Meet Wheelsmith, the musician-athlete with Muscular Dystrophy | In The Spotlight - video Dailymotion

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"I don’t think just because I use a wheelchair means I’m special." Danial Bawthan, known as Wheelsmith, is a 31-year-old musician and wheelchair rugby player diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy at four. He shares his story of crafting authentic music and leaving a lasting impact in sports, breaking stereotypes and motivating others to discover their own path.  Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

Transcript

00:00people like to call me inspiring just for showing up but I'm not here for that I don't

00:10think that just because I use a wheelchair means I'm special I'm here because I have

00:16something to say through my music through the grind on the cord through everything that I pour my

00:23heart into I'm Daniel Bowden better known as Will Smith on stage I am 31 years old I make music I

00:41break beats and I build legacies and sometimes I smash into people in a wheelchair rugby match

00:50just for the thrill of it now that I think about it music is my lifeline is where I'm most raw most

01:02honest it's always about pouring out something real in the songs that I make at the same time

01:11I'm still pushing the game in wheelchair rugby I'm vice president of wheelchair rugby association of

01:18Singapore and a player who is borderline obsessive about the sport it's a crazy juggle the music

01:27sports even a bit of theater in between but that's how I roll literally to be honest it didn't start easy

01:41I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of four it's a condition where your body loses its muscle

01:49mass all limbs hands and legs and later on your internal organs any organs that is predominantly made of fiber and

01:59muscles will be affected later on in the years but if you ask my mom I'm just lazy

02:07growing up in Johor Bahru I remember running around trading my Nokia phone for a BMX bike getting chased by street

02:19dogs just being a kid you know my brothers did not treat me any different just because I was disabled they did not cut me any slack and

02:31uh I appreciate them for that it wasn't until I moved to Singapore at 13 that I started needing crutches and

02:41eventually a wheelchair well at first it was rough I wanted to fit in to style my hair wear what my friends wore

02:52before but the truth is mirrors don't lie so I didn't hide my disability and and I guess neither my music

03:07so I started writing raps angry hopeful messy raps at 16

03:22from using royalty free beats on youtube to full productions today music gave me a sense of identity

03:33where my life wasn't just about something to survive it was something to create

03:41and after some time things picked up for me especially after my performance at the national day parade in 2019

03:52I've got to say that I'm quite grateful for the support and accommodation I got from those

03:58involved in the production they went all out in making sure rehearsals and performance

04:04spaces were accessible for me and now that I think of it is quite surreal

04:12wheelchair rugby came later and it was like finding a part of me

04:17I didn't know I needed or even existed someone called me hey bro do you want to try wheelchair rugby and I said wheelchair plus rugby or

04:29are you inviting wheelchair people watching rugby no it's wheelchair and rugby together as a sport

04:37I was very intriguing like what wow no way weeks later I was there someone strapped me up give me a ball and then the first contact

04:48it was like a clash of thunder you know like

04:50boom and because the stadium was so big and empty it rumbled and it rolled and then I looked at that

04:58guy and that guy looked at me like pals now we're buddies

05:03with the team it's a fabric of life

05:09it's knitted and matched from athletes who come from different medical background

05:15and with these kind of people coming together you will see a myriad of different limitations

05:21different medical needs different recovery time different intensity that they can upkeep

05:27although wheelchair rugby is rigorous is commanding is robust we are sensitive enough to look after our

05:37peers to like hey I need you to push 100% but if you are dying I will stop you it's okay we lose today

05:49I want you tomorrow I don't want us to win today at the cost of losing you

05:52so we kept an eye for each other even though we asked each other to push 101% this team they're not

06:01just teammates they have become brothers and sisters we argue a lot we try to forgive each other a lot

06:11we bleed together sometimes we win but most of the time we lose but we only show up

06:19and Coach Aza he is probably our biggest champion he always believes in us and led by example in wisdom and empathy

06:31from coaching to comforting

06:36when I think about legacy it's not about awards or headlines it's about building something that lasts after I'm gone

06:45for music I want to make noise real noise I want to push the craft until you can't

06:54tell whether the artist is able body or disabled I want to release more songs and provoke more conversations

07:04ultimately challenge what people expect from an artist from a person in a wheelchair so that

07:11they don't need to put disabled artists in the headline anymore just artists is fine because I think we deserve it

07:22for rugby I wanted to outlive me I want some kid who's lost who doesn't know where he fits

07:32to find a chair find a team like how I did and ultimately find himself I want wheelchair rugby to

07:41be thriving long after I hang out my jersey and be able to tell these kids that I was there 20 30 years ago

07:52at the end of the day it's quite simple I don't wake up every day feeling motivated

07:58I wake up because I refuse to look down on myself I show up I create I give it all

08:07I have to fight and cease the day because whether it's difficult or easy or

08:13at the moment it's going for you or going against you life is worth it

08:25if you don't know what it is I don't know I love you so much because they're doing it

08:26if you're a guy who's a friend like me and it's hard to go for a job

08:27I would love you to go for a while and I can't do it

08:28I just feel that way because you're doing it

08:29of course you're doing it

08:30you're doing it

08:31a whole time to work for you

08:32I don't know if you're doing it

08:32a whole time to do it

08:33you're doing it

08:34I can't do it

08:34and I can't do it

08:35to go to the next step

08:36you're going to go to our next step

08:37of the night

08:39and I will get a picture

08:40of the day

08:40I'll show up

08:41it

08:42you're going to be

08:44I want to dream

08:45you're going to go up

08:47and I'll take you

08:48I'll take you

08:49You

Meet Wheelsmith, the musician-athlete with Muscular Dystrophy | In The Spotlight

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