Speedy, how are you?
- Nice to meet you. - Come on in. Great to meet you.
- Hi! - Hey.
- Here's the rest of the Fab Five. - I'm so excited!
Would you like us to help you up the stairs?
Or we have a ramp around the back.
- You can help me up. - Up the stairs?
One, two, three.
- Here we go. - You got it?
- There we go. - One more. One more.
- Big step. - Uh, strong. Oh, strong.
- Awesome. - There we go.
- Your poor pants! - You made it!
- We'll get you some towels. - I'm so sorry.
- Hey. - Come on in.
Welcome to our house.
- It's beautiful. - Let's get you dry.
- Thank you, Antoni. - Thank you.
Welcome to our home.
- Hey. - Excuse, excuse. Sorry, sorry. Love, love.
This is my auntie, Anginique.
- How you guys doing? - Hi, Auntie.
I discovered Speedy on TikTok.
I just think that him sharing his story, his style, his swag,
is just beyond amazing,
and I had to introduce you all to him.
I wanna be a motivator, somebody who pushes people to be the best.
I feel like I can motivate people using my story.
Are you comfortable enough to share what happened?
What… How did we get here?
Yes.
On April 25, 2020,
my, uh, mom and my aunt, we're driving,
and a black F-150 was driving alongside of us,
and he hit us, and that's when we ran off the road,
My mama tried to gain control again, but we went off the road and hit a tree.
Mm.
You know, it was pretty bad.
Right after the accident, I blacked out, and then I woke up.
I got airlifted, but the whole way there, I was alive.
I'm screaming, "I don't wanna die. I'm too young."
I was just thinking about my mama and all that.
I couldn't move my legs. My body was numb, and it was burning.
So when we got to the hospital, they told me I had to get surgery done
on my spinal cord.
After that, the doctors came,
and he was like, "You may not ever walk again."
Are you paralyzed from the waist down?
Chest down.
It was just heartbreaking.
Did you find out that day that your mom and your aunt had passed?
- Yes. - Wow.
So life just hit me. It was just like a big ol' punch.
You said it happened in 2020, around COVID.
- Yes. - Yes. That was the most difficult part.
And it made it worse.
The first two weeks, I couldn't see any family because of COVID,
so it was very lonely,
and I cried almost every night.
Of course. You poor thing.
The last couple of years have been a massive shift,
but before the accident, what was life like?
Life was fun, you know.
I was going to parties. I was a kid.
Everything was fun.
I was really one of those kids who was really into basketball.
Growing up in New Orleans, you have to find your passion
to keep you out of trouble.
My name, Speedy, comes from when I was young.
I ran to this practice,
and this coach was like, "What's your name?"
I said, "Ray."
After that, he just was calling me Speedy from now on.
Speedy's a talented individual.
When he was playing basketball, he was the starting point guard,
so it was always a rush for him.
My dream was to be a professional basketball player.
My ultimate goal was to take my mom out the hood.
My mom came to every game.
You know, when you see that person who is your why,
you're gonna give it your all and give it your best.
I love the game. I love working hard.
And it just made me happy just being on the court.
- How was your grades? - They were good.
I just made sure my grades was right so I'm able to play basketball.
You graduated number seven or six in your class?
- What? - Sixth in my class.
Good job.
What has it been like since the accident?
My friends ask me do I wanna go to a party,
but I'm like, "Nah." It's not my thing.
I just like being inside.
Like, going out, I kind of be scared, like, not confident and not outgoing.
When people look at him, he's just completely shut down.
His mind starts to wander.
It start racing a hundred.
Everybody's not out there to, you know, speak down on you.
So I feel he should just relax and be himself.
What keeps you going?
I just think of my mama and how she wouldn't want me to give up.
Speedy's accident happened at a critical time in his life.
He was 18.
You are dreaming about what's gonna be your future,
what's gonna happen.
Everything stopped for him, and he's rebuilding himself.
He's learning how to live his life.
Tell me about where you live.
The pros and the cons, especially for accessibility.
I'm with family at the moment.
I felt like, since my mom died and my auntie died,
our family is so small.
My aunties and my little cousins, they all I got.
I'm living in an apartment that's on the first floor,
but there's, like, three stoops.
So it's first floor, but still stairs.
When I get in the house, the doorways are small.
Right.
Can't get in the bathroom with my wheelchair.
I have to use another chair to go into the shower.
So transfer yourself from your chair to a chair to a chair.
Yes.
The inaccessibility of it
either forces you to be a prisoner in your own home…
Mm-hmm.
…or a prisoner outside, unable to go home.
- Yes. - Have you thought about moving out?
Getting your own place that's more accessible?
Yes, I've thought about it.
Just trying to figure things out.
What would be, like, your number one wish in a new pad?
Get a bed that I can push up and down
'cause the bed I have right now,
I have to really lift myself up to get into the bed.
Makes it luxury a little bit.
A little luxury? Okay. I can see that.
Yeah. Your style.
I see that, a little luxury.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Speedy's gotta be overwhelmed right now.
Everything about his home makes his life even harder.
Do you cook for yourself?
No. I don't know how.
- You don't know how to cook. - I want to learn.
Who feeds you?
My auntie, she'll cook for me every once in a while,
but I mostly eat out at fast foods.
- What does she make for you? - Today, she made corn and rice.
What's corn and rice?
- You never heard of corn and rice? - No!
Down here, corn and rice, you have your sausage,
you put it up in there,
and then you probably have, like, some fish on the side
or some chicken.
Your family and ancestry, everyone is from Louisiana?
