When the Australian Paralympic Committee appealed for funds to get Australian athletes to the Paralympic Games, Steve Greenaway was ready to help. He provided his services pro bono. “I was totally hooked on watching them fall off the proverbial bike and get straight back on it time and time again,” he says. From the start, Greenaway knew he had to show the determination and hard work of these athletes. An “old-school” gym in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, appeared to be the perfect setting, but it initially posed a challenge for the athletes. “The gym was split over three floors with no lifts and, for some of the athletes, just getting on set was a challenge,” he concedes.

Not one to shy away from the physicality of the set, Greenaway even came up close and personal with Chris Bond, an Australian wheelchair rugby player and one of four athletes featured in the campaign. “I was extremely humbled to help Chris literally clamp himself to the cross bar and then remove his prosthetic legs during the pull-up shot,” he said. The experience made him think about Bond’s strength and how challenging it would have been to develop those muscles. “I look forward to seeing them at the next Paralympics. It’ll have a special significance to me now I’ve seen them in action.”

Photographer: Steve Greenaway, www.stevegreenaway.com. Client: Australian Paralympic Committee. Agency: MercerBell. Senior Art Directors: Sarah Straker, Paul Critchley. Senior Copywriter: Shelley Dodd. Retouching: Limehouse Creative.