“I truly consider my cerebral palsy to be my greatest gift”

By: Matthew G. Johnson, Staff Writer for Unsugarcoated Media

While graduating high school and starting college is always a hard transition of independence, for a then-16 year old Matthew Walzer it became a defining moment for the world and he sat down recently with UNSUGARCOATED Media’s founder, Aalia Lanius, to share his story of inspiring inclusion by bringing attention to his disability.

Walzer was born with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia and made headlines after an open letter asking Nike to consider designing a shoe inclusive for those with motor disability resulted in a landmark colloboration. Ultimately culminating in the creation of the Nike FlyEase line, the first Basketball shoes designed for those who cannot tie their own shoes.

While this may seem a small victory, it was the only the start of Walzer’s journey in advocating for Disability Inclusion. From Obama’s White House to the United Nations, Walzer has continued to spread awareness of disability struggles and advocate for disability inclusion.

Speaking on his journey, Walzer shares how he recognizes that despite how “physically tiring” and “mentally taxing” some day-to-day struggles can be, especially in being seen, he remains optimistic. Looking at how CP has allowed him to “see the world from such a unique perspective” and provided him with the “strength, mental toughness, and spirit” to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to.

While fighting for change and inclusion is always difficult, and the thought of it can be so daunting as to seem impossible, Walzer’s story shows that even one person can be enough of a  catalyst to push one of the biggest companies in the world and impact the lives of millions around it.

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