PROFESSIONAL GRADE. RESPONSIBLY MADE.

LIFA INFINITY PROTM is our most innovative and sustainable waterproof/breathable technology to date, made without any chemical treatments. Developed with professionals around the world, to protect them from the elements while not harming the environment they work in.

Family Tradition

What happened in Utah was the kind of disaster that brings out the best or the worst in a person, and, thankfully for everyone, Matt’s natural superpowers shone through early on. Coming to terms with the loss of a leg was as painful as you’d imagine, but Matt’s approach to pushing himself to the edges of his abilities, shaped by an in-born persistence, boundless (and genetic) ingenuity, ready acceptance and a seemingly bottomless capacity for figuring out how to make things better has made almost anything possible.

He is also busy passing along the Hadley family hobby of crafting homemade bike parts, rigging up his son Graham’s strider bike the way his dad did for him, providing the next generation with a sense of freedom and independence from a young age.

Graham loves to mimic his daddy, including taking a “crutch” (a pole) with him on outdoor wanders, and using Matt’s foot brush to clean off his own shoes before coming in the back door. “Kids pick up on everything. They’re always watching us,” Catherine says. Growing up with these two as parents, Graham is witnessing resilience and adaptability as the standard, as his parents continuously create fresh and different ways to pursue adventure and spend quality time in the outdoors.

I once asked him if he felt like there was anything he couldn’t do. He took some time to think and then answered, “Maybe surfing?” Then I watched as his mind went straight to how, actually, he probably could surf if he wanted to: he was imagining what it would take to build a surf leg right before my eyes.

For a guy who’s as humble as the trail is long, the only thing Matt gets a little puffed up about (aside from his life-saving lung capacity) is his custom-built leg and the plethora of parts he’s whipped up to improve it. Don’t be surprised if he opens up his custom, zippered pant leg on the street and shows you his newest gadget.

“I’ll show off my leg the same way I’d show off my bike,” he says. “I don’t have a leg, and I have a really cool rod coming out of it — want to see?”

More images and videos: mountainlifemedia.ca/matt-hadley

Matt would like to give thanks to the local businesses who have donated time, skills and/or gear to help him out, including Bow-Cor Welding, Monods, Outside Bike and Ski, Bike Therapy, Lone Tree Enterprises and Colman Prosthetics.

/ ENGINEERED IN THE DOL OMITES

My uncle was losing his battle against cancer when I took this photo, and sending him images became my way of supporting him. I wanted to find an image that would give him certitude he would be with us long after he left—like this beautiful tree floating and leaving the estuary towards saltier water. I shared the photo with my uncle who replied, “Your photo is like a balm for the soul and the earth.” That was our last communication.