Original subtitles

- [soft, dramatic music playing] - [crowd cheering]

[announcer 1] Titus is gonna... gonna win!

[announcer 2] Just look at the size of Titus O'Neil

and the pure physicality...

[soft, dramatic music playing]

he's bringing down to the ring. This is one big guy!

[booming thud]

Come on, come on, come on, you got it.

Come on, you stronger than that. I heard you was mad.

Oh, he is mad. Oh, no.

God! No.

Oh, I got up! Oh my God.

Let's go!

That was a hard-fought one right there.

Yeah!

Yeah!

[announcer 2] What an incredible athlete this man is.

Titus O'Neil. Look at him dominate tonight.

- [booming thud] - [music ends]

[metal clanging]

Destiny.

Come on, wake up. Good morning, good morning, good morning.

Yeah, you want to put the pillow over your head. I know.

Come on, wake up. You gotta go brush your teeth.

[Destiny groans]

And you gotta come eat too 'cause your food is done.

[water running]

I have a hard time referring to myself

as quadriplegic

or, you know,

referring to myself as a quad.

My mind's telling me that I'm still

"this 6'2", 230-pound, big, strong guy.

I had to condition myself,

mentally,

to be strong.

I mean, it's easier said than done though.

[soft music playing]

[electronic beeping]

[cars honking]

[siren wailing]

[honking]

[indistinct chatter]

Two fries,

and a hand-spun shake, yeah,

and then the other one is two hand-spun shakes.

So it's three shakes, and a burger and fries.

So it might be three bags. Ah, gotcha.

Thank you.

Thank you.

[upbeat hip hop music playing]

- Hello? - Hi, yes, this is Uber delivery.

Um, your place is not wheelchair-accessible.

Would you be able to come down and get your food, please?

- Yeah, one moment. - Take your time.

- Hello? - Hello, good evening.

Uh, this is your Uber delivery person.

Great. Can you bring it up to the second floor, please?

Uh, unfortunately, I can't.

Is there a way you can meet me downstairs?

I'm actually in a wheelchair.

- Oh. I'll be right down. - Thank you.

[music fades]

[inaudible dialogue]

[car honking]

[mellow music playing]

When I broke my neck,

I wanted to be as independent as possible.

But the world is not really designed for us.

[bell chimes]

You walk from point A to point B.

I roll from point A to point B.

But it doesn't make me any less of a person.

I'm able to do anything I put my mind to.

[honking]

[Richard] Nah, we can go right here.

Nah, this... I would guess this is the best way.

We can't get up on the sidewalk over there.

Whatever's quick... Nah, huh?

No, I wasn't going over there. There's a rollway.

Oh, you talkin' about once you go across...

- Yeah. - What he's saying is better.

[pensive electronic music playing]

- [clicking] - [electronic beeping]

[man] Nice!

Oh! That was amazing!

It looks at reaction time.

It gives you a good sense of your visual field,

which areas are weak, which areas are strong.

So right now, what this is telling you is

he's in the 50th percentile of users for accuracy.

[Richard] What?!

[Dr. Putrino] This is freakin' impressive.

There's not a lot of adaptive gamers playing this, I promise.

- [Richard] That's good! - Yeah.

What often happens in neuro rehab

and stroke and spinal cord injury is

you have your injury,

you get a few months of rehab,

and then you kinda just get forgotten.

"You're told, " That's all the recovery you're gonna get,

and rehab won't really help you anymore,

"so, off you go on your way."

We try to absolutely refute that idea,

the idea that biology is destiny.

We wanted to create a place that could...

do pragmatic and meaningful research

with new technologies,

and then get it into the hands of patients.

- [static crackling] - [electronic music playing]

[Richard] Dr. Putrino, I call him the Quadfather.

He found out that I had a love for games.

He was telling me about a team, esports team,

that's being put together in Mount Sinai.

The idea for the team

came from another patient named Chris.

Chris was injured in a skydiving accident,

like, a couple years back.

I never really think of gaming as rehabilitation.

I only thought of it as a pastime.

I never really thought about it being something

that could physically help you

and change just your whole circumstances.

- [laughter] - [indistinct chatter]

I could tell everybody in the room was excited.

I got a whole bunch of Xbox heads around me.

I still remember it like it was yesterday.

It was almost this immediate sense of belonging.

[mellow music playing]

Like you was finally in a room

with a group of people

that was dealing with the same situation as you.

Come on, come on, come on.

So, team names. Anyone else want to throw out some, uh...

- The Wheel Deal. - [laughter]

- Like "The Real Deal"? - I love that.

- Spinal Tap. - Spinal Tap? I like that.

- I love Spinal Tap! - [laughter]

Dude, yes!

- Dead Legs. - [laughter]

- Dead Legs! - I actually like that one.

- Go, Dead Legs. - [laughter]

- That's been around. - What about, uh...

I got one. Quad Gods.

Quad Gods.

The Quad Gods, baby.

[upbeat music playing]

[engine revving]

Score!

- Let's go! - Can't stop me.

[indistinct chatter]

- Go up, man. - You gotta be kiddin' me.

Let's go, Rich!

Ha!

Let's go!

Okay, I'm here. Playing defense.

[crowd cheering]

[announcer] It is time to show the world.

We are ready

for the Grand Finals!

[crowd cheering]

[crowd gasping]

[crowd cheering]

[upbeat music playing]

[bright flourish from goal explosion]

[reporter] Esports competition is huge.

A billion-dollar industry

with hundreds of millions of players,

thousands of whom are professional gamers.

And tonight, we meet a team that's overcome incredible odds

to compete in that arena.

They are quadriplegics

known as the Quad Gods.

We are the first ever

totally quadriplegic esports team.

After the injury and everything that happened, like,

this definitely was a blessing,

like, to change

your outlook on the way things are going in life.

