The character arc of Kyle Maynard

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 24 March 1986 with congenital amputation, a rare condition in which fibrous bands prevent the development of limbs. Between then and now sit youth league football at eleven as a nose tackle, high school wrestling and thirty six wins in a senior year, twelfth place at 103 pounds, the title of world's strongest teen for bench pressing 240 pounds twenty three times, a national sports award in 2004, a university wrestling team left to write and speak, a gym he founded, and the first ascent of Kilimanjaro by a quadruple amputee without prosthetics. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Kyle Maynard?

Nose tackle at eleven. Kilimanjaro at twenty five.

He was born with congenital amputation, a rare condition in which fibrous bands prevent the limbs of a foetus developing. What he decided to do with that was play sport, which is not the obvious decision, and the first entry on the record is youth league football at eleven, playing nose tackle for a local team. Nose tackle is the position where you are hit by everybody.

He wrestled through high school and won thirty six matches in his senior year, placing twelfth in the country at 103 pounds. He took up weight training, and was named world's strongest teen by a national chain for bench pressing 240 pounds twenty three times. In 2004 he received an ESPN award for best athlete with a disability and a national sports humanitarian award, and he appeared in a magazine and a clothing catalogue that year.

He went to the University of Georgia and joined its wrestling team, and then left shortly after starting, to promote his book and build a speaking career. He began working through a speakers' bureau while still at university. He also competes in mixed martial arts, which is a sport where nobody makes allowances.

In January 2012 he became the first quadruple amputee to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro without the aid of prosthetics. Not carried, not assisted by artificial limbs: he crawled up it, on the limbs he has, over ten days.

He founded a gym called No Excuses CrossFit, which is a name that would be unbearable from almost anybody else.

The moments

Kyle Maynard's timeline.

The 1980s

24 Mar 1986

Born without full limbs

Setback, and it changed everything. A condition so rare most doctors never see it.

The 1990s

1 Jun 1997

Watch, or play

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: play contact sport, taken, or find something safer. He won thirty six wrestling matches in a senior year and was named world's strongest teen.

Sep 1997

Nose tackle at eleven

Milestone, and it changed everything. Nose tackle. The position where everybody runs into you.

The 2000s

~2003

Thirty six wins

Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty six wins in one season, and twelfth in the country.

Mar 2004

World's strongest teen

Milestone, and it changed everything. Two hundred and forty pounds, twenty three times.

Jun 2004

The ESPY

Milestone, and it changed everything. A national award at eighteen, and his picture in Vanity Fair.

Sep 2005

Georgia, and then out

Milestone, and it changed his direction. He got into the wrestling team and then left to go and talk.

~2006

A speaking career

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Nineteen years old, on the speaking circuit.

~2009

Mixed martial arts

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A sport in which nobody makes allowances for anybody.

The 2010s

15 Jan 2012

Kilimanjaro, without prosthetics

Milestone, and it changed everything. The highest mountain in Africa, climbed on the limbs he has.

~2014

No Excuses

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A gym called No Excuses, opened by him of all people.

The gym is still open and the name is still on the door. What he set moving is the argument that stops the sentence before it starts, made by a man who played nose tackle at eleven and then crawled up the highest mountain in Africa.

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Kyle Maynard: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Kyle Maynard's character arc?

A boy born with congenital amputation who chose contact sport, played nose tackle at eleven, won thirty six wrestling matches in a senior year, was named world's strongest teen, and became the first quadruple amputee to climb Kilimanjaro without prosthetics.

How did Kyle Maynard climb Kilimanjaro?

Without the aid of prosthetics, on the limbs he has. He is recorded as the first quadruple amputee to ascend the mountain that way, which meant crawling the route rather than being carried or using artificial limbs.

What condition does Kyle Maynard have?

Congenital amputation, a rare condition in which fibrous bands prevent the limbs of a foetus from developing. He has pursued football, wrestling, weight training and mixed martial arts, none of them adapted sports.

What did Kyle Maynard achieve in wrestling?

He wrestled through high school and won thirty six matches in his senior year, going on to place twelfth in the country in the 103 pound weight class. He later joined the University of Georgia wrestling team.

Why is Kyle Maynard called the world's strongest teen?

He was awarded that title by a national retail chain after bench pressing 240 pounds for twenty three repetitions. In the same year he received an ESPN award for best athlete with a disability and a national sports humanitarian award.

What gym did Kyle Maynard found?

No Excuses CrossFit. It is a name that would be insufferable from almost anybody, and is the plain truth from a man who played nose tackle at eleven and later crawled up Kilimanjaro.

Where does this timeline of Kyle Maynard's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Kyle Maynard isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Kyle Maynard, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
ESPN ESPY Award records for 2004 and Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame records.
Records of the Kilimanjaro ascent as the first by a quadruple amputee without prosthetics.