- Yes. - So you like good, hearty comfort food?
- Yes. - Okay.
In terms of, like, your independence
and figuring out what your life is like now,
is cooking for yourself something important, that you wanna be doing?
Cooking is something I definitely want to learn.
Since I've been in this wheelchair, I have to take care of myself.
I have to eat more.
Like, I'm losing weight. I'm kind of skinny now, so…
- Gotcha, so you wanna bulk up a bit. - Mm-hmm.
My goal is just to have fun in the kitchen with you
and just to make you feel empowered
and make something that's meaningful to you
that you can actually make.
Can we also try makin' steak and rice?
- Steak and rice? - You ever been to a hibachi?
Where they put it on the flattop and crisp it up like fried rice?
- Can you teach me how to do that? - I'll teach you whatever you wanna learn.
Yeah, I wanna learn how to do that.
I really wanna talk to you about the man that he's becoming
since the accident happened.
When the accident first happened, Speedy was closed off.
He didn't wanna be bothered with anyone.
I see him getting a little depressed, but he rarely likes to talk about it.
He don't talk about it with family,
I guess because he feels everybody else is grieving
or going through their own problems, but I don't think he had time to grieve.
He just didn't.
He experienced it,
so I feel as though he don't wanna relive that trauma.
But he should talk to someone.
Even if it's not his family, he should at least talk to a friend or someone else.
Mm-hmm.
You're absolutely gorgeous.
Have you ever done, like, braids, locs, twist out?
What have you ever done?
- I have been looking to get some braids. - Oh my God. That'd be cute on you.
That'd be really cute on you. I'm obsessed.
Probably get a color change.
Ooh!
Keep talking dirty to me, Speedy!
- Okay! - Whatever color you think.
I wanna shock my TikTok with a new look. What do you think about a nose piercing?
Are we gonna get your nose pierced?
As your newly appointed modeling agent, I'm not sure.
- Tan! - Yeah, Jackie.
We were just talking about nose piercings.
At first I was like, "That'd be a first for us. I'm into it. It's hot. It's sexy."
But then I was like, "As your newly appointed modeling agent…"
- Tan knows I'm serious about this. - They may say this'll limit your work.
Oh my God, it can't limit your… it can't limit your work.
No, I will not have… You're literally the next America's Next Top Model.
You hear what I'm saying? And on that note, we have Tyra!
Do you know what he's saying when he talks about America's Next Top Model?
Young people know about that, don't you?
- I heard about it. - You did, and you like it too.
- Probably. - That's an order.
- That wasn't a question. - Oh, yeah.
Saint Tyra!
- Forget she's there. - I miss you already.
You're so cute. Bye!
Speedy.
- What's up? - Shall we talk about clothes?
Yes.
So we've helped somebody on the show who was, uh, in a wheelchair.
Are there limitations to what you can wear?
I don't like wearing shorts.
Since my injury, my legs got kind of skinny,
and I just don't like how it looks, so I don't wear shorts anymore.
Is there a certain kind of style? Are you geek chic?
Are you, I don't know, super tailored?
Are you super street style? What is it?
Streetwear.
Okay. Always streetwear?
- I just be trying out stuffs. - Good.
Your sneakers, in my opinion, are the most interesting.
- But I think we can do more. - I think so too.
My style has popped a little bit more since I've been in the chair.
I've been able to be more confident in what I wear now.
Before the accident, describe what you were wearing.
Maybe jeans,
like, a cheap graphic tee,
and some Vans.
And now?
Collared shirts with customized G-Nikes,
a beautiful pair of cargo pants or something like that.
If you weren't in the wheelchair, would fashion be so important to you?
No, not really.
Why did you land on that being your thing?
Because having a fresh fit on just bring a lot of confidence out in me.
What do you think that we can help the most
that's going to make the biggest impact in his life?
Well, I want him to get out more, like, do stuff
because he's an outgoing person.
But I think he need his confidence boosted of him being in a wheelchair.
I appreciate this. You've given us a lot of information
for how we can support him this week.
- I appreciate you. You're really amazing. - Thank you.
Yeah. You've left him in good hands.
- What was your position? - Point guard.
- So you was hitting the shots. - Yeah.
- And you was quick. - It was amazing, like, being on the court.
High school basketball games,
you got everybody in the crowd screaming your name. "Speedy!"
I'm shooting a three, everybody cheering. It was just fun.
Basketball was a big part of your life. What is it like now?
It just doesn't feel the same.
I watch it every once in a while.
I kind of watch my friends play, but I get jealous
because I can't be out there on the floor with them.
Did you wanna go pro?
- Yes. - Yeah?
That has always been my dream, and I wanted to go to college also.
- Yeah. - College first, then the pros.
What's your dream now?
Be a motivator.
Do you know how to use your story to inspire?
- I'm getting there. - Mm-hmm.
- Your aunt said you don't really share. - No.
Yeah. As much as we wanna inspire others,
until you really, like, talk about what you're going through
and feel comfortable and really share and figure it out for yourself,
there's gonna be a little bit of a wall there.
Who helps you with, like, the emotional stuff you're feeling?
Man, it's…
Do you have other friends in wheelchairs?
- No. - No?
From my accident, it's just, like…
You know, I've been through this alone, so I don't really, you know…
I just keep everything to myself.
The thing that makes people really be influencers
is when they're able to say, "This is exactly what I'm feeling."
"This is exactly what I've been through."
I'mma think about how I can help you to get to that place
where you feel like you can be your most vulnerable, authentic self,
where you can reconcile both the past with your present
and also allow that to guide you to a future that you want and deserve.
