Hats off to two-time world champion and US Paralympic snowboarder Zach Miller who saved the day while riding his motorcycle on a Utah highway on his way to a training session. Miller was cruising through Parleys Canyon when he noticed pickup truck that was smoking. Upon closer inspection Miller realized the truck had an engine oil fire and he flagged the driver, Hector Diaz, who quickly pulled over to the shoulder.
The fire was growing and neither had a fire extinguisher but luckily Diaz had water bottles in his truck that they used to put out the flames. After averting a potential crisis, Zach headed out to get his workout in. Nice work Zach!
“Adding firefighter to the resume after today. No one was hurt, and the emergency was resolved quickly. This is your reminder to always have something in your car to deal with fire in case something similar happens to you, or someone you share the road with!” -Zach Miller
“My brother thank you I was able to get the truck to the mechanic it’s getting worked on I’ll be truck less for a few weeks but thanks to God and I’m safe and chilling with my family” –Hector Diaz
Zach was born with cerebral palsy and discovered snowboarding through the sports program at the Children’s Hospital in Denver. Daniel Gale recruited Zach to join his snowboard team at age 13 and helped him progress into an elite athlete. Miller credits him as the most influential person in his athletic career as he has taught him not only how to be an athlete, but to be an ambassador.
While working with Gale and Adaptive Action Sports, Zach quickly moved through the international rankings and earned a spot on the U.S. Para Snowboard team in 2018. He has since become a two-time World Champion, 5-time World Championship medalist, and Paralympian (2022). Zach’s goal is to “be a guy you always want out on the hill with you. Maybe [to win] a Paralympic gold medal too.” His favorite sports memory is winning his second World Championship title with Mike Minor. Recently, Zach Miller was awarded the 2023 “Best Athlete with a Disability” ESPY. Zach wrapped up last season with three medals at the 2023 World Championships in La Molina in banked slalom team (gold), dual banked slalom (silver), and snowboardcross (bronze).
Zach describes himself as a massive nerd, a huge gamer, and extremely competitive; his favorite thing about snowboarding is how fast he can go. His hobbies include gaming, riding motorcycles, and clay target shooting. Additionally, he now works as a coach at Adaptive Action Sports, teaching new development athletes to snowboard and start racing; he also set up some new PCs in the office so they can start building a local adaptive E-Sports Program.