Scuba diver and cancer survivor Leo Morales is proving that only having one leg shouldn’t discourage anybody from following their passion.
An avid scuba diver, Morales was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of cancer in 2009 that resulted in his entire right leg being amputated. Not long after, he went scuba diving with a friend again. That first dive wasn’t much fun for him, but it was the second dive that really clicked. Clicked enough that he went back to being an avid diver and is now a brand ambassador for dive company Intova.
“This second dive was different,” he said on the Intova website. “I could float weightless in the water and the loss of my leg was no longer a problem. I didn’t feel the weight of the world.”
“I was free and had a purpose again. I found a place where I was no longer disabled.”
In December 2012, Morales set a new Guinness World Record for Deep Diving for people with disabilities by reaching a depth of 410 feet underwater in 13 minutes.
In February 2016, Morales plans a new world record attempt in a freshwater cenote, both diving for depth as well as exploring the underwater cave system during the dive.
Morales is currently working to make adaptive scuba diving available in Mexico through the Wings AC Foundation, is dedicated to supporting others with disabilities, and wants to make sure they are treated fairly.
To learn more about Morales, check out his story on the Intova website.
