Cory Borner “Find a Way”

BRO. COREY BORNER INTERVIEW

By Bro. Richard Thompson and Bro. Roger Henderson

The first time Bro. Corey Borner stood, looked down at his feet, he thought of his Mama. It was June 8, 2021 when Bro. Borner took his first steps. His mama, Charlotte was right there recording a video of her baby boy walking. It had been over 12 years since she had seen him walking or running as he was racing to catch the school bus to DeSoto High School in DeSoto, TX.

“That’s why it’s so touching,” said Borner, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury during football practice, which left him paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, at age 16. “The story’s so touching because your Mama’s recording the first steps you take in June, first steps ever. Twelve years, (from) 16 to 28 years old, that’s a long time. We’re not talking about a year or two. We’re not talking five months. We talkin’ about 12 years.”

Her 30-second video of Borner walking in an Exoskeleton suit has been viewed almost 400,000 times on his Twitter (@LILCOREY_ TRILL), a viral inspiration for anyone to simply #FINDAWAY, his personal testimony.

Yet even that moment would be surpassed when Borner (“Steamroller,” the ace of Lo-Que-Motion, Theta Alpha, Spring 2019, Mighty Ninth District) used the Ekso and walked across the stage — adorned with his Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., stole — to graduate with a degree in Communication from the University of North Texas at Dallas on August 16, 2021.

That video went viral too.

“That’s where it really kicked off,” said Borner about God opening doors, allowing him to spread his testimony of perseverance in local

and national media; to meet, befriend, and uplift a swath of celebrities and everyday folks that he might not have met otherwise; to his motivational speaking opportunities and his own football camp; and to his city of DeSoto, Texas designating September 7 as “Corey Borner Day.”

For this edition of The Oracle, Bro. Borner took the time to discuss his promise to walk again, his faith, his responsibilities, and more. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

ORACLE: How did it feel to take those first steps using the Eksoskeleton?

BORNER: Well, nervous, happy. Why I say that? You got to think about it. You are nervous because you’re about to finally take some steps in the machine that you never took before. The last step you took on the football field to where that morning, your mama said you run down the stairs to catch the bus. You came back twice because you forgot something. She seen you run upstairs, down the stairs. That’s her last time.

So, the nervous-happy, you nervous because you’re finally taking a step. Then, the happy part is it’s GO time. God done blessed you to be in this position. I’m not worried about the cameras. I’m focused. I’m zoomed in, tuned in. And to have my Mom recording, it made it even more inspiring because she saw me running down those steps. Now, you’re recording, Mama Borner, and you’re seeing your son. That’s a lot of emotion right at that time.

Every time I get in [the Eksoskeleton], I have fun in but I also take advantage of the opportunity because that machine’s not here [at his home]. It’s at Baylor. You have to really… it’s GO time. I use the mentality of the football mindset to stay focused and take how many steps that God enables me to take. So I use that mindset – that football mindset. ORACLE: In 2009, after you were injured, you woke up in the hospital and saw yourself on television. When did you commit to yourself and everyone else that you would walk again?

BORNER: Well, in the hospital, the question you asked, I saw my picture on television. I was panicking. Was wondering why am I on the news? Because in my mindset, when the injury occurred, I’m thinking I’m going to get these crutches, and I’ll be back to school the next day, or the next week.

That wasn’t the case because when the doctor came in there – I wasn’t screaming, but I was literally like, “What’s going on? What’s going on?” – and he came in there and told me [about the extent of the injury]. Because I saw my Mom and Dad crying as well. And plus, I was on the IV [intravenous line], so I’m in and out, in and out. But I do remember this, what he told me, because I was woke.

He told me I had a ‘‘C5/C6 spinal cord injury, and he’s going to have to use a wheelchair. And he won’t have full use of his hands. He’s not going to have full use of his legs for forever.” That’s when tears start to fall, and I start to blame God, and ask God, “Why me? Why me?”

I had to realize that everything’s on God’s time. To let God know what’s on your mind, you got to open your mouth and tell him what you want and what you believe in. That’s when faith kicks in. Something that you strongly believe in that people say that’s impossible, but you know that it is possible. With all faith in God, anything is possible. No matter what old Billy say, or old Joe say, or Brittany say, how you feel and what God has planned for you matters most.

It took me about a year to accept the fact this is where God wants me, right here in this [wheel]chair. It took a whole year to accept the fact that, okay, football’s over with. What’s my Plan B in life? Okay. What can I do from now? But I’m going to always say, “I will walk again,” because I believe that God will raise me on his time. No matter how long it takes. Because this injury, it’s a process. It’s going to take a while. I’ve been saying that since 2009.

ORACLE: How did the mantra “FIND A WAY” become your testimony?

BORNER: In 2009, the ex-athletic director at the DeSoto High School, Ms. Pam Deborde, she used to come in the hospital sometimes and she would ask me, “Corey, how are you going to get through this? How are you going to get through this injury?” I said, “Ms. Pam, I’m going to find a way how to do it. No matter how hard it is, no matter how hard life going to get, I’m going to tell myself, ‘Find a way.’” Because we all go through things in life, but how can we find a way to get through?

I have wristbands with it on there, [Ms. Deborde] started off the wristbands, white and black, and black and white. I used to just hand them out to people at school, “Here. You wear it, you wear it, you wear it.” Still to this day, I still have them. And I sell them to people because a lot of people really know that ‘FIND A WAY’ is coming from Corey, and it’s real powerful.