I just wanna be sure… sure about life.
I get that.
- Let's head inside. - All right.
- What are you doing? - Have we come up with a plan?
- Karamo, you got a plan? - I have a plan. You got a plan?
- Always. - You got a plan?
I have three. I'll narrow it down to one by the time we spend some time together.
- You have a plan? - A multitude of plans.
- Do you have a plan? - I have a big plan, I think, actually.
I just wanna know from you, what are you hoping for from all of us?
Give me your best.
- Your best. - That's actually a really good answer.
- Give me your best. - We will.
- Will you give us your best? - I will.
- Being as open as possible? - Open as possible.
You'll try on anything Tan tells you to?
Uh…
Speedy wants to learn how to take care of himself,
how to feed himself,
and if fried rice with steak is the way to go,
I'm here for it, frankly.
I wanna help him find a look that is very uniquely Speedy
to really encourage confidence in him.
Speedy has a very new relationship with his body.
It's not easy to put yourself out there, and what my goal is this week
is to help Speedy be confident in who he is.
His living situation right now is not easy.
This week, I wanna show Speedy
that he doesn't have to settle when it comes to accessibility.
He wants to inspire others by talking about his journey.
To get to that place,
he has to really start to grieve and understand what he's going through.
I need your support.
We have a hero here that I think you can help me with.
I want Speedy to understand there's a support system out there for him
who understands what he's experiencing.
Down to come to New Orleans?
Speedy, we're gonna shop. How are you feeling about it?
Good.
Ready?
I've heard you say this a couple of times.
You'll refer to it as "before the chair" and "since the chair."
- Yes. - Has your mentality changed a lot?
Me being in an accident,
you know, it kind of changed my point of view
on how I look at life.
So now I'm just trying to live life with no regrets.
Just be a better me, continue to grow.
- Yeah. - Things of that sort.
Did you develop a case of the -its?
- Like, " it. Why wouldn't I do this?" - Yes.
And for what reason?
You know, I could've passed away, so it's like…
now it's like I've been through the worst.
What worse than me being in a car accident could happen?
So it's like, "Man, I'm doing this. I don't care what nobody say."
You do care about what people say, 'cause you don't go out a lot anymore.
I don't.
When you're out on the street, does it bother you when people stare?
A little bit, yeah.
Like, I'd be coming up the street,
and somebody would be like, "What, you got shot?"
It just kind of hurts.
It breaks my heart because not everybody in a wheelchair is shot.
It makes me feel bad.
- You don't approach anybody like that. - Mm-hmm.
Is that why you find that you stay at home more often than not?
- Mm-hmm. - Okay.
Isn't there a way we can spin it where you think,
"You're gonna stare anyway. I'll give you something to stare at"?
I would love to.
By all accounts, people are staring at him,
and we're not able to stop that.
I want Speedy to understand that he can have the kind of style
that will command a space and really get people's attention.
Let's come up with something that feels really you.
Right.
Speedy is quite eclectic when it comes to what he puts on his body,
and I wanna show him how he can really play with each of those styles
within one look.
Therefore, he gets a look like no one else in this town.
- Ready? - Mm-hmm.
Ooh!
Oh yeah.
I'd go out like this.
The colors pop.
- You look stylish as fuh! - Thank you.
This is more of a trouser. Thoughts?
I love the color,
and I like how it's kind of above my knees, and without the socks.
- It looks… it looks nice. Very nice. - I like it too.
But clothes that rub against my wheels…
- For sure. - That'd be the worst.
For sure. If it were skinny,
where it wouldn't touch your wheels, it would be good.
- Yes. - Great.
I feel like this will help a little my social anxiety.
Okay, tell me about that.
Been really hard, you know, at the house, like I told y'all earlier on.
And when I'm around a lot of people, I just…
Sometimes I can't really breathe a little bit.
My heart just about to bust out of my chest for some reason,
but I feel like this will give me that confidence I need
to be out and be around people.
For me to switch it up and come out in this type of clothing,
that'd be, "Okay, okay, I see you."
It's so good.
- Should we try on more? - Yes.
Good.
Come join me.
If you can head back to here, please. Thank you.
All right, Speedy.
Hey.
Tan, I must say, you are the man with the plan.
- I like it. - That makes me so happy.
This it. Colors pop.
I rarely wear shades.
I feel like I can add that to my style too.
You know, it's a nice bit of extra.
Sometimes it's the perfect way to finish off a look.
Yeah.
Speedy's been feeling increasingly insecure when out in public,
but seeing just how excited Speedy is,
no longer is he that shy, meek boy.
It's shifted the energy in the room.
It makes me so happy.
- It's gonna turn some heads. - Yeah, it is.
I don't know the young, cool version of "cool,"
but whatever that word is, it's that.
Drip.
Oh, it's "drip." That's the word? Would one say, "It's drip" or just "Drip"?
"Drip" or "He's fly."
He's fly, and it's definitely drip.
Thank you so much.
- Oh, great. There's a ramp there. - Thank God.
Yeah.
So we're gonna go straight. Have you ever been on this side?
No, never been on it.
Full disclosure,
I had other plans for you,
but when you asked me if you could learn how to make fried rice or steak,
I got so excited because your face lit up, and I was like, "Let's do this."
Yeah.
I wanna show you how incredibly simple fried rice is.
- Does that work? - That works.
Awesome. You have your little station right over here.
I am gonna show you basically how to peel and chop ginger and garlic.
