Tonight on 'Inside Story'... I call it no legger-itis. ...John Coutis. A cross between Kermit the Frog and a monkey. Just one of those freaks of nature. A really great bloke. You're going to go and date a guy with no legs? You've got to be kidding me! A man you'll never ever forget. Every odd that was put in front of him, he's beat it. I never imagine that it would be what it is today. I'm very proud of him. I love that woman so much. What she's giving me is something so special. # Cos I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar. # Hello, I'm Leila McKinnon. Welcome to 'Inside Story'. John Coutis was the kid who was born different, very different. An easy target for the most cowardly and vicious schoolyard bullies. But he found his own way to survive. Now he's mobbed by adoring fans, an inspiration to thousands, as he whizzes across the world stage on his skateboard. Along the way, he also found the two great loves of his life. Quiet on set. John looks at life like it is a ball of fun. Because he shouldn't be here. Oh, shit! He's got a sense of humour, he's a bit of a larrikin. Very cheeky. First floor, ladies' underwear, going down. He zips past on the skateboard and people go 'wow'. "Shit, he's got no legs. What do we do?" What the...? G'day, I'm John Coutis. And when you first see me, you might think that I'm only half a guy, but just wait till you walk a mile in my shoes. I'm telling my story because I want people to know the real me. I want people to see me for me, because the way that I see myself, the way I feel about myself is that I am very lucky. John's like a big bear to me. He's awesome. He's very strong, very quick-witted. He lives his normal life. So... It was nice though. Yeah. The term for my disability is something that's really long, like, it's longer than 'Schwarzenegger'. You know, it's some long, technical term. I call it no legger-itis. John's condition is a rare form of spina bifida and it left him with legs that were non-functional. He's missing all his bottom lumbar region. Why, we don't know. Just one of those freaks of nature and I don't think his organs are all in the right place. The lower half of my body was no good, you know? The legs didn't work. When John was born, in those days, they didn't do scans and ultrasounds and all that sort of thing, so we didn't realise until after he was born that there was anything wrong with him. Beautiful afternoon. It is. I had an emergency caesarean section and it was after I woke up that I found out he was only half there, so to speak. The doctor saw me and I went to see him and they said, "Well, he's not going to see the day out." I said, "OK. Yep." You know, my mum wasn't real well, you know, when I was born, so my dad, it must have been pretty scary for him. You know, here's his loving wife, just gone through something so traumatic and she gives birth to something that looks like a cross between Kermit the Frog and a monkey. You know, so what's he thinking? Yeah, that sort of knocked us back a peg or two and... But it's just one of those things. You've just got to roll with the punches. Which is what we did. After six weeks, he was still alive so we went and got him out of the hospital and took him home. I didn't start school till I was 10. Fifth class. Before that, my life was wasting away, not learning anything, not gaining anything from life. Mum and Dad had insight. "Let's go. "Put him in school. Gotta learn something." They fought for a long time, years actually, to get me integrated into able-bodied schooling. Bullying at school, when John was at school, was horrific. There was things that happened to John that you wouldn't expect to happen to a dog in the street. One time there where they put pins and thumbtacks on my chair when I stepped off my chair they got in my hands. I got put in garbage bins out on the ovals and all different sorts of stuff. And I got picked up and thrown over the high jump mat and all... many different things, you know? We just had to teach him to say, "Water off a duck's back, mate. "Just got to be strong. You got to wear all this." And he got... He just got stronger and stronger with that. On the 14th of July, 1987, I decided to have my legs amputated. Cos I had legs, but they were all deformed and bent out of shape. They never worked. He got them amputated one month before his 18th birthday. John's decision to have his legs off was the biggest decision that he would ever make. He knew that they were useless. He knew that they were never going to work. They're only going to drag behind him for the rest of his life. I made the decision to have my legs amputated not by disease or illness or tragedy, by choice, my choice. By getting rid of them, he enabled himself to have as full a life as half a guy can. In high school, I made the choice to get out of my chair and get onto my board and I've never ever looked back. I can remember the day I got my driver's licence. 