OUTSIDE THE LINES: MURAT PELIT

We had the pleasure to spend a day with Murat Pelit, athlete of the Swiss national Paralympic team, arrived at Carosello 3000 with an initiative organized by Soul Running for The North Face and its community “Never Stop Milano”.

Murat is a guy that immediately impress for his joy and his energy: he’s an enthusiast of mountain and outdoor sports, he indeed practices any activity that gives him the possibility to stay outdoor: from ski, to mountain bike, until fishing in the relax days.

In 2013 he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor at the tailbone, which led him to a partial paraplegia. But this didn’t stop his passion: he learned to ski with the monoski, and now he’s committed with the Swiss national Paralympic team in the world cup circuit. A great example of strength and determination, he accepted the challenge that life gave him, continuing living his passion with joy.

We asked him some question to know him better:

Hi Murat, when your passion for ski and the outdoor sports started, and what sport do you practice now?

Since I was a kid, I always had a strong bond with the mountain, growing up I got even closer to it thanks to the ski, but not only, I love all the sports practicable in the mountain, like mountain biking, fishing in the alpine lakes. Then when I come back in the plain, I usually have fun wakeboarding.

How sport helped you in overcoming the difficult moments of your life?

To me sport has always been a moment of detachment from everything I had, hence thanks to the sport I can say to have found a way to be happy with myself doing what I love, often overcoming myself and my limits.

You are also very committed in social actions and in helping other people with disability, what projects are you pursuing?

Yes, last year I founded with some friends the association Ti-Rex Sport, where we promote the most “extreme” sports, gathering people with and without disability, organizing days and providing them the necessary equipment. From mountain bike to wakeboard, til flying in the sky with paragliding.

And beyond this I’m also very proud to be vice-president of Espérance ACTI, an humanitarian association very active in Indochina

What would you suggest to whom recently had to face a disability?

I suggest them to keep pursuing their dreams, the life, even if differently, goes on incredibly and nowadays everything is possible. To those who are in the same boat as me, I always suggest: “ Don’t look at your wheel-chair, don’t look at your feet, but raise your head. Look at the mountains”.