We’re a friendly bunch here at FYF, each as dedicated as the last and not that we’re biased at all, but we definitely have the best team in the world. Read on to find out who we are and what we do.
Callum Deboys
Callum Deboys, 26 from Prestwick in Scotland. A motorcycle crash that resulted in the loss of his leg would change his life forever. Originally a chef working at the prestigious Trump Turnberry hotel, Callum has always had a drive to prove himself. Back in 2017, his life was to change forever after a horrific motorcycle accident that would result in him having to have his leg amputated.
For many this would be the end, the start of a downward spiral but not for Callum, he saw it not only as a blessing but an opportunity. This opportunity would go on to see him represent Great Britain at the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics to become the youngest British Para Nordic skier.
“Challenge yourself – it’s the only path which leads to growth.” – Morgan Freeman
This is a good quote to introduce his most recent adventure, one that for a while he never thought would be possible. When given the opportunity to compete in a Gordon Ramsay cooking competition, most would shy away with fear, but not Callum. After the loss of his leg, he thought it would be too difficult to work in a professional kitchen due to the amount of standing and walking required. The long hours and physical demands on his legs would be too much, but he saw this as a way to test his abilities in the kitchen once again and he jumped at the opportunity to grow.
“My accident has taught me a lot of valuable life lessons – we have to go through tough times to grow and flourish. We have to seek opportunity – it doesn’t come to those who sit and wait.”
Check out Callum’s first blog about how his training has been through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Brian Murray
Brian lost his leg when he was 11 years old due to a tumour in his knee. In 2015 he started playing amputee football with Everton amputees and gained a new found confidence. In early 2016 he and the Everton players organised a taster session at Annan Athletic where they met Cor, and some of team FYF and from this, they pushed the game further in Scotland in partnership with the Partick Thistle foundation. Brian has since gone on to Captain Partick Thistle and Scotland in competitive games, travelling to Ireland, Holland and Italy to play for Scotland. He has been married for 27 years to Valerie who has also recently become a Below Knee Amputee and Brian says with his experience he will help her as much as possible to regain her strength and walk again.
Check out Brian’s first blog about his massive challenge before the Covid-19 pandemic, and how he’s been getting on since.
Martin Perry
Martin Perry is from Paisley, 24 years old, and was born with one limb. No hands and almost half of his left leg were missing at birth. The condition is known as congenital limb loss/deformity. He has been active and sporty his entire life and played a variety of sports including football, basketball, rugby and athletics before finding table tennis. After being inspired by the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Martin made the decision to give everything he had to the sport. He is now living and training in Sheffield aiming to represent Paralympics GB at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Check out Martin’s first blog about his journey from being born with no hands and one leg, to living his best life and competing for the GB Paralympics Table Tennis Team.
Hope Gordon
Hope Gordon was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) following years of pain in her left leg. When the leg stopped working after nearly a decade of treatment which unfortunately didn’t help, Hope courageously crowdfunded for surgery and had the leg amputated in 2016.
She was a member of the Scottish swimming team from 2010 until 2018, competing at national and international level competitions, before going on to try canoeing and was then invited to train full-time with the GB para canoe team. She decided to call it a day on competitive swimming and relocated to Nottingham in 2018, after graduating with a 2.1 Honours degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Edinburgh Napier University. In 2021 Hope became a double World Championship silver medalist, adding an additional Worlds silver in 2022.
2022 was a busy year which followed with silver and bronze at the European Championships. Hope also became the first-ever female to represent Paralympics GB in Nordic Skiing at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing.
Check out GB Team Paralympic Nordic Skiing and Rower Hope’s first blog about her battle with chronic pain in her leg which led Hope to choose amputation and how she’s been getting on since.
Adam Donnachie
Adam Donnachie was born with amniotic band syndrome, which left both of his legs being underdeveloped. This led to minor amputations at 9 months old in 2001. He is a left leg below-the-knee and right leg through-the-knee amputee. He received his first prosthetics at two years old and his sporting journey began in 2007 after learning to swim in 1-on-1 lessons. This progressed quickly, joining his first club and starting to compete at 9 years old when he joined the Scottish Para Junior swimming squad. He made his first appearance for Scotland in Sheffield in 2012 and continued to do so until 2018. In that time, he broke multiple Breaststroke and Freestyle Scottish Records and won two Senior Medals. In 2016 he started playing Wheelchair Basketball and represented Scotland for 3 years at junior level, winning medals with the team. In 2020 he began a Sport Studies degree at Stirling University which saw him move to Stirling. In 2021 He started Athletics doing seated throws where he quickly rose to Scottish and UK number one, gaining his international Classification, Scottish and British titles and competing at the Wanda Diamond League as part of Team Scotland Achieve Programme. His goal is to represent Scotland or Great Britain at major Championships.