---
title: "Breaking The Disability Mould"
episode: 162
date: 2025-06-05
guest: "Lyndsay Mitcheson"
canonical: https://inclusionbites.co.uk/podcast/162-breaking-the-disability-mould
audio: https://cdn.seech.uk/podcast/episodes/ibs-162/audio.mp3
---

# Breaking The Disability Mould

Joanne Lockwood is joined by Lindsay Mitchison, an award-winning disabled entrepreneur and founder of NeoWalk, to talk about what it means to “break the disability mould” and reclaim agency after life-changing health events. Lindsay shares the story of a catastrophic MRSA infection following knee surgery, the long period of pain and loss of mobility that followed, and why choosing amputation became a way to take control back. Together they explore rehabilitation, learning to use a prosthetic, and how identity and confidence can shift when you move from being defined by what happened to you to actively shaping what comes next. The conversation also looks beyond personal experience to the realities of living in a world not designed for disabled people—from inaccessible spaces and poor facilities to everyday assumptions and stigma. Lindsay describes how community connection and visibility matter, why disabled people should be spoken to directly rather than about, and how assistive technology can be both functional and an expression of style. Lindsay also reflects on building NeoWalk—creating bespoke acrylic walking sticks that spark confidence, invite connection, and help turn a mobility aid into something people feel proud to use. The episode closes with a clear message about choice, dignity, and belonging, and the practical need for society and organisations to remove barriers instead of hiding behind excuses.

## Chapters

- 00:00 — Introduction and Welcome
- 01:30 — Spark Change Conversations
- 04:28 — MRSA Infection Led to Amputation
- 07:16 — Complications After Knee Surgery
- 12:00 — Empowering Rehabilitation Journey
- 15:13 — Power of Belief and Support
- 16:58 — Embracing the True Prosthetic
- 19:48 — Challenges of Inclusivity and Accessibility
- 24:44 — Advocating for Disabled Empowerment
- 29:00 — Circus Opportunities and Comedy Roles
- 31:17 — Embracing Amputation for Active Life
- 34:30 — Finding Your Why: A Personal Journey
- 36:37 — Disability Empowerment Through Design
- 40:40 — Walking Stick Height Importance
- 43:55 — Living Presently, Embracing Uncertainty
- 48:04 — Promoting Choice and Connection
- 51:42 — Challenging Stigma Against Young Disabled
- 54:32 — Embrace Standing Out
- 55:48 — Community Gathering Events Announced

## Key takeaways

- Navigating the emotional and practical realities of amputation, prosthetics, and persistent rehabilitation.
- Challenging the societal stigma surrounding visible and invisible disabilities, and the evolving nature of identity and self-belief.
- The significance of design, function, and personal style in mobility aids as tools of empowerment and self-expression.
- Real-world barriers to accessibility in daily life, from inadequate public facilities to inaccessible buildings, and strategies to promote inclusivity.
- The role of community—both online and offline—in fostering peer support, advocacy, and collective resilience within disabled communities.
- The critical impact of positive language, respectful engagement, and unlearning unconscious biases when interacting with disabled persons.
- How businesses and organisations can adopt a growth mindset to address dynamic disability needs and embrace universal design principles.

## FAQs

### Who is the guest on this episode and what is her background?

The guest is Lindsay Mitchison, an award-winning disabled entrepreneur and founder of Neowalk. After developing arthritis as a teenager and later contracting MRSA following knee surgery, Lindsay eventually elected to have her leg amputated. She has rebuilt her life around adaptive mobility and self-empowerment, founding Neowalk to create stylish acrylic walking sticks ("walkistics") and championing confidence and self-belief within the disabled community.

### What topics does the episode cover regarding disability and identity?

This episode explores the lived experience of becoming disabled through illness, the emotional and psychological journey of accepting a new identity, and the importance of self-belief. It also confronts societal perceptions and stigma, highlighting the need to shift from trying to blend in towards embracing individuality and pride in disability.

### How did Lindsay Mitchison’s health journey impact her career and personal outlook?

Lindsay’s journey from arthritis, through a catastrophic infection and eventual amputation, forced her to reconsider what control meant in her life. She embraced new opportunities—becoming active with a prosthetic, working as a live casualty actor, participating in the Paralympics, and even training as a circus performer. These experiences reinforced her belief in possibility, adaptability, and the power of community.

### What challenges does society still pose for people with disabilities?

Lindsay discusses how society remains physically, culturally, and attitudinally exclusive, with public spaces often lacking planning or flexibility for accessibility needs. She notes the stigma around visible mobility aids, poor disabled toilet facilities, and ignorance around disability—especially when assumptions are made based on appearance or mobility aids. That said, she highlights generational shifts in attitudes due in part to greater visibility of disability in mainstream culture.

### What advice or insights does Lindsay offer to businesses and organisations seeking to be more inclusive?

She stresses the importance of not labelling or making assumptions about people with disabilities, advocating for direct communication with disabled persons. She encourages proactive education, exposure, and engagement—especially for younger generations—and challenges organisations to see accessibility as more than compliance, but as a vehicle for empowerment and dignity.

### How is Neowalk different from traditional mobility aid companies?

Neowalk’s walking sticks are made to measure in colourful, stylish acrylic designs, offering both comfort and a sense of pride. Lindsay prioritises individuality, with sticks that act as fashion accessories rather than objects to be hidden. The company also nurtures a diverse online community, facilitating peer support and active engagement beyond transactions.

## Transcript

Joanne Lockwood: Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seachangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.

