No Strings Attached – RX Smart Gear
You never really realize how much you actually use your limbs until you lose them. The spectrum of creative solutions that we’ve seen within our limb loss and difference communities never ceases to amaze us. Perhaps those who help discover the solutions inspire us just the same, especially when they have absolutely nothing to gain.
David Newman started making custom jump ropes in 2009 when he caught the bug for CrossFit, a group-fitness style gym franchise known internationally for the CrossFit Games where athletes compete for the title, “fittest in the world.” Frustrated by his own struggle with these plyometric skills, he truly made himself the master of jump ropes – today his company known as RX Smart Gear is a house name in the CrossFit scene, known for their highly specialized jump rope technology and progression-based training protocol (you might think there isn’t much to building and jumping rope, but there really is). Though David has all four limbs himself, he found himself early on looking for adaptive solutions.
“I had a large order come in from a group on the east coast and they asked if I could build something for a member with an arm difference,” said David. “That was my first adaptive rope and my learning curve just shot up from there.”
Since then, David has created an entire line of adaptive jump ropes for every combination of limb differences. When worlds collided in 2017, Beautifully Flawed Executive Director Sarah Hill was introduced to David at the CrossFit Games to learn about what RX Smart Gear was doing for the adaptive communities and our partnership with the brand began. As a surfer himself, David was especially drawn to the model of the retreat experience.
Every year, David and his wife Sue join our retreats to talk, surf and provide adaptive ropes for every single attendee with custom adjustments. It’s not about the ropes – it’s about the freedom that comes when someone accomplishes a feat they never expected to after a traumatic loss or lifetime of having more “cannot’s” than “can’s” when it comes to physical efforts.
“Taking my [prosthetic] leg off and being able to jump was so fun… I felt like a beast!” said Nan, one of the 2022 retreat attendees. “I felt so cool and confident and sassy, almost. I never realized how much [jump rope] could do for me.”
Coaching, teaching and tinkering are in David’s nature. Before he made and taught jump ropes, he was a gymnastics coach with his wife, Sue. Also present at each retreat, Sue’s sweet compassion to encourage our attendees is contagious.
“Being involved with the retreats is a highlight of our year,” says David. “We love to participate in and meet these amazing humans who have been dealt a bad card in some respects and show them that they are as whole as they always were, they just have to find a new way and a new solution to help them on that journey. It overflows our hearts with joy.”
When we think of the inspiration that RX Smart Gear has set in us as a partner, it’s their “no strings attached” approach to altruism. For all that their brand is involved in and as fast-paced as their growth appears to be, they’ve always shown up to catch surfers, cheer on our community, provide gifts and financial support.
“We want to use our talents to help other people and I think that’s a really important balance for a corporate life,” said David. “My biggest advocacy is for companies to get involved holistically, not just to get something in return.”
Make Incredible Things Happen
Help further our mission and programs that support young people living with limb difference or those who’ve experienced traumatic limb loss by making a tax-deductible donation.