[Maurice] Playing with adaptive controllers,

some using only breath and head movements,

make no mistake, their goal is to win,

but they also know there's much more at stake

than just a victory.

[car honking]

[woman] All wearing the same T-shirts?

Yeah, it's six... it's six of us.

Um, we're an esports gaming team.

- Which game? - Called the Quad Gods.

We play different games.

- We play Rocket League. - Nice!

And the Rock... What's that kind of like?

So it's like, uh, you control different, like, vehicles,

and you... the goal is to put the ball into the other net.

So it's kinda like soccer and hockey, a mix of those.

- But you're a vehicle rather... - Yeah, you play as a vehicle.

- Okay. - Do you guys mind

if we get a picture of you guys?

Wait, wait. Sorry.

Nice.

[fire truck honking]

[camera shutter clicking]

- Sweet! - Thank you, thank you.

[mellow music playing]

Five... six...

- seven... - All right.

Let's go, get 'em up higher. Get your knees up higher.

Sprint it out.

Let's go, one more time.

Pretend this is a man and you have to break down,

and then start.

But don't jog to this cone.

Don't jog to this cone. Sprint.

It's not that far.

Stop bending over.

Chest up.

Hold the ball up. High and tight.

Some people, depending on who you ask, they'll tell you

I was cocky.

I believed in myself.

If you tell me I can't do it,

I'm gonna try my best to do it.

[whistle blowing]

I played semi-pro football

from 1996

all the way up until my accident, till 2002.

I was headed out

to Rucker Park on the FDR Drive.

A freak accident. My front tire popped

and threw me off the bike.

Um...

I don't know if it would've been as bad.

I doubt... I don't think it would've been.

I know it wouldn't have been as bad.

Usually, when I used to get on the highway,

I would put my full helmet on.

Just riding around Brooklyn or around the borough,

I used to have my German helmet on, the half helmet.

But this was a good day, it was a beautiful day, and, you know,

I was feeling myself a little bit, so I said,

"You know what, I'm not gonna stop home. I'ma just..."

And, um...

So I just got on the highway with my half helmet,

and when it threw me off, I guess my body shut down,

so I didn't really have control, I don't know what happened.

They, um, they told my family,

if I made it through the night,

I wouldn't be able to move below my neck.

It was... it was...

It was bad. It was bad.

[solemn music playing]

When I get on that game, sometimes it'll help me forget.

Especially if I win. [chuckles]

As competitive as I want to be.

It's definitely an outlet.

Not... not as much as football was,

but, um,

it helps.

It definitely helps.

[door opens]

[rhythmic beeping]

[exoskeleton whirring]

My spinal cord wasn't completely severed.

So they told me, you know, things can come back,

but nobody can tell me how much will come back.

It blows my mind when people say things like...

before you've even woken up, "Okay,

you're never gonna move below the neck again."

Like, that's incorrect. You can't predict that.

[Prentice] You know, the phrase,

"If you don't use it, you lose it," very true. I...

I lost a lot.

I don't think I want to sit back in this chair

if I can, you know what I'm saying?

Sit in a regular chair and then get up.

If I have to go somewhere, don't get in a chair and go.

Get up on my walker.

- Yeah. - I want everything right now.

I mean, I think there's a lot we can do.

We just try and hit you with everything we've got,

get you into the robot,

build your strength up again,

because the robot's really handy for just, you know,

taking away all of the barriers to you walking.

We can try brain stimulation techniques

to sort of wake your nervous system up.

When we do this trick, it's really a trick,

it's tricking your nervous system,

these muscles start to work,

and then, over time,

it causes neurological recovery.

- [electrical buzzing] - [soft, dramatic music playing]

When we're trying to help someone recover

from neurological injury,

whether that be a spinal cord injury

or a stroke or a traumatic brain injury,

you need tens of thousands of repetitions of movements

in order to retrain the brain

to perform these movements.

[engine revving]

[clicking]

[electronic beep]

In order to recover from brain injury,

you need the brain to rewire itself, repair itself.

This is a process called neuroplasticity.

We know that all brains can do this.

So, it's actually not just about making exercise

and therapy more tolerable

by making it fun,

but it's also about the engagement that you create

when you turn a video game into therapy.

All of a sudden now, you're priming the brain

to get more out of the therapy that's being done

if you make it enjoyable.

[electrical buzzing]

[siren wailing]

[gentle music playing]

Y'all know what it is.

It's your boy, Breadwinner1007.

Oh, we startin' like that.

We startin' like that.

No, don't do that.

Watch it, watch it. No, no, no, no, no.

Everybody in my family like to play video games.

Even my mother used to play video games.

I think that's what sparked it, like,

watching my family being so into it.

Uncle Rich is in the building, trying to hold y'all down...

And me being the middle child of five kids,

I think it's kinda what did that too.

Usually, you didn't even get recognized

if you wasn't in first.

Like, second and third is nice,

but everybody want to see first.

I told you, when I go to work, I go to work.

I ain't at work yet though.

I'm on my way though.

I ain't get there yet.

I will play a game

from the night to the morning.

Like, I will keep playing that game until I win.

My bad, y'all. They got me on the gangsta lean, man.

Spinal cord injuries do that to you sometimes.

- Oh, no. - [explosion]

[music fades]

[train clacking]

[car honking]

Gatorade's two dollars, water's one dollar.

Gatorade for a dollar for you holding up traffic.

I know that's you holding up all the traffic, bro.

- Take a peek. That's... - [laughter]

- You want a Gatorade too? - That's that bike lane.

That Brooklyn Bridge bike lane.

What you want, water or Gatorade?

[Richard] Gatorade.

[man] Selling water, not drugs!

[Richard] He said, "Selling water, not drugs!"

Oh, shoot.

