At the age of 30, Scott Chesney has certainly had a lifetime of adventures and global schooling. He is a two-time world traveler, visiting over 30 countries in three years while studying human behavior, researching complementary medicines, providing life enhancement coaching both in-person and online, sharing his experiences with over 500,000 individuals through motivational and inspirational speaking engagements.
He packaged the lessons and messages from his journeys and with the assistance of his wife, Pratiksha, created "The Devotion to Motion World Tour," a 26 country, 14 month journey to further research into improving the quality of life for others. The Devotion to Motion message reached over 25 million individuals worldwide through an extensive media campaign, speaking engagements, word of mouth, and their frequently-visited website, www.d2motion.com
Scott's desire and passion to travel and explore the world evolved out of a life-altering experience that transformed his life on December 28, 1985. The day after he participated in a high school basketball game as a sophomore, Scott woke up with numbness in his left toe. Within 48 hours, Scott was left paralyzed from the waist down to his toes from a type of stroke in the spinal cord that interrupted his life without any warning. At the age of 15, Scott's dreams of playing college basketball disappeared and new dreams of deeper purpose were born.
Scott continued his schooling, both high school at Verona High and college at Seton Hall University, and quickly pursued a career path, focused on connecting with people. His work experience began at The Dilenschneider Group, a strategic counseling and crisis management firm, where he served as the Director of Research for three years. In 1994, Scott made a transition to cause-related marketing, fundraising, and public speaking, as he held the position of Manager of Corporate Outreach at the Buoniconti Fund, a major fund-raising arm of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Today, Scott has founded the Devotion to Motion Life Enhancement Center in New Jersey where his focus is coaching people on how to empower themselves so that they can begin to fulfill their destinies and live the life for which they are so deserving. He continues to speak publicly to individuals from all walks of life around the world, motivating and inspiring them to maximize their true potential. In December 2000, Scott will launch his first book which will detail his personal experiences while offering insight to help others obtain more peace and happiness in their lives. During his leisure time, Scott cherishes the moments spent with his wife, Pratiksha. He also enjoys meditating, mentoring children, reading, writing, exercising, and being outdoors. Scott and Pratiksha reside in
Parastep Use Experience
Wow, my legs can still support me...The Parastep Experience” , by Scott Chesney (May 2000)
As the result of a rare stroke in my spinal cord, I was left paralyzed from T-7 down to my toes in 1985. From that moment forward, I promised myself that I would continue to live life to its fullest and maximize every opportunity that presented itself. Even though I participated in wheelchair sports and lead a very active lifestyle, something seemed to be missing. For the first ten years of my paralysis, I walked with leg braces. It was a very rewarding experience, being able to stand, look down at my toes, improve circulation, and all the other benefits of standing, but I was ready to take it to the next level. In 1995, down at the Miami Project, in Miami, Florida, I was introduced to my new best friend, in mechanical form, the Parastep System. And as the great Robert Frost once wrote, "I took the road less traveled...and it made all the difference."
The Parastep System opened up a whole new world for me in terms of reconnecting to the lower half of my body. Though leg braces served their purpose for the first ten years of paralysis, I never thought that my legs were really doing the work. I'll never forget that day in June, 1995, when I stood up for a whole three minutes using the Parastep. I stood up, looked down at my legs, saw muscles contracting in my quadriceps, and in their own way, I knew that my legs were thanking me silently. They had work to do and were just waiting for the opportunity. I looked around the area where many men and women were using the Parastep and I could see a newfound spark in their eyes. Their spirits had been lifted, as well as their bodies, just as mine had, thanks to this great mechanical device. Those three minutes seemed like eternity to me and slowly but surely, three minutes became ten minutes, and then thirty minutes, and the progress increased. Even though the computer, the electrodes, the wires, and the walker were assisting me, I felt like I was in control of my own body in some small way... for the first time in ten years.
Now, five years later, I am still using the Parastep 2-3 times per week and have increased my standing to over an hour. My legs are strong, circulation is better than ever before, and my cardiovascular system still gets a great workout every time I use the Parastep. Some people use the Parastep to move around their homes or move around town. I choose to use the Parastep for exercising my legs. The Parastep is helping prepare me physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally for that day when I will walk again
without any assistance. It has traveled with me twice around the world, to over 40 different countries, and beckons me to use it whenever I have the opportunity. Thank you Parastep for lifting me up in so many ways and accompanying me on endless journeys. I am hopeful and confident that you will befriend many more people in the future.