Location: Beckley, WV
Challenge: Amnyoplasia Congenita
Website: facebook.com/corewv
Shawn Wells is a drummer who lives in Beckley, West Virginia.
Shawn says "I've been a drummer for 27 years, drums are my passion!"
He lives with Amnyoplasia Congenita which is a form of Arthrogryposis. He says "I have no hip or knee joints and my hands are fused at my wrists."
Shawn is married and has 3 beautiful children.Shawn says "When I was young I wanted to be a drummer and I wasn't going to let my differences stop me from doing what I wanted to do... and that was being a drummer!"
His influences are Lars Ulrich, Mike Portnoy, Buddy Rich, Simon Phillips, and John Bonham.
He says "How I started was me grabbing pots and pans and cake spoons when I was 3, then she figured I better get him a drum.
She got me a bongo drum and I played that so much I wore a whole in it I played it so much, I was 5 when I got my first drum set, it was a Premier rock 5 piece kit. I had several different drum sets through the years I never had a brand per say that I liked, but when I was 10 I played on a set of TAMA Imperial Stars and TAMA has been my brand ever since".
Shawn is currently playing in a band called Core and they have just finished recording their first album. He also does some studio work for local musicians around the West Virginia area. But as Shawn says "That's few and far between, coming from West Virginia"
Shawn has designed his own drum stick to assist with his challenges, which he is trying to get out to the public.
Shawn says "My stick idea came about a few years ago when I was playing in a previous band, I wish I would have thought of it when I was 10! I know my stick can help any drummer not just drummers with hand differences".
In November 2016, Shawn became an endorser for Diamondback Drumsticks
Shawn Wells