15/03/2026
Neverovatni Džoni Kenikot (Johnny Kennicott)
Džoni Kenikot je kvadriplegičar (nivo C6), bluz pevač i usni harmonikaš iz Vašingtona. On je frontmen bluz-rok benda Johnny Wheels and the Swamp Donkeys, poznatog po energičnim nastupima širom pacifičkog severozapada SAD.
Ostao je paralizovan sa 12 godina nakon nesreće pri skoku u vodu. Džoni je sin putujućeg basiste i pevača koji mu je bio velika inspiracija pre svoje prerane smrti, kada je Džoniju bilo svega šest godina.
„Vrlo malo mogu da koristim dijafragmu, a trbušne mišiće uopšte nemam. Da me polože ravno na leđa, ostao bih zaglavljen kao riba na suvom.
Na ovim fotografijama pokazujem nešto što se u svetu osoba sa invaliditetom zove ’hooking’ — ili kuka.
To je pokret kada zabacim ruku unazad i koristim gravitaciju da se ’zakačim’ za ručku svojih kolica. To mi služi kao alat koji me sprečava da padnem napred na lice. Ali nisam se zaustavio na tome.
Sam sam sebe naučio — jer za ovo sranje nije postojao priručnik. I dalje ne postoji. Ja sam taj priručnik.
Naučio sam kako da koristim taj isti pokret da pritiskam i povlačim stomak, izbacujući vazduh iz pluća kako bih glasom stvarao različite zvukove, tonove i jačinu.
Bukvalno koristim svoje telo kao harmoniku — rastežem se, skupljam, silom uvlačim i izbacujem vazduh.
Ono što vidite je za moje telo ravno maratonu ili bokserskom meču. Svake večeri vodim rat sa samim sobom samo da bih pevao i svirao usnu harmoniku — bez alata koje svi ostali uzimaju zdravo za gotovo.”
Pogledajte njegov kratki motivacioni video:
spinalpedia.com/community/video/a74yZVVVybK
Pogledajte njegov nastup na Poulsbo Blues & Jazz festivalu 2026:
spinalpedia.com/community/video/OvzDaVV71rQ
The amazing Johnny Kennicott. A C6 quadriplegic, he is a blues singer and harmonica player from Washington and the lead singer of Johnny Wheels and the Swamp Donkeys, a blues-rock band known for their energetic shows throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Paralyzed at 12 years old in a diving accident, Kennicott is the son of a traveling bass player and singer who inspired him before his untimely death when Kennicott was just six years old.
"I have very little use of my diaphragm and no stomach muscles at all. If I were laid flat on my back, I’d be stuck there like a fish out of water.
In these photos, I’m showing something in the disability world called “hooking” — or the hook.
Hooking is when I throw my arm back and use gravity to hook around the push handle of my wheelchair. It becomes a tool to keep me from falling forward on my face.
But I didn’t stop there.
I taught myself — because there was no handbook for this s**t. Still isn’t. I’m it.
I learned how to use that same motion to push and pull on my stomach, forcing air out of my lungs to create different sounds, tones, and volumes with my voice.
I’m literally using my body like an accordion — stretching out, collapsing inward, forcing air in and out.
What you’re seeing is the equivalent of a marathon or a boxing match on my body.
Every night, I go to war with myself just to sing and play harmonica — without the same tools everyone else takes for granted."
Watch his short motivational video:
https://spinalpedia.com/community/video/a74yZVVVybK
Watch him perform at the Poulsbo Blues & Jazz Fest 2026:
https://spinalpedia.com/community/video/OvzDaVV71rQ