At sixteen Brandon suffered a rare non-traumatic injury called surfer's myelopathy - loss of blood flow in the lower spine resulting in complete paralysis from the waist down. Before his injury he played soccer, basketball, and baseball, ran cross country, and enjoyed camping and hiking. He summited Half Dome at age thirteen.

Brandon has been active in the Boy Scouts, where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, organizing troop meetings and volunteer opportunities, camping trips, and planning and fundraising for an Eagle Project to help a local church. In addition to Brandon’s passion for the Scouts, he enjoys playing the guitar where he was a member of the Melody Academy of Music. There he conducted guitar lessons and performed in recitals, challenging himself with learning the main themes of classic movies and TV shows. Active in his church, Brandon performed songs on his guitar during worship, performing guitar solos and recording music for online church services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He hasn’t lost his passion for soccer, basketball, and exploring the outdoors. Brandon has enjoyed sit-skiing, hand cycling, hiking, swimming, and camping, and was recruited to play Division 1 wheelchair basketball for the University of Arizona. For now he is focused on academics and building the skills needed to earn a spot on the national wheelchair basketball team. He is grateful to have learned about Swim With Mike through one of his peers on his basketball team.