Lindsay Mitchison: And today is episode 162 with the title, breaking the disability mold. I have the absolute honor and privilege to welcome Lindsay Mitchison. Lindsay is an award winning disabled entrepreneur and founder of Neowalk. They create stunning acrylic walkistics to empower people with confidence and style. When I authenticate to describe her superbash, she said it is believing in possibility and empowering others to thrive beyond limitations. Hello, Lindsay. Welcome to the show. Hello, Jo. Thank you very much for having me. How are you? I'm very good. So you're you're based up north in The UK, and I'm down south as they say. Yeah. I'm in the frozen North. So it's a bit chilly up here, but, yeah. We we had snow last week, but a bit warmer this week. So, yeah, York's a lovely, lovely city. It is. I remember going to the railway museum there as a child, and, yeah, I don't think I've been back to York specifically, but certainly being around that area in the Yorkshire area. Beautiful part of the country. Yeah. Very friendly, aren't you? Up north. It was a love and We are. Dark, are they? Yeah. We're not we're not ducks up here. You'd be, you'd be a pet or a mate. You'd be, yeah. Now then mate. So when we've connected in the green room earlier, I was welcomed by someone who said hello. And I, you came on to the green and said, sorry, that wasn't me. That was my parrot. So I have a conversation with me in the background. Yeah. That's my, that's my little friend, Blanco. He's my umbrella cockatoo. He's he has two words that he's really good at, which are hello and goodbye. So you you said hello, and he went, hello. He's very, very sociable. And I didn't realize it was a parrot when I first say hello and he came on, you wheeled yourself on. It was like, it says, it was, that was my parrot. So Yeah. He's just my assistant. He just steps in when I need him to. So like a a a different version of chat GPT sort of holds the thought for you. Anyway, para agent. He's, he's quite sociable, although he does like calling people bad boys. So if you if we'd kept him in longer, he probably would have started saying, hello, So, Lindsay, you, you had a, a life changing should I say event? Is that, is that event? Is that the right word? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Fifteen or two years ago. And you're now a globally recognized entrepreneur fueled well, first of all, show it by sharing what happened and, what turned the corner to inspire you to to take control of your your life again? Yeah. I think that that's the word. It was taking it was taking control because this happened to me. The, previous to me being ill, I was, I'd trained as a hairdresser. I was hoping to set up my own business being a hairdresser. I was mum. I got two lovely kids. And I had always had arthritis since I've been a teenager, and I had surgery on the on one of my knees. And I contracted a catastrophic MRSA infection, which was at a time, I don't know whether you remember, when MRSA was rife in hospitals. It it was it was all that was that was talked about. And I I contracted one during surgery. They stitched me up, sent me home, and, it it burbled away and really destroyed the bottom part of of my leg. And I ended up having my leg amputated three years later. I lived with it for as long as I could because I'm a trier, and I thought, you know, I can I can do this and see what I can salvage from what's happened? But, yeah, I I opted to have my leg amputated because all it was doing was holding me back, and I was facing an amputation in the future anyway. So I kind of took control back, made what had happened to me work again for me because I knew that with a prosthetic, I'd be much more active. I was I was younger. I was 43. And I knew that with a prosthetic, I'd be super active, which which I was. So the plan actually worked out because I'd be I became this I walked about everywhere with this prosthetic leg on, and I, trained to be a circus performer. Does that sound silly? I'd I I got offered all this. I I had to keep working. So I joined an agency called Amputees in Action, and they find work for amputees like me. So I I started doing lots of crazy jobs like being a live casualty actor where I would literally get placed into different situations with a a a leg that would be made with makeup to look like it had just been blown off. And I did work for the army, the SAS, all the blue light services, private security, all all sorts of people, lots of simulations. Did that. And then one day, I got this strange email asking about doing something for the Paralympics, so I said yes as well. So I became this kind of yes person who just wanted to test my limits. I just wanted to see where my new limit sat because I knew that it was it was different. So, yeah, I started the business very early on as well. I started making the acrylic walking sticks very early on. But for myself, I made them just for me, and the the magic happened there. But, yeah, it's it's been a complicated journey the last sort of twenty years. It's been very, very up and down, very up and down. Can I ask us to to go back to that time where you were in hospital, you had your knee operation, and you you've been carrying, as you say, this arthritis for years anyway? So you are partially mobile or less less mobile, less active than you wanted to be, which is the whole reason you had it. How does the MRSA manifest itself first? Made you aware of it. So I was aware that my recovery wasn't going as well as it should be from the knee surgery. Physiotherapists were saying, you probably shouldn't be in as much pain as you still are. I wasn't able to move the knee as much. So they they were concerned that that something had gone wrong. But then it manifested as, like, a cellulitis, so lots of redness and swelling on on the skin around the knee. Then it manifested as blisters. It just kept getting worse and worse, and I kind of knew that something was going on. Plus I started to feel quite ill. So it but, yeah, it it sort of bubbled away for about four months before I was taken seriously by the GP in the hospital. And then they looked at it, and it was like, shit. There's something really bad going on here. As you said, that was, at a time where the awareness of MRSA wasn't as heightened. The awareness, I think, was there. The control wasn't. So they hadn't managed to get it under control in hospitals. It was it was one of the things that you got tested for before you went into hospital. And ironically, I caught it actually in a an Operating Theater, which is where you would think it would have been, immaculate. But, you know, there you go. I was I was unlucky. I was unlucky. Yeah. So what was it like making that decision? I mean, you said you were at the point where you couldn't carry on, and you want to take agency back for yourself, make that decision. It must have been quite, I don't know, quite a stressful time for your children, for your family, to know you're gonna go back. Because even though you're having an amputation, I guess there's still a risk the MRSA may not be removed at that time. Is it is that possibility? Yeah. It is a possibility, but that they were they were quite confident that they, they got rid of all the infection at at the time when I had the last surgery for it. But really, because I was left with a a knee that I couldn't bend. I couldn't bend it literally, and it was very painful. I couldn't walk. It was really painful. So I was already in use using a wheelchair. I was already using Mobility Aid. I'd already lost it. Do do you do you know what I mean? People said that must be the hardest decision ever to choose to have your your your leg amputated, but I'd actually already lost it. So the decision came a lot a lot easier. The the trauma I went through was losing the use of that leg at the time I was ill. So three years later, I just couldn't wait to get rid of the thing because it was just holding me back, and I knew it was holding me back. So the decision wasn't as hard as you had. So you you already realized that a prosthetic would've been less pain or no pain. Your mobility would've been improved. So you weren't losing anything. