Anthony Netto, the Founder of the Stand Up and Play Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) 100% volunteer-based organization, making active standing therapy a reality for everyone with mobility challenges, continues to make a huge impact for the physically disabled.
Just ask Rick Hart, 59, of Palm Harbor, Florida, a retired Investment Firm Executive, an all-around athlete whose life completely changed after a freak jet ski accident in 2005 left him paralyzed from the waist down.
A year later, after seeing a TV special on Anthony Netto and the Para golfer vehicle Netto co-developed, Hart was the owner of an all-mobility chair vehicle and back on the golf course playing the sport he loves.
In 2023, Hart upgraded to a VertaCat, the all-terrain mobility rider that elevates the user into a standing position.
“The VertaCat allows me to go and do the things that I love with my closest friends,” says Hart. “I love being out on the course, and whether I hit good shots or bad shots, I just love playing. It really makes you feel that you can play the game you love without restrictions, without needing someone else’s help. Independence is so important. I don’t have to feel like I’m putting the pressure on others to help me.”
Hart won the seated category in the 2023 Florida Adaptive Open and said that as he looked around, he saw the joy in other players as they were competing, a feat not possible in the past before the para golfer/VertaCat. “Anthony Netto created all of this,” said Hart. “The impact he and the vehicles he has helped develop and promote, have changed lives for the better! He deserves all the accolades for supporting and inspiring adaptive athletes! He is a pioneer!”
Hart will compete in the Florida Adaptive Open in October and looks forward to celebrating his 60th birthday with a golf trip to Pebble Beach in July.
“It will be 20 years after the accident that left me paralyzed and changed my life drastically,” shares Hart. “But thanks to Anthony Netto and the enormous work he does to support adaptive athletes in need, and connect the physically disabled to these vehicles, my life is as close to normal as it could be. Just to be able to look my golf partners in the eye, in a standing position on the tee box, is a huge thing. Anthony deserves all the recognition for making this possible for so many.”
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To make donations and for more information, contact:
Stand Up and Play Foundation
Angelica Amador 760-212-0256
Anthony Netto 941-320-9688
Email: Standupandplay3@gmail.com
www.standupandplayfoundation.org