[Prentice] Yo, so yesterday,

last night when you were streaming,

you coulda had another goal.

But you...

- The ball was right there. - Then I flipped.

All you had to do was hit the shit.

[Richard] Yeah, sometimes, I ain't gonna front,

I gotta catch myself sometimes 'cause I notice,

that's what a lot of the high-level players do.

[Prentice] Yeah, the only thing that's holding us right now

- is the limitation. - [Richard] Reaction times.

- Yeah, that's it. - The mobility.

Yeah, the mo... You exactly right.

[Prentice] Hold on.

Hold on, God, hold on.

Just chill right there, Rich. They ain't gonna hit you.

Nah, you good.

[engine rumbling]

[mellow electronic music playing]

[Richard] You're gonna type in, "Man in power chair

parts the Red Sea."

The one on the top...

[Prentice] Wait, I know how to do it.

[Blake] This is interesting already.

[Prentice] To create it that fast?

[Richard] Creatin' 'em for whatever words you put in.

- They takin' your keywords... - Oh.

[Prentice] These wheelchairs are like from 1930.

These are like the wheelchairs Theodore Roosevelt was in.

[laughs]

This is clearly not what we had in mind.

- Yo. - [laughing]

[Richard] What does she want?

[Prentice] Woman standing on a wheelchair.

[Richard] You should've typed in, "melanated Goddess Athena."

Come on, man.

Now, that's dope!

That is... Now, that's dope. I ain't gonna lie.

- That's hard. - That's nice.

That's Blake right there? That's dope.

- That's fire. - Cyborg gladiator

in a wheelchair.

[Prentice] They got Serge when he was 28.

[Richard] Yeah, that's the soccer... the soccer years.

- What? - [chuckling]

- [Richard] What? Yo! - Oh, this is you?

[Richard] What is that? First of all, man,

look like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

[Prentice] Right before Bruce Lee would've kicked your ass.

- Yo. - Oh! What the...

What?!

Silly Richard. Trix are for kids.

[laughs]

[Richard] Nah, man. Yo... Oh, no.

You like, "This is the future? This is not what I thought...

This is not how I saw the future."

God, I know I told you I wanted to come back walking, but golly.

[laughs]

[Richard] Every one of my pictures

gotta look like I'm the Black Jesus?

I'm the only one trying to bring everybody to salvation.

Come on.

I mean, I know about the power that I hold inside,

but I'm not changing wine to water out here.

[laughing]

[static crackling]

- [electronic sounds] - [gentle electronic music plays]

[Richard] I always been a fighter.

When I'm thinking about an avatar that would embody me,

he would definitely have super strength.

He would have to have long locks.

Eyes that-that burn with a white flame.

All the fire and the anger

and everything that's burning inside of me.

[electricity crackling]

He would be extremely fast...

and be able to manipulate time and space.

[buzzing]

He's on a journey to try to find himself again.

[engine revving]

Oh, oh oh! Hold up. There they go.

[engines revving]

Sergio!

Let's go, my boy! Woo-hoo!

[mellow music playing]

[music fades]

[groans]

- What up, man? - What's happenin'?

What's goin' on?

- [man] I figured... - [laughing]

I'm gonna teach one or two of y'all how to drive that car.

It's... Look, it's... To me, driving is like...

It's a thing that we can all do to be equal.

You know what I mean? Like...

It doesn't matter who or what appendages they use

to drive out there, like...

I'm just as fast as everybody else.

So, you do this,

- then your other hand here... - Yeah.

That's gas.

- [laughs] - Right?

- Okay, t... Okay. - [man] Gas.

Gas. Brakes.

- [man] Brake. - Okay.

[man] So when I started driving,

it took me 15 minutes to get in and out of the car.

And now, 30 seconds.

- There you go. - There it is, man!

[man] And he's in.

- Yeah. - [laughs]

- It's all good. - Word.

[man] Give gas.

You might not want to be in front of the car.

Now, give gas, and we're just gonna see how the car revs.

[bright music playing]

[engine revving]

Did you enjoy it?

Enjoy it? "Enjoy" wasn't even the word, man.

[man] This is just the first time, man.

This is why we do this.

Get you back out there, right?

You helped me do something that

I haven't done ever since I was injured.

- Yeah? - Which was 2015.

[sniffles]

[somber music playing]

[music fades]

[car honking]

[Blake] One in four people in the world are disabled.

They're everywhere.

The biggest misconception that people have

about us

is that we're fragile.

I've had people come up to me and be like,

"Oh my God, like, I can't believe you're out."

I'm not dead. I'm just disabled.

Every year I go to the disability convention

in Jersey.

I go with my friends.

It's almost like comic-con for wheelchairs.

But when you go to New Jersey,

New Jersey is not really accessible.

Like, once you get off the train, it's like,

you know, you're out there with the wolves.

- Have a good day, sir. - Yo, listen.

- Am I gonna pull you? - Yes. Sorry.

- Are you guys good? - Yeah, we're good.

♪ On the road again ♪

[mellow music playing]

[cars honking]

[car honking continuously]

[siren wailing]

[music fades]

- [officer] - [Blake]

- Yeah. - New York?

[officer]

[Blake]

- [officer] - [Blake]

[officer]

[Blake] Yeah, yeah.

[officer]

- [Blake] - [officer]

[officer]

- [officer] Follow behind us. - Thank you.

[siren wailing]

[upbeat music playing]

- How are ya, bro? - How are things? Good?

[Blake] Same old, same old.

I actually know them.

Whoo!

Hey, hey, hey! What's up, man?

- Hey, how are you? - Oh my God!

[inaudible]

[music fades]

[static crackling]

[dark music with electronic sounds]

[clang]

I got injured playing football for my high school.

I went in for a tackle

and got tripped,

and then I landed on the guy that I was supposed to tackle,

on his knee, and it snapped my neck.

