At 15, Kai Colless was told he would never walk again. Three World Titles, a perfect 10 point ride at ISA Worlds, defying prognosis to be back walking on crutches and an emerging public speaking career later — Kai certainly hasn't let anyone dictate his potential.
— 2024 Year 12 Graduation Speech
Photo: Before diagnosis
Kai was a standout junior athlete winning multiple Queensland and Australian titles in running and Surf Life Saving. He was a sponsored foil rider and in the surf everyday. Kai understood discipline, training and what it takes to perform at a high level, all of which would serve him in the fight he was about to be in.
Photo: 15 years old
At 15, Kai was diagnosed with a rare spinal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that caused swelling of his spinal cord. He spent four months at the Queensland Children's Hospital before being airlifted to Sydney for life-saving surgery.
The prognosis was devastating: classified as a paraplegic and told he would likely never walk again. For a fit, driven, athletic teenager, the news landed hard.
Then his family noticed something. The slightest twitch in a toe. A whisper of movement. They made a collective decision in that moment: this injury would not define him and he would fight harder than he'd fought before.
"They told me I wouldn't walk. I refused to believe them and set about training five days a week to prove them wrong. I'm currently back up walking with crutches now with the hope of one day ditching them also."
Photo: Back in the water
After being discharged, Kai began an intensive rehab program five days a week while completing Years 11 and 12. Transitioning from a fit, active teenager to navigating life in a wheelchair was an enormous adjustment — but one he faced head-on.
Not long after coming home, Kai returned to the ocean — surfing prone alongside his mates. The water became central to both his physical and mental recovery. Having grown up as a surfer, fisher and Surf Life Saver, the ocean was where he felt most himself.
Just four months after leaving hospital, Kai entered his first International Para Surfing Competition in Hawaii — and won.
Photo: World titles
From there, the wins kept coming. Costa Rica. Oceanside, California. His first Association of Adaptive Surfing Professionals (AASP) World Title. He has since won that title three years in a row.
Representing Australia at the ISA World Para Surfing Championships, Kai has finished 4th, 1st, and 2nd in consecutive years. In 2025 he scored a perfect 10-point ride at the ISA Worlds — a moment that drew international attention and helped lift the profile of para surfing on the world stage.
With para surfing not yet on the Olympic program (though hopeful for Brisbane 2032), Kai has expanded his focus. He is now training with the Australian Institute of Sport kayaking program, with the goal of representing Australia at the Olympic Games.
Photo: Walking with crutches
Alongside everything in sport, Kai has stayed deeply committed to his rehab — five days a week, year after year, with no shortcuts. He has now regained the ability to walk with crutches: something the original medical team didn't think would happen. The work continues.
Photo: Why he speaks
Kai's story has resonated far beyond surfing — particularly within the spinal cord injury community and with young people facing their own setbacks. He is now expanding his work as a speaker, sharing his story with schools, sporting clubs and corporate audiences.
The aim is simple: to inspire the next generation to believe that a worst-case prognosis isn't always the final word, and that resilience, discipline and a growth mindset can carry a person further than anyone — including their doctors — predicted.