The Jean Maggi Foundation shines brightly as a beacon of hope. “Limits are created by us, and they exist only in our minds.” With this motto as its banner, the foundation opens doors and drives new opportunities for those living with motor disabilities.
With smiling eyes and graying hair, 59-year-old Juan Ignacio Maggi radiates vitality. He greets us cheerfully, with a wide smile and an energy as solid as oak. Yet his life path—clearly—has been far from a bed of roses. Shortly after birth, he contracted polio, and a wheelchair became a lifelong companion. But like a titan, he fought his fate. Instead of surrendering to obstacles, he chose to expand the boundaries life set before him and fought to fulfill his dreams.
This string of achievements began with his goal of gaining independence and went on to include founding his own company, marrying, raising children, and even reaching the summit of the Himalayas on his adaptive bicycle. Today, through the Jean Maggi Foundation, he works to ensure that many others with motor disabilities can achieve their own life goals, just as he did.
“I define myself as unstoppable, more a serial dreamer than an athlete,” he says, describing himself at his youthful 59. To understand the magnitude of his dreams, one must look at his sporting record: countless marathons, cycling across more than 20 countries, crossing the Andes, and summiting the Himalayas. As if that weren’t enough for one life résumé, Juan Ignacio Maggi’s desire to help others also knows no bounds. With his determination, he founded a foundation that bears his name, hires young people with disabilities, and inspires thousands with his example, having graduated as a civilian astronaut and hoping, if life permits, to take part in a mission to outer space. He has also embraced cinema, starring in the acclaimed documentary El límite es infinito (“The Limit Is Infinite”), directed by award-winning filmmaker Juan José Campanella, where he recounts his feat of personal triumph.
Living the Present with Heart
What inspires him most today, however, is seeing others conquer their own limits and achieve their goals. On this path, another great dream of the foundation will come true: the delivery of 1,000 adaptive bicycles specially designed for people with motor disabilities, enabling them to take part in stimulating sports activities. For Maggi and his foundation, donating these bicycles means offering many the real possibility of “breaking free from the stagnation of a wheelchair.”
“The moment I got on a bike, I felt like a hero without a cape. I felt I could touch the sky, that I could fly,” he recalls of that sublime instant.
Specifically, the 1,000 bicycles—added to the 800 already distributed in a previous campaign to children with disabilities—represent a new initiative of multimillion-dollar scale, made possible by the steady donations of thousands of supporters of the foundation.
It is in moments like these that Juan Ignacio Maggi forgets the hardships he has endured—or rather, finds meaning in them. Contracting polio shortly after birth left him with severe motor impairment. Over time, he learned to move and walk with the help of crutches, often drawing pitying looks from adults on the street who saw him as a “poor kid.” Nevertheless, he studied what he loved, fell in love and married, built a family, and had children. He also founded his own technology and computing company. But at age 37, he suffered a heart attack that once again brought his life to a halt.
Exercise as a Vital Motor for Body and Soul
After the heart attack, doctors recommended exercise. “I saw adaptive bicycles and thought that would work for me,” he recalls. Barely a month after leaving the hospital, he had bought one and discovered a new great passion. That was the start of a journey of accomplishments that led him, step by step, to the summit of the Himalayas and recognition as a prominent athlete.
In closing, Juan Ignacio shares the core idea behind the adaptive bicycle donation campaign: “When we free a person who is—one way or another—a prisoner in their own body and set them in motion with hand bikes, we awaken infinite potential: the ability to dream BIG, to feel free and strong, and to be filled with the desire to achieve their dreams.”