When I use “find a way,” I use it in different perspectives because everybody’s not in a wheelchair. [However] everybody’s going to have a job lost, everybody’s going to have a marriage problem… it’s something. But you find a way to get through those minor things that you think are major. Tell yourself, “Find a way to make it work.”

ORACLE: How are you able to stay positive and focused?

BORNER: It’s somebody’s situation that’s always worse than yours. So why should I be complaining and this person was born this way? He ain’t never got opportunity to walk. He ain’t never got opportunity to drive. God did bless me to do that. So why am I sitting up here mad at the world when this person over here ain’t never did anything?

Prime example, it’s little girl on my [Instagram] page. You probably saw her. She in a wheelchair as well. Her name is Kasaiya Woodridge. And I met her at an elementary school that I spoke to and I was not directly going to her class. I had rolled past her door, and I saw her, and I wasn’t worried about nothing else. I wasn’t even worried about the other kids that I’m about to go speak to. I turned my chair around and went to her.

The first thing she asked me that shocked me, “Do people make fun of you being in the chair?” It blew my mind because this young girl is like eight years old asking me that. She’s really bright, so I’m like, I kept it real with her. I say, “Yeah, people do laugh at me. Do they laugh at you?” She said, “Yeah, they laugh at me as well.” And ever since then, me and her, we got a relationship so close. Man, I buy her stuff for school, shoes, all that. She was born that way.

Yeah, I just thank God for letting me meet her because those are the type of people that keep you going. Because you got to think about what they go through as well. Yeah, we’re both sitting but she can’t do as much as I do. She’s still young, sixth grade, been in a chair her whole life. But she does acting classes. I check on her with that. I try to tell her she can still pledge, too. I showed her that. Whatever you want to do, you can do it. It’s just how we’re doing it now since we’re sitting. But don’t let that be a crutch. You’re like this, just prove people wrong with what they say you can’t do but you can.

Bro. Borner’s introduction to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is rooted in his church, Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church, where Immediate Past Ninth District Representative Patrick Smith is also a member. Borner says Bro. Smith confirmed for him that a person in a wheelchair can pledge.

BORNER: I asked him, I said, “Mr. Patrick, can people in wheelchairs pledge?” And he said, “Corey, you still got your brain, don’t you?” I said, “Yes, sir.” “So, what’s stopping you?” I asked him that because at the time I never seen nobody [in a fraternity] in wheelchairs at all. Since I pledged, I’ve seen a couple. But at that time, I ain’t never seen nobody else. Can I set a trend for somebody being in a chair? That was my mindset then. Let me set a trend for somebody that’s like me, because they going to see me, and they going to know, “Okay. Well, I’m in a chair, too, so I can pledge. I can do the same.”

ORACLE: You’ve met a lot of celebrities and have a large following on social media. How do you keep your common touch?

BORNER: Well, number one, you have to stay humble. Why? That’s the key thing. Even with anybody, I tell them when I go speak, you got to stay humble because you can be up here so long. You can be up, but once people start forgetting about God, and not thanking him for blessing you doing all this, he can take that away from you in a snap. I don’t get cocky with this. I thank God for everything. Because as soon as you get cocky, things will go left on you. And you think you supposed to be going right, it’s going left. And that’s how it’s going to be. And just in that positive attitude, like I said, you got people watching. People are going to watch. I try my best

to lead by example. Because some people, first thing you make a mistake on, they try to take it and run with it. But I do know it’s certain things I can do, certain things I can’t do, especially being in the public eye. And that’s why God gave us a brain to think and use it. Because you could be doing something, you be in the moment, you so happy, and you so cocky and confident that you up now, you could make one mistake and slip up, it’s all gone.

I do my best to lead by example, and do what God wants me to do, and that’s inspire the world with my testimony. Because I wake up, there’s people want to hear what I got to say. I could go one day without posting something and people are like, “Corey, where were you at? I need this type of encouragement, man. … Hey, I’m going through this, man. I don’t need you not posting what you posting because you keep me going.” And that mean a lot to me when people tell me that.

Especially with the #FINDAWAY. I got people all around the world want a #FINDAWAY wristband now because it’s so powerful. The meaning of it is powerful. And if I’m not giving up, nobody should. Just think about what I go through. You might not know word for word what I go through, but just imagine. And people get the misunderstanding of, “Yeah, Corey good, Corey good,” but those celebrities are not sitting in this chair. I can meet people all day long. All day long. But they’re not in this situation. ORACLE: That seems like a huge responsibility to bear being an example Yet, you feel like God chose you for this situation.

BORNER: Well, he chose me because he sees the outcome of it now. Of course, we have those trials and tribulations. Of course, when it happens, you trying to figure out what’s going on. And I say this, too, a lot of people say, “Don’t question God.” But when you ask him something, it’s having a conversation with him. That’s why I say to people, “You can talk to God. You can ask God questions.” I try to stop people when they say, “Don’t question God.” No, you have a conversation with him, and you still ask some questions. And he talking to you, so that’s a good conversation.

And he chose me for this because he knows it’s a tough battle, but he chooses those ones for these battles. I can be that motivation for somebody else that’s going through it because I’m not the last one that’s going to be in the [wheel]chair. There’ll be many more people that can just come to my page. “Okay. Well, he’s being positive, he got a good support system.”

Yeah, of course, a lot of people in wheelchairs don’t have the support system. A lot of people in wheelchairs do not have the same platform I have but I try to tell them – don’t be like me. You can do anything. Find your way to be great in a chair. Find your way to be great. If you have one eye, find your way to be great. If you have one leg… everybody has something, a disability that we can make an ability.