Paralympian Mike Schultz builds prosthetics for other athletes like him
MINNEAPOLIS -- For Mike Schultz, any given day could hold many different things.
"Wake up, get all my gear ready. That includes not only my snowboards but my prosthetic equipment," the 41-year-old from Kimball, Minnesota said.
The Paralympic gold medalist recently wrapped up this year's Banked Slalom Points Championship on the World Cup tour.
"I was able to stand on top and earn that globe which was really exciting," he said. "I've done it one other time in 2018 and this year I was able to put down some really good race weekends and come home with the top points."
Schultz went from elite snowmobile racer to two-time Paralympian snowboarder after an accident in 2008 required a leg amputation. His life is unrecognizable, now, as he travels around the world, competing.
"I think about it; I look back on it, I'm like man, I have been so many amazing places and have got to do so many things that definitely weren't even on my radar when I was an amputee," said Schultz.
A self-described garage guy, Schultz may be progressing in his sport more than anyone else. He builds new kinds of prosthetics, often for the people he races against.
"Sometimes it doesn't work in my favor as an athlete but the big picture is when I'm standing on the podium, surrounded by other athletes wearing equipment that I built in my shop, that's a win-win," said Schultz.