14th July, 1988, exactly one year after I had my legs lopped off. He said, "Mum, will you teach me to drive." So stupid here taught him to drive. The first time that I drove that car on my own was unbelievable. It's given me freedom, mobility, independence. I could do anything, go anywhere. Yeah, driver's licence opened up a whole new world for him. He was able to get a job, go out with his mates, go to the pub, do things that guys should do. I've got these hand controls and I push down towards the actual pedals to brake the car, or I pull it down towards the seat... (ENGINE REVS) ..to accelerate. One of the great things I love about driving is it makes me the same as everybody else. From outside the car looking in, you can't tell I've got no legs. I love that I can keep up with everybody else. Cos, you know, for a long time, I was so far behind everybody. What is that? The voice machine. It's called a microphone. Growing up, I really wanted to be on stage. You know, I wanted to do something on stage. John has this amazing voice that emanates. When he speaks to you, you want to listen. So one day, this opportunity came up to have a two-minute spiel on stage. So of course, John grabbed it and that was it. You take so many things for granted. How are you, guys? You can hear me alright? He come and told me he was going to do some motivational speaking and I just sort of looked at him and had a bit of a chuckle to myself and said, "Oh, yeah. Right-o. This won't last long." # We will, we will rock you! # Well, I got egg on me face there, haven't I? Still to come on 'Inside Story'... "You're gonna go and date a guy with no legs? "You gotta be kidding me!" Man, if they were any tighter, it would be sick. # When I see your face... # I can live without legs, mate, but I couldn't live without her. # ..there's not a thing that I would change Stop moping. The lad's gone. Oh. Yeah. (SIGHS) INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS Ooh. Sorry. Oh. (SIGHS) Grandpa? Are you there? Sorry. Grandpa? CELL PHONE BUZZES, CHIMES INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS You've sent it. (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) Whacko. CELL PHONE BUZZES, CHIMES Whether it's simple tips or tricky tech solutions, Vodafone Ninjas are here to help. You've got to be kidding me! By now, you've probably gathered that Leanne is pretty special. The rock John Coutis has built his life on. When they met, though, she was a single mother with a disabled son and problems of her own. What happened next is a story in itself. We love quad bike riding. Love it. I think we're both on the same wavelength. We just knew that we had a spark. We knew that we would be together forever. We just got on like a house on fire from day dot, didn't we? Yeah. We laughed. We hadn't laughed so much in years, you know. Prior to that, neither had you, you said. It was just... It was a great connection. And you kind of thought, "Yeah, "you could... Yeah, you could be a definite part of my life." I fit in pretty well. Yeah, we did. I only needed a bottom drawer... I only needed the bottom draw for me to sleep in. I know. And a pillow case for a sleeping bag. So I had all the equipment here ready for him, you know? It was all good. Look, even through the eyes of someone who was nine at the time, I would definitely agree it was a love-at-first-sight situation. Most people thought I would look at him and just think, "My god, what are you doing? "You've got a boy that "needs help and now you're gonna go and date a guy with no legs? "You gotta be kidding me!" My friends just simply said, "Are you jo... Are you serious?" It's a disability. That's it. End of story. There's no secrets. It's there, it's in front of you, it's confronting. OK, he's got no legs. But that's all he's got nothing of. You can think about that one. The first time I met Leanne, number one what hit me was what a great mum. What a great mum she is to be able to do the things that she's done for her son. Clayton, how old are you? Five! She brought me up as a sole parent for nine years. What conditions have you got? I've got a shunt. I was born with a large amount of fluid on the brain. I was subsequently diagnosed with having cerebral palsy and autism. The doctors had told my mum that they never thought I would walk, talk, eat or drink. Mum had a very different theory. This is where I've brought Clayton to get his plasters done for his new splints. Well, with Clayton, yeah, when you've got a son and you're going to start a relationship with somebody, you've really got to cover all your bases and as a mother, you get very protective. That's nice, mum. That's good. John was just open and honest with Clayton from day one. And I think that created that friendship and that respect for each other and that... the trust of what they've got. I was in hospital one day, was having surgery. I was all of about maybe 11 years of age at that time. Had no idea if I was gonna survive that surgery and I pulled Dad over and I said, "I've got a question for you. "I wanna know if you