Good Vibes Only: El Pasoan launches brand, spotlights adaptive athletes
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)—Last year, El Pasoan Justin Malooly launched his own company, Kinetra, to spotlight adaptive competitors through a new platform. Kinetra is a brand that focuses on apparel, innovation, and adaptive media. The goal is to advance representation for adaptive and Paralympic athletes!
“I started hearing all these incredible stories, and it had such an impact on me that I felt like I should share it to the world,” Malooly told ABC-7.
Malooly is currently a biomedical engineering student at the University of Texas at Austin.
The 21-year-old is an El Paso native who struggled with obesity in high school. The Coronado High School graduate initially wanted to become a personal trainer, but that changed following an encounter at the gym.
Malooly met Ryan Medrano, who lives with mild cerebral palsy. Medrano was told he would never walk.
“It's something that I do have to work through each day,” he told ABC-7.
Despite the odds, Medrano became a para-track-and-field athlete and earned two silver medals in the Paralymics. He even became a contestant on Survivor. The El Paso transplane is currently living in Chula Vista, California, for training.
Now, Medrano is one of the many testimonials for Kinetra.
“So the fact that he's telling not just my story, but stories of those that have amputations, stories that those that can draw the attention and then help us widen that, that viewership and that knowledge for the junior populace. So he's doing a fantastic job with that,” Medrano added.
Malooly looks forward to meeting other adaptive athletes, like Medrano, and sharing their stories!
He hopes to motivate others to overcome barriers, get others talking about these athletes and create a lasting change!
“I really just believe in expanding adaptive sports and making it a household thing that people are excited to, to watch the Paralympics, to watch these events, because these individuals go through something that me and you can't even relate to, but the stories that they leave in, the stories that they tell me, and it makes such an impact on my life,” he added.
The founder added that a portion of every sale is donated to foundations that help create prosthetics for people in need. To learn more about Kinetra, click here.
