‘Cloudy’ Introduces You To Deaf Skater Austin Oertel
Not all skaters are created equal, and some of us actually have to overcome serious obstacles just to simply roll around. Austin Oertel has profound deafness, and needs a special three-stage hearing aid. ‘Cloudy’ spent some time with him recently to learn about how he’s coping with deafness and how it affects skating, among other things. Oertel seems to have an amazing attitude about his disability, and he can even look on the bright side a little bit: “I started to appreciate my disability—it makes me block out the haters.” Watch his video, above!
Check out some of our recent work with adaptive athletes, including Dan Mancina and chair skater Robert Thompkins, below:
