Social media influencer and disability advocate Christina Vithoulkas’ inspiring story

In 2018, now 27-year-old Christina Vithoulkas broke her spine and lost feeling and movement below her chest. The moment changed her life – in a good way. Read her inspiring story.

Christina Vithoulkas “loves” the injury that paralysed her because it showed the South Australian influencer how she really wanted to live.

The 27-year-old broke her spine in a shocking dirt-biking jump gone wrong and lost feeling and movement below her chest.

But instead of limiting her, Ms Vithoulkas said the life-changing accident four years ago helped her climb out of “the lowest period of my life”.

“That’s why I love my injury. It taught me life is too short to be doing anything that makes you feel one slightest bit miserable,” she said.

Ms Vithoulkas embodies the state government’s New State of Mind campaign shining a light on game-changers who choose to call South Australia home. As part of a partnership with NewsCorp SA, 26 such women will feature in this weekend’s Sunday Mail and online on advertiser.com.au.

Former motocross rider Christina Vithoulkas. Picture: Instagram

“Recovering from this injury gave me my old self back,” says Christina, picture here enjoying life to the fullest.

Ms Vithoulkas shares her positive take on life with her 76,500 followers on Instagram and is an ambassador for spinal cord research foundation Wings For Life.

Before her accident in 2018 – which broke her spine and left her in intensive care for three days – Ms Vithoulkas said she was in a “toxic” relationship and depressed.

But motocross riding was one thing that brought her joy.

“My dad said what if I end up in a wheelchair, but I said I don’t care, I need to do what makes me happy. Then I had my accident, (but) I don’t regret it,” she said.

“I was doing exactly what I wanted at that time. (Recovering from) this injury gave me my old self back. I got my strength back. Now I’m living my life the way I want.”

Born in Adelaide and raised in Barmera in the Riverland, Ms Vithoulkas was always a daredevil.

As a child she climbed trees with her twin sister Irene and rode a quad bike around their rural property.

In the wake of her accident she has discovered a new passion for drift-car racing and is building an adapted vehicle which she plans to race from next year.

Christina Vithoulkas is building a car and plans to start drift racing. Picture: Simon Cross

“I’d only heard of the Fast and the Furious (films), that’s the only thing I knew about drifting,” Ms Vithoulkas said.

But when she took her first ride in a drift car and rounded that first corner she “fell in love straight away and I knew this is going to take over my life”.

“If I’m going to be paralysed, I’m going to give it 200 per cent and own it,” she said.

“One thing I have come to realise after my injury is how strong I was mentally.

“When this injury happened, everyone was upset but I remember thinking I was grateful I’m alive. (I thought) ‘you could be setting up my funeral!’. All I was thinking was ‘it could be worse’.”