Despite being born with no legs and one arm, Colin is a Paralympic Table Tennis Player, Motivational Speaker and Actuarial Analyst.
He had a happy childhood and overcame numerous obstacles thrown in his way. His parents always encouraged him to be as independent as possible.
However, his teenaged years were a different story. He struggled to cope with his disability, he had no confidence in himself and hit rock bottom. He knew that he needed to improve his situation and channel his energies into something different.
When he discovered table tennis everything changed. He started to accept himself for who he was and began to excel in all areas of his life.
He made his international debut four years later while studying for his Leaving Cert. He achieved his first choice course – Actuarial and Financial Studies at UCD shortly after and graduated with a 2:1 degree.
He worked as an actuary for two years at KPMG and then went on sabbatical in 2019 in order to chase his Paralympic dream.
Colin is Ireland’s first ever European Champion in table tennis, 6x Irish National Champion and has won numerous international titles.
He represented Ireland at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and his next big goal is to qualify and medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Men’s Health is a theme that is very close to Colin’s heart as he struggled against it for a long time during his teenaged years. Colin knows what it’s like to not be ok and it’s one of his big goals in life to share his story, some of the obstacles that he encountered/overcame and inspire others to become the best version of themselves.