The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Podcast with Kevin Schaefer · SMA News Today

#135: Ryan Kinnear, Fisherman and Hunter With SMA

·35 min·2 clips

Ryan says he built a shotgun rig that looks like World War II anti-aircraft guns.

1. The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Podcast with Kevin Schaefer centers this episode on Ryan Kinnear, an avid fisherman and hunter living with SMA Type 2. 2. Kevin Schaefer says he has SMA Type 2 and works as a columnist and forum director for smanewstoday.com, while Ryan Kinnear joins from Phoenix, Arizona. 3. The episode asks how Ryan keeps hunting, fishing, and daily life going as SMA changes his body, equipment, and caregiving needs. 4. Ryan says he is 45, moved from Minnesota to Arizona in 1983, and spent most of his life hunting and fishing. 5. He describes spending the last 10 years trying to hunt big game, fish as much as possible, and put together social media content. 6. Ryan explains that he started by holding a rifle or fishing pole himself, then spent hours practicing casting in his backyard pool. 7. As his disease progressed, he and his father rebuilt the tools from the ground up, beginning with wheelchair trays and then larger systems. 8. Ryan says his hands no longer work at all, so his current shooting setup uses wheelchair tilt, turning, body harnessing, and a three-gram micro switch. 9. He explains that micro movements matter at long range because he shoots out to a mile or a mile and a half and every breath changes impact. 10. Ryan and his father also built a shotgun rig that resembles World War II anti-aircraft guns and lets him shoot doves while seated. 11. He says the work requires months or years of engineering, field testing, and simplifying complex ideas into something usable outdoors. 12. Ryan describes hunting in northern Arizona with a Nissan Pro-4X that has ramps and a winch so he can be pulled in with his wheelchair. 13. He says he has hunted in 100-degree heat and in negative 17-degree cold, with heaters added to his wheelchair under a military poncho. 14. He jokes that people often react like he is the "cutest girl at the prom," and that strangers come over after seeing him across a field. 15. Ryan says pilots near Luke Air Force Base used to tilt their wings to look at him while flying low during practice. 16. He also says people sometimes think his setups are cosplay, even though one Jaco robotic arm costs about $50,000 and his clips have reached two or three million views. 17. The conversation shifts to school, where Ryan says there were no accommodations when he attended and he often had to ram doors or rely on classmates for books. 18. He tells a specific story about an official restroom plan that would have required removing him from his wheelchair, disrobing him, and rolling him across campus in a commode. 19. The tone stays direct, practical, and often funny, with Kevin asking detailed follow-up questions and Ryan answering in long, concrete examples. 20. Listeners who want SMA adaptation stories, hunting gear details, or caregiver realities will get the most from this episode, while people looking for a short treatment update only may skip it.

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