I remember somebody yelling, like, uh,

"Don't touch him,"

because I wasn't moving,

so they were like, "Don't touch him.

Wait for the ambulance to come."

I'm thankful 'cause I coulda died.

So that's how I look at it, like,

I broke my neck, I went to sleep,

but I... I woke up,

'cause I coulda not woke up.

I lost a lot of friends.

For some of them, it was just too hard to see me.

That was really when I learned a lot about the world,

a lot about the way people value themselves,

and the way I should handle myself.

[imaging machine whirring]

[doctor]

Right.

[doctor]

[solemn music playing]

[Prentice] My goal

is to really get back on my feet.

[imaging machine whirring]

[solemn music continues]

[doctor]

- Hundred and sixteen pounds? - [doctor] Yeah.

I'm getting sexier and sexier, man.

One hundred and sixteen pounds of lean muscle.

I gotta remember that.

From the looks of it, my bones are strong enough.

[doctor] Yeah, yeah. So, so far,

study does show a lot of benefits

from exoskeleton walking training.

- Yeah... - [indistinct]

So, I'm on the right track then,

helping towards walking independently.

[doctor] Yeah.

[music ends]

[Prentice] Me in my early twenties.

That year, when my accident happened,

I had my bike.

I was having a good time.

[motorcycle engine revving]

I was working at Universal Movie and Music Distribution,

partying with these people.

It was...

a lot of women.

It was a lot of everything.

[upbeat music playing]

[motorcycle engine revving]

[music and revving fade]

I had to be slowed down.

[car alarms beeping]

I tell people

that are always asking me, "You think I should get a bike?

I'm thinking about getting a motorcycle. What you think?"

I'm not gonna tell you not to get it

because it's fun.

But there are things that can happen.

You know what I'm saying?

If-if I'm talking to young men, and I'm like, "Yo",

you like...

sex the way you know it, having sex,

and being in control and shit,

if you like that,

there's a chance you might lose that.

All right?

If you don't want nobody having to wipe your ass for you,

"leave it alone."

Thank God I gained my ability

to do all those things... do all those things again.

But some people don't. They never come back,

and they're never able to do those things

for themselves again.

Like, being able to eat by myself again.

I had to learn all of that.

Being able to hold a cup.

I'm very thankful,

but I know there's more to do.

There's another level of independence I want to reach.

[somber music playing]

Ah!

Serge, what you know about it, bruh?

- You got it? - [Sergio] No, I need help.

What you need?

[Sergio] I need hands.

You need... you need hands?

- [Sergio] I need fucking hands. - [laughs]

Fucking quad. Leave me alone, fucking quad.

[laughing]

Get the fuck outta here.

[laughing]

[upbeat music playing]

[boost whooshing]

[man] Oh, wait, you're coming up.

[Richard] There we go. Somebody get that.

[man] I'm gonna wait it out as third man.

[Richard] Cannot believe that.

- Good patience. - Let's go, Bread.

Some fancy footwork.

- I'm on D, I'm on D. - Oh, got him.

Ah!

Oh, let's go!

[music fades]

[Alejandro] Oh my God.

Hey, girl.

[indistinct chatter]

Okay, mommas.

- The Lord... - Are you serious?

Is my shepherd. He know what I want.

[Prentice] Because the flesh.

[Blake] The flesh.

I'm weak for the flesh.

[laughing]

[mellow music playing]

Oh, shit.

I'm telling you, I need it because my spasms go crazy.

I need it, bruh.

[Prentice] I know they give it for pain.

[Alejandro] They give it for spasms as well.

[Prentice] Really?

Well, shit. Sign me up.

- [Alejandro] Neuropathy. - "Neurothapy."

[Alejandro] Yeah, nerve pain.

[Prentice] How do you describe that pain?

- Is it sharp... - Burning.

- Burning sharp? - Burning.

- Burning pain. - Tingling.

- [indistinct] - Burning, tingling sensation

that just doesn't relent.

Like, between my toes, it feels like

somebody has a lighter and is just holding it there.

[Prentice] Oh, shit.

[cars honking]

[waves lapping]

[music fades]

[waves lapping]

[doctor] Okay, so, now I want you to look down at your legs,

and just imagine that they're your legs.

And imagine that they're your legs moving,

that you have control of these legs.

[Blake] Water definitely helps

when it comes to, like, nerve pain.

Like, after you're staring at it for a while,

it becomes less about, like, those legs aren't mine,

and more about me trying to move it.

So, like, you'll get like lost in a trance.

[gull calling]

- There we go. - That thing is heavy.

[doctor] How's your pain doing?

[Blake] Better. Like a three.

- [doctor] Good. - A lot better.

- [doctor] Nine to three. - A lot better for today.

- Much more manage... - In half an hour, that's good.

A lot more manageable, anyway.

- Good, good. - Until further notice.

And that's what we're, you know, what we're trying to do is

help you manage that pain, bring it down.

I've had pain attacks that have distorted my hearing,

um, to making everything look blurry around me.

For me, the VR,

it's a mind-body thing.

So if you can get your brain to realize

that there's no actual pain there, it goes away,

which I think that's why it helps me so much,

because as I'm trying to do those movements and things,

my brain is like, "Okay, well",

there's not a problem," know what I'm saying?

So, it gets rid of my nerve pain.

I used to be on Percocets for a while,

then I got addicted to those.

I don't want to rely on opioids to feel better.

[somber music playing]

[inaudible dialogue]

[birds chirping]

Wow. You all made it, man. You all made it.

This is Chris Scott's mom, Marie.

- Marie. Hi. - Nice to meet you.

Chris Scott's stepdad, Jay.

- Hey, guys. - Jay, what's up?

- And Chris's sister, Charlotte. - Nice to meet you.