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Everybody that I spoke to said because I spoke to a lot of people that that were amputees when I was doing my my research on what it would be like for me. And every single one of them said, you'll wish you'd done it sooner. Every single one of them. Yeah. Alright. I'm related, but I I knew of a friend who had, a glossary bag fitted. And everyone went, oh, how terrible, how terrible this. And and they said, no. Actually, I wish I'd done it sooner because it all the issues they had going on, it diverted obviously their intestines, and and they were able to regain their life with a difference. Whereas before, they were trapped in this cycle of pain and inconvenience and and stress. Yeah. So that many times. Do the same thing. You know, seeing beyond the surgery and seeing what benefit it will have for your life. And I think if you research it enough and you talk to enough people, which I I did, it kind of confirms it in your head that it's the right Mhmm. So you do feel a lot more confident going into it. What's rehab like? So you're presumably, you you stay in hospital for a short period, walking frames, physio, people helping you regain your your balance, your momentum, walking upstairs, downstairs, those kind of things. Yeah. How how long did that part of recovery take? So I was in hospital for about five days after the amputation and got home. Everything was a bit it was all a bit home wasn't really laid out for me anymore at that point because I was I was in a wheelchair while I while I recovered in the house. And then phys physio is is really quite quite instant and quite brutal. It starts the week after, and they get you up straight away. And you use, a temporary prosthetics. So instead of having one where you've got the socket made exactly for your leg, you use, it's an inflatable prosthetic. And she's called Pam. She's got it's a Pam aid, it's called. And they get you walking. So they get you straight up, and they show you exercises. And I was at physio twice a week learning to, to to walk, and it was intense. And it was but by then, the pain had gone, you see, because I didn't have the leg there. It was completely different situation. And how kind of empowering to be stood up again. Because for a while, you know, for three years, I'd I'd spent a lot of the time sat down where people kind of look spirit over your head. And it was quite empowering to be, to be stood up and tall again, you know? So physio was hard. Rehab was, I would say it took me about five months to be walking properly on a prosthetic leg, but my God, I was off. I was loved it. It was it gave me back my freedom. Yeah. So above the knee amputation, correct me if I'm wrong, is is more of a challenge to regain your balance, your stride than below the knee, because you're you're obviously missing a joint. So you've lost two joint. Relearn. So you lose Two joint. Yeah. Lose your knee and you lose your ankle. So with the below knee, you only lose your ankle. And I I saw people with below knee amputations coming in at the same time as me for physio. And within two weeks, they were off. Like, you know, they'd they'd lost nothing. It was amazing to see. Above knee is a bit different because you've got to learn how to use the the prosthetics that because they have knees that you've got to learn how to to control as well. So a bit bit more complicated. Exalston. Mhmm. And above knee amputee uses approximately double the energy, as a an an ambulatory non or person two legged. It takes twice as much energy for me to do anything as as it does for you. Especially the cognitive load of your brain trying to process that process that new movement. Yeah. When we're when we learn to walk as as as infants, we that takes us eighteen months to get the hang of standing up and moving. Yeah. I remember being being in the in the physio because it was all indoors, obviously, and that they used to take us out into the corridor so we could walk up a bit of a a ramp and. Then one day, they said, right. We're going outside, and it will be totally different. And I'm like, yeah. Really? It's just outside. I'm used to going outside. It was terrifying because they made me walk on gravel. They made me walk on grass. They made me do some steps. The wind was blowing. The whole thing was just so different to learning to walk inside, and it completely threw me that it would make such a difference, but it it actually it it really did. It's like you say, it's the overload. It's just overwhelming. And being outdoors just added more more complication into the walking process. But it it I mean, I mean, I I was I was good at walking. I really put a lot of effort into it because that was my goal. That that was the whole reason for the amputation because I wanted to be able to I didn't want to be a woman with one leg. I wanted to be a woman with a prosthetic leg. That that was what I wanted to be. So it's redefining your identity, really. You weren't a woman with a disability. You you're a woman who has a leg that's different. Yes. That was very much what my what my goal was. And you asked how how did I do it? What made me feel able to turn that round? And I think it's it's belief. A lot of it is self belief, but it's also belief in believing in who you surround yourself with because they they give you power to push through. They give you the the support. Look at this. This was the first tattoo I ever got. It's gonna be backwards, isn't it? But it says believe, and I got that just after the I I did it before Ted Lasso did. It was it was a language for his, but I think a lot of it is belief. It's self belief and, believing in in possibilities, which is how you introduced me. And I knew that it was possible for me to do so much once I got rid of that that leg that had stopped playing as a team player. See, if you ride the clock back fifty, sixty, hundred years, false limbs, prosthetics, however you wanna describe them, were all such a social stigma, weren't they? People used to hide them. They women wear long dresses and all. Men will wear trousers to cover them up completely. They look kind of blend them in. But I've seen influences on YouTube or on television where people are kinda owning the look. They don't have to be looking like a human birth leg. Yeah. They're titanium. They're kinda glitzy. Yep. I mean, they're some of them are absolutely stunning. There's, a model called Victoria Modesto, and she's the one that famously might have seen an advert on TV where it was a perfect came to a perfect point. This this prosthetic leg, absolutely stunning. She's got some gorgeous legs. But, yeah, people people still want to hide them. Some people do. I never did. They they gave me a leg that had a cover on it, and I took it home and ripped the cover off because it it just didn't there was no point pretending it was a real leg. I just got rid of one of them. And I just thought, no. Just accept it for what it is. It's a prosthetic leg, and it wear it and be be proud of it. But there's some absolutely stunning legs now. Really gorgeous. They cost a lot of money. They do Yeah. Cost a few yeah. And the NHS, to be fair, they give you a leg that matches your capability. So when I was 43, they gave me good legs because I was younger. Whereas now, nah, not so much. Yeah. Because I'm 57 now, and it's tight. Yeah. Yeah. You're not gonna do much with it, Lindsay, are you really? So, you know, it's not exactly a broom handle, but, you know, the the as you get older, they, they they give you less and less. They save you the super