With the back end of a spoon,
what you wanna do is peel all of that brown skin…
Mm-hmm.
…so you've exposed the whole part of the ginger root.
- All right. - Perfect.
- Not perfect, but... - It's close.
Close to perfect.
So I realize pretty quickly
he's a young kid. He doesn't know this stuff.
Come on. It's gonna be a challenge.
We good. We good.
So, your knife, you guide it with these two fingers,
and then it's like a seesaw.
Part of it is always touching.
- Not like this. - Okay.
What you're gonna do now with these veggies,
again, the seesaw action.
Guiding with one hand, and the other one pushes the vegetable.
- If you can do that with all of these. - All of them? Okay.
Watch out for that knife. It's sharp.
Sharp central.
A fried rice, it's such a good opportunity
to really get your veggies and your protein in.
I kind of like to have an equal ratio of, like, rice to meat to veggies.
- Protein's bad. - You said you wanted to bulk up, right?
- I wanna bulk up. - That's what we're here to do.
I ain't too speedy with cooking.
This is, like, basics, fundamental, 101 cooking.
We're ready for the protein.
From how to cook the protein.
Perfect.
How to season it properly.
You have a little bit of sesame oil.
It just has, like, that toasty nuttiness to it.
These are scallions, so they have a bit of a sharpness.
A bit of salt in the form of soy sauce. All right.
- The circle good enough? - That's perfect.
When to add the egg, how to scramble an egg.
Hopefully no shells in there. I'm gonna watch.
- There we go. - Oh, you did it.
This is what this young man needs right now.
- I used to come here with my mama. - Really?
Yeah. We always used to come to hibachi.
You know, like, at the important events, we'd come out and eat here.
Sometimes we'd just come for fun.
- What was your favorite thing to order? - The hibachi rice, steak, and chicken.
- And I like that yum yum sauce. - I…
Yum yum sauce is one of my very favorite things ever.
Now that his mom's not around,
Speedy needs to learn how to truly nurture himself,
how to take care of himself.
So good.
That's pretty damn good.
- Thank you for teaching me. - Of course.
You crushed it.
It's such a symbol of independence
when you're able to, like, actually make a sustainable meal for yourself.
It's just important that I eat.
It's really important, being in the condition I am.
Right. Bulking up is something that you mentioned that's important.
What are some of the issues you're facing with that?
Um, so, after my accident,
I've been struggling with a loss of appetite.
That's something that comes with, you know, a spinal-cord injury.
Sometimes I have to take some appetite pills.
To say that Speedy has had to adapt
is, like, the understatement of the century.
All of these little things that we all take for granted every single day,
Speedy has to seriously consider.
Whenever I work out, it's like I'm working out,
I'm putting in force, I'm trying to build my muscle,
but I'm not getting enough food intake to, like, help my body grow.
Of course. You want the muscles to grow, you gotta bulk up.
If those are your goals, you should eat this a couple of times a week.
- The steak and the eggs and the carrots. - Mm-hmm.
I'm actually, like, legit, not kidding.
- I'm gonna start making this at home more. - Yeah?
You reminded me how easy and fun it actually is.
You know what's not fun after?
Washing the dishes.
Come on in.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Ah, honey! Unfortunately for you,
you have a really hot face.
It's not your fault. It's so freaking cute.
So we talked about braids.
I do love a gorgeous hot braid.
And we also had mentioned color.
Now, here's the fun thing about color.
If you play with, like, an extension of color,
I really like that because you can avoid bleaching your natural hair
or having to continue the maintenance of that color
on your natural hair.
Also, I have a friend here. She's amazing. She's gonna help us with your braids.
Sometimes I get, like, eye slits when the barber cut my hair.
- Edgy, honey. - Yeah.
What about your little baby chin moment?
Oh, I'm keeping that. It just started growing.
I'm keeping that!
You're like, "That's my 20-year-old thing. I'm keeping it."
- Okay. Go wash your hair. - All right.
You're so cute. Let's go. Let's go. We're washing the hair.
This is Speedy's first, like, official trip to the salon
since after his accident.
So this is two years of growth.
Yes, king. Yes, release.
Yes. Yes.
Honey, we have so much to do, but it is so nice to celebrate Speedy.
Don't worry.
It's gonna be cute when we're done.
It is giving Lil Nas when he blows his hair out partially.
It look like I got electrocuted.
So we're gonna do, like, this gorgeous design
that's very chic, like, very classic, but, like, also of the moment.
Then, with your honey-blond moments, get out.
Everyone's gonna be chasing you, honey, trying to get a date.
- Maybe. - There's nothing maybe about that.
It's happening. I already know.
He's so strong and so brave,
and all I wanna do is shower Speedy with love.
He could rock this for three weeks, don't you think?
He can definitely get three weeks.
After that, it's gonna be time to do it all.
Wanna help him feel handsome and give him a style
that makes him feel confident.
- How we looking? - Like so ♪ good. I can't stand it.
Makes him feel bold and ready to put himself out there
because, honey, he deserves that.
- This'll go under your chin. - Okay.
I didn't know we did one like that for the top of braids.
- You learned something today. - I sure did.
What brings you, like, passion?
Working out is one of my passions. I could be a trainer.
Oh, you could totally be a trainer.
I could be a coach, I think.
You could totally be a coach.
Still trying to figure everything out.
You don't have to have everything figured out.
Also having just been through, like, trauma, that's a lot on your plate.
And so, like, remain open
to what the universe is gonna have in store for you
'cause I think you have so much talent and you have so much potential.
I'm working on that.
Being more open and being straightforward sometimes.
