Alex's Story

Where it all started

When Alex Papanikolaou was born in Athens, Greece, doctors at the hospital raced to cut the umbilical cord trapped around his neck. He was choking, unable to breathe.

The Greek doctors successfully cut the cord, but they failed to tell Alex’s parents of the lasting damage being starved of oxygen in those first few moments of life would have on Alex’s health.

It was only months later when his parents realised something was wrong. Alex couldn’t sit up. They took him to doctors who eventually told Mr and Mrs Papanikolaou that their son had been born with cerebral palsy.

Growing up, Alex experienced the challenges of moving through the world in a wheelchair – the frustration of poorly designed chairs, the limitations that made everyday life harder than it should be. These experiences shaped him, and inspired him to create something different.

The Freedom One Life Series 5 powerchair is the result of years of poor experiences.

Designed for both indoor and outdoor use, it’s built to support you day in, day out, mile after mile. Unlike other electric wheelchairs, it’s made by someone who has been in your shoes, and understands the same frustrations you’ve likely faced throughout your life. Whether navigating the shops, commuting to work, or exploring the world, with the Series 5, you can move through life with confidence, knowing it truly has your back.

Despite his limited mobility, Alex and his parents were determined that he should live as full and normal a life as possible. He took the bus to the schools he attended, eager to learn and be part of the world around him. At one school, a supportive teacher welcomed him, allowing him to join in with the other children. He laughed, played, and formed friendships like any other child.

But at a later school, things changed.

Teachers ordered him to sit alone in a corner, telling him to draw while his classmates took lessons. For the first time, Alex felt the sting of discrimination.

At 12 years old and still at school, he received his first powered wheelchair. As a powerchair user himself, Alex began to understand how it feels when a powerchair fails to live up to your needs and expectations. He has been dissatisfied with their failings ever since.

Despite the limitations of his first powerchair and the ones that followed, Alex refused to be confined to the standards of others. Fiercely independent, Alex ignored those who told him he had to stay at home. They said inclusivity was good in theory but not in practice. That his condition meant he would not see the world he lived in. Fortunately, Alex was not only independently minded. He was also as stubborn as a mule.

He ignored their advice that he should adhere to what they perceived to be his limitations.

He got a job in PC World and, by the time he was aged 18, had saved enough cash to travel to New York where the hostel he had booked said they couldn’t take him because of his chair. He was a fire risk. Unperturbed, Alex persuaded them to put him up and enjoyed the first of many trips of a lifetime, often travelling with industry standard powerchairs that were not fit for purpose.

As he continued his travels, powerchairs broke down, bits fell off. The batteries failed on countless occasions leaving him stranded and alone, relying on the kindness of strangers. Repairs took weeks, sometimes months. Parts had to be sent abroad for. If he complained about customer service, he was told to take it or leave it.

Mounting frustration and disappointment with powerchairs that failed to meet not just his needs, but the needs of other powerchair users he knew, gave Alex an idea.

He was inspired to begin work on creating a superior powerchair of his own.

After countless prototypes, and years of development, the Freedom One Life Series 5 powerchair was born. We think you’ll agree it is one of the most robust, comfortable and overtly desirable powerchairs ever created.

Since the Series 5 was created, he has now road-tested it over 50,000 km in real world conditions. From his home in Scotland to Patagonia, to China, Australia and America, to Europe and beyond. Every journey shaped the Series 5, refining it for comfort, reliability, and functionality

People told him he was foolish to think he could do better than the multi-national firms who churn out powerchairs without so much as a backward glance.

Some powerchair users thought he was crazy. They criticised him for even trying, but it was his experiences that enabled him to make a series of often tiny, sometimes major and occasionally groundbreaking improvements to the design features, technology and functionality.

To prove the Freedom One Life concept, Alex has travelled to dozens of countries around the world, experiencing the ups and downs of travel for a powerchair user, fighting for his rights and your rights along the way. Refusing second class treatment.

Alex brought together a dedicated Freedom One Life team of designers and engineers -specialists who listened closely to powerchair users, understanding their needs, frustrations, and aspirations. From concept to production, every decision was shaped by real-world experience.

Surveys and conversations with users revealed a common theme: many had been forced to accept limitations as the industry standard. Their old powerchairs weren’t designed for life, but instead for a life of compromise.

Throughout development, Alex drew on his own adventures as a solo traveller and the insights of other powerchair users. The result is the Series 5: robust yet comfortable, compact yet capable, reliable yet practical. From concept to production, every decision was shaped by real-world experience. Alex continues to travel all over the world and now shares his journeys and the reality of accessible travel on his Instagram page.

Each step of the way, the Freedom One Life Series 5 has been designed and manufactured to put you in the driving seat so you can go where you want, when you want, with complete peace of mind.

Your independence is at the heart of everything we do. The Series 5 is made so you can live life on your terms, confident that your chair will take you there and back, reliably, comfortably, and without compromise. With the Freedom One Life Series 5 you’ll no longer need to hide behind the wheels of an inferior product.

Instead, you can be out front and centre, travelling first class knowing you’re in the best seat in the house. Longer, faster, safer, and proudly independent once again.