Spencer Wood ended up with an absolutely awful haircut as part of a rookie initiation to the World Cup tour. The rules were, he had to keep the cut until he reached the podium. Spencer turned perception of disability upside down by winning his first Paralympic World Cup. A stroke in the womb resulted in hemiplegia, but his ski racing career started with his able-bodied peers. A medical brace wasn’t a brace. It was a ski boot.

Cindy Ehnes was the first American woman to win Gold in a Winter Paralympics. Her speed might have been a result of being a Bonne Bell girl, the sporty, outdoor group of girls that skied fast and sold cosmetics. If she lost a race the man got to kiss her. Then Cindy earned a law degree and launched a high-profile career in the healthcare field that included serving as Director of California’s Department of Managed Health Care under Governor Schwarzenegger. How did turn perception of disability upside down? How didn’t she?

Wheelchair innovator Joe Bieganek was a cop before he became a seating specialist. He turns perception of disability upside down by giving paras and amputees the connection to their equipment to make the impossible possible. Aspen Seating/Ride Designs fits athletes in monoskis, handcycles, hockey sleds and many other sports to maximize performance and maintain health.

Marko Cheseto lost his cousin to suicide while they were both running at the University of Alaska. Deep in grief, he took some anti-depressants and went for a long run in the woods only to get stuck in a snowstorm, lose his way, consciousness and eventually both of his legs to frostbite. He turned perception of upside down by running a 2:35:55 marathon, the fastest ever for an amputee.

Curtis Gunn just wanted to change beauty. Well, he didn’t want to change it as much as he wanted to show beautiful people who might not have been previously noticed. The SHOT Modeling Agency might have been a bit ahead of its time when it represented solely models with disabilities, but it ushered in a shift in our view. It turned perception of disability upside down.

Tabitha (Tabi) Haly is a software engineer and coder with JPMorgan Chase — and she also is a singer-songwriter and a disability advocate. Tabi was born with Muscular Dystrophy and was profiled on CNN's "The Human Factor" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. In 2019, Tabi performed at Mercury Lounge in celebration of her first studio album which is named after her track "I Wrote Life". Her next studio album coming out in 2022, featuring a song called "Gonna Be Good"!

The youngest track and field athlete in Rio at 16, but came away with two silvers and a bronze. Five years later Alexa Halko looks to put her stamp on these Games. She’s battled two athletes from the UK since 2015. Will this be the event where she breaks through?

The 2002 US Sled Hockey Team only qualified for the Paralympics because they were the host country. Goalie Manny Guerra represented the last line of defense. Defend and score goals they did, all the way to the Gold Medal. No one gave them a chance, but them. That’s turning perception of disability upside down.

While Triathlon was Kendall Gretsch’s first love, she’d already won Paralympic medals in second sport of cross-country before she had the chance to demonstrate just how good she could be. In Tokyo, she did exactly that, making up twenty-six seconds on the final lap of the wheelchair portion to take the gold at the line. Kendall turns perception of disability upside by being the hardest working and most tenacious athlete out there.

Tanja Kari didn’t care that she was a one-armed cross-country skier growing up in native Finland, she just cared that she was one of the twenty fastest in the country. She turned perception of disability upside down when people complained that she was too good for the Paralympics and by setting a new standard for them to chase.