RockyNoHands is a quadriplegic gamer and content creator who plays video games using only his mouth with a quadstick. A Guinness World Record holder and member of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, he inspires millions as the leader of accessible gaming and a symbol of unstoppable determination in gaming. Tools for Life sat down with him for an interview. 

Tools for Life (TFL): How did you get into gaming, and what role does it play in your life?

RockyNoHands: I’ve been gaming my whole life. I started gaming with my mouth two years after my injury, when my brother found the Quadstick by searching through the Internet.

TFL: Have you found support or friendship through gaming platforms?

Rocky: I’ve found unlimited support and friendship through gaming platforms. That’s even how I met my fiancée through gaming.

TFL: What does the gaming community mean to you? 

Rocky: Gaming community to me means friendship, people to talk to, and people to help each other. It’s not only gaming things but all other stuff too. 

TFL: What accessibility features do you appreciate most in games?

Rocky: Accessibility features I appreciate the most in games is the ability to change keyboards to whichever button layouts you like and ability to toggle buttons on or off.

TFL: If you could change one thing about how games are designed or marketed, what would it be?

Rocky: If I could change one thing on how games are designed or marketed, it would be with more accessibility creators involved or featured or invited. There’s a lot of us out there who don’t get a chance to be seen, and a lot of games that people don’t realize are playable as an accessible gamer or aren’t playable.

TFL: What does Disability Pride Month mean to you? Is there a message you’d like to share with others – gamers or not – during this month?

Rocky: Disability pride month to me means a chance to remind the world that there’s still people in this world that are going through physical and mental disabilities, and there’s a lot of work to be done for making this world more accessible .