Dylan Alcott

I think you can do anything in this life whether you're in a wheelchair or not. I go to festivals, nightclubs, I travel the world, I'm loving my work on Triple J.

I don't get out of bed every day to play to win a tennis tournament, I honestly don't. I do it because I love it, but it also provides me with a platform to do what I really want: which is to continue to change the perceptions around disability.

When I turned on the TV or the radio, and flicked to the newspaper, I never saw anyone like me. That's what I struggled with the most. I loved Pat Rafter. I couldn't be Pat Rafter. I watched Rove McManus and I couldn't be Rove either.

I questioned whether anyone would love me because I'm in a wheelchair.

My purpose is changing perceptions so people with disability, people like me can get out there and live the lives that they deserve to live.

People used to stare at me when I was growing up because I was in a wheelchair, and I hated it. Now they're staring at me because they know me. How amazing is that? It's 'Oh, that's Dylan!' Not, 'Oh, there's a guy in a wheelchair.'

People say, 'why not have the Paralympics and Olympics combined?' I'm like, 'When Usain Bolt was running, I fully appreciate everyone will watch him and not me. But guess what? When I'm on, we're the stars, right?'

There are people out there with disabilities doing amazing things but unfortunately they don't get the chance to show off - they don't get out of the house and get amongst the general public, and when they do, often the public doesn't know how to handle it.

I could take away all the gold medals and everything, that was the biggest thing that sport has given me. Belonging into a community, but also being proud of who I was.

We all need to say 'disabled' - because guess what? There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a disability. It makes you different. And there's nothing wrong with being different.