Brandon Winfield, who grew up in Johns Creek, Georgia, had dreams of becoming a professional motocross rider. At 14, a crash left him paralyzed from the chest down. After rehab at Shepherd Center, he quickly realized the challenges people with disabilities face in accessing public places like restaurants and venues.
“I was starting to feel like I was slowing everybody else down. It’s like, oh, you guys want to have a good time, but you can’t have a good time because of me, which, even when you’re with somebody, can feel pretty isolating,” Winfield said.
Frustrated by the lack of accessibility, he developed a solution. He created a mobile app called iAccess Life, where users can rate the accessibility of businesses based on parking, entrances, interiors and bathrooms. The app aims to make it easier for people with disabilities to navigate public spaces confidently.
He partnered with co-founder Sayeed Mehrjerdian to launch the app in 2019. Today, iAccess Life continues to grow, with thousands of users gathering reviews for businesses nationwide and helping businesses improve accessibility.
Winfield said iAccessLife was recently incorporated into Zoo Atlanta’s infrastructure in the form of QR codes visitors can scan to leave feedback, and he’s also partnered with a local parking company to improve accessibility at their lots.
“I was starting to feel like I was slowing everybody else down.”
Brandon Winfield, CEO and founder of iAccessLife
Winfield spoke with WABE’s “All Things Considered” for the series “Six Million and Lonely” about what it was like making the transition to a wheelchair as a teenager and what it taught him about being able to maintain relationships with others.
He said part of his hope is that his app makes it less isolating for other people with disabilities so they can go out and socialize without concerns about the layout of a venue.
“I wanted to build something that people could just feel confident and feel independent and not have like another medical device or something that reminded them of their lack of ability to do something,” he said. “And I wanted to encourage people to go out and have a great time and live their best life.”
