Mark Lelinwalla

Just last week, the 31-year-old skateboarder from Warren, Michigan, nailed a kickflip onto a ledge for the first time, for his 128,000 followers to see. Pulling off a kickflip - or any trick for that matter - for the first time would be thrilling for any skateboarder, but Mancina enjoyed it even more - even though he could barely see it.

Think of Mancina as Marvel's Daredevil with a skateboard: He's blind. Ninety-five percent of his field of vision is blacked out. He likens what he can see to peering through a dirty, hazy window, something he discusses in , a documentary about his skating exploits. He can't see his own skating successes, even if you can see them on Instagram.

But he won't stop pulling them off. He largely focuses on board flips and grinds (instead of aerial work), attacking these tricky moves with abandon. And sure he's taken a few falls, but that's not going to make him quit anytime soon.

This Blind Skateboarder Has Serious Skills

So how does Mancina do it? What he lacks in sight, he must make up for with feel. When arriving to a skatepark, Mancina surveys the area with his white cane, gauging space and feeling out any obstacles such as ledges, rails or gaps to deposit as internal data.

Mancina skates everywhere with his cane. He never stops feeling the terrain, always keeping cane in contact with the ground so he knows what's coming and knows he's not near a halfpipe (unless he needs one).

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvzaNsvl01P/" id="00f0eebc-0be1-3d6a-ad96-699607c923c7"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvzaNsvl01P/" id="ca4d7397-c7db-3559-a01a-811767855066"> Pop lock in and drop it! @realskateboards @adidasskateboarding @spitfirewheels @thundertrucks </a> A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/danthemancina/" id="ba93c3eb-7105-3bc8-a75d-6478b258c444"> Dan Mancina </a> (@danthemancina) on Apr 3, 2019 at 11:24am PDT

Im feeling how tall it is, how long it is, how wide it is, a starting point, he says. Everything has to be very consistent with what I do. Starting in the same spot, trying to have the same trajectory. Its control for not being able to see and its figuring out the speed, timing. I know where I am, I know what direction Im going and those are all almost instinctual and then it comes down to performing whatever the trick is.

Mancina suffers from Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is a bundling of rare, genetic disorders that causes the retina to lose its cells, resulting in a progressive loss of vision over time. The estimates that the disorder affects one in 4,000 people worldwide. Some lose their vision completely, while others are left with minute sight.

Mancina was diagnosed with RP at 13 following a routine eye exam in which the optometrist spotted something different. For years, Mancina led a normal life. But in his 20s, things changed.

Thats when I lost a majority of my functional vision, he says. I stopped driving, stopped riding a bike and was unable to navigate by myself. It took a large effect on me and my lifestyle.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuwtPypF9m1/" id="e02be1db-e15a-363a-ae95-90267645c79d"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuwtPypF9m1/" id="1dec393a-837a-3a8f-ab73-218004537a4e"> @realskateboards @adidasskateboarding @thundertrucks @spitfirewheels </a> A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/danthemancina/" id="ba93c3eb-7105-3bc8-a75d-6478b258c444"> Dan Mancina </a> (@danthemancina) on Mar 8, 2019 at 12:43pm PST

Initially, Mancina was depressed, frustrated he couldnt do the things he normally did. One of those things was skateboarding, a passion hed held since childhood, and he briefly pondered quitting it entirely. That would have been logical after all, right? But a few years ago, he decided hed find a way to do it anyway.

It was about slowly realizing that theres some kind of void in my life and trying to figure out who I was, he says. To truly do that, Mancina had to draw a distinction between being a blind man and being Dan. I had to search for what Dan wants and whos Dan, he remembers. Getting back on my board and realizing I am a skateboarder - thats who I am. I definitely wont be as happy without doing it.

<h1> The Challenges of Skating Without Sight </h1>

As hard as the tricks are to perform physically, Mancina finds the mental aspect even tougher. Skateboarding is a challenge in and of itself. Mancina needs even more mental focus, so he can react terrain he cant even see. Mentally, definitely is more challenging, he says. Its just more stressful. Its really all stress. Its hard to get myself really in my mindset, where Im only concentrated on the trick and Im not thinking about anything else.

He never lets that get to him. He hits the skatepark at least three times per week, and he has more than skateboarding in his future, too. Hes working towards a Masters degree in vision rehabilitation therapy (VRT). He hopes to eventually work with visually impaired and blind people, giving them the skills needed to be independent. Hes already run a workshop in Calgary, teaching visually impaired and blind children the basics of skateboarding.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtVHD4kFt2f/" id="6a57cbd6-cef2-3554-afa0-5cbd64f87c47"> View this post on Instagram </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BtVHD4kFt2f/" id="ed1409c2-d235-385b-a79b-3dc72397d897"> #plustrickoftheweek @transitions_skatepark : @havefunallthetime </a> A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/danthemancina/" id="ba93c3eb-7105-3bc8-a75d-6478b258c444"> Dan Mancina </a> (@danthemancina) on Jan 31, 2019 at 10:56pm PST

Mancina even has a , with part of the proceeds going toward his nonprofit, Keep Pushing, to raise funds to construct an adapted skatepark in the Detroit area for skateboarders who are visually-impaired and blind.