wanna be my dad." Lee and I weren't married at this stage. He said, "I want you to be my dad." I went, "What?" I know people often say, "Oh, we fell over with the response." He literally fell off his board. I said, "Mate, don't you think we'd better check with Mum first?" He goes, "Well, you're not going to be her dad, "you're going to be my dad." A 10-year-old boy just blew my mind. He just thought the idea of actually having John for his dad and making it legal was the best thing since sliced bread. He just loves John to bits, absolutely loves him to bits. So from that day on, he's never called me 'John' since, it's been 'Dad'. I love you so much. Mum and Dad's wedding, wow, that was a very, very emotional day. With this ring... With this ring... ..I give myself to you... ..I give myself to you. ..in our union of marriage. ..in our union of marriage. We had 60-70 people come along and celebrate with us. I had Clayton as my best man and that was just great, absolutely great, you know? You may seal it with a kiss. We found each other at the right time. For me, I couldn't wish, hope, want or buy anything more. No way. If I had a choice between this and legs, I can live without legs, mate. I couldn't live without her. Shut up! Moment. You know it, don't you? Every day. Every day. Look, I love that woman so much. Shall we? Let's go. And what she's given me is something so special. I mean, look at me! I can't mow the lawn, I can't take out rubbish, I can't hang clothes on the line. What she has done is she's already got a child with special needs and severe special needs and now she's taken on a husband or a guy with no legs that's got needs of his own. Man, who is this woman? Mother Teresa? # If this is love, love is easy # It's the easiest thing to do... # John and Leanne as a couple. Man, if they were any tighter, it would be sickening. It really would be. I don't think I've met two people who are more in love with each other who almost know each other backwards. John's on the road a lot, so we travel all around the world. We're really, really fortunate to do that. We're really lucky and we love it so much. Here is the terrible twosome on our first internal flight in China. I never imagined that it would be what it is today. Let's welcome John Coutis! In Nuremberg, Germany! (CHEERING) I like, number one, that they're listening to me. I like, number two, that they're not seeing me as some sort poor, little freak that's trying to do something. I'm out here with a vision and words and I want you to listen to me. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you always get back up! People pay a lot of money to see John speak on stage. I'm very proud of him. I'm very, very proud of the fact that he gets up there like a rock superman and blows people's minds and gets the job done. I've been travelling all around the world doing what I want to do when I want to do it how I want to do it. I don't want people to feel sorry for me. Why would they? Look at me. Beautiful wife, great family, great son, great career, flying everywhere, doing what I love to do. So feel sorry for other people, don't feel sorry for me. Coming up on 'Inside Story'... I ended up in a coma for a month. We thought we were gonna lose him. How sad it would be. Your soul mate gone. I said, "Don't you die, you bastard, cos I haven't "finished taking the piss out of you yet." You've got to be kidding me! John Coutis is a dynamo on wheels. For years, he pushed himself to the limit and beyond. Not surprisingly, his body rebelled and eventually gave up. That left Leanne facing the most challenging decision of her life. About five years ago, I got pretty crook. Our schedules were absolutely crazy and we were both really tired but we kept pushing because we had shows booked in and when John works, he gives 100%. I ended up in a coma for a month. He came in with respiratory failure from pneumonia and ended up on a life support machine. (SNIFFS) We thought we were going to lose him and when we went down to the hospital and he was just lying there in a coma and I got fair up him. John was virtually passed away and they told me to wait outside in the hallway and I was like, "Oh, hell no." I had no idea what was going on. I was dead. I'd died twice. Leanne was told eight times that I wouldn't survive. Well, what am I thinking? How sad it would be. Your soul mate gone. Everybody loses their partner, but to lose him in that way, not fair. One of the issues when someone has respiratory failure, pneumonia, is having a strong chest to get through it and the abnormal chest that he has made us very concerned that it wasn't gonna be something that was gonna end well. I said to him, you know, almost yelled at him, actually. I said, "Don't you die, you bastard, because I haven't finished "taking the piss out of you yet." His blood pressure and his kidneys and his respiratory system were all shutting down. He was very, very sick. The hardest thing to do is to sign your signature on something to