[doctor] And these are the Quad Gods.

[Marie] The Quad Gods. Nice to meet you, Blake.

- Nice to meet you, Richard. - Good to meet you too.

- How old are you? - I just turned 39.

- Thirty-nine, okay. - Yeah.

He was... he would've been 35.

- Oh, really? Oh, that's cool. - Yeah.

Wow, I didn't know his birthday was so close to mine.

- [Marie laughs] - That's why we got along well.

Because you're both Geminis.

- Cuckoo. [laughs] - All right, I'll take that.

I'll give you that one.

[doctor] I just wanted to say a few things,

you know, in honor of Chris.

I really, really loved Chris,

and all I wanted was to help him.

But I knew very early, like,

my typical ways of helping people

weren't gonna work with Chris. We had to go out of the box.

So, what do people do

when they need a solution that they can't come up with?

They call Dave Putrino... [laughs]

And I called Dave, and I said, "Dave,

you have to help me help this very special young man.

He needs a purpose."

I would always say to Chris,

"Good could come out of bad."

And he would say to me, "Like what?"

And honestly, I didn't have an answer.

But when I look around

and I see each one of you

and what you've done and what you've created

and what you kept going in Chris's memory,

what you're gonna show the world,

you gave me the answer.

This is the good

that came out of losing Chris,

and I just love you all.

- Just love you. - Love you too. Love you too.

[Prentice] Love you too, Angela.

[clears throat] I think mostly all of us have experienced, uh,

being a prisoner in your own body at some point.

Uh, whether it's, you know, like Chris, all the time,

or Nyree or Sergio, um,

gaming is... is one place

that you're allowed to escape, and then it becomes

less about what you're physically able to do

and more about what you're capable of.

- That's right. - And, um, we love Chris.

He's always and forever attached to us.

[Jay] It's funny, but being here with you guys,

you know, it brings Chris back.

It's like he's... he's here.

Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Beyond words.

- [teary] Can I give you a hug? - Yeah, definitely. Bring it in.

It's okay.

[somber music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[bright music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[inaudible dialogue]

[Richard] At times, I think,

like, I don't have no idea how much time I got left.

Chris died from a cold

that turned into pneumonia.

[static crackling]

When you come so close to death,

it'll make you

look at life and time

totally differently.

- [static crackling] - [soft, dark music playing]

I was injured on August 18th, 2015.

I got home,

and I was taking some things out of my car.

There was two guys out there.

One of the guys walked up to the side of me,

and I see the other one on the other side,

and he, like,

he pulled a gun.

He had pulled a gun out, like, "Yo,

give me all your bags, whatever. Give me everything.

Give me what you got."

So I was like, "Well,

um, you see the bags, like, I don't got nothin'."

Things got, like, he got a little close,

so I was trying to... I was trying to make some space

where I could get away from him. I was gonna try to run.

And when I tried to turn to run is when I heard the pop.

And like, after the second or third step, I just collapsed

and fell,

and I was trying to get up, but I couldn't move.

In my mind, I'm...

[sighs]

In my mind, I'm thinking, like...

I just kept praying to myself, like,

"God, please, not right now.

Not right now. Like, Ari need me,

Destiny need me. Not right now, not like this."

[sirens wailing]

[fire trucks honking]

[indistinct chatter]

[Destiny laughs]

Or...

Oh, come on!

- [car honks] - Watch it, watch it.

[beeping]

Good morning, man. Good morning. Yeah.

- [driver, indistinct] - Nah, nah, I'm good, I'm good.

[groans]

[gentle music playing]

You good?

I have to be strong for her, no matter what.

I'm separated.

It's just me and Destiny together

throughout her school year.

And my second daughter, Ariana, she live with her mother

permanently all year long.

After I went through my injury,

I felt as if I lost my significance.

Throughout my life, I always been a really physical person.

I was working with my hands

when I used to work for Dish Network and Con Edison.

And the way everything is going right now with technology,

like, gaming has become a solid way

to support you and your family if you do it right.

Is it time to go in?

See you. I'll see you later, all right? See y'all later.

[indistinct chatter]

[music fades]

- [indistinct esports commentary] - [crowd cheering]

[commentator] He's back!

[announcer] Logitech is officially announcing

the first ever Adaptive Esports Tournament

with cash prizes.

[indistinct esports commentary]

[Richard] New season's starting in May.

They got the tournament coming up.

I think it's like 50 grand.

- For what? The prize... Like... - The prize! [laughs]

If you win everything, you takin' home 50.

- What?! - [Richard] Fifty grand.

Yo, we gotta get that.

- That's crazy. - [Richard] Yo.

We gotta put the work in for that, bro.

- I ain't gonna lie. - [Prentice] Yeah...

We gotta put the work in for that.

- On that note, I agree. - Yes!

Ain't gonna front, we gonna have to start really coming together.

Everybody gonna have to figure out our availability times.

I need them 50 bands in my life, man.

- [trills lips] - We need that.

Everybody need it.

That's crazy.

[upbeat hip hop music playing]

[Richard] I can feel it.

The intensity kicking up inside of me.

[music fades]

[exhales]

Let's go.

Okay.

[keyboard keys clacking]

Fifteen seconds, boys.

- [Blake] Yo, what's up? - [Sergio] Yo!

[dramatic music playing]

[commentator] The Quad Gods face off against Nerve Gaming

in a special exhibition match.

This is the first preseason all-adaptive matchup

in history.

Representing the Quad Gods

are Breadwinner,

Wiplash, and RepnProof.

- Let's go. - On the Nerve side

of the equation, we have

Soli2de, Borscht Nao, p0pclutch.

The results of today

will give us a good look into the future

when these teams compete again later this year.

- [tires screeching] - And right out of the gates,

Nerve is establishing presence.