active people. So you haven't got one of those, sprint blades that you see on the Paralympics? No. Would love one, but no. I I've asked, but no. No. I'm not gonna sprint anyway. I wouldn't even sprint if someone was chasing me. I just wouldn't have. Take your leg off and throw it at them. Be the answer, wouldn't it? Come on then if you think yeah. But, yeah, the, the the NHS sort of it's got no money. I mean, let's let's be totally honest. It's it's on its knees. So, yeah, they they allocate their money carefully. Yeah. I I'm I'm just hypothesizing. You know? It's fair and reasonable for the NHS to provide you enough so that your quality of life is restored roughly to where you were before. They're not there to give you more than you already had. So just maintaining that point of life. Okay? Yeah. Yeah. But they they definitely don't. The actual knees, some of them are microchipped. You know, they've they've got little computers. They learn how you walk so they can help you back. It knows when you go on an uneven surface, you know, and it it it kicks in and helps you. It knows you're going downhill. And it yeah. Amazing, amazing technology. We've got to thank our veterans for that because so many guys and girls were coming back from, you know, Afghanistan and Iraq that were amputees. So a lot of the progression with prosthetics has come around because of them, lad. You you said when you first came home from hospital after the amputation that you realized your house wasn't designed for wheelchair access or for your mobility needs at the time. How have you found society in the world at large going from that? I appreciate you went through a phase where you were less able because of the infection in your knee and everything. But you you must have found the world less accommodating than you expected, or or did you expect it to be a challenge getting on and off trains and buses and driving and things like that? I mean, we're here to talk inclusivity because, you know, that's the name of your podcast. And I'm living in a world that isn't built for me. It's not it's not built to accommodate my my needs. You know? Times you'll be lucky, and you'll, you know, plans will go easy and train travel and all the rest of it. And you'll you'll go to a restaurant where there might be a toilet for you. But, you know, a lot of the time, it's just it's not built for people with mobility issues. It's frustrating. I deal with it because there's bigger things going on in life. You know, if there's a if I have to go to a public toilet, you know, hundred yards away if I'm in a restaurant, don't really care as long as I can go. As long as I don't just have to go on the floor. You know, I'm happy with that. There's bigger things to complain about. I I would never make a fuss. What does bug me are, dirty disabled toilets at service stations where there's no other choice. You know? Because there's no there's no need. So I I have complained about things like that. But, yeah, the it's just not an inclusive an inclusive world for people with, with disabilities. Not at all. Following up on what you say about the toilet association, what what what we just what what gets me on my soapbox is you turn up that another door, they have this check sheet. This this toilet was last cleaned, and they have the hour slots. And you think, well, no one's no one's checked. It's like six hours or eight hours. In fact, no one's been there today. Or someone's filled in all the gaps, the same signature all the way down. They go in there and think, nah. You've not been in there. Absolutely. No. I So can that? Really bugs me, really bugs me. And I I have complained about about that. I've been on my soapbox about that. But generally speaking, I try not to complain too much. I try not to get my blood grew up and, there's bigger things to complain about. But not everybody is empowered to be an advocate for themselves or for others. And so sometimes if, if nobody does, then nobody, then it doesn't change. You have, you have to create change, don't you? No. You do. In York, I live in I live in York. A lot of the buildings are really old. So whenever you do sort of question, have you got a disabled Lou? Why haven't you got a disabled Lou? It's it's, planning. We're not allowed we're not allowed to do this. We're not allowed to do that. Yeah. Okay. It's probably a valid valid reason. I don't know, but it's one that's thrown around quite, We hide behind the jostle, don't we? It becomes GDPR. It becomes planning. It becomes, oh, no. We we we can't do that here. It's Lens plan. Yeah. But do you know what? I'm I'm always I'm capable enough to find a solution to most things. I mean, we're in socially, going out toilets are are generally a problem. So as long as I know that I'm somewhere near a public low, I can just and go and, and find one. Because I'm in a wheelchair I'm in a wheelchair now. I don't walk very much. I I I I have other bits of me that are falling apart now. So I'm in a wheelchair all the time now. So Oh, okay. That kind of changed life for me when I had to sit in a wheelchair all the time. But, you know, it's fine. I run my life. There's nothing I can't do from my, from my wheelchair that I could do before. Nothing at all. I can chase my kids, Tom. I can take my dogs for a walk. I can do you know what? There's nothing I can't do. Bang. Whatever's going on there. It's like the parrot escaping. I've got one of my, they're they're big kids. I've got one in the in the room. He works for me. Fantastic. Yeah. So what what can businesses, offices, society do? I mean, you talked to me about maybe more of a growth mindset about what what's possible. What coral organizations think about in terms of accessibility? Because it sounds like you've gone through several different stages for being active and relatively healthy to developing arthritis, to developing MRSA, to having a an amputation, go through rehab, and then becoming a wheelchair user. So you've been through an evolution. So you've seen different aspects where, to paraphrase, went from being able, partially disabled, to a wheelchair user, and there's a completely different experience for you in society in that way. So what can people maybe learn from that? Each step is very much a hurdle that you've got to get over. So in connection with with the business, you know, I've been through all those changes. I've been through that evolution. So when people come to us and they talk about their disabilities, I can very much relate, and I can it resonates with me. So that's one of the reasons we're in such a good position to give advice and support to people in within our community. We have an amazing community. Got a very, very large community on Instagram, and we we do offer each other support. That's another thing as well, you see, because I'm part of the community that I serve. So my purpose, my my why now is to serve the disabled community, either through providing mobility aids, advocating, fighting for people to help them thrive, and be productive and happy and healthy. So all that, I see it from a disabled person's point of view. So it's it's quite a unique position to be a disabled creator, disabled entrepreneur. But to to go back, the the the wider world, I think, still needs educating a lot on how to not label people with disabilities because instantly, I'm labeled. We're all I know we're all labeled, but instantly, when people see me in a in a wheelchair, I'm labeled as weaker, less less able, that they, you know, they kind of assume that you've got some kind of neuro thing going on as well, which isn't true. You you kind of viewed as less than. And it's when I open my mouth and I start you know, it's when someone looks over my head and says to my son, does she know her PIN number for for her card? Exactly. How does that great. You know? And you it'll just say, well, I don't know. Ask