Is it about, like, not wanting to be vulnerable
about, like, what you feel?
I wanna be more vulnerable and actually allow people to help me.
- Yeah. - And talk about my situation more.
I just don't talk about it right now
'cause it's gonna kind of feel weird talking to family about it.
Have you ever, like, been into therapy or, like, thought about a therapist?
No, I haven't, but…
There's so much strength in asking for help.
I'm living with HIV. I got it when I was, like, in my mid-twenties.
And I was really depressed, and, like, was not…
like, not in a good space. I needed therapy.
I didn't wanna ask for help, and when I did, it started to get better.
I thought a lot about, in that time when I was depressed,
like, "What is the point?"
What I think I've gleaned that life is, it's about taking your biggest pain,
transmuting that into purpose, and if you had a professional to talk to,
it might, like, help you process some of the feelings you're gonna go through.
Yeah.
I think sometimes we think that this idea of asking for help,
or vulnerability, is a sign of weakness.
That is actually the strongest thing that we can do.
Talk about a gorgeous purpose, and now your braids are done.
Like, we're literally slaying so hard. Who gave us permission?
Even though these traumas I can't relate to exactly,
I can relate to perception and positivity and depression
and saying, "No, I don't have to do this alone."
Now bury your eyes right into his lens and give the camera a kiss. Mm.
I can't.
Yes, you can! You're a TikTok star, honey. You gotta get used to it.
Honey, that is the world right there. Just give 'em a little peck.
Mm.
Don't you wanna give the people at home a little wink?
Honey.
Oh my God.
You are the cutest, nicest boy ever. Do you know?
Don't lose that cute, sweet niceness.
We have to focus. We're gonna show you your new look.
Are you ready? Three, two, one.
Here's new you.
Okay. Okay.
Right?
Oh yeah, I like that.
Who is a modeling agent watching this right now?
Knock, knock, knock on your TV screen because Speedy's gorgeous.
He's stunning.
No one's ever even thought about being this hot in their lives. Okay.
I wouldn't mind, like, a lick of the lips. It would just… Yes, all of that.
- What, man? - Oh my God.
Speedy is feeling himself.
Next time, I don't wanna work that hard to get that model energy out of you, okay?
All right.
What I'm seeing is a transformation of confidence.
And that makes my queer heart really, really happy.
Oh, that was cute!
- This is nice, Tanny. - Ain't it?
- Yeah, this gon' be us one day. - Yeah.
Hey, everybody, guess who I invited!
- Hey! - Wesley, hello.
Look, it's Wesley!
Hey, everybody!
Right now, everyone in Speedy's life is able-bodied.
I want him to see somebody who understands his experiences
that he can talk to and get guidance from.
That's why I invited Wesley here.
I teach people with disabilities that it's okay to seek to be different
and be comfortable within your own skin.
I'm a new me today,
and I just want everybody to know that, yeah, I am disabled, but not really.
You, I haven't seen you since we got our ass kicked on Family Feud!
Hello, sweetheart.
Look at you. You look so good, kid!
- I try. - Hey!
You succeeded.
How have you been? 'Cause it's been a while.
I mean, life is great.
You know, I've just been really going into who I am
and feeling more free than ever.
Yes. How's your organization doing?
Disabled But Not Really, it's flourishing.
We've actually, like, reached a lot of other platforms
and got our message out,
so really, really excited at what we can do.
The guy we're helping this week, Speedy, when we met him,
I just knew you had to be here.
There's no one else who can truly relate to this man like you can
and really just guide him.
Well, you know what, I'm very excited to meet Speedy.
- That hair is looking so good. - Hey, hey, hey!
Come on in. It's a friend of ours we want you to meet.
You know Wesley?
What's going on? What's up, y'all?
Hey, buddy!
What's going on?
How are you, honey? You look so handsome.
The reason I asked Wesley to come here
is because I just figured that you needed somebody
you could talk to, you related to,
that understood how you're trying to use your voice to inspire others,
but also can say, "These are the things you need to get through
and be on your own journey of healing."
I did a little bit of research on you, checked out your TikTok. I see you.
You're TikTok famous.
I see you doing some social media work, and I just… I know the journey is, uh…
It can become beautiful.
I've celebrated my ten years this year, and like I said, "celebrated," you know?
We'll get you to that point.
Is there anything that you hope that you can learn from Wesley
while he's here?
Um, yeah.
The social anxiety thing I was telling you guys about.
Yeah.
Walk in a party or a restaurant and everybody staring at you.
- Gotta give 'em something to stare at. - That's literally what I said yesterday!
Perspective. Perspective.
- All right, ready to get out of here? - See y’all in a bit!
- Bye. - Bye.
You were wanting to move out,
so what I wanted today
was me and Uncle Wes are gonna take you apartment hunting.
All right.
So, that way, he can share things that you should be on the lookout for.
I can talk about maybe design.
- Are you excited? - Nice. Yeah, I'm excited.
Today I wanna show Speedy that he can find a home that is accessible
and allows him to live a fully independent life.
The very first thing I look at is the environment itself, you know?
How many accessible parking spots are there?
- Yeah. - Um, you know, is there ramps?
You know, they use this phrase lately, and it's like,
"Go wherever you're celebrated, not tolerated."
'Cause if I'm going into a lot of places with barriers,
and the only accessible thing is the unit, then how free can I be?
Right.
This is the building we're supposed to be going into.
Really?
- No! - Yeah.
Oh wow.
This is happening routinely, right? Like…
Yeah. Like, this sidewalk? You can't get to the front door.
