Meet Angelo Perez

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Angelo Perez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

 So let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I can say that my learning resilience started at birth. I was premature and fought to stay alive with the help of others. I am humbled by those who have seen something in me and gave me a boost in life. With their help, I learned that I have the resilience that I speak of today. Without people to sometimes assist you as you travel down this path called, life is harder. I would first like to thank most my mom and my family for never giving up on me when it sometimes seemed like I did on myself.
I was born on a cold wintery night December 24, 1967. To a family who loved me. My Mom, Stepfather and grandma were the three who influenced my daily life and my dad who was in and out of prison till this day. I also have two older brothers and two younger sisters, Annamaria, and Annette. The Pilsen neighborhood we lived in had gangs and drugs throughout it. Some mornings I would wake up to gunshots and it scared me. One day after school, while in third grade I went upstairs and was playing with matches; the house started on fire. All I could think about was my family was downstairs I did not want them to burn. However, I could not stop the fire, and our house burnt. This was a blessing to move away and a curse because we lost everything. No one ever knew this till twenty years later. This was a challenging time. I had to carry the lie and burden of knowing what I had done. I sometime sit and think of what might have happened to my siblings while living in that neighborhood and feel better that this tragedy happened, as we are all alive and prospering.
We moved to the Gage Park neighborhood. To a mostly white community where I did not seem to fit in. Both Mexicans and the whites scorned me. To make things worse my stepfather started to drink more frequently and became physically abusive to me and the rest of the family. I wanted to end the abuse by force, but I was too small. I was both fearful for and mad at my mother because I did not want mom to get hurt but she was not protecting us. I now know that she was young and did not know what to do either. During this change my mom, stepfather and grandma had to work longer hours. So, we were home alone more. I was getting angrier in life and showed it at school. I flunked fourth grade, and this just made me angrier. I was considered a troublemaker in school and no one asked what was going on in life to make me act that way. Due to the abuse, I did not want to be around the house and was looking for support. So, I ventured out to find it. Things just got worse around the house, where my stepfather was trying to hurt me daily. It was emotionally hard not knowing if he would be aggressive or nice when he came home drunk. The smell of alcohol did and still turns my stomach when people breathe on me with alcohol on their breathe.
I ended up in a St. Rita school grammar that had football team, and I started playing. It felt like it was a way to get anger out by hitting others. However, the team and coaches taught me teamwork and discipline, which I use in life. I made the decision to go to school far away from anyone that knew me to get a fresh start, or so I thought. I made it to Brother Rice high school, and I tried out for the basketball team freshman year. I thought hopefully it would keep me out of the house, and I liked it. However, I was injured and did not make the team. I spiraled out of control. It would have been nice if I talked to my mom or someone but honestly believed I was alone. That feeling of hopelessness and being alone drove me deeper into uncertainty. I got kicked out of high school sophomore year. I tried to continue other schools two other times but could not grasp what to do because of the drugs and my familial issues. I dropped out of high school at age 17 in 1984. I followed the road of destruction and continued getting high and getting in trouble. By now I felt no one could tell me what to do.
In 1986, my sister graduated and went off to college. At that time, my mom made the decision to leave the marriage and sell the house. We were all adults now, according to age, not mentally. I had a decision to make. Either move away from the hood or stay. I chose to stay where I was comfortable and eventually paid the price for that choice. I started and led a division of a gang and sold drugs to support myself; I was homeless, I lived in garages, parks, with friends and wherever I could lay my head. Eventually I was taken in by a friend’s family and then by my girlfriend’s family. Both whose parents did not find it a problem me selling drugs. In hindsight this did not help me because now I was being assisted in doing wrong. It was during these years that I was in and out of jail for drugs, theft, fighting and other crimes. I became who I thought I had to be to survive and lost my caring self. I was shot and paralyzed at the age of twenty-three, my life took a turn for the worse.
• In 1993, My mother helped me find an accessible apartment in the Gold Coast, Chicago. I decided to try and change my surroundings as well as myself. Therefore, I found Dr. Jay Rosenberg The founder of Operation Fresh Start. A program that rids gang members of identifying tattoos. There I got all my gang tattoos removed. . As seen in People magazine November 20, 1995, Vol. 44 No. 21 Marks of Cain the dr. helps Angelo Perez using a pen like laser to trace the shape of a spear on Perez’s back—tattoos from his old gang Ambrose.

