If there is one word to describe George Gallego’s comeback story after his spinal cord injury, it is “choice.” Gallego was 24 years old when he lost his balance on a high level structure and his life instantly changed as he became paraplegic. Although he recalls much of his recovery period to be dark and “a zombie-like existence” focused on surviving and not living, Gallego said that his “choice” to start moving toward the light became the medicine that helped him rebuild mentally and emotionally.
That light Gallego was moving towards was relearning what his body could still do post-injury. The Team USA triathlon medalist slowly found clarity through fitness and parasports, but in the process, he realized that, as he told Able News, “adaptive fitness programs were scarce [and] accessible spaces were even scarcer.” This motivated him to create The Axis Project and Access Initiatives, which serves as a multidisciplinary wellness center led by and for people with disabilities.
“It’s a place where we can train, connect, heal, and grow—where disability isn’t viewed through a lens of limitation, but through one of possibility and power,” Gallego shared. As one Axis Project Member said: “Before Axis, I didn’t think this kind of strength lived in me. But George and the team saw something I hadn’t yet seen in myself. Now, I show up every week not just for my body—but for my spirit, and for the community that lifts me up.”
Also the founder of the nonprofit Wheels of Progress, which focuses on creating affordable, accessible, supportive housing and transformative environments for people with physical disabilities, Gallego reflected that he has been able “to turn struggle into service, pain into purpose, and resilience into impact.” He has refused to wait for doors to open, instead building his own. His work has been a catalyst for justice, connection, and lasting change, fostering “space[s] where people with disabilities could feed off one another’s energy…and push one another to the next level.”
Who pushes Gallego to the next level? His life partner, Danniel Swatosh. “He’s shown me how advocacy can be tough and tender, how leadership can be grounded in lived experience,” Swatosh said. “He’s taught me that accessibility isn’t just a goal but a mindset rooted in dignity, design, and deep care.”
As Gallego said, “before my injury, accessibility wasn’t even in my vocabulary.” Today, he continues to be a passionate advocate for accessibility. To him, 35 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act is a milestone that marks progress, but also reminds us how far we still have to go.
“Freedom without support is still a form of captivity. True inclusion means investing in the infrastructure that allows people with disabilities to live, thrive, and lead in their own communities,” Gallego said. “Disability is not the end of the road. For many of us, it’s where a new path begins,” he added. “We don’t need to be fixed. We need to be seen, supported, and celebrated.”
Read all 35 stories of the New York-based leaders profiled in our ADA 35 edition.