Breadwinner and Wiplash

- taking on a defensive... - Let's go.

Watch it, watch it. Come on.

[commentator] And that's the first goal.

[Richard] Are you kiddin' me?

You gotta be kiddin' me.

Oh, I screwed up.

Wait, what happened?

Aye-yi-yi.

Fuck you, motherfucker.

Fucking [indistinct].

[solemn music playing]

[sighs]

[Richard] Yo, Wip, you gave up? Come on, Wip.

They want to know if Wip is AFK. He's just sittin' there.

Wip said, "Nah," it's-it's...

No, Wip, don't give up like that.

Don't bow out, Wip.

We lo... We lose with honor, Wip.

[music fades]

Yo, this... this two hours a week training,

we gotta step it up, bro.

Like, we gotta step it up. This two hours every Tuesday

is not enough. It's obvious.

Like, that just showed us that.

[Alejandro] I agree.

[Richard] We gotta be honest with each other.

[Blake] Ain't nobody lyin' to each other.

All right, so when are we planning on doing this though?

Only with Sab?

No, bro, you...

Why you actin' like you don't understand what I'm sayin'?

I'm sayin' that we need to train

other than just playing with Sabby.

I don't like losin', first of all,

and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that don't like losin'.

That's the first thing.

The second thing is that...

are we all, like,

do we all have the same goal in mind?

I think that's what I'm thinkin'.

Like, do we really all have the same goal in mind?

Like, do y'all really even care

about doing well in this tournament?

The way I think about it is, as a company, I don't...

Winning or losing, to me,

there's always something to take from it, one.

Two, I want to win. Yes, I do.

Is winning important? No, it's not.

[Richard] All right, then you just answered my question.

What Quad God represents is more important to me.

I'm a laid-back person, so with that being said, like,

I'm gonna continue to be a Quad God, to do what I do,

but I'm not... all this... all this-this-this anger

about losing and shit, that's not me.

That's all I have to say.

So, yeah, I don't really necessarily care

about winning.

But, um, I think it's important what we represent,

how many people look up to us.

That, to me, is more important than anything else.

I'm glad I heard that.

[Blake] All right, I'll talk to y'all later.

[keyboard keys clacking]

Anybody else feel like they wanna say

they don't care about winnin'?

Just let me know, man.

'Cause I'm not really on teams to just lose.

So, you know what I mean?

If you really don't care about winnin',

please make that known now.

Please.

[rain pattering]

[birds chirping]

[Blake] Some people don't know how to be a team player.

Disagreements can happen, but it just needs to end.

[Blake] We're not always gonna agree.

I don't... I think it'd be weird if we always agreed anyway.

Um...

You know, I say that it has to be one of those situations

where it's like, we have to put in

as much time with this

as anybody puts in with anything in their lives.

Everybody has a life outside of the Quad Gods,

but we all actively participate, so, I mean...

we should all take some kind of responsibility.

I have a date coming.

I... I think she's cute, so, hey.

[bus engine rumbling]

[solemn music playing]

[birds chirping]

- Richard! - Oh, my boy Serge!

[Sergio] Wipe your feet.

[Richard] I'll try to. I don't know if I can.

I don't know if I can reach.

[Sergio laughs]

Oh. All right. Yo, Serge, man,

you got a nice spot right here, man.

[Sergio] Yeah, it's a nice little crib.

[Richard] What you think? Like, how do you feel so far about...

the team and all that? Like...

I don't feel like we're a team at all, man.

[Richard] You don't feel like it?

I... I kinda understand exactly what you're sayin'.

Because we all gotta be on the same page, man.

Like Prentice said, we gonna be a team,

we gotta be honest with each other, right?

- Yeah. - And it seems like it's just me

that's going about trying to get A, B, and C done,

and that's upsettin' to me,

because we're all a team!

And I got,

you know, a regular life, I got things to do too.

- You understand what I'm sayin'? - Yeah.

[Richard] It's not fair.

Maybe I push it a little bit too far.

I don't know. Maybe that's just me.

But, um, I believe in us.

Yeah.

[mellow music playing]

Uh, large popcorn and, uh,

one of those ice drinks.

Oh, great. These fucking doors.

- [indistinct speaking in film] - Oh, no, thank you.

You know what, do you have, uh, anything sparkling?

[dramatic music playing in film]

[groaning]

[screaming]

[music ends]

[siren wailing]

[woman]

[Blake] Yeah, they're really fragile.

[Blake]

[laughter]

Yeah.

[gentle music playing]

Ah!

[music fades]

Yeah.

Whoa!

- Ah. - You good?

[Prentice] Yeah.

Put your head up.

[Prentice groans]

[groans]

[exhaling]

- Dorothy? - Mm-hmm?

Come.

I'm shot, bro.

[sighs]

Bring it down.

Please.

- Flip it back in. - Yeah.

[apparatus hissing]

[indistinct]

[clacking]

Take this and lift this up.

Watch your face. Please watch your face.

You good?

Yeah.

[solemn music playing]

[breathing heavily]

[Dorothy] Relax, please.

[indistinct]

- [Prentice groans] - No?

No.

[footsteps departing]

[indistinct chatter on TV]

Yeah, man.

[ambient sounds fade]

[slow footsteps echoing]

[bright music playing]

[Prentice] In my dream,

I'm walkin'.

[static crackling]

That means, to me,

that I'm not givin' up.

[upbeat music playing]

I had a... a dream that we were in a release party.

[indistinct chatter]

A lot of people was there.

My lady was there.

And I'm walking around, I'm standing up.

And I'm able to... do my thing

like I used to.

And I had a conversation with Jay-Z.

He was coming down the hall, I was coming up the hall.

In my dream, the only thing he said, yo,

"Things happen the way they supposed to happen."

And that was it.

