Max’s Mount Kilimanjaro first for injured rugby players
Max is planning to become the first tetraplegic person to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Max Levene is training for an attempt to become the first person with a tetraplegic spinal cord injury in a wheelchair to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
In September his support crew will include close friends, “some who were with me when I broke my neck. I think they had a similar thought to me at the time around ‘what’s his life going to be like?’
“Lots of people around me have helped me become who I am now, so to share this with them will be really amazing. To be honest, I’m a bit more worried about them getting themselves up the mountain than me!”
A gruelling physical training schedule has been accompanied by preparing mentally for the challenge ahead, which has seen Max chatting to Rugby World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, who has donated a signed shirt for the fundraising effort.
“I think I’m equipped mentally to deal with quite a lot, as many people with spinal cord injuries are. The climb will be an interesting test of my mental resilience. I have always prided myself on the resilience that I’ve built through dealing with my injury, giving me the ability to usually take the good from dark moments. However, in the extreme environment I’ll see how this translates. I need to focus on not pushing myself beyond my limits, but making sure I am at my limit.
“I’ve been talking to others who’ve climbed the mountain and one main point that has come up is the mental and physical fatigue that altitude brings, so I’m doing altitude training for the last month and training up to 1,000 metres higher than the mountain itself.
Advice from Jonny Wilkinson & David Barnes
“I’ve been speaking to former Bath prop, David Barnes, who is a member of the IPF squad, who shared useful advice from his experience of climbing Kilimanjaro, which I’ll be putting into practise.
“I’ve also been lucky enough to talk to Jonny Wilkinson, also part of the IPF squad. We shared learnings from each other about mindset and focus. It was really interesting hearing his thoughts on making sure you enjoy the pressure moments and cherishing them by being in a place where you can fully experience things. It was a fantastic call and something I’ll remind myself of in any hard moments.”
Max sustained his injury playing rugby for Truro School 14 years ago, and says: “Before my injury, my parents were living out in Kenya. You could see Mount Kilimanjaro over the border and we spent a night in a safari park called Amboseli looking over the mountain by a campfire. It was the most beautiful night and I remember thinking that one day I’d just love to climb that mountain. It’s so majestic with nothing else surrounding it. It just rises from the earth.“Four months later I broke my neck and that was the end of thinking about those expeditions; it was more about survival.”
Max is aiming to raise £20,000 for the RFU Injured Players Foundation (IPF) and The Inspire Foundation. Both charities have supported him and he wants to give back. The IPF is the official charity of England Rugby and supports players at all levels of the game from grassroots to professional, who have sustained life-changing injuries such as a catastrophic spinal cord or acute, severe traumatic brain injury whilst playing rugby union in England. The charity also helps to prevent future injuries through research and education.
Charities made a huge difference
Max said: “The IPF support has made such a difference to my recovery and my life. They provide everything from immediate practical and emotional support to help and reassurance for your family, long-term financial aid and specialised equipment.
“They also focus on supporting players to return to education or work, and to take part in activities to be able to live life to the full. They are a lifeline to those of us who have sustained this kind of injury and it’s reassuring to know they will be there to support us and our families for the rest of our lives.
“The money I raise will help the IPF continue to fund important research into how people’s lives can be improved after injury, and also how the risk of these injuries in rugby could be reduced.
“I recently became a patron for The Inspire Foundation, a charity I truly believe in which conducts research into spinal cord paralysis, some of which is jointly funded with the IPF. They are particularly interested in ‘here and now’ issues and how the latest technology can help improve the quality of life for those living with tetraplegia and paraplegia.”
Max’s Kilimanjaro expedition comes as one of several inspiring experiences. While forging a career as an economist, he has completed a sponsored skydive, set up his own podcast and tried stand-up comedy. Or as Max refers to it, “sit down, stand-up comedy.’
This latest challenge is testament to his mental strength and physical ability. “If I do it, I’m back to where I wanted to be pre-injury,” he says.
If you’ve been inspired by Max’s story, you can support him in his Kilimanjaro quest via his GoFundMe page.
You can follow Max’s journey to the summit of Kilimanjaro on instagram @max_levene and X @max_levene1 or his YouTube channel.
