Well-known Kelowna freestyle motocross racer Bruce Cook is giving back and helping change people’s lives with the help of a team in a new TV series, By Hook or By Cook.
Cook is giving people another chance at life – helping them defy the odds and sometimes even gravity.
“I just know from my accident and experience how important it is mentally and physically to get back out there and not let your injury define you,” said Cook, By Hook or By Cook host.
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The freestyle motocross star has traveled the world with Nitro Circus, and after becoming paraplegic following an attempted trick in 2014, he did not let the accident slow him down, and now he is helping others see the possibilities.
“After the injury, they just kind of give up and you don’t want people to just kind of be depressed and sit in their basement and live their life that way, there’s always a way,” said Cook.
“[When you] put multiple brains together you can always come up with something to figure out a way to do what you want to do.”
They helped create adaptive equipment that allows participants of all abilities to do everything from hot air ballooning to kayaking.
“By Hook or By Cook is a truly fun series,” says John Melville, vice president, content development and programming, AMI-tv/AMI-audio in a press release.
“We know it will promote imaginative thinking about accessibility and incite hope to broaden our ideas of what we think is possible.”
In the series, they spend anywhere from three to five days with participants, preparing them for the big adventure at the end of each episode that are produced by Render Digital Media.
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“There were some long days and interesting scenarios that you find yourself in but when you begin to step back and watch something that they never thought they would ever be able to do, it is pretty rewarding,” said Pamela Tomlinson, By Hook or By Cook producer.
They took Mitchell Wheeler on a trip to make better memories at Sun Peaks Resort — to ride on the same jump where he had his accident that put him in a wheelchair in 2018.
“It was a miracle when Bruce called me, it really just fired up a lot of hope, it brought a bunch of life back to me,” said Mitchell Wheeler, By Hook or By Cook participant.
He met the creator of Bowhead Corp., Christian Bagg, who makes adaptive adventure bikes for people of all abilities, flew in a Cessna Aircraft and got to have some fun.
“Bruce Cook and his friends, Ashley King and Christian Bagg, prove that creativity and innovation can turn an inaccessible world into a more inclusive and exciting place of adventure and discovery,” stated a press release.
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At the end of his run down, he was greeted by his friends and family, and to top it off, he got to keep the Bowhead adventure bike he rode down on.
“It was very, very fun, I had no idea my family and everyone all knew about this already for a few weeks and it was pretty surprising going down there, and then when I got to the bottom, there’s a great big cheer,” said Wheeler.
Season one has begun airing on AMI TV and they are already filming season two but they are still accepting applications for participants. Filming will take place between May and October 2021. Interested applicants can apply now via the Render Digital Media website.
