Adaptive Humanity started as light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Matt Hallett (founder) was an active outdoor adventure seeker who tried to live life to the fullest, but that all changed in a blink of an eye. In 2015 he suffered a tragic and traumatic accident leaving him with severe nerve damage in his right leg, broken back in 3 places, skull fracture and the invisible wounds of PTSD. After a year of being confined to a bed and multiple surgeries to his back and leg, he faced the most horrifying predicament of his life. He had to make a decision to stay in pain and possibly never walk again or amputate his right leg below the knee in hopes that he could make a recovery. In a dark place, filled with self doubt, pain both physical and mental, he made the decision to throw one last Hail Mary and have his leg amputated. After his amputation he faced a long road to recovery, not only having to learn to walk again but also accepting what happened and trying to figure out a new meaning of life. As he began his recovery he was faced with overwhelming doubt from doctors, professionals and peers as they were all convinced that he would never get back to his outdoor adventurous life he had before.

After being fitted with his first prosthesis and taking the first steps toward a new life, he realized in that moment, he was going to prove everyone wrong. With those first few steps Adaptive Humanity was born and little did he know, he was going to start something that would be the catalyst to inspire, motivate and change the way people look at limitations.

Matt being Matt, soon realized he could get back to doing everything he loved to do and prove all the people who said otherwise wrong. It will be filled with lots of frustration, obstacles, doubts and change but the highs of accomplishment far surpassed the low’s. He was soon back to climbing mountains, riding his mountain bike, fishing, kayaking and so much more. With a new lease on life and the sense of being unstoppable, he wanted to share his experience and motivate others to do the same.

First step was to go back to school for prosthetics and orthotics. He not only wanted to motivate and inspire but also fix a broken prosthetics and orthotics system. A system that pushes profits above patient care. He seen no reason why it should cost someone 15-20,000 dollars to have a basic leg made. Equipped with an education, he can open his own clinic that focused on patient care first and profits last.

While attending college, he met the most amazing woman who’s ambitions, goals, values and energy inspired him to want to do more. Amber (cofounder and now Matt’s wife) had an education in fashion design and special effects makeup. She shared the desire of wanting to make an impact on the world, to bring change and inspiration to peoples lives. This desire brought her to want to make an impact through prosthetics and orthotics. She wanted to use her knowledge in special effects and fashion to make devices that people felt more comfortable wearing both mentally and physically.

Armed with degrees in hand they started the process of opening up their first O&P clinic in Clearwater, FL. They decided to name the company Adaptive Humanity. The name is important for two reasons, first is ADAPTIVE. Adaptive is what every person living with a disability must be. They have to change the way they do things to be able to operate in a world not built for them. This adaption is what makes people with differences thrive in the modern world. The second part is HUMANITY, a term of being inclusive, diverse and equal opportunity for everyone. They were building an organization to serve all who were in need, no matter their background, finances, status, beliefs, or anything else. Every person is an equal part of humanity and shall be treated as such.

Shortly after they developed their business model and created a name, the world was rocked by the global covid 19 pandemic. As the pandemic grew it had halted everything they had been working on for the last few years. Everything has changed once again but instead of calling it quits they embraced the change and took a hard look at everything they wanted to achieve and how they were going to do it. After months of reflection in quarantine they came to the realization that they were thinking too small. One O&P clinic in Clearwater, Florida can certainly have the impact they wanted but not on the scale they dreamed of. At this moment Adaptive Humanity went through its drastic change to what it is now. They decided instead of one single O&P clinic, they would travel the world living their passion for outdoor adventure, inspiring and motivating others to adventure past there limitations as well. The couple set in motion the formation of the Adaptive Humanity Foundation (501c3 pending). The Adaptive Humanity foundations main objective would be to serve the communities they visit all over the world. AHF would work to setup O&P clinics, provide O&P education, peer support groups, supplies, and O&P devices for those in need. Now all they needed was a way to travel the globe without limitations.