Um, I don't see an accessible spot,
so I think I will take this one
since this seems to be the most accessible,
even though it's technically not one, which… First strike.
- All right, so here's the unit. - Okay.
- Huh. - Huh.
I wouldn't really consider any of this…
- Accessible? - Yeah.
- No. - No.
- The microwave. - The microwave is high up.
- Yeah. - Cabinets.
- So this unit does come furnished. - Okay.
But you wouldn't really wanna have all this furniture in here.
- You wouldn't be able to move around. - Bedroom.
This seems a little narrow, but good?
Bathroom is gonna be a problem.
- I don't think you can wheel in. - I'll try it.
No. There's no way.
Any pros to this pad?
You know, the closet has one pro.
- Some of the racks are low. - Well, yeah.
- At least one of 'em is. - One.
- The majority of it's high. - Oh, and you can't get in.
But I'm highlighting that maybe there…
So, three spots.
Oh.
- Look at that. That's a good sign. - Definitely a good sign.
- Oh, nice. - Nice.
- Yeah. - Look at the low countertop!
But a lot of upper storage.
- This is good. - Yes.
So, one thing to always look out for is that your knobs are here.
Because if your knobs are there,
you're having to reach across a hot burner to turn it off.
- And you can burn your arm. - I did that for years.
I learned this from you. I didn't think about that before.
Nice and open living room. Hallway's nice and wide.
That's really nice.
- Here's the bedroom. - Oh, nice.
Even when you look at the closet, you really have everything low.
Like, you put all your shoes on that row.
- And here's the bathroom. - Well, dang!
It is pretty spacious.
Space is the most important.
I like that you can roll under the sink.
- Can you reach? - Mm-hmm.
Nice.
The bathtub…
The bathtub's so-so.
- Yeah. - I'm not gonna lie. Not a fan.
- Not any handles. - Yeah.
Front-load washer and dryer.
I don't know how to open. Oh, okay.
It would make sense to have it this way. It would make it more accessible.
You don't have to settle.
You deserve everything to be just as accessible as everyone else.
Absolutely.
Seeing these little kids out here, that used to be me.
- So you said that used to be you. - Yeah.
Early mornings, late nights.
Getting those shots. Playing against other people.
Sometimes I have regrets, and I wish I would've…
could go back and do things differently
because there was little things that my mom would preach to me to do.
- What? - Putting in more work.
Putting in more time. Putting in more effort.
You know, I really, really appreciated my mama
'cause she supported my basketball dreams.
And my goal was to buy my mom a house, but, you know, that plan didn't work out.
Do you think that you have properly grieved your mother's death
and properly grieved losing mobility in your legs?
No, not really.
I don't think I did.
Why don't you think you're taking time to do that?
'Cause I kind of try to ignore it.
What are you afraid is gonna happen if you start to deal with that grief?
I don't… I can't really explain it.
We got time.
Because the thing is, what I can't have you do with me
is walk away not having some way to express what you're feeling.
I'm trying to set you up on a journey where in those moments of hurt or pain,
you can talk about what you're feeling.
Like, for my car accident, looking at my mom…
I'd never really seen death.
Death firsthand.
And seeing my mom like that was…
It was bad.
Yeah. Yeah.
Seeing my mom and my auntie.
- So it's the images. - The images, yes.
I don't think I'll ever understand, man.
Something so tragic happened to people who are hardworking, good,
and just try to stay out of the way, it just doesn't sit right with me.
I kind of blame God.
- You do? - It's 'cause, like…
I did everything right in life.
Never got in trouble. Never been a bad kid.
For something like that to just happen to me unexpectedly…
How often do you ask that question, "Why you?"
I try to have more positive days than negative.
But, you know, sometimes you can't escape those days.
There was a few times when I wanted to off myself.
Yeah?
I kind of looked at myself in the mirror. I started crying.
- Yeah. - Like, I gotta live this way forever.
- I'm sorry. It's… - You're okay.
It's a lot.
I haven't talked about this in a while, so…
- I'm sorry. - You don't have to apologize.
You have to let that out 'cause this is a different grieving than you're doing.
This right here is acknowledging the anger you have.
You don't deserve to live a life where you keep being angry.
You gotta be able to say, "Well, hold on. I have the strength within me."
"I have the things in me
to, like, conquer these negative feelings,
even though it's gonna be hard and difficult,
and sometimes I'm exhausted with having to keep on fighting."
You have it.
Being a young Black man in this country is hard enough as is,
and Speedy has done everything that he could
to make sure that he stayed on the path that his mother and he wanted to be on,
and this moment happened that shattered him.
Sometimes if you see me staring off into space,
that's me thinking about the memories,
just having flashbacks and stuff like that.
I really wanna find somebody I could really just talk to.
Start taking the steps,
start moving towards doing what you need to do
so that you can start to grieve and heal.
What you've experienced can't just start and end right here.
What I want Speedy to understand is despite what you lost,
doesn't mean that you can't gain a beautiful future,
and that's the journey of healing and grieving that he's on,
and I know he's gonna get there.
I also brought you back out here because I wanted us to play a little bit.
Yeah?
I actually invited some friends to come play with us.
- Let's do it. - See if you can still whup some ass.
- Maybe. - Maybe?
What up?
All right, so I haven't played since the fourth grade.
- You thought I was gone? - I thought you dipped out.
So I say we do a little two-on-two.
- Two-on-two. - I think we should show 'em up.
You know, but first I got these bands for you that…
- Go around the waist? - Go around your chest.
If you're ready to play some ball real quick,
and you can literally just try it.
Is this a support brace?
Yeah.
You know, my injury, I got a C8, level C8, so my core is…
- Make it tight. - My injury is chest down.
- My core is very weakened from the injury. - Gotcha.
- That work? - Yeah.
- You ready? - I'm scared and nervous.
- How are you guys feeling? - I feel like I'm ready to whup some ass.
For Speedy, there was a bit of fear.
Playing basketball in his chair was gonna be a bit different.
Y'all ready?
Keep the confidence up.
Oh! Oh! What you doing?
Oh. Oh!
- What? - Your shot is there.
Once Speedy got on this court,
the fear went away, and the basketball player came back.
He can't shoot.
Oh!
I got it. Let's go! Come on.
- You still have to block him! - Hey, I'm Canadian. I feel bad.
Layup!
Oh!
You finally get to see the joy.
Just that one moment of Speedy letting out his emotion
inspired him to be able to just get back out there
and to be able to have some fun again.
Nice.
I still got it. I still got it.
The shot never go away.
That man can hoop.
Okay? That man can hoop.
You still got it.
Man, honestly,
I don't think that I could've literally went without having a conversation
to talk not only about the spinal-cord injury,
but just the journey you're on.
I relate to all the things that you're experiencing now.
You know, there was a lot of self-hate at the beginning of my injury,
a lot of depression, a lot of, uh, suicidal thoughts.
You know, like, I mean, I used to wake up every day and beat my legs up.
You know what I mean? Like, man, I couldn't control it.
Yeah.
Karamo touched upon that.
Why would something so tragic happen to a good person?
I don't know what I did wrong.
Yeah.
Those doubts, questions, and why me's, it's important to have 'em,
but it's important to shift your perception of what happened to you.
"Why would I wanna live with that?"
And then it was, "Why not?"
My life is amazing,
but it wouldn't have happened if my legs didn't get taken away from me.
Everything is different, but I think that's the beauty of it.
Your language and the things you use are already very positive,
but I want you to really believe it.
In order to accept this, you gotta find love within you, within yourself,
and then within this new life.
There's a lot of people that are waiting in line to be led by you.
Don't let the challenges that you have stop you from being who you can be.
'Cause nothing's gonna defeat you but you.
Ooh, I just heard some knowledge being dropped. I did!
I like the Wesley knowledge.
This is not, you know, the end of our conversations.
I plan on doing a lot with you to help build you.
You have so much potential
that I can't wait to see it, you know, grow into something beautiful.
I love it, you know, and I love you, so…
- Love you too, bro. - Yeah, bro. We… You know, so…
- Appreciate you. - You as well.
- I'm so damn happy you two met. - Me too.
All right, taco time?
Actually, knowing Speedy, you'd probably prefer hibachi.
- I knew it! - There's our Bobby.
Bobby!
- Hey! - What's Bobby doing here?
Hey, Bobby.
Hi, kid.
What's going on?
- You got it? Okay. - Yep.
I got you. Watch your head, my friend.
- We good? - Yep.
All right, man. Thank you.
And we're going. Could you look any cuter? Please.
- You recognize this car? - Yeah, it's my car.
Your car is here because it's in your new parking spot.
- Really? - The Fab Five and I got you an apartment.
- Paid the rent for you for the next year. - Oh my…
Thank you, man. Get a hug.
- Thank y'all. - I can't wait to see it!
This is crazy. I'm gonna try not to cry. It's crazy. Thank y'all.
- You're welcome. - Of course. You so deserve this.
- Your mama is guiding us. - Yeah.
She is guiding every step of this.
I believe it.
She's looking down really happy right now.
- Appreciate you. Can I get another hug? - Yeah, you can!
Appreciate y'all.
Should we have a group hug even though it's 164 degrees?
Thank y'all.
At 18, so many dreams that he had were all taken away in an instant.
Let's go.
I can't imagine what this kid went through,
but it just makes me so happy he now has such a smile on his face.
- Oh, it's this one? - There you go.
Oh my God!
Oh my God.
This is so cute.
Oh, y'all did y'all thing!
I adjusted some things. I took the cabinet from under the sink.
- And I angled it so you can use it better. - Thank you.
We also set up a lot of things that will make life just easier.
Alexa, lower the living room shades.
Okay.
- Whoa! - What?
Ohhh!
I Thought you were kidding, Bobby!
Alexa, turn off the living room lights.
- Okay. - Oh!
Wow.
- I want this. - Right?
I had you set up the app. That's why.
You can run everything from the app as well.
Okay.
Speedy really wanted me to teach him how to make fried rice with steak
at his favorite hibachi restaurant.
I have never been a fan of an appliance more than I am of this actual thing.
It's the greatest rice cooker of all time.
You can put grains in here, oatmeal.
Speaking of oatmeal…
It's fantastic.
- Yeah. - Whoa!
- Ready to see more? - Yes.
Okay. I wanna show you the bathroom.
Ohhh!
Front-loading washer.
You get to be a real grown-ass man and do your own laundry.
You got a roll-in shower,
so you don't have to rely on anybody for anything.
Oh my goodness.
I can just roll on in and transfer.
I had to transfer from two chairs just to get in the shower.
And, man…
- That'll cut down so much time. - So much time and energy.
I love that.
I took the doors off and put curtains,
so you don't have a door in your way anymore.
Man, this is awesome. Never seen anything like it.
- It's all yours. - I've never seen a bed like this.
- So pretty. - Like a spaceship.
Thank you, Bobby.
