Wheelchair Rugby Paralympian Ryley Batt credits elite Games for helping him accept his disability

Netflix’s new documentary Rising Phoenix explores the history of the Paralympic Games, and the stories of eight incredible Paralympians from across the globe.

Australian wheelchair rugby player Ryley Batt, 31, is one of them.

Born without legs, and refusing to use a wheelchair until he was twelve, the now two-time gold medalist credits the Paralympics for pulling him out of a dark hole in his early 20s and helping him towards accepting, and being proud, of his disability.

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Ryley was just 15 when he first competed at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, and has since won two gold and one silver medal at four separate Games.

In the film he recalls feeling ashamed of his disability as an overweight child, before finding solace and purpose in sport.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday, Ryley said: ‘It took me until my early 20s to accept who I am and my disability – it was pivotal time in my life.’

‘The Paralympics has given me a life I don’t think I would have lived if I didn’t find it and sport. If I wasn’t involved in sport, I would probably be 40kg heavier, more insecure about myself, more tucked away, and not living life to the fullest.

‘Sports pulled me out of a dark hole and the elite level of the Parlympics games pushed me to be better in that sport. I have done things in life now that I probably never would have done with legs.  

‘I am glad that I was born with a disability. I am very proud of my accomplishments and my life,’ he added.

Ryley still cringes when he watches old footage of his performance at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics – which features in the Netflix documentary – because he feels personally responsible for missing out on gold due to being overweight.      

‘When I dropped the weight[30kg], it was a huge confidence boost and forced me to get out in the public and smash those barriers and be proud of who I was,’ he said. 

Ryley said his newfound confidence also led him to his wife-of-five-years, Crystal. 

‘I’ve been with my now-wife since 2011. That was the time just after I was accepting who I was more and I was so much more comfortable in my skin,’ he said. 

The film likens the wheelchair tackles in Ryley’s elite sport to a small car collision, and the sportsman confirms it’s definitely tolling on the body. 

Ryley says he’s had multiple concussions, broken fingers, ribs and elbows, and also torn both shoulders out.

‘I can’t even do my top button up or touch my shoulder anymore, or my neck, because my elbows are that bad. But that’s just sport. Anyone who wants to play a sport at that level is going to have injuries. It is what it is,’ he said.

The stories of the other seven Paralympians in the film are just as astonishing, and Ryley hopes the documentary will help provide people with a perspective of how big the Paralympics is and the incredible athletes that compete within it.  

‘A lot of people look past my disability, and so they should,’ Ryley said, adding that in London and Rio he ‘felt like a superstar’ when taking the court.

As the captain of the Australian wheelchair rugby side and also co-captain of the Australian Paralympic side, Ryley said while news of the Tokyo Games postponement was hard to hear at first, he’s not letting it affect his training.

‘Whinging or getting down about it wont change the date. It will just be another year of becoming a stronger athlete.

‘For many Paralympians, so many of us have had to overcome obstacles in our lives and this is just a small bump in the road.’

Rising Phoenix is available to stream now on Netflix