Portraits of Oregon - Hollis

Hi, I’m Hollis Shostrom. I was born in Ashland, OR. And I have Cerebral Palsy. My Mom and Dad mainstreamed me through school. So, I grew up hanging out with all the able-bodied kids. There were five different elementary schools, each of them had two fifth grade classes. My Mom came up with a weeklong course that she did with each class all about disabilities that I showed up to each one for one day in the classroom to help teach. That way when we all started middle school everybody knew about me. This had a big impact on me in my life because of the inclusion that I felt starting middle school and high school. You could say I was one of the more popular kids, LOL. Especially in metal shop which is what sparked by passion for metals and metal work. I now have my own shop that I build out of.

Most recently I have worked in computer aided drafting and am a SolidWorks fanatic. Yes, I am geek. I am quite techy and really get into assistive technology.  I am also a big fan of wheelchairs (not all wheelchairs!) which is why I am designing my own. This will be my second chair that I have designed.

I am also an avid outdoorsman. I love to ski and have been skiing for 30 years with Oregon Adaptive Sports and was their first client. I began skiing with them two years before they actually opened OAS. I am also into power wheelchair soccer and I love to go hiking. I am a member of the Wednesday Wheelers which is a big bad motorcycle gang! JUST JOKING! But we mostly are in wheelchairs so if you see us coming you better watch your toes LOL. The Wheelers also do a lot of community outreach and activism. If you can’t tell by now, I have a sense of humor, and I love a good laugh. My favorite part of Wheelers is that we got two David’s Track Chairs that live at Mount Pisgah and anybody can sign up for free to use them! The use of a track chair is how wheelchair users go hiking, so this is really cool for our community.

All and all, I’m just a chill guy who enjoys the outdoors, geeking out on my computer, meeting new people, and sharing a good laugh.