An amputee says having his leg removed was the "best decision" after a designer created a custom prosthetic limb - so he can pole dance. Andrew Gregory, 51, sustained permanent injuries to his left leg when he was in a motorcycle accident in his early 30s.
Andrew lived with constant pain for 15 years due to the injuries. But he made the bold decision to have his leg amputated in 2018 and began using a prosthetic limb.
He had started pole dancing a year before the amputation and hoped he could one day do it again. Shortly after the procedure, a specialist company offered to make him a custom leg.
The leg was adapted specifically to improve his pole work and he says it adds "another dimension" to what he can do. He wants to prove "life isn't over when you lose a limb" and says he is proud to show off his limb.
Andrew, a hairdresser from central London, said: "After my accident I was in constant pain and using a walking stick. Eventually I had enough of it and went for the amputation.
"I had seen these specialist prosthetics online before having my amputation - I thought maybe one day I could have that myself. I still can't believe that it actually happened and, since then, that prosthetic has opened so many doors for me.
"There is a stigma around disability where people assume your life is limited or you're a drain on society. But I want to show people the opposite - I can do things with my prosthetic on that I couldn't do before. It has opened so many doors for me and feels like part of my life has started over again in a whole new way."
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Andrew was left in constant pain after a motorcycle accident in nearly 20 years ago which saw his bike land on top of him. He had 15 surgeries to enable him to walk again, but had to use a walking stick to move.
The leg pain meant Andrew had to take four painkillers four times a day as well as wearing raised heels to aid him. By 2018 he found his leg had worsened and he was fed up with the pain - so he made the decision to have an amputation.
In February 2018 he went ahead with the amputation and soon started learning how to walk again using a prosthetic. Before his amputation he become aware of The Alternative Limb Project - a group which makes high-tech realistic prosthetic limbs.
He said: "Leading up to my amputation I had come across the project and I thought maybe one day I could get that. So I couldn't believe it when I got a message from the very same company after my amputation because they wanted to make one for me."
The custom limb took six months to design and create. It features cutaways to have maximum skin contact with the pole and a unique spinning element to make his performance unique.
Andrew said the prosthetic allowed him to do things on the pole that he couldn't do before his amputation. Now, alongside hairdressing, Andrew gets booked for pole performances with his one-of-a-kind prosthetic limb at nightclubs, private parties and public events. Andrew now proudly shows off his moves on his Instagram - @tattoo_pole_boy
He said: "The prosthetic has opened so many doors for me since becoming an amputee. Having the amputation at the time I did was exactly the right decision for me.
"The prosthetic makes me feel so unique when I'm on the pole - nobody else will walk on and give the same visual impact as me. Thanks to the Alternative Limb Project it feels like part of my life has started over again, in a whole new way."
Andrew said opting to have an amputation was a "very positive experience" and he has no regrets.
He added: "There is a stigma around disability where people assume your life is limited or you're a drain on society. But I want to show people the opposite. I want to show people there is a way through it - your life isn't over when you lose a limb."
