What It's Really Like To Be Paralyzed After A Car Crash

What It's Really Like To Be Paralyzed After A Car Crash, featuring Chelsie Hill. Chelsie is a professional dancer, community leader, content creator, wife, and mother. She is also a serial entrepreneur. She founded Rollettes, a Los Angeles–based wheelchair dance team committed to education, disability representation, and female empowerment; Rollettes Experience, the largest women’s empowerment weekend for women and children with disabilities; and the Boundless Talent Showcase, a showcase competition for all genders, disabilities, and talents. She also launched the Boundless Babe Society, a virtual mentorship program designed to help women around the world level up in life by providing tools, community, and leadership development. At 17 years old, Chelsie was involved in a drunk driving accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury and paralysis from the waist down. When doctors told her she would not be able to walk again, her response was simple: she didn’t care about walking — she just wanted to dance. That moment became the beginning of everything that followed. While adjusting to her new reality after the injury, Chelsie wanted to connect with other young women like herself and build meaningful friendships. In 2012, she turned to social media and invited six women to her hometown of Monterey, California to put on a performance for friends, family, and the local community. Through rehearsals, sleepovers, and plenty of bonding time, the group quickly formed a deep connection and became a team. That is how the Rollettes were born. From the beginning, Chelsie’s dream was to become a professional dancer. In 2014, she moved to Los Angeles, the dance capital of the world, and began taking able-bodied dance classes at top studios. The journey was not easy. She was often the only dancer in a wheelchair in rooms full of able-bodied performers, working to adapt choreography to fit her wheelchair while many choreographers initially overlooked her. But her love and passion for dance outweighed any obstacles. She remained determined to prove that dance is dance, whether you’re walking or rolling. As social media began to grow, Chelsie noticed dancers creating fun videos and participating in dance challenges online. She wondered why she didn’t see dancers in wheelchairs doing the same thing. Instead of waiting for representation, she decided to create it. Together with the Rollettes, she began making dance videos and experimenting with content online, simply to explore what was possible. Through social media, she discovered the power of showing the world what people with disabilities can do on their own terms. Chelsie later surprised her biggest fan, Mayli, on the hit show Little Big Shots hosted by Melissa McCarthy, and appeared on the Sundance Channel’s award-winning television series Push Girls. She has also partnered with numerous major brands including Aerie, Target, Love Beauty and Planet, Wells Fargo, Clorox, Tommy Hilfiger, Athleta, Gymshark, Reebok, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Together with her team, Chelsie has helped build one of the largest networks of women with disabilities across the United States and around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices