelchair Basketball Player and Disability Advocate said of the Omeo “It’s changed the game, given me freedom, it means I can do so much more and its fun! I’m in Paris, checking out a new city hands free and I’m loving it.”
Matt has been using an Omeo since 2019 and passionately believes in its game changing functionality and aesthetics. It has radically changed his life for the better and through his company Adapt Ability he wants to share the positive impact the Omeo will have for the lives of disabled people.
The Channel 4 Paralympics coverage will begin with the opening ceremony on 28 August.
To find out more about the Omeo visit www.myadaptability.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Adapt Ability offer training and support to Omeo owners and can help with purchasing an Omeo or Adapto chair through the Government’s Access to Work scheme.
About Ade Adepitan MBE
Ade Adepitan was part of the British wheelchair basketball team that won a bronze medal at the 2004 Sumer Paralympics. He is involved in a range of charities promoting access to sport for disabled people, and in 2005 was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to disability sport. In August 2024 he was appointed Chancellor of Birmingham City University.
About Adapt Ability
Adapt Ability distribute the game changing Omeo and Adapto wheelchairs which allow the user to travel over uneven terrain, scale inclines and navigate troughs and bumps in the ground. The company is operated by disabled people working to provide mobility solutions for disabled people. Adapt Ability appeared on the BBC One TV show Dragons’ Den on 9 February 2023 to pitch for investment.
About Adapt Ability Director Matt Walker
Matt has a T10 spinal cord injury and is paralysed from the waist down.
“The Omeo has probably saved me from myself to be honest. Before my injury, I was a Greenkeeper and tree surgeon. I loved the outdoors. I loved walking, running and climbing.
When I realised, I was paralysed and would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life it was devastating. Mentally I struggled with the idea of being ‘trapped’ in my chair. I struggled with the idea that I wouldn’t be able to access the places I loved. I struggled with being ‘seen’ in my chair.
Then I found the Omeo. I could see it was different, strong, cool, fast, all terrain, all the things I needed. From the moment I was lucky enough to take delivery of my Omeo, things changed for me. I felt pretty proud to be leaving the house on such a cool looking machine. People no longer asked me about what had happened to me and instead wanted to talk to me about my ‘cool chair!’ There are very few places I can’t go on my Omeo. It is genuinely the closest thing I have to total independence. It has helped me both mentally and physically in the face of my paralysis and I feel proud to be on it.”
