While hiking and braving the rocky backroads of Arizona’s trails may be a popular pastime for many Valley residents, others have found themselves unable to enjoy the activity, along with many of the other outdoor adventures that Arizona offers. But thanks to a Tempe company, which makes electronic vehicles that can accommodate the disabled on any terrain, many people are getting to enjoy the simpler things in life for the first time.
TerrainHopper USA is an electrically powered four-wheel drive, off-road mobility vehicle. The TerrainHopper company was invented in the UK in 2010, and is now gaining a reputation in the United States for its design of sleek, vehicles with comfortable performance.
CEO Todd Lemay, who graduated from Arizona State University, has endured mobility challenges and struggles of his own due to his battle with brittle-bone disease. But because of the TerrainHopper, Lemay is now able to enjoy life outside of his wheelchair.
His business venture to bring the electrically-powered vehicle to residents based in the United States is another step Lemay has taken in the hopes of seeing a dream be fulfilled; one where everyone is able to live their life with no boundaries.
“This kind of all started back in ’97 or so. I was dating a girl. And she grew up in the Midwest, and I found out that she had never seen the ocean. My experience with the ocean has always been: you park, you go as far as you can to the end of the parking lot or the end of the pier and then that’s it,” says Lemay. “So, I planned this great trip that I was gonna take her to San Diego. So, we get there, we get out of the car, we go to the end of the parking lot and I’m like, ‘There it is. There’s the ocean.’ And it was all great until she said, ‘Do you mind if I go down and walk along the beach?’ And I couldn’t do that in my wheelchair.”
That was 20 years ago. Fast forward to 2015, where while researching different vehicle options that could provide more mobility outside of his wheelchair, Lemay discovered the TerrainHopper.
