Reggie Showers

Reggie Showers (born 1964) is a two-time motorcycle drag racing world champion, and a motivational speaker. At the age of 14, Showers lost both of his legs below the knee in an electrical accident, covering his body with scars from the 13,000 volt shock. It was Memorial Day, 1978 when Showers was fooling around with friends at a dirt bike track in West Philadelphia. Looking for adventure, he spotted some tall boxcars at a neighboring rail yard and decided to climb on them.

Once on top, he didn't even think about the hazard looming in the electrical lines above.

"As kids we didn't know there was a danger in those wires. We saw birds sitting on top of them all day long," he said. "Kids don't really realize the dangers in train yards. We used to play chicken in front of the trains."

He never touched the wires, but he got close enough for the electricity to jump to him. His feet, planted on a boxcar, grounded him.

"It knocked me right out. I lost some time," he said. "It was really strange to be walking one second and then the next minute I woke up and I was flat on my back."

Showers had third-degree burns on both arms, requiring skin grafts. The lower parts of his legs had to be amputated.

"It really didn't faze me; it was kind of surreal," he said. "I just said, 'Come on, let's get it over with.' This was another challenge."

Showers had a successful career drag racing motorcycles in the National Hot Rod Association series. He used specially-made race-day prosthetics that made him shorter than his usual stature (an advantage in a sport involving wind resistance). Showers has retired from drag racing. He is now a motivational speaker working with mentorship programs; he is also an enthusiastic participant in adaptive snowboarding.

On Saturday, 21 June 2008, Showers proposed to his girlfriend Vikki on-camera during the ESPN2 coverage of the NHRA Super Nationals in Englishtown, NJ. It aired on Sunday, 29 June 2008 during the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, OH.

External links

* [http://espn.go.com/rpm/nhra/2002/0807/1415314.html Reggie Showers article on ESPN.com]
* [http://www.btis.com/writer/Samples/bike.htm Reggie showers profile]
* [http://www.nhra.com/events/2000/race9/reports/r_showers.html NHRA article on Reggie Showers]