Meet Adaptive Athlete: Ricky Rodriguez

Ricky Rodriguez was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas. Growing up, he spent most of his time grinding video games, eating pizza, and staying indoors - not athletic at all, but immersed in virtual worlds where he could push limits and level up without leaving the couch.

 

After graduating from high school Ricky enlisted in the Army on September 27, 2016, serving as an Infantryman until February 18, 2025, and rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG) in 1st Platoon, D Company, 1-5 Infantry.

 

On October 2, 2023, while en route to platoon live-fire training in Alaska, the LMTV Ricky was riding in rolled down a hill. He ended up pinned under the truck where the axle broke his back. The crash killed two of his soldiers, and left three more severely wounded. Recovery has been physically and emotionally heavy - learning to adapt to life in a wheelchair while carrying the weight of loss and preventable negligence.

 

Today, Ricky is driven by his family as his core motivation. He wants to get in the best shape possible to comfortably take his kids across America, hiking as much as he can in national parks and trying sit-skiing again (he loved the one time he tried it). Physically, he’s eager to return to the level of strength he had pre-injury, using this program for that extra edge to push closer to his goals. Mentally, he’s working to improve his outlook - some mornings seeing the wheelchair hits hard, a reminder of others’ laziness putting him there - but he’s determined to build resilience, fake it till he makes it, and keep moving forward for his family and himself.