'I wasn't going to let what happened define me'

A skater who was left paralysed by a rare auto-immune condition is making sculptures out of old skateboards.

Nick Harding spent 13 weeks in the intensive care and seven months recovering in hospital after being left paralysed by Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in 2019 - where he had to relearn how to walk and use his arms.

He was unable to return to work and could no longer skate but has found a new passion - turning worn out skateboards into colourful bespoke sculptures.

"Skating has always been a huge part of my life," he said. "Having an outlet for that desire to play with my favourite toy is what brought the sculptures about."

GBS sees the immune system attacks the nervous system and affects one in every 100,000 people.

Symptoms include numbness, weakness and nerve pain, and only the most severe cases result in paralysis.

Most people who suffer from it do not know about have it until they fall ill.

"I had a sore hamstring for a couple of weeks so I ran a bath and found that I couldn't get out of it," said Nick.

A friend helped him out and convinced him to go to the hospital, where his symptoms quickly deteriorated.

"It took about an hour for me to go from feeling unwell to being on life support," he said.

Mr Harding spent 13 weeks in the intensive care unit at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, and about seven months in recovery.

After months of paralysis, doctors warned he might never walk again.

"At first I was zen with the situation but then, as I realised I was slowly able to do things, I was able to focus on that – with skateboarding as the main goal," he said.

"I had to learn how we do everything again and I just focused on doing a little bit every day."

One day he started trying to make things out of his old skateboard decks, partly to build his strength and dexterity but also to focus his mind.

"I started trying to make practical objects but, because I was so weak and wobbly, I just couldn't do it, so I decided to make something beautiful instead," he said.

With no previous carpentry experience, Nick used YouTube videos to start creating abstract, psychedelic shapes that became sculptures.

"I feel like the shapes complement the energy of skateboarding – the lines and curves are what I like doing – it was the process that felt good when I was at my lowest," he said.

Nick continued refining his process and now has a shop on Etsy under the pseudonym Mobius Maples.

People all over the world have bought his creations.

While he appreciates positive feedback, Mr Harding said the main reward is being able to give back to the Bristol skate community.

He has donated sculptures to charity fundraisers, skateboard competitions and leaves smaller sculptures and keyrings hidden around Bristol for his Instagram followers to find.

"It wouldn't be anything if it was just me," he said. "It's also people who give me their old boards - interacting with the art and letting me be involved with things is what's kept it going.

"I want it to be something that adds to the community and I'm so grateful that I still have the opportunity to do that."

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