Profile piece

“You’ve just got to deal with what life deals you”

Ex pro motorcross rider Harley Quinlan’s life changed forever when he became a paraplegic, but he refuses to succumb to bitterness and chooses to look on the brighter side of life.  By Lizzie Mulherin.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was born this way.

Harley Quinlan is playing around in his wheelchair, casually balancing on the back of his wheels as he jolts himself back and forth and around in circles. He manouvers himself so easily, it’s as if those big thin-rimmed steel circles are an extension of his body.

But Harley has only been paraplegic for nine months.

Before then, Harley’s life revolved around a very different set of wheels as a professional motorcross rider.

Quinlan was practicing with his Rockstar Yamaha team at a Mount Glorious track in early November last year when he hit a jump and fell forward over the handlebars. “I guess I landed here,” he tells me casually, rubbing the space in between his neck and his left shoulder. “I have some scars.”

There is not one shred of bitterness or self-pity in his demeanor, although many would consider such feelings justified.

A spokesperson for Yamaha said that Quinlan was beginning to show the form that would establish him as one of Australia’s finest racers.

This time last year, Harley’s average day would start at 5am when he’d wake to do an hour of core work, including crunches, pilates and yoga exercises, followed by a rigorous gym session. He would be at the track by 8am, and ride his Yamaha 250F motorbike until 2pm.

“I loved Yamaha’s,” he says nostalgically. “They were all I ever rode.”

As exhausting as it sounds, this level of physical activity is standard for a professional motorcross rider.

Quinlan was 19 at the time and at the top of his game. Following his victory in the under 19’s motorcross nationals, Harley beat pro-lites to secure 6^th place five rounds into his debut supercross series.

Quinlan started riding at the age of five when his father took him to race day in his hometown, Biloela, and asked if he wanted to “give it a try”. Harley received a Pee-Wee 50 for Christmas that year.

“Riding bikes was all I ever wanted to do,” he scratches his head as he sheepishly admits, “I never really tried in school.”

Because of the impact of the crash and the heavy medication he was on, Harley has no memory of the accident and minimal of the week after. “I think it’s probably better that way,” he grins, “I missed the worst bits”

Harley broke the C5 and C6 vertebrates in his neck, T4 and T5 in his back, punctured a lung and had two bleeds in his brain.  He had two major operations only a few days apart. His spine was fused and pinned and metal rods were inserted into his back.

Harley’s legs are completely paralysed and his bowel, bladder and sexual functions have been affected.

Harley holds his hands up to his chest and explains, “I can’t move or feel from here down… But in a way, it’s a good spot,” he optimizes. “I still have some good muscles like my pecs and my arms.”

Harley has been optimistic about all aspects of his situation, right from the start. Despite being on the brink of huge success in the industry, he believes “it was just (his) time”.

He was told the physiotherapy would keep him in hospital for four to six months. Harley was out in two.

Like all of his achievements, Quinlan shrugs this off modestly. “My motivation was just to get out of hospital… they’re awesome places but no-one likes to be in there for a long time.”

He also attributes his speedy recovery to the support he received from his sponsors and the wider motorcross community. ‘Harley Quinlan’ race days and laps of honour were organized, and Harley now has a foundation and trust fund set up in his name.

Still, Harley’s experience has been far from easy. He recounts how difficult it was to wake up in hospital to see his loved ones devastated; “that was the hardest part… it’s worse for them than it is for me… they weren’t prepared for it like I was.”

He acknowledges that his profession was a dangerous one, “injury is something that comes with the sport,” but still has no regrets. “Yeah, for sure I’d do it all again. You can walk across the street and get hit by a bus, you’ve just got to deal with what life deals you.”

Harley’s unwavering personal strength is nothing short of inspiring, but he still has his bad moments. He shakes his head as he recounts falling out of bed earlier that morning, “it took me forever to get back up,” but it doesn’t take long for those moments to pass.

“There are a lot of people out there far worse off than me. I just think of how lucky I am to have what I have and who I have around me.”

Chatting to Harley, it’s easy to forget he is only 20. His remarkable mindset demonstrates a level of maturity that most boys his age would not comprehend.

Spinal Injuries Association Peer Support Senior Coordinator Col Mackereth, who worked closely with Harley after the accident and throughout his recovery, was amazed by his positivity.

“From the moment Harley could leave his bed… he was motivated to focus on what he could still do.

He worked really hard and was well enough to leave the Spinal Injuries Unit in a record two months.”

Now, Harley is looking forward to the future, “I’ve got time to do stuff I wouldn’t have had time for if I was riding bikes”.

He is definitely using it wisely. Harley’s average day still starts bright an early at 6am to be at the gym by 8am, “it takes me a couple of hours to get ready now”.  Afterwards he might go for a ride on the hand cycle – which he is keen to pursue to Paralympic level “one day”.

Harley has just signed on with the Spinal Injuries Association to present motivational speeches at schools. He is also planning to study Business at Tafe, and eventually wants to open his own disabled-focused gym.

When asked to provide one piece of advice to aspiring riders, Harley smiles as he says, “make it worthwhile… You never know when (something) could happen so make the most of it.”