Rob Camm, 32, from Berkeley, Gloucestershire is getting ready for an indoor rowing challenge to raise funds for a spinal cord injury rehabilitation charity close to his heart.
Paralysed from the neck down in an accident in 2013 when he was 19, Rob is dependent on a ventilator and only able to move his head and shrug his shoulders which makes rowing a massive effort for him.
On Friday September 11, Rob will aim to row 5km on a custom-made rowing machine fashioned from an upside-down bicycle. He will operate this by placing his hands in gloves fixed to a handle attached to the pedals which turn the wheel. Rob’s speed and distance will be tracked by a milometer fixed to the bike and he aims to complete the 5km in five shorter stints, to allow necessary recovery time between each section.
This isn’t the first time Rob has used the contraption in a challenge to raise funds for the Neurokinex charity which has provided him with lifechanging rehabilitation since 2019. Just after the Covid lockdown, Rob took part in the charity’s first-ever Step Up Challenge to raise funds to safeguard its Step Up Scheme that provides six hours of free rehab to newly injured people. Seven years on, the need to raise money to safeguard the Step Up Scheme remains critical, with each person’s set of six hours costing the charity £500.
“I know from personal experience just what a massive difference Neurokinex physical therapy makes and simply want to help more people benefit from it,” says Rob, a solicitor at Osborne Clarke in Bristol. “Their approach is person-centred and very specific. Despite my very high level of injury, they have worked tirelessly to stimulate those muscles of mine that aren’t working voluntarily to function as best they can.”
When he heard about this year’s Step Up Challenge, Rob decided it was time to dust off his bicycle/rower contraption and play his part once again. In lockdown Rob completed his challenge at home but this year he’s brought the rower into the Neurokinex Bristol site so that his trainers can support him and other clients can cheer him on. He will aim to complete his 5km challenge as part of his rehab session on Friday September 11th. This will mark the end of the week-long Step Up Challenge which will see Neurokinex clients at the Bristol, Hemel Hempstead and Gatwick sites covering as many kms as they can.
While they’re working hard at the rehab centres, Neurokinex director, Jo Godfrey from Oxford, is taking on an epic 200-mile solo walk to raise awareness and funds for the Step Up Scheme. Starting at Bristol on September 4th, she aims to reach Hemel on Tuesday, September 8th and finish at Gatwick on Friday September 11th.
The Step Up Challenge doesn’t end there, however. On Saturday September 12th, a team of 50 Neurokinex clients will be joined by their trainers and loved ones to take on the Twilight Challenge at Blackbushe Airport. They can choose to walk, push, pedal, wheel or scoot 3km, 5km or 10km on the runway. Rob will be joining the team to cover 5km in his wheelchair, supported by two of his carers and Neurokinex trainers.
“The Neurokinex community is like no other and this year’s challenge is all about bringing together clients, trainers, family and friends and I want to be part of that,” says Rob. “This year’s Step Up Challenge was the spark to bring my rowing contraption out of retirement. I’ll be honest and say it’s taken me a while to get back into the swing of the exercise and it will be tough to reach 5km. But if I can raise £1,500 and fund three newly injured people’s places on the Step Up Scheme, it will all be worth it.”
To sponsor Rob, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/stepupchallenge2026
To learn more about the Neurokinex Step Up Challenge visit: https://neurokinex.org/step-up-challenge-2026/
Image: Rob Camm using his bespoke rowing machine at Neurokinex Bristol
Source and image: Neurokinex.
