August 14, 1999 - this was the last day Dan Buckingham could walk. He was 18 years old and a first year Otago Uni student when he put his head in the wrong place in a scrum during a game of club rugby, and broke his neck.
One of Dan's passions is shifting perceptions of what it means to live a full life with a disability. He believes allowing people to be curious and intrigued about disability is a big part of this - as such, he speaks openly about breaking his neck, including what it was like for him and his family, and what it has meant since.
Previous experience
A massive part of his life following his injury was getting back into sport. Representing New Zealand with the 'Wheel Blacks' for 16 years, as well as playing for club teams in NZ, Australia, Canada and the USA, means he has a wealth of stories and lessons from the world of high performance sport. He's able to cover the aspects that can make or break a winning campaign, as well as talk about the extreme highs and lows that come with it. The highest of highs of course was the 18 month campaign that lead to a gold medal at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.
In 2017, after retiring from wheelchair rugby, Dan decided to fill this athletic void and fundraise for research into spinal cord injury by completing the New York marathon. It turns out he was quite good at this new athletic pursuit, and in 2018, then again in 2019, he broke the New Zealand record for the half marathon.
Current work
Dan is now deep into a career in the media. He has presented from a range of places including the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, to Brazil where he was the lead presenter for TVNZ's coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Dan is now Chief Executive of Able, which provides captions and audio description to the NZ Screen Sector.
Outside of work
With 2 young kids at home there is no such thing as down time or spare time. However he has managed to sit on a number of boards, including currently being a member of the executive for the Screen Production and Distribution Association, and he holds a position on the board of Drug Free Sport NZ, an independent crown entity.
Speaking
Dan uses a wheelchair, but he is a far cry from the cliche inspirational speaker who lives with disability. His speaking comes with authentic messages; he presents a raw, real look at a life well lived, where plenty of lessons have been learned along the way. Dan is a magnetic speaker, who has the ability to capture and engage an audience for all the right reasons. He is a speaker with substance and a speaker for a robust crowd, a crowd who likes to think deeper than what’s on the surface.
Video
Dan Buckingham | New Zealand Herald Interview
August 14, 1999 - this was the last day Dan Buckingham could walk. He was 18 years old and a first year Otago Uni student when he put his head in the wrong place in a scrum during a game of club rugby, and broke his neck. One of Dan's passions is shifting perceptions of what it means to live a full life with a disability. He believes allowing people to be curious and intrigued about disability is a big part of this - as such, he speaks openly about breaking his neck, including what it was like for him and his family, and what it has meant since.