her. You know? Or they'll look over my head and say, can she get out of her chair to get into a seat, like at the theater? And again, talk to the person talk to the person with the disability. It's, and that's that's an ignorance thing. That's someone not having come into contact with someone who's got a disability. That's just not knowing how to do it. So I think if there was more education for the younger generations to meet more opportunity for them to meet people with disabilities so they they understand. I used to do talks in schools. I'd I'd I've done a few, and kids are great. Kids just wanna know if it hurts. Does it does it hurt? No. It doesn't hurt. Okay then. Right. Can I ask you a question, miss? What did they do with your leg after they cut it off? That's where they go. Kids are very oh, they wanna look at your your prosthetic because they're the engineers of tomorrow. You know, they're and they would they wanna fiddle with it and see how heavy it is and, and see if you they just wanna play with it. I think the younger generation doesn't get that opportunity to interact with with many people with disabilities. So we've grown up into a generation of people that are just quite ignorant of how to, how to deal with it. Yeah. Sorry. My mind's wandering off here. I sometimes can't stop myself thinking about a humorous image in my head and I'm thinking, well, what do you do with your leg once it's cut off? I was thinking, well, maybe they take all the flesh off it, and then you you just get the bones back. So you get your foot and your your leg bone. You can then mount it, put it in your mantle piece or something. Have a little I don't know whether this kid had, maybe he's known someone who got their tonsils back in a jar. I don't know whether they were gonna give me it in a big long jar or, you know? No. I suppose you don't I mean, we collect a lot of tat anyway in our lives. I mean, the last thing we need is a an old leg. Imagine having that sat by the fireside in a in a With a freezer. Oh, that'd be like something off Dexter, wouldn't it? At Christmas, someone called, yeah, one of relatives, and I thought, oh, get joined at the freezer. Yeah. Don't not the one at the bottom. That's my cockney leg. That one. Not that not the one with not the one with the hairy toes. No. Yeah. So I was about to ask a bit more about your your movie career. You know, you're a one legged stripper. So you, there must be I mean, you you said yeah. After the Paralympic thing, I did circus training to perform in the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies in London in 2012. So performed in all these different bits in the opening. And then in the closing, I did a a big thing with, with Coldplay with I mean, they're my absolute I love them. I really love them. So they were playing underneath me, and I was hanging underneath a motorbike on a on a trapeze. And this motorbike went up a high wire. And it it was it was insane. It was one of the best nights. It it was great. But after that, I started getting opportunities for other circus things. Went to Brazil to teach circus for a bit. That that was really fun to disabled people because they got the Olympics after us. So we were looking at at helping their disabled people, you know, become circus performers as well. And then I got, I got offered this job as Peggy Sue, the one legged stripper in Bad Education, the movie with Jack Whitehall. And it was hilarious. I mean, I don't know whether you've seen it, but she was a bad stripper, so she didn't take many clothes off because as quick as she was taking them off, the audience were throwing them back at her. So she was a really bad stripper. But I remember at the time, I still had my dad alive with me, and, he told everybody that I was a prostitute. And, no. I'm just a stripper. I'm not not a prostitute. But, yeah, it was it was great fun. It was, you know, I mean, that's on my CV forever now. Who wouldn't who wouldn't want that? Yeah. I remember seeing a a BBC documentary several years ago now about Ellie Simmons. Yeah. And she was conflicted around how people wanted to cure dwarfism. And she said, well, I'm not broken. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just a little person. I have different different size attributes to everybody else. But she was really conflicted because she was just saying that I've had a fantastic life. I've done things I've never dreamed of. I've competed the Olympics at my level. I've flown around the world. I've got gold medals. I've done this, that, and the other. I'm I'm the person I am today because of who I am. And the benevolent sense that kick into people say, oh, we should fix you. We should make this better. It's such a shame, and you're brave or you're sad. It's sad. Yeah. You must have had to put up with all of that. Yeah. Such a shame. Yeah. And I mean, one of the talks that I did at one of these schools that I mentioned, a little girl looked at me and said, do you do you like having one leg? And I all I could say to her was, well, I like being me. I like me. So, yes, I suppose I do like having one leg because that's who I am. And, you'll never hear me say it's ruined my life because it it didn't. I mean, all these opportunities that I've had that came about because I chose I made the decision. I chose to lose that leg that then allowed me to become more active again. So I got I you know, these are these opportunities came along because of that. But, you know, it it hasn't ruined my life. I'm not if I could would I go back and change it? No. I wouldn't. I wouldn't go back and change because it's put me where I'm meant to be. And I I really do feel like I'm doing what I'm meant to be doing now. You know, helping helping other people with disabilities, being that connection between them and their progress, their thriving. You know, we're we're able to support and to provide these these amazing walking sticks. Yeah. Empowerment tools. They're more than just walking stick. Yeah. I I I do a lot of talks. I've done some schools. And one of the questions people have asked me is, you know, if you went back to your 10 year old self, now what you do now, what would you do differently? And I I'm with you. I I said, well, I like who I am today. I've got a fantastic family. I've got children. I've got friends. And if the butterfly wings flap differently from all that time ago, everything I know in reference today wouldn't exist as it does today. So I can't wish away Yeah. Who I am and who we are today. So, therefore, I would not change a thing. I would just, maybe maybe leave a note somewhere, say don't spoke. That's what and then but then Yeah. Just think about what you said that there, though. Aren't we lucky that we're able to say that? You know, you you like you. I like me. It's it's I think it's a very lucky position to be in. It takes work to get there. It doesn't just happen overnight. It takes work, and it'll continue to take work. But do you do you think that's a reflection of, like I said about my belief, is it a reflection of the people that you surround yourself with as well? It is I think it is a privilege that not everybody has access to this. There's been times in my life over the last twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years where maybe I wasn't in a positive place, but there's been a lot of times where the love of family, friends, people around me has made my life meaningful. And I think, yeah, that and for not everybody has that privilege. I recognize that is a privilege. We all have something that maybe we just don't appreciate it. Maybe having a significant life event that you've had that I've had in my life makes you suddenly reflect about life in general, doesn't it? You you you don't think. Maybe you take life for granted until you realize that it's not predestined and preordained. You can actually take a step to the