Bionic Daniel shares his journey

My name is Dan.

I was born with only my left hand, but this never stopped me giving everything a try because I always found my own way of doing things. While growing up I always had a fascination with science fiction, comic books and video games because they had characters with futuristic prostheses and technology. Like most families my parents couldn’t afford a bionic hand, as they were far too expensive, and most still are to this day, apart from the Hero Arm. When I was younger I used to wear a lot of prosthetics that didn’t really do anything other than making me feel negative about myself. People would ask me what happened to my arm, which made me feel disabled and embarrassed as though I wasn’t good enough.

"When I wear the Hero Arm I feel damn awesome"

I never thought in my lifetime that I would ever be able to wear something like the Hero Arm. As a kid this was only a dream but now it’s reality it’s mind blowing. To know it’s going to change a lot of lives for the better makes me so happy and grateful. When I wear the Hero Arm I feel damn awesome because people’s eyes light up when they see the arm and they come over to talk to me, to ask me how cool it looks and about how it works, which of course I oblige with a great big smile on my face. I love the fact that I can change my Hero Arm covers to fit any occasion and if I don’t feel like wearing covers on my arm I still feel super slick without them.

Venom Snake Hero Arm Covers

bionic Daniel wearing metal gear solid Hero Arm

"I feel more confident in myself with the Hero Arm."

I feel more confident in myself with the Hero Arm. It’s not only about looking the part but also being functional. Small tasks such as opening a bottle of water or holding two items at the same time doesn’t sound like difficult things to do but for someone with one hand it’s the simple things that can end up being the biggest obstacle. Not anymore though! Thanks to the different grip patterns I can change modes with ease to cater for my daily needs. If you’re thinking of getting a Hero Arm, it’s amazing how fast you will adapt to using the arm and it’s very easy to get used to understanding how to use how everything works. You will be amazed by the things you can do that you weren’t able to do before, big or small.

Handy Dans

I run a 3D printing business ‘Handy Dans‘ out of my granddad’s old carpentry workshop. Examples of past orders include figures, cosplay props, engineering prototypes, vases, and kitchenware. I’ve appeared on TV shows and demonstrated Open Bionics’ bionic arms all around the world, in Los Angeles, Dubai and Berlin. I love being the ‘real life Adam Jensen’ from the Deus Ex video game, and in 2017, I was so pleased to win a Guinness World Record for the first prosthetic limb based on a video game. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram.