Cougar Clifford, a.k.a.  Sir Phive

Cougar Clifford raced motocross, road cycles, and mountain bikes before his injury in 2014 at the age of 15. He was leaving a high school basketball game in St. Louis when he and some friends jumped into large snow banks — Cougar jumped in head first and shattered his C5 vertebrae, requiring most of it to be replaced with a titanium block. After more than a year of therapy, he exhausted all recovery options in St. Louis and moved to Atlanta to continue his progression at The Shepherd Center.

As he regained his strength, he was naturally drawn to gaming to satisfy his appetite for competition and community, playing games like Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, and Smite. Along with volunteering as a setup consultant for United Spinal Atlanta, he now competes in Paralympic swimming events and marathons in his handcycle across the country. He uses an Xbox Elite 1 controller with joystick extenders and a hand brace to hold his fingers straight.

“I look forward to expanding the community of disabled gamers nationwide…to someday have a disabled gaming league”