Adaptive wakesurfing event empowers Coloradans with prosthetics

LOVELAND, Colo. (KDVR) – On a picturesque late summer day, David Marks jumped into the cold water at Boyd Lake in Loveland.

He admits he didn’t really know what to expect when he jumped on a wakeboard for the first time.

But the experience left him feeling stronger and ready for more adventures, just two years after he lost his left leg to an infection.

“It was magical, it was exciting, it was powerful,” he said. “It was everything I hoped for.”

He got the chance Saturday thanks to an adaptive wake surfing event hosted by Hanger Clinic and Tommy’s Boats.

About 30 people with physical disabilities got the chance to enter the water while Hanger staff fitted their prosthetics with waterproof seals.

“They’ve been through a lot,” said prosthetist Jeff Retallack. “And a lot of people are trying to get back to what they were doing before they lost their leg.”

Marks says he’s grateful for the opportunity to try a new sport and the motivation it gives him to keep going.

“One of my goals was to experience things I had never done before, even when I had both legs,” he says. “And in many ways, life was so much better when I took on a new perspective and found that I can do things, that I don’t let things stop me.”