Brad Johnson may hail from the mid-West, but he grew up with a strong love of the water.  Knowing he wanted to broaden his horizons, he left Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for college at the University of South Florida.  Traveling along I-95 on the way back from taking the entrance exams for law school, Brad’s automobile hydroplaned into a guardrail.  In a matter of seconds he lost his left leg below the knee and his right leg above the knee. 

Six to eight weeks of rehab in an Orlando hospital were followed by close to eight months of rehab back in Wisconsin.  Fourteen months later, having passed the entrance exam, Brad started law school. Five years later, at the invitation of friends, he attended the 1999 National Summer Games for Paralympic Sports and was introduced to sitting volleyball.  In short order he was on the national team, and went on to the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney where the U.S. team finished 12^th out of 12.  After five years with volleyball he was ready for a new challenge.

A close friend who worked at Shake-a-Leg Miami then opened the door to competitive sailing.  Brad had been on boats before and he was soon crewing at different events, excited about learning a sport “that will sustain for a lifetime.”  In August of 2003, Betsy Alison, coach for the 2000 Paralympic Sailing Team, put Brad in touch with John Ross-Duggan who was looking for a mainsail trimmer on his Sonar team.  Less than three months later the team had won the Paralympic Trials and a trip to Athens.  The rest, as they say, is history.