It was about this time I was looking for someone who knew what I was going through in life. By being a wheelchair user trying to stay off drugs and deal with his new life, I met Greg Ridley at an AA meeting. He introduced me to Rehab Institute of Chicago wheelchair sports (softball and basketball). This gave me purpose and showed me I can live a good life sober and with a disability. I continued to work on my change and in 1995, I went back to school for my GED and onto my associate’s degree. This was where I met the president of Harold Washington College, John Wozniak. He was one of the first person in my life as a person with a disability to recognize something in me I did not see myself, a man with integrity and worth his time. I went on to collaborate hard with him on different projects at the college. In 1998, I had fell ill from pressure ulcers. This was hard on my life; it took me away from the sports and it took 10 years to achieve my educational goals. I got better after surgeries and then proceeded to finish my bachelor’s degree in 2010 and master’s degree by 2012. Throughout my college career I ran into teachers and people who took time out of their lives to help me. During school I interned with inner city youth and homeless teens. This was the start of me believing I can have influence in the world.
In 2012, I had gotten extremely ill once again due to more sores and a hiatal hernia surgery. This prevented continuation of any activity or work. I lost everything for the second time and ended up struggling to cope with life while living in a nursing home till 2018. I had to adamantly advocate for myself and others during my stay in nursing home and finally received a Colbert Initiative grant to assist me in moving back into the community. I had to find an accessible apartment which I learned is not as easy as I thought. I moved out of the nursing home in June of 2018. Starting over again is a humbling experience, and this is not my first time doing so. I moved into an apartment in Uptown. I bought a cheap car and started to keep active and healthy. Life was moving along, and I worked hard at staying sober and keeping my peace of mind.
Sports have helped me in the past. I stayed active playing softball, basketball, handcycling and adding triathlon camp in with Dare2Tri. I also started participating with Adaptive Adventures doing waterskiing, kayaking and rock climbing. Things were looking great and there was so much to do in comparison to when I first was injured in 1991. On a good note, for self, I won rookie of the year in 1996 and 23 years later and fighting through many trials and tribulations; In 2019, I was recognized as athlete of the year by Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.
My triathlon training started in 2019, at Dare2Tri’s Learn2Tri camp. I received an award which pushed me to train harder. By my determination, grit and Dare2Tri’s coaching staff that pushed me a bit further than my comfort zone. I trained and competed in a leg of the Chicago super sprint triathlon in 2021. In 2022 I did the super sprint myself and won first place. In 2023 I did the sprint in Chicago triathlon and did great Athletes defined by determination – not disabilities – compete in Chicago Triathlon. In 2024 I trained and did both the Chicago triathlon and marathon. Instagram, Instagram, Instagram.
Covid hit in the beginning of 2020 and there was a standstill, so I decided to stay healthy Therefore, I continued exercising and lost 50 lbs. They closed our gym and all programming. I borrowed a hand cycle and rode through the cemetery behind my house for exercise. Once the city opened the lakefront I moved to riding there. Eventually the programs opened back up in 202. I was grateful and ready to continue. I restarted handcycling with the SRAL team. I competed in races. I placed third in 2022, second place in 2023 and fourth in 2024. I played softball with Shirley Ryan Ability Lab (SRAL)/Park district and in 2021 we won the D3 Championship, 2022 and 2023 we won D2 championship (seventh place), and 2024 we placed seventh again.
In 2022 I started scuba diving with Diveheart organization. I had applied for and received grants for training, gear and a trip to Cozumel through the Women Divers Hall of Fame WDHOF and Surfgimp. I am proud to say I recently was SDI certified in 2023, and I have been on two dive trips to Cozumel. Angelo Perez | Diving with Paraplegia
The impact of being involved in adaptive sports once again helped me improve the quality of my life. It helps me be more independent, rebuild those supports that keep me focused and needed to be active, healthy and compete. Now at age 57, I am stronger than people half my age. My endurance, strength, and confidence to make a major impact adaptive sport is at an all-time high. I love to promote adaptive sports. It helps me achieve my goal of helping others. As a way of giving back, I have committed myself to volunteer work in adaptive sport organizations, kid camps, veteran camps, and assisting teammates in sports and life. I believe that with my background, schooling, and love of helping children, families and young adults better define their path in life. That I am a good advocate for them. People will benefit from an understanding and empathetic person when trying to find themselves and navigate life. I also believe for a person with a disability that one of the best places to help re-enter life and build community is through adaptive sports. Through my achievements on and off the competitive stage I will advocate for others to succeed.
Throughout the last five years I have grown athletically with the help of great coaches, teams, my whole family, community, and organizations that help with grants for training, equipment, and travel. However, I have grown personally and have been trying to give back as much as I can. I would humbly ask for help from those who have the means to help me continue to be active, healthy and the ability to be involved and helping in my community. My passion has led me to strive to help Chicago in acquiring trying to build a multimillion-dollar training facility, community center. So that people with disabilities can have a central hub for sport training for all organizations in the surrounding area, a performing arts space, community engagement, services and much more. This is in its infancy but a group of us are brainstorming and working toward a proposal.
In January 2023, I joined a group of people with disabilities changing the world on decision at a time, the backbonesonline.com/leaders-program/. This program teams me up with other people with disabilities for twelve months from around the country. We do personal development with the help of the administrators and guest speakers. This organization has made me take a deeper look at what I can be giving back. Then I was approached by Mike Rohrbeck Director of (VOP) https://www.vophousing.com/staff-leadership Our Staff – I joined and have been learning how to help others with housing. I am now the secretary of two of their boards. I loved helping Nourishing Hope raise money to help the community Angelo found HOPE. This has in turn has got me help from the block Club Chicago and Author Madison Savedra After Being Paralyzed In Shooting, Uptown Man Found Adaptive Sports. Now, He’s Tackling The Chicago Marathon
Throughout my life, there were individuals who have seen potential in me that I initially did not recognize. It has taken years filled with triumphs and setbacks for me to evaluate my life and make the conscious decision to change. After life’s latest tribulations, I vowed to develop into the man I knew I could be. Now, every day I make my decisions as Stephen Covey says, with thinking of the end consequence in mind. Then reflecting on whether my choices benefit me or not.
I have come to understand from my behavioral science studies that we are all born a blank canvas, our behaviors shaped by our experiences and our environment. Hence, I am not my past behaviors, and I can unlearn those I wish to discard. I wake up each day choosing to be as joyful as I can and live the best life possible. However, my journey does not end with self-improvement. Instead of solely prioritizing myself, I have chosen to devote part of my life to serving others. Even though I am a 57-year-old man living with paralysis in America, I recognize that there are people in the world who face steeper challenges. As such, my motivation to proceed with adaptive sports, to dedicate my time to others, and live my best life stems from a desire to be a person that makes my family, my support system, and I proud.

