Wufky Swenunson — Sitting and Sendin’
Cole Payne sits down with Wufky Swenunson to discuss his career as an adaptive athlete and his involvement in the Reno Community as a furry.
“You only have one chance to make your life truly count. Truly just be you. So why not go out and be weird,” the fox said to me — a microphone jammed into his foam mouth.
Wufky Swenunson describes himself as a “weird, fox guy” who enjoys riding bikes and skiing, though that hardly touches on his expansive career as a sponsored adventure athlete.
Following a devastating car crash in 2019, Wufky secured a Bowhead adaptive mountain bike with the help of the Truckee-based non-profit organization (I) High Fives Foundation.
“It’s more than just a bike,” Wufky said. Gesturing to his wheelchair, he continued, “It’s just a huge access to freedom that this piece of machinery can’t give me.”
Adaptive sports became a career for Wufky that takes him “around the world” with one of the most recent being the 2022 Northstar Downhill Bike Race Series in Canada. Between contracts with Bowhead, he volunteers as an adaptive ski and mountain bike instructor at the local non-profit (I) Sky Tavern. A dream of his is to be one of the pioneers in the “offroad, extreme side” of adaptive sports within Northern Nevada.
“Nothing,” he asserted upon being asked if anything could stop him from riding. “I’ll always stay on this — stay on a downhill bike.”
In addition to his work in adaptive sports, Wufky organizes Romp Reno, a monthly furry bar night at Carl’s — The Saloon — on Virginia street, and produces furry-centered content online.
And, yes. The fursuit — as his custom mascot head is called — stays on while riding.