Mancinas not trying to be an inspiration, he says. But hes well aware that hes doing that for you with every ultra-challenging skateboarding trick he pulls off. And the ones he fails at, too.

Hopefully, if you havent skated for a while, you get back on your board, he says, or if youre somebody who wants to try it, you go out and try it, but ultimately do what you love."

The next time you think about quitting your passion because it has gotten too difficult, consider Dan Mancina.

This Blind Skateboarder Can Pull Off Tricks You'd Never Expect

For me, we know that thats the team to beat, thats the team youre going to have to get through if you want to get to your ultimate goal, which is a Super Bowl and win that, Mahomes said while announcing a partnership with Oakley in support of the brands new Prizm lens technology. Were going to do whatever we can to prepare ourselves so that when we get the opportunity - hopefully next year, this upcoming season - that we take advantage of it and we can find a way to get a win.

Mahomes almost did that in Januarys AFC championship game, but Brady kept matching him touchdown for touchdown. So Mahomes has spent this offseason training even harder so he can top his 5,097 passing yards and 50 TDs from last year.

Does that mean avocado ice cream 24-7 and daily doses of TB12 electrolytes? Not exactly, but he has changed things up so he can try to catch Tom Terrific.

The Pats are Mahomes team to beat, but he knows theyre not the only scary squad in the remade AFC. Mahomes is well aware that Cleveland (yes, that Cleveland) could be a juggernaut this season after trading for Odell Beckham Jr. to team with Jarvis Landry and QB Baker Mayfield. He (Odell) is such a talented player, someone who has a lot of success in the NFL, Mahomes says. For the Browns to make all those moves and get all those players, I know its an exciting time for Cleveland.

And while the Chiefs arent scheduled to face the Browns next season, Mahomes could see it happening. Im excited to get to face those guys, he says Probably in the playoffs at some point.

<h1> Mahomes Wants to Top Last Season </h1>

Mahomes Talks Beat Pats, OBJ, and Arm Strength

Mahomes didnt win (or even play in) the Super Bowl like Brady, but he still piled up a ton of wear and tear while carrying the Chiefs (and coming within a game of the Super Bowl). And yes, that beat up his body. When you come off your first year in the NFL, playing 20-something games if you count preseason and playoffs, your body is pretty beat down, he says. So, Ive really taken great strides in my nutrition, tried to eat the healthiest I could eat, and get enough rest, but at the same time, build my body back.

That hasnt just meant babying his golden arm, though. Its meant building his glutes and back with hex-bar deadlifts. I do the hex bar deadlift and I think Im very good at it, he says. I guess you could say I lift pretty heavy weight, so I like to compete against the receivers and some of the bigger guys - the linebackers and running backs - in that.

<h1> Hes Still Building Arm Strength </h1>

Forget military presses and lateral raises. Mahomes has a set warmup routine before games, which involves a series of arm stretches and resistance band work.

It keeps his arm flexible while still letting him hone the throwing power that stunned the NFL last season. The band work that I do with my shoulder and rotator cuff and all that stuff, its the biggest thing that I maintain during the season, he says. Its not killing me, but its still building strength and getting me prepared for every single day.

That means Mahomes is doing shoulder external rotations and internal rotations regularly. Hes also been playing plenty of long toss as a way to build arm strength, something he learned from his father, ex-MLB pitcher Pat Mahomes. Its such a simple thing, Mahomes says. Every kid does it growing up playing baseball, but I think it was vital and for me, building arm strength my entire life, I always throw the ball.

Best part: Its something he can do every day.

The Cleveland Browns may be loaded, but Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, still knows who he has to beat. And his biggest competition is still the Patriots and ageless wonder QB Tom Brady.

Patrick Mahomes Talks About OBJ, NFL Team To Beat, and Offseason Training

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Pulse Kenya is the most followed news and entertainment platform in Kenya. It informs and engages young Kenyans around the clock and provides updates by the hour.

Mark Lelinwalla

Articles written by the author

This Blind Skateboarder Can Pull Off Tricks You'd Never Expect

Patrick Mahomes Talks About OBJ, NFL Team To Beat, and Offseason Training

Patrick Mahomes Talks About OBJ, NFL Team To Beat, and Offseason Training