[music fades]

"When I woke up, I was like, "Yeah,

things are gonna happen."

Destiny, I'm back. It's time to eat.

♪ It's time to eat, baby ♪

There you go, Destiny.

Lunch as ordered.

How come your sandwich look bigger than mine?

[Destiny laughs] I don't know.

- [laughing] - They gave me the wrong chicken.

They gave you the right one. They gave me the mini one.

[Destiny laughs]

That piece of chicken almost nothin'.

[chuckles] That's 'cause you're taking big bites.

I'm taking medium bites.

It's 'cause I got a big mouth.

[hip hop music playing from speaker]

[buttons clicking]

- [crowd cheering] - Let's go! Let's go!

[narrator] This is the story of an improbable talent.

[crowd cheering]

With his cheek,

Mike can control the directional pad,

and with his tongue and bottom lip,

he can reach the rest of the buttons.

Wow!

- Are you BrolyLegs? - Yeah.

Look at this. This... What?

[indistinct chatter in video]

Hey, yo.

- [exclaiming in video] - BrolyLegs!

[narrator] Mike has become a household name in esports.

- [Richard] That's amazing. - [in video] Let's go! Let's go!

I watch his fights all the time online.

He's freaking amazing.

[man] He'll play for like ten hours.

I'm like, "Damn, you're not tired?"

[Mike] This is my NFL career.

This is my NBA career. This is my thing.

[Richard] When I watch this,

this makes me want to push myself harder.

Doin' how well he doin'.

I have to play this guy.

[vibrant music playing]

[cars honking]

They got Jesus.

You wanna be Jesus today?

[laughter]

- I ain't trying to be Jesus. - You could be Jesus.

Savior.

You know.

I won't even say what I'm thinking, like...

I'm thinking a staircase is the difference

between me and a happy ending.

[chuckling]

[Richard] I ain't gonna front.

Yo, I don't wanna go across that bridge

and get over that water

and lose my daggone mind.

- Why you gonna lose your mind? - 'Cause I told you,

I don't know, since my injury...

Since my injury, right,

every time I'm in a car

and I go over a big body of water...

- Yeah. - I get this sense of, like,

like my body tighten up,

like I-I get nervous.

- I get extremely nervous. - You know why?

Probably because...

Because before, I coulda swam

God forbid any goddamn thing happened.

- Right. I know what you mean. - Know what I mean?

I had... I have those thoughts too.

I don't know why it affect me so much,

but every time I get over a body of water...

I start having that sense.

[mellow music playing]

[commentator] Eight total teams

are competing today for top prize.

We have a massive prize, $50,000 total on the line.

[indistinct chatter, shouting]

[laughter]

[applause]

[man] Let's go, fellas!

[dramatic music playing]

[commentator 2] Representing the Quad Gods,

Breadwinner and Wiplash have qualified

for the 2v2 finals. They will face off

against No Fly Zone's Handikillcam and Void.

[commentator 1] These teams are matched up pretty well.

I'm expecting it to be a close match today.

No Fly Zone's starting this match

with an aggressive push towards the goal.

But here comes Breadwinner who sends the ball

back to the other side.

And it goes in!

[cheering]

[Richard] Let's go!

[cheering]

Let's go, y'all.

[tires screeching]

- No, no! - [crowd groaning]

[commentator 2] No Fly Zone up by one.

[commentator 1] Breadwinner takes the shot. Oh!

But he gets thwarted by both Void and...

[Richard] Oh, got him too. Got him too!

Let's go! Let's go!

[commentator 1] Breadwinner goes for the shot...

[cheering]

[Richard] Quad Gods, baby!

My bad, Wip.

Don't worry about it. Next one gonna be right.

Don't worry, don't worry.

Just play your game.

[Prentice] Good job. Just clear it out. Good, good.

[commentator 2] Neither team has scored in the last minute.

The next point could be the deciding goal

for the match.

[Richard] Ah, my bad, my bad.

- Ah, right, right, right, right. - Back.

- Ah! - Damn.

[Richard] I didn't have enough turbo.

I gotta move quicker.

I wasn't paying attention 'cause I was lookin'.

Yo, don't let nobody walk back here,

'cause they distracting me.

[whistle blows]

[engine revving]

[Richard groans]

My bad, Wip. I know you're supposed to go on that one.

[commentator 1] Ten seconds remaining.

Wiplash takes a defensive position.

And with six seconds left,

No Fly Zone scores another point for the win.

[solemn music playing]

Wow, that was an outstanding match.

The Quad Gods will not advance.

[indistinct chatter]

[Dr. Putrino] Remember what I said.

This is one step. You made it to a fucking final.

- That's right. - You both...

You both won some prize money just for being here.

[Richard] We came a long way.

Be happy about what you did, Serge.

I'm proud of you, my boy.

Good game.

[Dr. Putrino] Let's hear it for the Quad Gods!

[crowd cheering]

[Richard claps]

Yeah, man.

Yeah, I'm good, I'm good.

I'm-I'm a competitive person,

so losing is always gonna upset me.

But I'm a'ight though, I'm a'ight.

[soft, solemn music continues]

[train clacking]

[crickets chirping]

[Richard] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[soft, solemn music continues]

[static crackling]

One day,

along the path,

he sees...

like, a shadow.

He don't really know what it is or who it is...

[mysterious music playing]

until he gets close enough to realize that

it was him.

This version of him

is something that's...

hell-bent on keeping him from moving forward

while he was fighting his demons.

[static crackling]

He understands

his journey to... to find himself

will probably never end.

[music fades]

- Better hold that in place. - Yeah.

[doctor] The important thing to know

is that even though it's a mask, you can still breathe normally.

[gentle music playing]

We measure your oxygen you're breathing in

and the carbon dioxide coming out,

the intensity of exercise that you're doing.

