FS: Do you have any motorized wheelchairs?

AF: Not at this moment but I have looked into it, because speed is always good.

FS: Tell us about your journey to and on America's Got Talent, whatever highlights you would like to share.

AF: When it first happened that I would be able to have the big ramp on AGT, and have that opportunity, it was like "No way, this is awesome!" I worked with Nitro Circus (they are the only people that have the big ramp) and AGT to get that ramp there. It was up to me to make sure I pull off my tricks and land them.

Being able to do my audition in front of the judges, crashing my first one and being able to get up and landing the second try…. It was, I would have to say, the most stressful moment of my life. Just because, I was like, NOOOO, I have to land this trick. I was glad I was able to get back up and do it again. And even to be able to make it to the finals, it is more than I could have ever dreamed.

FS: When you are up on that extremely high, high ramp, are you terrified, excited? I was terrified watching from the safety of my living room!

"There are obviously things a disability stops you from being able to do, like, I can't walk, but life did give me a different set of wheels."

AF: Definitely excited, mostly terrified. No matter how comfortable you get, you get up there and think, "Man this is serious".

FS: How long train do you train for each trick?

AF: Every trick is a different investment. Some come pretty easily, like you land it in a day. Those are beautiful, but rare. Some tricks I have spent up to ten years working on before I was able to land it. You first start dreaming about it and then you try it and try it and you keep failing. It feels like it's this far away dream and then years later, you're in the right situation, you tried it enough. Some are quicker than others, but I just think that means that the ones that take forever to land are just that much better.

FS: After America's Got Talent, what did you do?

AF: I was on a Nitro Circus tour in Australia. Got to do eight shows in a month. It was about two a week and it was a lot of fun. I love riding the big ramp and am excited anytime I get the opportunity.

FS: What's next for you?

AF: A couple things. As far as the riding, there's more tricks I am working on. There are always more tricks. I am working on getting the back flip 360 landed again, and getting more comfortable on that ramp. While I am home, I am actually working on building wheelchairs and making a better skatepark chair and another chair for the mega ramp.

I have built chairs for friends and for my wife, and I sold a chair. I am trying to decide exactly what I want to do. I got into it because I break a lot of stuff. I am not sure that is what I want to do full time. I still want to do the riding and jumping. It is something I am exploring.

FS: How do you feel about people asking if you need help?

AF: I would prefer they don't, unless it is something they would ask anyone not in a wheelchair, like if I was trying to carry a heavy TV. They should just watch and let it be my responsibility to ask for help, if it is a regular activity. I have my way of doing things, even if it looks difficult or awkward.

ROLLING WITH IT: "Early on, my family knew they needed to let me do what I loved to do. They did whatever they could to support me in that. For a while, it was pretty expensive to buy me wheel chair parts, and they still did that and everything they could to support me in the skatepark scene. A huge blessing."

FS: Do you have words of advice for people who are mobility challenged?

AF: I think a lot of the time people who are facing a mobility problem, such as myself, it is easy to see where you want to be and see the barriers that you feel are stopping you from getting there. It is not that there is not pains and hardship, it is not pretending they aren't there, because it is true, but there is always some kind of blessing you can look on and you can notice from each situation. I think it may suck that I can't walk, but I have a wheelchair.

I think sometimes looking at the whole picture and trying to figure out every little detail is kind of discouraging. I honestly think keeping a positive mind and just doing what you love is important. There are obviously things a disability stops you from being able to do, like, I can't walk, but life did give me a different set of wheels. Sometimes it's not how we first visualized it, but I think we can have a good quality of life regardless of our situation.

We are not encouraging our readers to go out and try the amazing and dangerous stunts that Wheelz performs. But we hope that we all can learn from his positive attitude, determination, not letting fear rule him, and his ability to get up and try again when something does not go as planned.•

To learn more about Wheelz, visit his website at aaronfotheringham.com or his youtube channel at youtube.com/user/AaronFotheringham