Halloween is a special day for US Paralympians Josh Sundquist. From being a firefighter sliding up a pole to a pink flamingo, she spends half the year creating a costume that’s “a statement about disability and creativity.”

Sundquist, who has an amputated left leg, will dress up as a man with a red inflatable tube when he goes trick-or-treating to his neighborhood this year with his wife, Ashley, and their one-year-old son.

“I want my costumes to be something that only I can wear. That’s what’s important to me, and that’s what’s interesting to me as a creative challenge,” Sundquist said. Live on TikTok @Paralympics.

“That’s why they’re always made just to my shape, right to my body. People say, ‘Wow, how does it fit? How does the costume work?’ I want him to say “

“I take pride in carrying the narrative (of disability) in as small a way as I can.”

My passion for one-legged Halloween costumes continues pic.twitter.com/AkWhnx1kRw

— Josh Sundquist (@JoshSundquist) October 31, 2023

From the slopes to the spotlights

Sundquist competed Para alpine skiing -most Turin 2006 Paralympic Winter Games.

He is now a comedian, award-winning author, motivational speaker, husband and father. But people might associate it with the “adaptive costumes” he first created in 2010. There is a huge collection of costumes in the basement. It all started when he dressed up as a partially eaten gingerbread man to make his friends laugh.

Since then, he’s dressed as Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, and Lumière from Beauty and the Beast; All of this is possible thanks to the unique shape of his body.

The creation process usually takes six months, and she works with a prop maker to turn her ideas into actual costumes.

“I try to think of it as six months on and six months off. I spend a lot of time actively thinking about Halloween and preparing for it,” she said.

“After Halloween, I thought, ‘Oh, great. I’m not going to think about this for six months,’ but I still do. Of course, I’m always thinking of costume ideas and writing them down. I’ve got a lot on my plate.” your ideas.”

One of her favorites is her pink flamingo costume from 2013.

“The flamingo was so enigmatic, it looked like a flamingo, and it was so interesting to look at. I think I’ll never be able to top that for how surprising and strange and uncanny it was.”

“But the costume wasn’t practical at all. I do handstands on crutches. I can’t go to a party with crutches and walk around on my hands and talk to people.”

He now focuses more on endurance and functionality, making sure he can actually walk and enjoy the day.

Creating change one costume at a time

This year, he’ll be walking around his neighborhood as a man with an inflatable tube, often used to advertise businesses. Halloween has become a special day for the Sundquists; Ashley will join him as a sales sign, and his sons will become used car salesmen.

“I grew up in a family that never celebrated Halloween, so it’s so iconic that Halloween is now such a beautiful part of my life,” Sundquist said.

“I think the inflatable tube men advertising local businesses are so iconic and fun, and they’ve always fascinated me as one-legged creatures. I felt I had to celebrate them with this costume.”

@josh.sundquist My 2024 Halloween Costume The perfect costume to promote half-sale #halloweencostume #halloween ♬ Someone Is Watching Me – Single Version – Rockwell

More than a decade after designing his first “adaptive suit,” Sundquist has seen the transformation it has created.

Two years ago, he was shopping at a mall with his brother and his wife, Ashley. There, a female clerk saw him and asked if he wore funny Halloween costumes every year.

When Sundquist told him he said that, he said: “Oh, that’s really cool. There’s a man you need to check out. He told her about a content creator who dressed as a flamingo, the leg lamp, and other costumes Sundquist had worn in the past.

This allowed him to see the change he had made in the perception of people with disabilities, especially amputees.

“People think of something sad or tragic or terrible or something weird or horrifying,” she said, sharing how she lost her leg due to cancer.

“Some people feel uncomfortable around someone with a disability. “They don’t know how to move or they think they have to move in a special way, which of course they don’t,” he said. “But this girl saw me and instead of thinking about any of that, her first thought was when she saw a one-legged man wearing funny costumes.

“It was like, wow, this is the most concrete evidence I’ve ever seen that my life, especially costumes, have an impact. I am so proud to have been a part of influencing her perception of disability in this way. “I hope my costumes do the same for other people.”

A Paralympic dream

Almost twenty years have passed since the Turin 2006 Paralympic Games. While it took some getting used to, he still remembers what a “dream” it felt like to stay in the Paralympic Village with athletes from around the world.

@paralympics

TODAY WE ARE LIVE BROADCASTING with the Halloween King

♬ DANCE DANCE DANCE X CLOSE – ALTÉGO

He sees the growth of the Paralympic Movement and enjoys supporting athletes on television or reading about their achievements.

“I love watching Paralympic news on TV,” he said. “When I was at the Paralympics there was no such thing and there was probably an internet stream you could watch on your computer.

“Now, I can say that there was a lot of coverage of the Paralympic Games both on TV and in the newspaper this year I saw a lot about the Paralympic Games and the events that were taking place. There were a lot of articles and news, it was really great.

“I love seeing what happens next in the Paralympic Movement.”