Maxim Abramov lost both his legs when his bed caught fire when he was just 18 months old, in a case widely reported in Russia media in 2011.
His mother was charged with neglect, and Max was adopted by a family in St Petersburg.
Now Max is back in the headlines – but this time it’s because of the ten-year-old’s exploits on a skateboard.
At first, a skateboard was just a way for Max to get around, as he found it more comfortable than his prosthetic legs. But one day he accidentally rolled into a skate park, where he was spotted by a coach, who spotted his potential.
Now he works with Coach Pavel Mushkin, who says Max trains hard and takes part in all available competitions.
When a video Mushkin posted on Instagram was shared by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk last week, Max was catapulted into the limelight, waking up to the news that thousands of people wanted to learn about Hawk’s “new favourite skater”.
Asked how that made him feel, Max responded “"I can show you!”, jumping in the air before adding: “That's how I celebrated!"
