People have always told Stephanie Hammerman that there were certain things that she would never be able to do in life, but she has never let this hold her back from achieving her dreams.

After Stephanie was born with cerebral palsy, doctors told her parents that she would never be able to walk, talk, read, or write. Right from the start, however, Stephanie went about proving everyone wrong, and she continues to do so to this day!

“I thrive off of achieving the ‘impossible,’” Stephanie explained. “When I was younger and told that I would most likely never do something, that quickly became the catalyst to me finding a way to prove you wrong.”

Not only did Stephanie learn to read and write, she went on to earn herself a master’s degree. After graduating, she shifted her focus to improving her physical health, which is why she signed herself up for a hand-cycled marathon using her wheelchair.

Stephanie finished her race with a time of 4:34:16, and the experience ignited a passion in her to become the best athlete she could be.

“It’s always really fun to surprise people,” she explained. “Nobody thought I would be an athlete. When you’re born with some sort of difference, it’s really an innate sense of positivity.”

Years later, Stephanie was looking for her next challenge when she heard about CrossFit, and she knew it was something she wanted to try out. After taking a few classes, she went about working her way up the training ladder until she became the first Level 2 certified trainer with cerebral palsy in the history of the sport.

Stephanie, also known by her nickname “The Hammer” had overcome many obstacles in life when she was hit with another big one in 2014. It was that year that she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma stage 3B, but after all she had been through, she was not about to let cancer hold her back.

“I didn’t have time for cancer,” Stephanie said. “I went into the doctor’s office and she said, ‘I’ve never worked with anyone with cerebral palsy before.’ I said, ‘We can do this. I just need to know what you need me to do.’ And she said, ‘Just be exactly who you are.’”

Just seven weeks after Stephanie began a grueling 29 week cancer treatment, tests miraculously showed that she was cancer free. Once again, Stephanie had proved doctors wrong by beating the odds!

Three years later, Nike asked Stephanie if she would be interested in becoming their first adaptive athlete.

“When they told me they wanted to sign me as an athlete, I was like you wanna do WHAT?!” she recalled. “The cool thing about Nike is that they don’t just say they’re going to do something. From the very beginning, everyone at Nike treated me as an elite athlete.”

Then, last year, Stephanie was able to use this momentum to open up her own CrossFit gym outside Raleigh, North Carolina. Memberships at her gym is growing with some members in wheelchairs.

“They’re not here because I’m in a chair. They want me to help them get better,” she explained. “That’s my purpose. That’s why I’m here. I am an example for so many people out there, and what’s really cool is people come in and I change their perception of what an adaptive athlete looks like. I change their perception of what it means to be part of the adaptive community, and I can’t be more proud of that.”

Stephanie is an inspiration to all of us to never let anything hold us back in life! Find out more about her incredible story in the video below.