Ever heard of extreme sitting?  No, it doesn't involve a new, gimmicky exercise routine or a contest to see who can spend the longest on the couch.  Extreme sitting is a new sport in which participants perform skateboard-like tricks in their wheelchair.  It's a relatively new phenomenon, which might explain why its founder, Aaron Fotheringham, is only 16.

Born with spina bifida, Aaron has been in a wheelchair since he was three, but he hasn't let his disability stop him from participating in extreme sports.  When Aaron was younger, he used to watch his older brother Brian ride BMX.  Then, at the age of eight, he decided to give the skatepark a whirl himself.

"I used to go to the park and watch my brother do BMX tricks.  One day he said I should try dropping in.  I was scared but tried, and from then on I was hooked," he said.

Before long, Aaron was a skatepark regular, spending over 30 hours a week practicing.  He also got a new wheelchair made by Colours Inc. that was lightweight and featured a four-wheel suspension. As Aaron began to perfect tricks, he started to get more and more ambitious.  Soon, he began practicing a back flip-first attempting the trick in a pool of foam cushions.  After fifty or sixty warm ups, he was ready to attempt the stunt on concrete.

On July 13, 2006, after approximately fifteen unsuccessful attempts, Aaron became the first person ever to perform a back flip in a wheelchair.

"After I actually did it, it took me a minute to realize I'd really landed it," Aaron said.  "It wasn't easy getting there.  I kept going for it and landing on my back, or landing in the foam pit and almost suffocating because I was stuck upside down and couldn't unhook my buckle on my seat."

Aaron's accomplishment garnered him widespread attention in the field of extreme sports, and a video of him performing the trick has been downloaded over 446,000 times on YouTube.  After completing the stunt, Aaron started participating in events alongside BMX Bikers.  In 2006, he garnered multiple top 3 finishes.

Just like any other extreme sports competitor, Aaron has suffered his share of injuries in the skatepark.  He's broken his elbow before, and during early attempts at the back flip he was knocked unconscious on numerous occasions.  However, he believes the bumps and bruises are well worth the look on peoples' faces when they see a kid in a wheelchair doing a back flip or a midair 180 degree turn.

"Sometimes, if someone hasn't seen me before, they'll be watching and their jaws drop and their eyes get all wide.  It's really fun to watch," he says.