 "Photo: Courtesy of Thinkfilm Inc.")
Mark Zupan, star of the documentary film "Murderball," is an intimidating character. He has wide shoulders, a muscular physique, a mirage of dark tattoos and, when in competition, he sits upon a tank-like wheelchair of battered steel.
Zupan, captain for the U.S. quadriplegic rugby team, spoke with students at the Ohio Union on Thursday.
After getting into a near-fatal car accident at age 18, Zupan was left quadriplegic, having a physical impairment in all of his limbs. Through physical therapy Zupan regained the use of his limbs to varying degrees, but is permanently confined to a wheelchair.
Two years later, while pursuing his engineering degree at Georgia Tech, he was introduced to quad rugby, also known as murderball, and immediately became involved. Zupan credits the game with further developing his physical abilities and giving his life a new direction.
Zupan spoke to students in his straightforward style about the adversities he has faced in life. The Lantern had a chance to sit down with him while he was in town.
The Lantern: How has your speaking tour been going?
Mark Zupan: It's fun and I get to meet cool people, so that's what I enjoy. I get to see new campuses; it makes me want to go back to school.
TL: How has this documentary opened new doors for you? How has it changed your life?
MZ: Travel, I wrote a book, I went to the Oscars. It's just afforded me opportunities that I probably never would of had beforehand. I have been fortunate to meet a lot of people and do a lot of things that I wouldn't have without the movie. It helps open other people's eyes too, not just people with disabilities, but anyone. It's like, 'Look, shit is gonna happen.' Have fun with life, life is short.
TL: What is it like unexpectedly rising to notoriety and bumping elbows with celebrities like Johnny Knoxville and Jay Leno, that you would not have met otherwise?
MZ: Everyone has been really cool that I have met in Hollywood, or that I've met that wasn't in Hollywood. What is wild is that people come up to me they're like, 'Hey I saw your movie and it rules,' and you're like 'holy shit.'
TL: Do you get people approaching you on the street that recognize you?
MZ: Yeah, which is weird. All of it is very strange, I'm not gonna lie to you. It's not something you can say, 'I knew this was gonna happen.'
TL: Have you received any strange requests from fans that you have met?
MZ: Yeah, punch me in the face. Because of the "Jackass" stuff, but I know better than that.
TL: I've heard you say you're happy with the way the film came out, but do you feel in anyway that "Murderball," as many documentary films are charged with, exploits its subjects? Do you feel that the film accurately portrayed you and your teammates?
MZ: Nope. They were 100 percent accurate. They captured our lives as what our lives are, which I think is pretty cool.
TL: The crew spent two-and-a half years filming you guys for the movie; did you develop a relationship with the filmmakers over that time?
MZ: They weren't there every day, but we got to be friends and we still stay in touch. That's what has been cool because if you think about it, when we became friends, you don't notice the camera around. The end product is excellent when you keep in good rapport with them.
TL: You said in an interview that the film, 'Captures us, life with chair or no chair.' How does "Murderball" encapsulate life in the broadest sense, in your opinion?
MZ: I guess if you look at it, it opens your eyes to a lot of things. It opens your eyes to struggle and struggle in each individual life. It's not just because you're in a wheelchair that you say 'oh, woe is me.'.People come away from it and say, 'You know what, my life isn't that bad. There are things that I need and want to do, so why am I sitting fucking around and not doing them?' I mean, life is short - we are only gonna be here 60, 80 years, maybe even less than that - so have fun.
TL: You currently have a full-time engineering job in Austin, Texas, but do you ever dream of a day when you can make living just playing quad rugby?
MZ: It doesn't matter, I don't think it is ever going to happen. If I had to train all day, everyday, I'd go crazy.
TL: But you spend a great deal of time training and playing quad rugby anyway?
MZ: Yes, but I have other things to keep my mind preoccupied with. I can't just train, it's just too boring.
TL: Are there any other sports, perhaps as a result of the popularity of quad rugby, that have been developed for quadriplegic players?
MZ: This is the only team sport for quadriplegics.
TL: What role did quad rugby play in the recovery in your injury?
MZ: It changed my life. It exposed me to new things; it pretty much helped to refine certain life skills. Things you learn from other friends, better ways to do things rather than the clinical way. (Physical) therapists are going to teach you and show you how to use things (after your injury), but when you see somebody use it in real life, then you can adapt it and take something from it. It's kind of like school and work. School prepares you to go to work, but you're not going to use a lot of what you learned in school at work, meaning the theory and what have you.
TL: What year did you start playing quad rugby?
MZ: In 1995, which would make me 20.
TL: If your car accident was when you were 18, how do you compare the two years before you started playing quad rugby with your period afterwards.
MZ: I was still so green to the fact of being in a wheelchair. You have to figure out how life is going to be and figure out how to live before I could find rugby and play it. I had to figure out how to do everything all over again.
TL: You said one of the biggest things for you was getting your driver's license back after the accident. Why was that so important to you?
MZ: Independence. You don't have to wait for people to come pick you up, I could leave and do whatever the fuck I wanted to do, wherever I wanted to do.
TL: What are some other major milestones for you after your recovery?
MZ: Getting an education from Georgia Tech, that's a pretty big one. Going to the Paralympics, that's pretty big.
TL: Drawing from your experience in discovering quad rugby and the meaning it provided for you early on, what advice do you have for those searching for something to give their life purpose?
MZ: It depends on each individual. You have to find something that makes you happy, that makes you content, that completes your life. If it is rugby, drawing, music, who knows. It just so happens that rugby is what I found.
TL: Quad rugby players do not wear pads. What injuries have you had and do players often get hurt?
MZ: You hit your head. I haven't had nothing really bad. I haven't seen anything real bad, you just get really rough shoulders.
TL: What was it like the first time you laid into someone in a rugby chair?
MZ: It was fun. It's a contact sport and that's what drew me to the sport. When you can hit someone and get accolades for it and praise for it, it's like 'hit him again.' OK, please don't make me.
TL: What would the sport be without contact?
MZ: Boring, stupid, not worth playing, tic-tac-toe, maybe basketball. No fun, the hitting is the fun part.
TL: Quad rugby is technically co-ed, but "Murderball" doesn't show any female players. Are there many female players?
MZ: Women play, but not as many women are hurt. But there aren't any on the national, international level.
TL: Do you think the success of this film will cause more people to want to play quad rugby?
MZ: It has. Old teams that used to play - that folded - have came back. We went from having eight on our team to 15 on my club team. We had tryouts in November and they cut it down from 43.
TL: Is that a tough thing - to make cuts for people who might find playing quad rugby inspirational and a big part of defining their new lives?
MZ: What? It's a sport. If it's inspirational for people, then great; it's not what I do it for. I do it because I want to win, because it's a sport and I do it because it is fun. It's like you're in a wheelchair, big deal; it's still a sport and they take the best. If it does, I'm sorry, train your ass off to become better.
TL: You said on "Larry King Live" that being in a wheelchair was 'the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.' Why is that?
MZ: You have to think, if I wasn't in a wheelchair I wouldn't have been able to experience any of this. I wouldn't have a medal from the Paralympics, I wouldn't have been able to go to the Oscars or Sundance, or write a book, or do a speaking tour, met so many people and went so many places I never even knew about.
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