Paralyzed to Powerful: how college rugby star Robert Paylor fought back from a broken neck

Catastrophically injured, the Cal lock was told he would not walk again. Refusing to accept defeat, he is now an author and speaker, still in love with his sport

In another world, Robert Paylor might have been playing in Major League Rugby, in his prime at 28, preparing for a US Eagles summer including England in Washington and World Cup qualification.

When I was an athlete, that was my purpose in life," he says. I wanted to be the best rugby player I could be. And in a lot of ways, those dreams were really happening: I was a sophomore competing for Cal's team, which is not a common thing to do, and I had all those hopes: being an All-American, maybe play professionally, maybe represent the United States. That was my goal. And then in one moment, because of something I couldn't control, it was gone."