My goals for this year are to help bring the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab (SRAL) Cubs softball team up in the rankings, win races in hand cycling, and compete in both the 2025 Chicago Marathon and Chicago triathlon sprint. While helping those I encounter live their best life. I have learned that happiness is a choice. Please know you are not your past. Today is a new day and a new you and thank you for letting me share my story.
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Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First and foremost, make choices that enhance your life and those around you. No matter what happens in life there is a choice to be made. Choose wisely.

Remember that every day you wake up is a new day and a chance to start something different if you want. Your past mistakes don’t make you who you are today.

Never give up, just when it seems life is at its worst. life gets better

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Be Proactive:
Focus on taking responsibility for your actions and behavior, rather than blaming external circumstances. Being proactive means recognizing that you have the power to choose how to respond to situations.

Begin with the End in Mind:
This habit emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision of your life goals and values. By knowing what you want to achieve in the long term, you can align your actions to those objectives.

Put First Things First:
This habit is about prioritization—focusing on what is most important rather than reacting to what is most urgent. Covey emphasizes time management, setting goals, and organizing your life to focus on high-priority tasks.

Think Win-Win:
Cultivate an abundance mindset, where everyone can benefit from your interactions. This habit encourages collaboration, seeking mutually beneficial solutions, and fostering positive relationships.

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood:
Effective communication begins with listening. Covey encourages you to deeply listen to others to understand their perspective before sharing your own. This creates trust and opens the door to more productive conversations.

Synergize:
This habit is about teamwork and collaboration. By combining strengths and working together, you can achieve results that are greater than what could be accomplished individually.

Sharpen the Saw:
This habit emphasizes the importance of regular self-renewal in four key areas: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Continuously improving yourself helps maintain balance and ensures long-term success.

These habits are designed to build character and leadership qualities that promote effectiveness and personal growth. Stephen Covey’s principles encourage individuals to act with purpose, focus, and integrity, ultimately leading to greater success in both personal and professional life.

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