Ryan and Huy met on a study trip during university. Wanting to enjoy the beach together, Ryan recognised how difficult it was for his mate Huy to get down onto the sand. Huy needed to plan ahead, pack separate set of larger tires and transfer out of his chair to make the feat. Ryan thought that there must be an easier way.

Traditional wheelchair tires get stuck in soft terrain such as sand, and with over 75-million wheelchair users around the world, it is not a small problem.

With napkin sketches and design testing, the men set out to design and create an all-terrain solution for wheelchair uses to be more spontaneous in getting outdoors.

The duo looked to nature to increase the surface area of the tire. Inspired by the gecko lizard foot, Ryan and Huy’s Gecko Traxx innovation is a portable clip-on tire system, which fits onto any standard wheelchair tire. It goes to show that solving a problem in your own backyard, can also help people all over the world.

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