Disabled Student Turns His Wheelchair into Awesome Mad Max Cosplay

G'day to you! Glad you could make it today. Those cyberlanes are hellish sometimes, aren't they? Good thing we have freshly brewed coffee and a slew of virtual treats to calm you down, eh! Help yourself. Speaking of hellish...

Inspired by summer blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road, a college student in Florida has converted his own wheelchair into a spectacular Mad Max costume. Benjamin Carpenter, 20, made the most of his physical disability to create the ingenious costume, and it was an instant hit at the Tampa Bay Comic Con last month. His photographs made the front page of Reddit last week. 

Carpenter, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, uses an upright wheelchair to move around – and he managed to work that right into the costume. He rigged the wheelchair to so it could be attached to a chariot or a larger buggy, and then added finer details, emulating lead character Max Rockatansky’s look as a mobile blood bank in the film.

Carpenter said that his obsession with the post-apocalyptic action flick inspired him to create the costume. He got together with a few fellow Mad Max enthusiasts, including Amy Brumfield whom he met at Metrocon in Tampa last year. They were the only two Mad Max cosplayers at that event, so they decided to team up for Comic Con as well. Carpenter also revealed that he is motivated by other cosplayers with disabilities.


Apart from being a regular at such events, Carpenter has a host of other achievements to his name. He plays for the US National Power Wheelchair Soccer Team, and in 2007, he was awarded Nestle’s Very Best in Youth Award. Nevertheless, he was quite surprised with all the attention his costume received on Reddit.

 “Thank you so much for all the support and comments,” he wrote on the website. “I am utterly speechless at how this cosplay has been spread, and honestly, all I can say is thank you for making this SO SHINY AND CHROME!” Max Max fans get it…

I saw all of the original Mad Max flicks with Mel Gibson. Great fun! Haven't seen the new one yet.

Benjamin is doing something he obviously loves. Remember... if life throws you a lemon - get out there and make lemonade. Good on you, Ben!

See ya, eh!

Bob