Mario was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee in a single-parent household. At the age of fifteen, he suffered a spinal cord injury during a high school football game when he collided with another player and broke his neck. This injury left him paralyzed from the neck down.
“I began this journey of proving to myself and the people around me that a life with paralysis is not a death sentence but an opportunity to have more reason to live and impact the lives of others,” said Mario.
In 2012, Mario co-authored
Brothers: The Mario Story with Author Perry Burrows. Several years later he began filming to share his story through a documentary called The View Within Mario Reed. The View Within chronicles the events leading up to and after his accident beginning with his early childhood and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime or purchase through his
website.
“I wanted to share my story through this documentary to give people a visual after reading my book. I want to inspire and teach people how to persevere through hard times and about the importance of family,” said Mario.
Mario heard about Numotion through outpatient rehab. “Numotion did a phenomenal job, the staff, the team helped me get everything I need. I just thank them and appreciate them for helping me out. We all know things like this take time and they did the things I needed fairly quickly,” said Mario.
Today, Mario is promoting his 501-C3 Non-Profit Organization,
The Mario Reed Foundation. Their mission is to engage inner-city youth and take active roles in opening doors to see their true abilities and potential, self-esteem, confidence. The foundation also focuses on educating people with paralysis on the importance of understanding the body and how to stay afloat with the latest research, technology, and resources that can help them with their livelihood.
Despite his injury, Mario has turned his situation into something positive and impactful. Through sharing his story and the Mario Reed Foundation he will continue to spread his message of never losing hope.
