A former London advertising executive, who has turned campaigner for the disabled following a catastrophic road accident, was in Dundee at the weekend.
Max Burt visited the city as part of a marathon 714-mile cycle journey from Aberdeen to London on his recumbent trike to promote the inclusion of disabled people in society.
Last year, he was in Dundee for the same purpose and decided to repeat the experience with a slight variation in his route south of the Border.
Max (45) sustained massive injuries in November 1999 when his car collided with a fire engine on its way to an emergency.
He was working in advertising, winning awards with his It’s Good To Talk campaign for BT, but the accident left him paralysed on his left side and a permanent wheelchair user.
He was also left deaf in one ear and with sight and speech impairments.
He arrived in Dundee on Saturday, having left Aberdeen on Thursday, stopping off at Stonehaven and Montrose.
On Sunday he was in the City Square to meet Lord Provost John Letford, who presented Max with a bottle of whisky and a couple of engraved glasses to help him on his way.
Mr Letford congratulated Max for taking up the marathon challenge.Alter imageMax had been a keen footballer before the accident but had to change his fitness regime, as he said, “I bought a reclining exercise bike after the accident and pounded away on that day after day and then thought I could use a bike to try to alter the image of people with disability.”
He came up with the idea of the Everything Is Possible In Life Cycle.
He said that while it was important for him to overcome physical barriers, what really mattered was changing attitudes towards disabled people.
“There is a lot of prejudice, it is a big problem that all disabled people face,” he said.
“It may be at a subconscious level, but it is still there. We are all lumped together under the same label when we are individuals.
“I am quite active in the disability community and sit on a few committees but I was also keen to do something which could spread the disability message.”