left and make a new path if you wish. Yeah. And some of that's forced. Some of that's you wake up and go, hang on a minute. I don't want this anymore. But, yeah, I I think if we just carry on living their life for everybody else, a life of expectations and being, or losing our own agency, then, yeah, we we will never be truly happy with ourselves. But, yeah, finding that passion and purpose, I think, we all need to do that at some point. I think but, again, not not everybody will. Not everybody will have that that privilege of finding their their why. I know people talk about, oh, what's your why? But it it it's important. And when you do find it, it is like magic. I remember when because I first started making the walking sticks for myself because I couldn't find a walking stick that I liked. They were all yuck and old fashioned and horrible. So I first started making the acrylic walking sticks for myself, and people were coming up to me and saying, who loves your walking stick? It's amazing. Instead of what happened to you or what's wrong with you? You know? Because that's another thing that people feel able to to go up to someone with a disability and go, oh, what have you done? Oh, what happened to you? And you're not gonna share. I'm not gonna share my trauma with a complete stranger. So, you know, politely just say, oh, I was ill and walk away. But I start that people started coming up to me and saying, I love your walking sticks. And that gave me a real boost. It gave me a real, you know, it's it's switched the focus from my leg to I like your stick. And that that was the magic. That that was the that was the moment when I thought, god, I could I could give that to other people. Because if I'm feeling it, I'm very much average Jo Jo public. If I'm feeling it, I know other people would get that as well. And that that was was the light bulb. That was the magic when I I decided this is what I'm meant to be doing. Yeah. It's why do we have to make functional accessories? Dull and boring. You know, we I've got my nails painted, a nice pair of shoes Yeah. Have a hairdone, nice clothes, nice jewelry, a brooch, maybe a nice ring, bracelet, whatever it is. So why shouldn't a a walking aid, a wheelchair, whatever it may be, be part of your fashion accessory? And I've I've seen people who have jazzed up cochlear implants that aren't just boring bits of plastic. They're sparkly, and they're kind of an accessory. Why why shouldn't we be proud of this? Hey. Look. This is my You know, early on, I had people say to me, what's the point? What's the point? And able-bodied people. And I thought if you had a disability, you'd get the point straight away. Because it would just make you feel good. It would give you confidence. I always say, you know, give a give a man a walking stick or one of our walking sticks, and he'll walk like Charlie Chaplin. But give one to a person with disability, they'll look at it, and they might cry and go, that is just beautiful. I really like that. I'd be proud to be seen with that. That's the difference. You know? But this whole what point? People just don't get it until they need it. Popped onto your website as we started talking in the green room, and, I looked at some of the design. And as you say, they they look a bit different. They're not what I would say as as a modern design, ergonomic handle. They look like a question mark, a long elongated question mark. As you say, Charlie Chaplin spin it around. It's a completely different style to what I've been used to seeing. So I'm assuming it's comfortable and functional. Yeah. It's both. I mean, you know, I mean, people I know because I use them. You know, I can I can fully, I as a percent, vouch for them because I I used them for many, many years when I was walking? We've had people goodness. People collect them. People we have collectors who've got, like, 30 different colors. It's quite a competitive challenge. We have a community. We have a Facebook community group, and people go on there and share their pictures of how they store their walking sticks, you know, all the different colors. And someone will put on, oh, has anybody got a picture of Aurora out in the sunlight? And someone will go, yes. I've got one. This is mine. And, you know, they all help each other out. It's amazing. We've we've got a marketplace as well. We've got a a Neowork marketplace where people go on and sell their walking sticks. So maybe as if they've got a color and they think, actually, it's not what I thought or it's not I've I've used it, and I have no more use for it, then they sell it. So there's a a constant exchange, like a recycling thing going on as well. So they are very much a collector's item now, which surprised me. But I love it. Absolutely love it. People are proud of them. I imagine a bit like vented for for for walking aids. Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, I've, I I've fancy a different one, and Yeah. Yeah. Let's trade this one in and get another one back, sort of they go. Yeah. Anybody got a 36 inch, you know, starry sky silver glitter one, and someone will go, yeah. I've got one. I don't use it much. Yeah. And they they they sell. And it's that really it's that community side of it again, which is so important to us that that has taken off. And I love that. I love, you know, people all over the world. It's just that that single interest and passion that that they've got. And I've made friends all over the world that I've never never met. And it's it's a fabulous fabulous thing, that feeling of community because everybody is very disconnected. As as someone with a disability, you may not work. You may spend all your time at home. You know, you'll have days. I have days where, I can't get out of bed than that. And it it's lonely. It's quite a lonely existence. So that that community side to it is is really important to us. You, you mentioned when we were chatting in the green room about each each of these walking as you is the near walks are made to measure it, so you don't sell them through distributors or anything like that because they're each individual. So how important is that to get the right size? Because they're not adjustable. Once they're made, they're made, aren't they? There's no adjustment. Yeah. Yeah. No. We have lots of, there's videos on the site to show you how to measure. There's instructions, there's there's schematic those drawings to show you how to measure it. It is important. So you need to you need to follow those instructions. But we do also say that it's just a rule of thumb. It's the same instructions you would get if you googled it online or if you asked a doctor or a physio. It's the same. They're they're not our we haven't met. That's it's it's the industry standard for measuring the length of a walking stick. But it is it is important that that you get the right height because, otherwise, you can end up with a shoulder like this if it's too long, or you can end up with a shoulder that's dropped if it's too short. And shoulders are precious. I know because mine are mine are knackered, so I know how precious shoulders are. So you need to it's, again, it's about preserving what you've got. It's about making making sure that you look after what what you've got. So, yeah, there's lots of advice on the, on the website to, to explain how to they're all made by hand because I I did all this. I know I've got a team now. I've got a team of 10 people now, But I used to do all this on my own when when sales were small. Then, yeah, I was everything. I was person who made them, posted them, social media. I was I'm marketing. I I was everything. Yeah. Happy days. I loved I loved that, but there's just too much now. I've I've got, a wonderful team now. I wanna share the secret. How do you how do you make it's a lovely shape. Are they injection molded? Are they, formed tell you, but I'd