say, yes, do something that you know he may not survive with and that was to put the tube through his neck, his intubation tube. I felt that, "Are you signing a death warrant here?" I remember when you first came in and you were so sick and we saw you on the respirator and with your chest as it is, we thought to yourselves, "This just can't work, surely." He survived putting the trachy into the throat and, yeah, he woke up on Christmas Eve. How cool. When we woke him up, I forget his first words but it was straight into a joke and I think I remember saying to Leanne, "Look, if he continues to be cheeky, "we can always put the tube back in." The two things I got out of being in that situation when I died, I need to slow down. You know, my body's not going to last forever and in the shape that it's in, I need to lose, you know, 15 kilos would be great. We have the equipment at home, the little gym we have at home and Leanne and I, we like training together. Walking is so overrated. You reckon? She's very good. She gives me a good kick up the backside, you know? This is how Funniest Videos happens. Stop it. Stop it. Go away. Up until a few years ago, he was very fit and then he started to put on a little bit of weight, so he needed to work on that so he wouldn't get too heavy cos you can't carry yourself around if you're too heavy. Higher! My arms are not legs and they're not meant to carry my body around. The body that I have, I don't know when it's gonna stop working. It stopped working once before and I don't want to go back there. Now we've learnt to, you know, to chillax. Just to chillax a bit. You know, I've said to him, "Don't do that again, cos I will kill you. "Next time, I will kill you." I'm starving. I bet you are. It's difficult to explain what he's like to other people. You can sort of say, "Yeah, he's the bloke with no legs so, you know, and he rides around on a skateboard and his wife's taller than him. But it's very difficult to try and explain the kind of person that he is. Gosh, when we go to the shops, it can be an expedition. I want to see how long it takes before someone comes to buy me. In my life, what matters to me is how I make people perceive me, their first impression of me. So I will quite often take the mickey out of myself to break the ice, to lighten the scenario up and I like watching people's reactions. I like walking into a shoe shop saying, "Can you help me?" You know? Geez! You scared me! I love hiding in supermarkets on shelves and jumping out and scaring the crap out of people. I really do genuinely love making people comfortable, I like to make them feel at ease. I like to make them smile. I like to make them see me for me. It's so simple. Still to come on 'Inside Story'... # Mama, ooooh... # I was asked once before, you know, "Do you guys have sex?" # I don't wanna die # We probably have more fun in bed than most, to tell you the truth. Did you know... I'll tell you a funny story. No. He's more man that most men that I know, I think, sometimes. Where's the sound man? No, I'd better wait till this is off. I was asked once before, you know, "Do you guys have sex?" Straight up, it was just a question that was thrown at me. And I said to them simply, "Well, actually no, we don't, we don't have sex. We make love and there's a difference. Bushta! It's as simple as that. I like to keep people guessing of what we do and how we do it, you know? We probably have more fun in bed than most, to tell you the truth, wouldn't we? Is he sound asleep? I've embarrassed him! This is it. Let me do my nose. Oh! # Loving you the way I do... # You got to live your life. Live it to the max and do it sensibly. You can't not do something cos you'll miss out on living. You know, just live it, just do it. # That if you wanna live in New York City # Honey, you know I will # Yes, I will. Yes, I... # Over the last 40-odd years has just been one of amazement that he's come so far with so little when he started. We done our best with him as what we could when he was younger. Pretty proud of what he's accomplished and where he is today. # I will follow # Anywhere that you tell me to... # John's legacy I think would be equality in treatment of others. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Sounds so cliche, but when you stop and you think of the bullying he sustained at school, the stares he gets down the street that aren't good stares, I would think that his legacy would be, you know, treat people the way you want to be treated and hopefully that'll be the good way to be treated. There've been people say, "Oh, John, your body's not going to last. "When are you going to stop? Why do you do this? "Should you be doing this?" I'm going to do it for as long as I can. I love it. I love it immensely. Retiring? Pfft! It's called death. Been there once, don't want to go back. Do this for as long as I can. # ..where you lead I'm gonna follow... # Ba-ba-ba... where you lead me # Oh, yeah. 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