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Jesse Billauer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesse Billauer (born February 24, 1979) is a well known surfer from Pacific Palisades, California.
Billauer suffered an accident at the age of 17 on March 25, 1996, hitting his head on a shallow sandbar after being knocked off his surfboard by a wave. The force broke his neck, severing his spinal cord at the C6 level and instantly rendered him a quadriplegic.
Billauer was told by doctors that he would never surf again. However, Billauer eventually did return to surfing, adapting his surfing technique and equipment to the situation of his current condition. He has become an inspirational guide to many other surfers, both professional and amateur.[citation needed] Through these efforts Jesse has gained sponsorships from companies including Ocean Pacific, Honda, Channel Islands Surfboards (who developed a "Jesse Billauer" model) and Boost Mobile.
Billauer eventually enrolled at San Diego State University, with an emphasis in communications. He graduated in 2002. He is also a motivational speaker, and is involved with a non profit foundation, "Life Rolls On." [1] Through this foundation, Jesse is taking a leading role in awareness and activism for spinal cord injury research, picking up where Christopher Reeve left off.
The 2003 Docu-Film Step Into Liquid was partly based on his life and his friendship with Rob Machado. Jesse was also featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, While You Were Out, E! True American Story and more.
In 2004 he won the 10News (San Diego) Leadership Award for his commitment to Life Rolls On Foundation.
In 2005 Jesse became the first quadriplegic surfer to surf the dangerous waves of Cloudbreak in Fiji.
The inaugural "Jesse's Story on Tour" speaking tour began in April 2006. This Tour has traversed the country and Jesse has delivered his message of Overcoming Adversity to over 40,000 people.
In December 2006 Jesse broke his femur while surfing large waves on the North Shore of Oahu (Hawaii). This injury led to the development of improved equipment for disabled surfers. Jesse is recovered and back in the water surfing again.