have to shoot you. I won't tell anybody else. Just just shoot me. No one's listening, are they? No. We heat them generally. It's just, quite a low heat because the acrylic will melt and bubble if you try and heat it too quickly or too hot. So it's quite a low heat. And then they are they're molded around some specially made jigs to get the shapes, to get the handles. So, yeah, it's, it's not complicated. It's not rocket science as somebody once said to me, but it takes skill, and it takes real detail. You've got to have a real eye for detail to So in the early days, you would have gone through a lot of, lot of waste, I guess, playing with it, getting frustrated, throwing them across the room, going Yeah. Javelin. Yeah. Yeah. The the yeah. Trying to find the right because it's the right temperature and right timing. So, yeah, I did. But we've got a really slick workshop now. I've got a workshop at my at my home, at my house. At the at the back of my house, I had a building converted. So I've got an office and workshop in there. So we all were together in there. So if I'm ill, I'll be in the house, but the guys will know that I'm there. And if if they need me, they can come and they can come and get me. I mean, obviously, I I have lots of days where I'm not able to to take part in the work because I I live with a lot of pain. I live with a lot of fatigue every day. These are my daily struggles. So I'm I'm not able to show up for them every day, and I feel really bad when I when I can't. But they they know me well enough now to know if she's not here. There's a a good reason why she's not here. So your your your journey I I mean, I hate the word journey. It implies some sort of linear path between a and b, but your your evolution of of self is is still ongoing with health and or becoming differently affected as you as you evolve. Yeah. So when I look forward, I see different living spaces. Although I'm very lucky because I haven't I haven't got much furniture, so there's just a lot of space for my wheelchair and the dogs and the parrot, really. I live on my own, so I I can pretty much just make everything work for me. But, yeah, looking forward is a bit scary because I don't know what it's gonna mean for my mobility, for my yeah. I don't I don't know for my care. I don't really know what it looks like. Living for the moment, living for the day, and just enjoying and being grateful and thankful for what I've got, for who I've got, and making the most of the connection that we've made with with this community, and just trying to help help other people. And I'll keep doing that as long as as long as I can. Do you know what? I mean, eventually, if I can't move very much, they still won't be able to stop me talking. So I'll still be able to do this. Camera and a microphone. Yep. Drop my name. Off we go. That's And a parrot, obviously, to answer the phone. Yeah. With a parrot on her shoulder. Yeah. So, yeah, I know the future's gonna be different, but I'm just grateful for where I am and and what I'm able to do now. No one nicknamed you Long John Lindsay yet? I I you can be the first. What? Because I have the parrot. You know? It's it's just, is she joking? When I got when I got the parrot, I got divorced last year. I'd never been allowed a parrot, and I've always wanted a parrot. And it doesn't matter. Everyone that I've ever been with has kept, no. You're not having a parrot. You know? No. It's a stupid idea. So as soon as I found myself on my own again, I thought stuff this. I'm getting a parrot. So, Not stuff the parrot. It would stuff the parrot. It'd be alongside my leg, but it's it's it's ace. He's a he's a little friend. It's a hobby. It's another interest for me outside of outside of work. But he comes to work with me. He's got a cage in in the office, and he comes through to work as well. But he's not allowed out because he likes to bite feet. So when he chases one of the guys, he he does laps around the office. He chases him. He's quite the character, and they love him in the office as well. You you're saying, I think and excuse the part, he's he's no spring chicken. He he's he's not young. He's not. He's 47. Imagine that. Imagine all the prime ministers that bird's seen. Imagine In the space of six months, there was quite a few of them, wasn't there? Well, there was for a while, wasn't there? But, yeah, he's 47, but he could live till he's 75. We could kind of outlive each other. That would be quite nice. He could be my life, my new life partner. Yeah. Oh, so do do you know any history of, where we came from? The, He was actually with the same person all his life, which which is quite quite sad, and she became poorly and she died. So he he was for adoption because he needed a new home. And I just happened to press on the right button on that day, and, yeah, he came to live with me. But he's he's ace. I love him. He's he's a complicated boy. He's very you've got to really manage. He can be quite aggressive. So you've got to manage how you handle him, but I absolutely love him. He makes me smile. He calls me Poppet. He'll look at me, and he says, hello, Poppet. He's very sweet. So, yeah, he's he's he's the man in my life now. Soulmate. Soulmate. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. I love him. What's next for the business? Is it just gonna carry on doing what it's doing? Is it is it gonna expand into new aids? Or We're always thinking of new things that we can design. I mean, the obvious one would be crutches. That could be something for the future. I don't know. That that would be a heavy investment, and it would also be a lot of r and d. So it would be quite complicated to do, but, yeah, I'd love to do it. We're constantly just trying to bring out new colors that excite people, new handle styles, new accessories, and just, keeping people interested. Again with the, with the community side of it. We we want to encourage people to engage with each other. So there there's lots of facets to the business, but I just I just hope it's gonna keep growing and that we keep reaching the message keeps reaching people that there is choice. You know? I I'm I'm not gonna push down someone's throat that that we're the best walking stick. For some people, we're the best, and for others, we won't be the best. But there is choice out there. And I think for a long time, there there just wasn't because designers just didn't want to tread there. You know? But there there is choice, and I think that's it's important for people to know. You've got Leboutin shoes, which are iconic, but they're not necessary for everybody. I mean, I would be absolutely panicking trying to get a pair of those on on my chubby feet and, my weak ankles. I'd be, hoshing around everywhere. So Yeah. They're not so It's resonating with the community, isn't it? You found a market where people want to be served in that way. And as you say, it's probably not their only walking aid. They probably have more traditional styles, but they've got they've got their party one or they've got their Sunday afternoon one or they've got their Saturday one. Why not? Why not? People have and I know this because, I mean, you've already touched on it, that I've my evolution has taken me through lots of different mobility aids. People have a whole arsenal of mobility aids. You know, you have the stick. You you'll have the crutches. You'll have a rollator. You'll have a walk, a buggy. You'll have an electric one. You'll have a wheelchair. People use different aids for different days because a lot of chronic illness is is very dynamic. So one day, a walking stick might be enough, but then the next, for no rhyme or reason, you need a wheelchair. So people have all these in their where they keep them. My garage is full. You know, you you've it's terrible. But people have different aids for for different days to to cope with how they're feeling. So