In November 2015 Martyn Dunn lost the ability to walk, but not his desire to win.
Exactly one year ago the 24-year-old swapped his wheelchair for a tennis sports-chair and decided to turn a negative situation into a positive life move.
"Now look at me," he said.
"In a couple of weeks I'll be overseas to play the sport. So as the saying goes when one door closes another one opens - that's exactly what's happened to me."
Dunn was an apprentice carpenter, a weekend footy player and a larrikin who never sat still, but all that changed in a split second.
Riding his motorbike home from a friend's house, he collided with a brick wall.
Martyn Dunn in hospital after his accident. Source: Supplied
The accident left him with a back broken in four places, a shattered shoulder, broken ribs and the prospect of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
"It was very hard to adjust to such a change in my life, words can't really describe it but I always try and make the best out of everything," he said.
Two months later, Dunn said an unexpected activity turned up on his rehabilitation schedule.
Martyn Dunn (centre) in rehabilitation. Source: Supplied
"I was at the Royal Talbot, the rehabilitation centre in Melbourne, and I saw on my timetable wheelchair tennis - I didn't even know the sport existed," he said.
He hadn't picked up a racquet since he was a kid, but his athleticism and drive caught the attention of Tennis Australia talent scouts.
Head wheelchair tennis coach Greg Crump said Dunn's past experience playing sports and training was a definite advantage.
Tennis Australia wheelchair tennis coach Greg Crump. Source: SBS
Twelve months into his training, Crump said Dunn was making progress.
"The old overnight success takes about 10 years, so he's one year into it," Crump said.
"At the moment he's played a couple of tournaments, he's got an international ranking, he's got a start."
Dunn emerged on the domestic wheelchair tennis opens circuit in November, 2016, and is now preparing to make his international debut at next week's Perry New Zealand Open.
Crump said Dunn was at the beginning of what could be a viable athletic career.
"It's gone from a recreation sport and now it's a fulltime professional sport where athletes are making a lot of money each year with sponsorship," he said.
It's an opportunity Dunn is grabbing with both hands.
"I never wanted to go to university," Dunn said.
Martyn Dunn in training in the lead up to his first international competition. Source: SBS
"I always hated sitting behind a desk. Now coming out here and playing tennis and trying to make this my life is definitely a huge positive out of something that was a huge negative."
Dunn is aiming to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
