Claremont man Joe Chivers, 34, opens up on Hobart skydiving accident

A Tasmanian man who became a paraplegic after a horror skydiving accident thought it was normal to not feel his legs afterwards. 14 years on, he reveals how he got his life back.

JOE Chivers has freshly turned 21.

He is celebrating a mate’s birthday. At this tender age – where thrillseeking runs in the blood – skydiving seems a logical choice.

For Joe, it will be his first and last time trying the extreme sport.

He boards a light aircraft for a tandem dive over Hobart.

The keen sportsman and mountain bike rider launches out over Sandy Bay – instructor attached – with a view to land at the Hobart Cenotaph.

A fierce wind rises up to blow the pair off course.

The instructor says they will correct their trajectory and land on the oval at the Montagu Bay Primary School.

Tasmanian man Joe Chivers plunged into several dark years of depression following a horror skydiving accident that left him an L1 incomplete paraplegic – but reveals how he turned it all around. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

As they descend on level with the Tasman Bridge, a catastrophic windbreak takes the updraft out of the chute. They plummet 30 metres toward the ground at speed.

Joe is crushed by the instructor’s body – multiplied by the force of physics.

His first reaction: “I just thought everyone couldn’t feel their legs after skydiving.”

He’s in shock. The “incredible pain” surfaces. His body erupts in a blush of swelling and bruises.

Joe will likely never walk again. He is an L1 incomplete paraplegic.

“The funny thing is, I was thinking of going mountain bike riding with my mates later that day. I didn’t realise how serious it was,” Joe tells the Mercury.

An off-duty doctor and nurse who happen to be walking nearby run to Joe’s aid. They tell him not to move.

Mountain-biking meant everything to Joe when he was a teenager. Picture: Supplied.

He is rushed to Royal Hobart Hospital but it’s quickly decided he needs to be flown to Austin Hospital in Melbourne, housing one of Victoria’s leading spinal units.

His spinal cord is nearly severed. Four months of agonising recovery start. He gets to a stage where he can feel down to his knees. That’s the most physiological recovery he will make in 14 years.

Joe rowing post-accident. Picture: Supplied.

Joe, now 34-years-old, says the 2009 accident “turned my life around a full 180”.

“It changed everything and every aspect of my life. From getting dressed in the morning to socialising with friends,” the lifelong Tasmanian tells the Mercury.

“I was 21 and on the path to becoming a manager at Big W and was hoping to join the army.”

Joe says a “lost, dark period” would define several years to follow. At one point, he tries to take his own life.

“I ignored my mental health throughout the whole process. It took years,” he says.

But now, Joe says: “My accident gave me a higher appreciation of life and for those around me. It added motivation to try new things and forge my way through a new life.”

He has represented Tassie in wheelchair AFL. Picture: Supplied.

And the motivation hit hard. Joe has forged a career for the AFL as club help co-ordinator for Southern Tasmania.

He has also represented the state in wheelchair AFL and has competed in rowing, wheelchair tennis, basketball and ice hockey since his accident.

In recent years, Joe also reconnected with an old passion – cycling.

Joe loves handcycling, a new passion that has reconnected him with his mountain-biking past. Picture: Supplied.

A passionate mountain biker, Joe discovered handcycles in 2021. He borrowed one and has now been granted funding by the NDIS to purchase his own bike – custom built in Italy.

The bike, which costs thousands of dollars, needed to be shipped from the EU. NDIS wouldn’t cover the freight cost but thanks to crowd-funding platform GoFundMe, enough has been donated to get the bike to Joe’s front door.

“Prior to my injury, I rode mountain bikes nearly every single day. Unless we were sleeping or at work we were riding,” Joe says.

“When I borrowed the handcycle a few years ago, I got to see places around Tassie I didn’t know existed.”

Joe said he is excited for his new handcycle to arrive and hopes to work with local Councils to introduce greater accessibility options for wheelchairs and associated mobility devices.

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