At just 9-years-old Josh Sundquist lost his leg to cancer
Through his tenacity and a good sense of humor he has managed to always make the most of life with a disability – especially on Halloween
Sundquist joked that he’s ‘addicted’ to making people laugh: “As addictions go, this is a pretty good one. It has very few side effects. And it’s free (other than the annual cost of building a Halloween costume).”
The motivational speaker also didn’t shy away from speaking about the challenges he faced in life apart from losing his leg. “Like any good millennial, I’ve had to work through a standard quota of mental health issues. But mental health, of course, is never finished or cured or overcome. It’s managed. It’s ongoing. It’s in progress.”
2010: “From Shrek. Not the gumdrop buttons!”
2012: “My wife Ashley suggested this idea, a reference to the movie ‘A Christmas Story’”
What’s more, Sundquist shared some advice to help people overcome problems that they’re struggling with: “If you’re carrying a heavy burden, you have three options: You can hold on a little longer, you can find someone to share the load, or you can decide it’s time to let go. All three are equally valid. Wisdom is choosing the best one for this particular moment.”
How many of us would have the guts to dress up as the Pixar lamp? When push comes to shove, not a lot of us. But Sundquist went for it. He’s full of confidence, a desire to inspire others and make them laugh. He lost his leg to cancer at the young age of just 9 years old, but this hasn’t slowed him down one bit.
2013: “I was just at the zoo one time and I noticed that flamingos look like me doing a crutch handstand. So yeah”
Virginia-born Sundquist turned his disability into something that helps him give other people purpose in life. What’s more, the 35-year-old is known far and wide. First as an American athlete, having become a Paralympic ski racer. Later trading it for motivational speaking, comedy, and writing.
2014: “A YouTube subscriber suggested it to me at VidCon. I thought it was appropriate since last year I was also named to the US Amputee World Cup Team”
2015: “It’s a classic amputee joke. This year I decided to anthropomorphize it”
“If my career as a motivational speaker doesn’t work out, I could probably get a job at IHOP”
2016: “Lumiere—He’s Disney’s most famous monopod”
2017: “Here’s my Halloween costume! Tigger!”
“In high school, I wore a prosthesis all the time and didn’t want anyone to find out I was missing a leg,” Sundquist revealed on his website. “But now I’m more comfortable with who I am and what I look like, and I guess with these Halloween costumes you could even say that I celebrate what makes me different.” That kind of determination and acceptance of yourself doesn’t grow on trees and we’ve all got a lot to learn from him.
2018: “Hello, Aladdin. Nice to have you on the show. Can we call you Al? Or maybe just Din? Or how about Laddie? Kind of like, ‘Here boy! [Whistles] Come on, Laddie!”
“When I was a child, I wanted to be a Disney animator when I grew up,” Josh told PEOPLE magazine. “I got a letter from an animator at Walt Disney who happened to be a double amputee. His name was Broose Johnson”
“I wanted to dress as Genie as a tribute to Broose, to Make-A-Wish, and, of course, to Robin Williams”
2019: “I’m dressing as the Pixar lamp for Halloween”
“You guys have been requesting this one in the comments for years. Hope you enjoy”
On previous Halloweens, Sundquist has dressed up as Gingy the Gingerbread Man from Shrek, a flamingo, a foosball player, Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, and others. What are you going to dress up as, dear Pandas?
Watch Sundquist’s hilarious clip where he’s dressed as the Pixar lamp here
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