First Disabled Man And Women To Host Outdoor Video Series

Ashlee and Chad have come together to create a national series called, Able Outdoors, in order to blaze a trail for able sportsmen and women. The two met at SHOT Show in 2017, but have known each other for many years prior due to their mutual involvement in the able hunting community. With a combined 55 years of experience of going afield post-injury, Ashlee and Chad felt now was the time to enter the mainstream media to show the world what can be possible for people with all types of disabilities.

Ashlee and Chad are both on the NRA’s Disabled Shooting Sports Committee, former recipients of Safari Club Foundation’s Pathfinder Award and on Mossy Oak’s National Pro Staff.

About Ashlee Lundvall
Ashlee was an active teenager and four-sport athlete when she was injured in an accident in 1999 while attending a youth camp in Wyoming. A tragic fall on the wooden handle of a pitchfork broke her back at the T-12 level. After returning home to Indiana to finish her rehab, Ashlee graduated from IUPUI in 2005 with a BS in Public Affairs and completed her graduate studies in Biblical Counseling in 2007.

In 2007, Ashlee moved to Wyoming with her husband, Russ. She quickly immersed herself in the amazing outdoor adventures provided by the mountainous region, and in 2008, helped found Wyoming Disabled Hunters. Besides hunting, Ashlee loves fly fishing, camping, four-wheeling, kayaking, hand cycling, and tearing around in her Action Track Chair. She also enjoys passing on her love for the outdoors to her daughter, Addison, who was born in 2010.

Ashlee’s speaking career was born when she was crowned Ms. Wheelchair USA in 2013, and in 2015, she was given the Wyoming Trustee Award. Her first book, A Redefined Life, was released in February of 2016. She recently was put on the Wyoming Game & Fish Commission.

“Ashlee is a unique ambassador for the outdoors. She earned the title of Ms. Wheelchair USA with her platform of making the outdoors more accessible to everyone. She was and is today an animal lover and a hunter. These two unique characteristics don’t seem to be compatible even though they really are. Most of us take our ability to get into a vehicle, drive to the woods and go hunting for granted. But for Ashlee, it’s a decision to do whatever she must do to get to wherever she needs to go to find game to hunt. Ashlee is not only an ambassador for the outdoors. She’s an ambassador for the 2.2 million people in the United States who depend on wheelchairs for day-to-day tasks and mobility and for the Americans in wheelchairs who are participating more in outdoor sports and activities. She brings an unusual perspective on who can hunt, fish, hike, canoe and kayak in the great outdoors.” – John E. Phillips, Outdoor Writer

Ashlee is passionate about mentoring newly injured patients and lives to pass on her love for adapted outdoor recreation.

“I would love to see more people with disabilities represented in outdoor media, advertising and organizations. We are the only minority group that anyone can become a part of at any time, and we’re growing every year. The outdoors can be such a healing place, and it needs to be made more available to people of all abilities.

“I am excited about this new venture with Chad for several reasons. First, I know we’re gonna have a lot of fun! Second, I want to encourage others to push the boundaries and see what is possible. I’m looking forward to showing the full gamut of adventures, from local DIY hunts to experiences involving extensive travel, and what that can look like if you happen to have a disability. We’ll evaluate adaptive equipment, show people how to cook the game and fish they harvest, and share tips and tricks for making the outdoors a more accessible place for all. It’s going to be quite a ride – I hope you join us along the way!”

About Chad Waligura
Growing up in a small town in Texas, Chad fell in love with the outdoors when he was kid on his grandparents’ farm. At 12, when his dad took him duck hunting for the first time, he knew it would be a part of his life forever.

When Chad was paralyzed in 1986 at age 17 after diving into a swimming pool, it was the one thing he knew he could never give up. Three months later, he was back in the woods learning how to hunt again. And 18 years later, the Buckmasters’ American Deer Foundation voted Chad Challenged Hunter of the Year.

It wasn’t long after Chad’s injury that he created a site called Follow Me Outdoors in order to gather info on adaptive equipment and hunting opportunities for able sportsmen across the country. Anytime he had a successful hunt or stumbled across an amazing story that he thought needed telling, Chad wrote about it. He hence began free-lancing for mainstream hunting magazines, and was published in Rack Magazine, King’s Hunting Illustrated, Eastman’s Hunting Journal, Horizontal Bowhunter Magazine, UFFDA Magazine, Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine, the African Sporting Gazette and Universal Hunter along the way, which lead to the eventual creation of Able Outdoors.

Chad, a C-7 quadriplegic, has been a TIRR Peer mentor for 25 years and been hosting group events for able sportsmen and women for more than 20. He’s currently the VP for an organization in Texas called Disabled Outdoorsmen USA.

Most recently, he became the first quadriplegic to handle his gun dog Vegas in a UKC Hunt Test, earning her an HRCH hunt title.

To date, Chad has been wing-shooting and hunted big game in six different countries and on three continents, but those numbers are likely to go up very soon.

“When it comes to how to get back into the outdoors, some of the same issues I faced after I was paralyzed still exist today, and being able to find all the info you need about where to go, who to call and what kind of equipment you might need are some of the problems I want to solve for you. I want Able Outdoors to fill that void.

“We go out and hunt and fish and travel just like the able-bodies do, and we’re going to show you how we do it. I’m super-excited to be joining Ashlee on this venture because I know how passionate she is about the outdoors and how much she wants to help other get back outside, especially women. We have a lot of the same ideas on what we want to accomplish together and it feels like she’s the perfect person at the perfect time in the perfect place.

“As Co-Host of Able outdoors, my primary duty will be to make sure the product we put out will be as informative as it is entertaining. Naturally, we will focus on hunting & fishing, but a constant variety of topics will be the current that drives our ship.

“Which pretty much leads me to where I sit today, poised at the starting gate of a video series that will be by, for and all about able sportsmen. I really look forward to showing the world about what we can accomplish. I hope you will enjoy the ride as much as we will. I can’t wait!”

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