Ira Edwards can tackle a mean mountain on his sit-ski and he does it while maintaining a great looking beard.

His own personal need for quality facial care products ignited Ira’s entrepreneurial side into creating RoosterSkier Brand, a line of quality Alaskan handcrafted beard and mustache products over 10 years ago. In 2010 a tree fell on him while clearing hazard trees from a ski trail after a big storm.  Ira was now paralyzed but he knew his new life would still include the things he loved! He continued his outdoorsy and adventurous activities in a different way and with adaptations and the help of many.

In 2013 Ira started Team Gimp Squad because he felt it was time to give back. Team Gimp Squad’s mission is to provide inspiration and hope through sport and the positive attitude that comes with it. Eventually merging both of his passions, today proceeds from the RoosterSkier Brand products go to supporting Team Gimp Squad and other paraplegics getting back to living active healthy lifestyles.

This renaissance man who is actively involved with skiing, fishing, hunting, and making homemade apple cider (just to name a few) has proven to be “inspiring” to others whether that’s what he anticipated or not. Instead of trying to avoid “disability inspiration”, he decided to embrace his position and serve as an ambassador for educating and promoting adaptive sports for all.

Between visiting with local hospital patients, attending speaking engagements at various schools, gathering the best organic ingredients for his beard and mustache products, and training/coaching year round for either road handcycling in the summer and Nordic and Alpine Sitskiing in the winter, I mustache, what motivates him to do it all?

“I guess I’m more differently abled than disabled… Every year I get to do more and more things I used to do. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to do them.”-Ira

If your unruly beard needs some taming consider purchasing a RoosterSkier product and know your purchase is giving the gift of adventure, self realization and peer support to someone with a spinal cord injury in Alaska. Go Team Gimp Squad!

To read more about Ira’s story and his products follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.