How disability doesn’t stop Isaac Harvey from pursuing his passion for adventure
British disability advocate Isaac Harvey, who will speak at a Hong Kong gala in November, refuses to let his condition limit his ambition
Isaac Harvey’s passion for adrenaline-fuelled adventure started in 2015 when the Briton completed his first skydive. But his biggest challenge was not jumping out of a plane at 14,000ft (4,267 metres). It was the events leading up to it.
Airfields across Britain told Harvey that skydiving was not possible because of his disability: he was born with limb/pelvis hypoplasia/aplasia (LPHA) syndrome. This rare genetic condition resulted in his being born with no arms, short legs, a weak pelvis and scoliosis – curvature of the spine.
“Skydiving harnesses didn’t exist that could meet my needs, and after months of rejection, I almost gave up,” says Harvey.
But quitting is not in his nature, so he found an airfield in the United States that had the right equipment.
“I was nervous, but by the time I was falling through the sky, the fear had been replaced by the determination to carry it through.”
The real reward was not the skydive but knowing that his persistence had turned “no” into “yes”, says Harvey, who has since added skiing and sailing in a tall ship to his list of adventures.