Two mates, one chair: How Fletcher and Lachie create their very own form of accessible journey

It’s not a typical sight: two younger Australian travellers piggybacking their approach by way of iconic landmarks and vacationer locations around the globe.

Fletcher Crowley and Lachie Bennett understand it appears to be like uncommon. 

“People jump to conclusions. [They think], ‘What are these hooligans doing?'” Lachie says.

But Lachie has nailed the artwork of ignoring what individuals assume after piggybacking his buddy Fletcher Crowley in any respect kinds of places: up lots of of stairs to the Big Buddha in Hong Kong, by way of caves in Brazil, to the highest of theme park rides, and wherever else the pair desires to go.

“To be fair, though,” Fletcher says, “we probably do look like we’re taking the piss half the time.”

But it is not some stunt or prank.

This is simply one of many methods these 20-year-old mates from Sydney are pushing the boundaries of what is accessible.

“In Africa, we piggybacked up a lighthouse, and this lady goes, ‘Are you playing fun and games?'” Fletcher says, laughing on the reminiscence.

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‘I really like scaring myself’

Before and for the reason that accident that modified his life at 17 years previous, Fletcher has thrived on journey and adrenaline.

“Surfing, skating, mountain biking, skiing … I just love scaring myself,” he says.

Fletcher was left paraplegic after breaking two vertebrae trying a mountain biking soar.

Though he has some sensation and motion in his legs, he says he now cannot stroll greater than 20 metres with out feeling “absolutely wrecked”.

There was pain and anger in the days following the accident, Fletcher says, but he wouldn’t let it linger.

“This has occurred. What are we doing now?” Fletcher says.

“I obtained straight into researching what you are able to do and all of the adaptive sports activities, all of the methods to journey, and all of the completely different alternatives.”

As part of his recovery, Fletcher spent time at a resort built for people with spinal cord injuries.

It was there that another thing changed his life: becoming friends with Lachie Bennett.

“I can clearly do every little thing to outlive and to stay,” Fletcher says.

Two mates, 1 chair

They’d gone to the identical faculty and had mutual buddies, however it was after assembly on the resort the place Lachie labored that the pair grew to become buddies.

Two years later, thousands of followers know them as Two Mates 1 Chair on social media, where they share their lives and travels.

“We simply clicked. Our brains are very, very comparable,” Fletcher says.

Wanting to push the boundaries to make adventure accessible is also in Lachie’s nature. For work, he does recreational support in adaptive surfing, biking, kayaking and more.

One day, driving past theme parks on the Gold Coast, the pair tried something that would go on to help them travel the world.

“I used to be like, ‘We ought to go to Wet’n’Wild,'” Lachie says.

“And Fletcher was like, ‘How’s that going to work?’

“And that’s where the piggyback started.”

The professionals of travelling with a wheelchair

Lachie and Fletcher have simply returned from a three-month journey spanning 4 continents.

In what they name “the trip of a lifetime”, they travelled to Hong Kong, Brazil, South Africa and throughout Europe.

“We thought about the accessibility of each place, but it didn’t affect at all if we were going to visit.”

And regardless of the limitations one would possibly assume travelling in a wheelchair imposes, Fletcher and Lachie’s journey was as spontaneous and on-the-fly as anybody else’s; they set off with a rental automotive and just some nights of lodging booked.

“People would reach out to us and say, ‘Come stay with us,'” Fletcher says.

“In Switzerland, we stayed with a family the whole time.”

There have been some conditions the place accessibility was a difficulty, similar to within the snow and on trains, they are saying, however collectively, they made it work.

“We get the shits when it’s just three steps. You should just have a ramp at that point,” Lachie says.

“We went into it thinking it was going to be a lot harder,” Fletcher says.

In truth, they’re each eager to level out the professionals of travelling with a wheelchair.

“It’s front-row parking with this bloke,” Lachie laughs.

“[Under my chair] is carrying two backpacks around permanently. It’s literally a personal boot with me 24/7.”

And then there’s their distinctive mode of transport, “piggybacking the world” as they are saying on TikTook, which opened up a variety of potentialities.

“I think it’s kind of our thing now: just finding tall things to piggyback,” Fletcher says.

“I reckon Lachie came back so much fitter than when he left.”

“We just do us.”

The impression of their story

Through their social media channels, Lachie and Fletcher hope to vary how individuals view the probabilities of travelling with a incapacity.

“We’ve had a fair few people in chairs, and not even just in chairs, [saying], ‘You guys proved to me that we can travel.'”

They acknowledge their model of journey is just not attainable for a lot of.

“It looks so different for everyone else as well. Each disability is so different.”

With the last word objective of sooner or later aiding others to expertise what they’ve, the mates additionally hope their adventures present the facility of neighborhood and friendship.

“I think it’s a matter of trusting yourself, trusting your friends,” Fletcher says.

“Anywhere in the world you are, we’ve learnt, there’ll be someone who will help.”

For Lachie, having the ability to help somebody “brings me so much joy”.

“Life wouldn’t be as good without mates,” he says. 

“I’ll always enjoy it more, even if it’s a stranger or a mate. It’s so much more fulfilling if you can share a scream or a giggle with someone else.”

Fletcher feels the identical.