Body Technology: Disability and Technology Part 1 with Clayton Frech

In this series, we talk about adaptive technologies and physical disability. Clayton Frech, the founder and CEO of Angel City Sports, joins us to discuss the disability community at the intersection of technology. We discuss disability in the space of intersectionality, the significance of sports for the disability community, and why designing for a diversity of bodies, with equity and empathy, makes a difference.

Over the last twenty-five years, Clayton Frech has held leadership roles in the business, government, and non-profit sectors. He became involved in the disability community when his first son, Ezra, was born missing his left knee and left fibula and with only one finger on his left hand.  Following Ezra’s passion for sports, Mr. Frech identified major gaps in access to sports programming for athletes with physical disabilities in the U.S.  In 2013, with the help of friends and family, he set out to address these gaps, and in 2015, he produced the first Angel City Games, which is now the largest Paralympic competition in the country, and the West Coast’s most prestigious Paralympic event. 

 In 2015, Mr. Frech started Angel City Sports to address inequities in access to sport for kids and adults living with physical disabilities. In addition to serving as a strategic advisor to a number of small and mid-sized companies, he recently launched Ampla Institute, a career development and planning firm dedicated to helping people find their purpose and optimize their career potential.

Stay tuned for next week’s episode, where we talk to Ezra Frech about running on a blade as a US Paralympian athlete, headed to Tokyo for the International Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Episode produced by Matt Perry and Ana Marsh.