- [Prentice groans] - All right.

We're gonna begin standing in three,

two, one, and...

[groans]

[exoskeleton whirring]

[gentle, dramatic music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

Hold your left and start to step right.

[groaning]

And come onto that right leg.

Good, good. Balance it, and then step left.

[bright music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[Prentice] Hey.

[chuckling]

Thanks.

Yeah.

My mask.

[indistinct chatter]

[exoskeleton whirring]

Oy!

- Nicely done. - Just relax.

[woman] Fifteen minutes, twenty-six seconds.

Walk time, three minutes and 21 seconds.

So that's of straight walking.

And in that time, you got 43 steps in,

which is fantastic.

For your first time up and at it,

that's incredible.

- Really, really good. - I'm out of shape.

No, this is hard. This is hard for anybody.

- I'ma get right, trust me. - Extra 50 pounds.

It is. You're quite literally in a robot, so.

- I'ma get right. - Keep it in that frame.

You're walking in a robot.

Trust me, I will get right.

- Trust me. - A hundred percent.

[bright music playing]

- [waves crashing] - [gulls calling]

[Prentice] I used to go to this beach as a kid.

My parents

used to take me out to this beach.

This day,

to me,

my anniversary is

another chance

and an awakening.

I'm gonna celebrate the... the little accomplishments

because those are the things you take for granted.

[music fades]

[camera clicks]

Y'all know what it is, man.

Twenty years.

Wow.

Long road traveled.

Long way to go.

Y'all know I'm built for it though, right?

[crickets chirping]

[mellow music playing]

[siren wailing]

[phone ringing]

[Blake]

[Blake's friend]

[Blake]

[Blake's friend]

[Blake]

- [Blake's friend] - [Blake]

[Blake's friend]

[Blake]

[Blake's friend]

[Blake]

[mellow electronic music playing]

I'm proud of myself.

I'm proud to be in a wheelchair.

[static crackling]

I don't care about walking.

It doesn't bother me.

I feel like I... I lost one identity,

and the real me came out.

It was a rebirth because

I have become the person I was meant to be.

[wings flapping]

I've experienced a lot of things

that I wouldn't have experienced otherwise.

And that has made me a better person.

[music fades]

- Hey. - [woman laughs]

[woman] So, Andy, this is Richard.

Andy, what's up, man? How you doin', man? Rich, man.

- Blake. - Blake.

What's up, man? You into games?

A'ight, we gonna see about that.

Yeah, 'cause we ain't gonna hold back.

- I just wanna let you know that. - [laughter]

We ain't gonna hold back. I don't like to lose.

Got a competitive spirit?

A'ight, good. That's what I want to hear.

That's what I like to hear.

That's what I'm talkin' about. Good, man.

When I had first got injured,

like, I thought gaming was a wrap for me.

Like, my hands, I was all the way messed up.

I see him playing a game, and I just...

it automatically just made me stop in my tracks.

I just stopped and was staring, watching him play the game.

In the back of my mind, I'm like, "Damn,

if he could play the game,

I gotta be able... I gotta be able to play the game."

Like, now I'm starting to get excited.

Nobody ever knew I was disabled.

I never let it be known,

but I was kickin' ass.

Like, really bad. Know what I'm sayin'?

[Richard] The QuadStick might seem like something

real foreign to you now 'cause you never used it,

you never even probably heard about it or nothin' like that,

but once you get the hang of it...

And then you're gonna be even more excited

because now you... you killin' people

that's just playing with a regular controller,

and they're gonna be sick like that.

[soft, uplifting music playing]

- [controller clicks] - There you go. See?

There you go. Get that red dot on there and shoot.

There you go.

[Blake] Oh, there you go! Shoot it. [indistinct]

[indistinct chatter]

- Oh, shit. - Oh, he a natural too.

[Blake] Oh, they're hittin'.

[Richard] All right.

- Oh, there... - Oh, he was behind you.

[Richard] When I saw him and I seen how young he was,

automatically, I automatically start having all those thoughts

of how I felt when I first got hurt.

[controller clicks]

The feeling that I got today in there with him,

talking to him, knowing that...

we were... we was that hand

that was bringing him out of that dark spot...

that feeling is undescribable, like...

It's... I can't really put a pen on that,

how I'm supposed to...

But that was it.

If all we do

is help somebody from being in that depressed state,

to help them see that life is not over,

to help them see that

there's so much more that they could do,

I think we won. Period.

[birds chirping]

[music fades]

[Prentice yawns]

[Richard] Good? Y'all good?

[Alejandro] You know, when someone said something

about grass, I'm like, that's a hard fuckin' no for me.

[Richard] You'll be a'ight, man.

[Alejandro] Yeah. I need some help.

Just, uh, grab me by the arm and, like, push me over.

- Like here? - All right, Gods.

[man] What's up? If y'all don't know,

I'm a Team USA Para powerlifter.

I'm ranked 16th in the world right now,

and I lifted over 330 pounds in competition.

- Ooh! - So,

I pretty much know what to do.

And what an air jack is, it's just a simple jumping jack.

That's one. Up, down. Two.

Up, down. Three.

Up, down. Four.

Up, down. Five.

Up, down. Six.

Up, down. Seven.

Up, down. Eight.

Push out. One.

Pull in, push out. Two.

Pull in, push out. Three.

Pull in, push out. Four.

Punch, one. Punch, two.

Punch, three. Punch, four. Punch, five.

Punch, six. Punch, seven...

[upbeat music playing]

All that stretching,

moving that breakfast around, moving that brunch around.

[Blake] I gotta get back in shape, man.

[powerlifter] That shit ain't shiverin', you ain't doin' it.

[Alejandro] I'm a fuckin' mess, man.

- [laughter] - [Blake] We're all family here.

[upbeat dramatic music playing]