yeah. And we want to continue to support to support people on that on their evolution as they as they go through that acceptance. I mean, we talked about your mom earlier, in in the green room, didn't we? A lot of older people even say, I'm not using a walking stick because it'll make me look old and and, you know, old fashioned. We we actually have a market. I think our oldest client is about a hundred right down to children who are seven. You know? We we and for male, female, every in between. It's there's there's something at Neo. Yeah. And if not, if there isn't a stick, you've got the community. You know? Is that Steve stigma a generational thing, or is it just a person thing? Because, you know, you say I don't know what you're saying with a walking stick, is it? Is that changing younger people now having a, I'm not saying Oscar Storis is is the ideal role model, but he certainly glamorized prosthetics, didn't he? Yeah. No. Totally. Okay. A lot of other things went wrong with Oscar, but, he glamorized prosthetics and maybe he's made people like him and other Paralympians have have made them kind of socially acceptable. Totally. Made them cool. I think it is generational, I would say. It's our our generation and older generations, I think, are the ones that will point fingers in the street and say, well, what are you using that for? You're too young to be using a walking stick. You must be putting it on. Because the other thing is, you know, I'm very I consider myself lucky. I've got a very visible disability. People look at me and go, yeah, can see why she's in that chair. But people look at a younger person who doesn't have a visible illness, and they'll hurl abuse at them in the street and say, oh, you're faking it. You'd benefit dodger and all people get this. There's a lot of a lot of stigma associated with it, but the younger generation are changing that by embracing and accepting mobility aids. I think it's an older generation thing that will, pardon the pun, but it will die out Mhmm. As, you know, the generations get get older. But it's very unfair, isn't it, to be hurl abuse at someone just because they're minding their own business, just walking along using a walking stick. I I don't understand it personally, but, yeah, you're right. There are people who do it. And if you're gonna get abuse held, you wanna have wanna have a cool stick while you're doing it. You know, sort of bite me. I don't care. Whatever. Yeah. I hope people come back with some really good good comebacks at them. But it can be quite shocking when it happens to you because I still get people marching up to me and going, oh, what did you do then? Like, really? I'm not. No. It was a shark. Go away. Did did you just leave? Yeah. I'm not gonna share my my inner traumas with you. I I don't know you. I don't owe you any. Whistle sharp. I've sometimes said that. I was tuna fishing off off the Australian Gold Coast, and we went for a skinny dip. And, a great white popped up and, took my leg. It happens. I was I was picking cockles off. Yeah. You never know what's gonna happen here. Every time you say it, I'm I'm laughing my head off. You're saying, I don't wanna tell my intimate story with a complete stranger. I thought, well, but we've known each other what? Listen an hour. And so we'll have this conversation. So I guess how you ask, isn't it? We're friends, don't you? We're friends now. Yeah. We're friends. You know, if someone came up to me and and said, oh, I like your jacket. I mean, people do. I like your jacket or you can I ask you a bit about your chair? Because my dad needs one or something like that. And then they might say, do you mind me asking? But what what happened? You know, there's ways to do it. But I've literally had people march up to me and say, what did you do then? Oh, not the way to do it, is it? Is that just Yorkshire bluntness though? It could be. Yeah. Yeah. If you're wondering around London, people would just not even give you the time of day walking around London, I guess. It's true, actually. Because I I come and visit visit London a bit to do some work and, yeah, you never get stopped in, in London, but up up here, yeah, you do. Maybe it's just it's blunt, nosy Yorkshire people, maybe. Yeah. It's it's almost it's almost impossible to stand out and be different in London because everybody is so different, so cosmopolitan, that no matter how how off normal you are, you're still normal in London. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it's true. But that's isn't that good that you just that you want to stand out? And we we encourage people to that's one of our our logos is made to stand out, not to fit in. You know, and we want people to be proud to stand out, and I think that that comes with using a a walk in stick. Because, again, going right back to the good old days, that's what happened to me. You know, I was I was proud to be be seen with them. It's a it's a give to give to other people, and I I love it. Lindsay, it's been a a fascinating conversation. I've I've enjoyed your company and having having the privilege of having a natter with you for the over an hour now. How can people get hold of you? How can people I've coffee share in the, having a coffee chat. I've got my lipstick mug and, yeah. So how can, people get hold of you? So we've got the website, which is neo-walk.com. We only sell sticks from our website. So if you wanna buy one, you'd have to go to the to the website. We've got a phone number that I can't remember. It's on the website. So you go to the website, but we do have a phone. So you can ring us and talk to us as well. And you can email us, the info at neo hyphen we are going to the NADEX exhibition in Birmingham in, March. So next next month towards the March, we'll be there with the all the team with all the different colors that we that that we have. So you can come along and see, come and see us, come see the sticks. Where else will we be? Hopefully, we'll be appearing for some sort of community events later in the year at different locations around the country as well, where we're gonna try and gather people together for a natter. Because how valuable is it? Do you know what? Just getting together for a natter. Meet people that you've meet people in person that you've met online, you know, and try and just as foster that community again. And, of course, you've got your online communities on Instagram, Facebook What? And you're on LinkedIn as well. And I put all of those details in the show notes. And, and you still hang out on x a bit until, it becomes I never did. I don't understand. I never understood Twitter. Understood it less when it became x. Never understood him. Wouldn't wanna support him in any way, shape, or form. No. No. I I I've down downsized myself off those backfills completely now. So, yeah, I get I get it. Lindsay, thank you so much. Been a pleasure, Jo. Do you know what? It's been so lovely talking to you, and conversations like this are so valuable. And it was a real it was a real honor to to sit and talk to you. Likewise. Thank you.

Joanne Lockwood: As we bring this conversation to a close, I want to express my deepest gratitude to you, our listener, for lending your ear and heart to the cause of inclusion. If today's discussion struck a chord, consider subscribing to Inclusion Bites and become part of our ever growing community, driving real change. Share this journey with friends, family, and colleagues. Let's amplify the voices that matter. Got thoughts, stories, or a vision to share? I'm all ears. Reach out to jo.lockwood@seachangehappen.co.uk, and let's make your voice heard. Until next time. This is Joanne Lockwood signing off for the promise to return with more enriching narratives that challenge, inspire, and unite us all. Here's to fostering a more inclusive world one episode at a time. Catch you on the next bite.