( CNN ) -- Richard St. Denis is the founder of World Access Project , a nonprofit that provides custom-fit wheelchairs and other mobility aids to people living with disabilities in rural Mexico . In addition to distributing the equipment and showing the recipients how to use it , St. Denis and his group offer sports clinics and events to keep people active . St. Denis , a veteran of the U.S. Air Force , credits sports with improving his life after he suffered a spinal-cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down . He was once a world-ranked athlete in wheelchair skiing . CNN 's Ebonne Ruffins recently spoke with St. Denis about how he and his group are helping people with disabilities benefit from athletics . Ebonne Ruffins : Why did you start including athletics in your group 's efforts ? Richard St. Denis : The first year , I came down to Mexico and gave a bunch of wheelchairs away , but not everybody used them . Some just sat in their wheelchairs , and they did n't know what to do with them . So I would teach them how to push them . But I realized they needed a lot more then just learning how to push their wheelchairs . So we started teaching them how to do wheelies , how to get around in grass , rough terrain . And then I started teaching them how to play sports : basketball and tennis , mainly . We wanted for them to be more active , to think of the wheelchair as not just something to sit in but something that would make their life better . Ruffins : How does the sports element of your program work ? St. Denis : We meet every Saturday morning to play tennis , and we have camps during the summer where able-bodied people and people with disabilities from the U.S. and Mexico participate in a number of sports tournaments . That 's always a lot of fun . They meet new friends , and they compete against each other . Outside of the camp setting , some of the players will also compete nationally . One of my students , Tito , is hoping to represent Mexico in the Pan American Games in tennis . Maybe we 'll even have some students in the Paralympics one day . Some of them are just really very good . But overall , for all the wheelchair recipients who become active in sports , I think it develops their self-esteem . When people compete in sports , they feel good about themselves . They think , `` If I can play sports , then maybe I can get a job , maybe I can get up out of the house , maybe I can become active . '' Ruffins : How did you start competing in sports after your injury ? St. Denis : My injury was in 1976 , and in 1978 , I started playing sports . I started with basketball ; everybody ( in a wheelchair ) always starts with that . And then I got into some field sports : shot put , discus , javelin , road racing and track races like the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash . About a year later , I decided to take up weightlifting . ... Because my legs do n't weigh anything , I would win my division -- and I was competing against able-bodied people ! I weighed 145 pounds , and I bench-pressed 335 pounds . I 've also competed in the Veterans Games for disabled veterans and participated in four marathons . I think my best time ever for a marathon was 2:01:30 . Ruffins : You have done it all . Do you have a favorite sport ? St. Denis : Snow skiing is my favorite sport , and tennis is second . What I love about snow skiing is just the independence . You can go as fast or as slow as you want without anyone holding you back . It 's complete liberty . I broke my back snow skiing , and in 1990 , I ranked third in the world in the downhill skiing event ( for the disabled ) . Read the full story on CNN Hero Richard St. Denis : Free wheelchairs give new life to rural Mexicans .
Through his nonprofit , Richard St. Denis gives custom-fit wheelchairs to people in Mexico . He also helps people learn their chairs and how to play sports in them . He has found that playing wheelchair sports can boost one 's self-esteem . Do you know a hero ? Nominations are open for 2011 CNN Heroes .