Sally Brown, afflicted with cerebral palsy at birth and unable to walk without assistance until she was 8, was in her 50s when she bought a three-wheeled cycle customized to accommodate her condition and signed up for the four-day Red Ribbon bike ride through southern Minnesota.
She finished a distant last in the 2004 event, held to raise money to battle AIDS. But the mere fact that she made it was so electrifying that she wound up abandoning a six-figure salary to start an uncommon business aimed at youngsters with disabilities similar to hers.
Brown, 57, is founder of Every Kid Mobility Inc., a Hugo-based supplier of adaptive two- and three-wheel cycles designed and modified for use by children with physical and cognitive challenges.
Started in 2006, the company grossed $300,000 in 2008, nearly double the $160,000 of sales generated in 2007.
But the adaptive cycles aren't the only revenue source. In 2007, after hearing several young customers talking about how classmates jeered at them about their "ugly" metal forearm crutches, Brown began adorning crutches with colors, abstract art, even photographs to create a "cooler" option.
Adults now part of the mix
The upshot: The colorful crutches generated 2008 sales of about $60,000, 20 percent of the total. But the market has expanded to include adults who also get a kick out of the artwork. Example: a gent from Tennessee whose crutches are covered with a collage of photos of his grandchildren.
Brown, who perambulates with apparent ease thanks to leg braces, is a zero or two short of replacing the salary she was collecting as manager of a team of software developers and account executives at Fair Isaac Corp., a Twin Cities consumer credit-scoring firm. Indeed, her business is only now approaching break-even.
But she's content with her decision, which was inspired by the pride and self-confidence that followed completion of that 300-mile bike ride: "If it was that important to me at 50, imagine what it could do for a child," she reasoned.
Brown carries most of the major brands of two- and three-wheeled cycles designed with seating modifications, back supports and other alterations for folks with physical and cognitive difficulties.
But then she goes a step further to customize them to fit individual needs: pedal positions adjusted to accommodate leg weakness or deformities, gear adjustments to offset strength limitations, steering attachments to allow caregivers to help control the cycles.
The result is a growing crowd of happy kids and grateful parents such as Andrea Theis, whose 10-year-old son, Max, was born with a brain disorder that left him with physical challenges similar to a child with cerebral palsy.
"It is such a heartwarming experience to see your child succeed at something that so many of us take for granted," Theis said of Max's three-wheeler, hand-powered to offset the weakness in his legs.
Leila DeLance, whose 7-year-old daughter, Luka, has a rare genetic disorder that caused physical and developmental challenges, agrees. Thanks to Brown's help in choosing and modifying a cycle for Luka, her mother said, she now "can enjoy all the benefits of riding a bike" -- from the emotional and self-esteem level to physical and sensory development.
"But the most important development is to let Luka be a kid," she said.
Helping the competition
Brown is in an uncrowded business niche; the only competition of which she is aware hereabouts is Bill Goldberg's Bicycle Bill's in West St. Paul. Despite being competitors, they often refer customers to each other based on their individual modification expertise, she said.
The adaptive cycles don't come cheap: While some cost as little as $400, most sell for between $2,000 and $4,500, depending on modifications. For those who cannot afford it, Brown has assembled a list of organizations that help fund all or part of such costs.
"About 70 percent of our sales involve assistance with at least part of the expense," she said.
To start the company in 2006, Brown raided her 401(k), maxed out her credit cards, then landed a $90,000 loan from Assistive Technology of Minnesota, a nonprofit that helps disabled people acquire needed equipment.
In building her client list she visited nearly every therapy center in the region. The payoff: The majority of her business involves patients at the Mayo Clinic or Gillette Children's Hospital and Clinics.
She promotes the business via "my website and my mouth," said Brown, who has made upwards of 20 speeches in the past 18 months to educators, therapist organizations, service clubs and parent groups. And she periodically loads up her van with a variety of cycles and shows up at area schools to let the kids try them out.
"Sally puts so much energy into each child and gets so much pleasure in seeing the results," said Carol Gilligan, the owner of Kid's Abilities, a Shoreview pediatric therapy center. "She's an amazing person who has brought a service to the community that is unique and valued."
Dick Youngblood • 612-673-4439 • yblood@startribune.com