This will make life so much easier.
Your closet. It's one of our most fun.
This is crazy.
And you seem to like color so much, so we got you a bunch of different colors.
You seemed to like this so much at the store,
so we got you a bunch of different knits that are colorful, playful.
- That one. - Isn't that so good?
A bunch of different pants.
They're all skinny, so they'll fit the way you want,
and they won't hit your wheels.
Finally, so much shirting.
Depending on how you wanna really play.
- Shall we get you dressed? - Yes.
Kids! You ready to see our Speedy?
Yes.
Okay, Speedy, come on out!
- Ohhh! - Sick.
- I love the colors. - Come on!
You look fresh to death!
I don't know if I love the shirt or the jewelry more. You're glowing.
Takeover.
- Yeah, the takeover. - Takeover, not a makeover.
- Oh, I like it. - Ah!
When you wanna show off your cool outfits and gorgeous looks,
that's your TikTok corner.
You put your gorgeous phone right there.
We cannot wait to see everything you create.
You look incredible, Speedy.
- Thanks. - Handsome.
Well, listen, I do have one more surprise for you upstairs on the roof.
Ooh.
So you all head up to the roof, and then I'll meet you.
- We'll chat for a little bit. - All right.
You've been through something that I cannot imagine.
And you have been kind and loving and just an amazing young man through it.
Being able to express this to you, like, yesterday, we was talking.
You seen me cry. I haven't cried in a while, honestly.
I show TikTok my struggle,
but mental thoughts and what I was thinking,
I never show them that.
Don't lose that vulnerability 'cause, I promise you,
that's where the strength's gonna come from.
That's what's gonna propel you to where you need to be.
- You got it? - I got it. I promise you.
Mm.
All right, so we're gonna go upstairs
because I think you're gonna enjoy this last little surprise.
I invited your family.
Oh!
You look so nice!
Wait. Lay'lani!
- Hey, Lay-Lay! - Oh!
Oh!
Oh, honey!
We have a surprise for you.
A new pool.
A new pool!
- What has happened? - What is this?
I know you look nice. I like this.
I like that. Yeah.
- Let me see. - Let me see.
All right!
- There we go. - You look nice! All right!
We have this little tradition and celebration,
um, where I want you to think about all the things that you've learned with us,
and I want you to think about where you plan on going.
You ask yourself a lot of, "What if? Why me?"
This is the moment where you define that answer.
Why not me? You guys gave me a perspective, like Wesley.
The car accident changed my life.
Why not, you know, change it in… It changed my life in a positive way.
- Yeah. - Look at it like that.
The car accident gave me life.
You're gonna be grieving the life you thought you were supposed to have,
but the more and more you give this new life purpose,
the more you're gonna heal and not grieve that old life.
We're gonna release some butterflies in your mother and your aunt's honor
so that they are all around you watching.
- Let's release these in their honor. - Love you, Mama.
Oh, they're pretty.
- They're so pretty. - Ooh.
Ah! Butterflies!
Ooh.
Ah!
It's beautiful.
It's nice.
Let them go. Let them go. Let them go!
Look, one's landed on you.
They love your sneakers. That's it.
You can touch it, Lay-Lay.
Aw!
At this point, it is time for us to say goodbye.
- Unfortunately. - Yeah.
And let you spend some amazing quality time with your family
in your new space.
Okay.
We love you. You're an incredible, incredible young man.
He talked about he didn't want to be a burden.
Y'all talk. Y'all keep sharing.
- I love you all. Appreciate you. - We love you too.
Love you too.
- I hope we have a lifelong connection. - Same.
- Absolutely. - Absolutely.
- Keep going. - Hey. Thank you, Karamo.
Grief is not something that comes and goes in one day.
It's a journey that takes some time, and Speedy's on that journey.
Big, big hug! Come on! Everybody! Everybody!
Yay!
- Oh, it's nice for you. - Uh-huh.
Oh, wow!
Okay!
I mean, the clothes, the hair, this beautiful apartment,
even teaching Speedy how to prepare a meal for himself,
it's not gonna suddenly solve all of his problems.
All I can hope for with this week
is that we just gave him a couple of tools for hope.
This is the bedroom. This is what did it.
It's made for a king. Oh, this is nice!
Wait, the pictures!
It's about embracing yourself and what you have been through,
and Speedy has taught me so much of what it means to be graceful,
of what it means to be strong, of what it means to be courageous.
Let me show y'all something. Alexa, open the bedroom shades.
Okay.
Wow!
- Look at that! - Look at that!
I know that there is nothing that he will not be able to do
if he sets his mind to it.
The sky is the limit. The world is his oyster.
I love this place.
- She loves it. - I love it.
What's next?
Who knows?
I don't know.
But I know it's something big.
What's good, TikTok? Thanks to God, I got this beautiful opportunity.
I was taught that grievance is a very important part of healing.
Staying true to who you are, never giving up
when life has thrown a bunch of punches at you.
Sometimes, when you don't grieve properly, you lose, you know, sight of your life
and, you know, your mind.
You get, you know, mostly down on yourself.
And life has been, like, a very tough roller coaster for me,
but, you know, I'm here. I'm still here, and I'm pushing through.
You know, I'm ready to tell my story.
Disability affects everyone.
It's not a matter of if, but when your life will be impacted.
Whether it's you or a loved one, one moment can change your life forever.
Every disability is not visible,
but what we all have in common is that we want to be seen.
We're people, not just people with disabilities.
Everyone deserves love and respect.
Amen.
Hey! That's what I'm talking about, superstar!