WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A Salt Lake area woman is still riding a wave of adrenaline and emotion after riding the crowd to the front of the stage at a weekend rock concert.
But this was extra special for Teresa Rohr because she’s confined to a wheelchair.
So, how DO you crowd surf in a wheelchair?
According to Rohr, very carefully and with a little help from your concert friends.
It was a special moment for her, and something even the band recognized and acknowledged.
Known to her friends by the nickname “T Bone,” Rohr crowd surfed to the front of the stage at Saturday’s Offspring concert at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater in West Valley City.
Even days later, Rohr still had a tough time finding the right words to describe it.
“I, this is, it’s just… wild for me! Like this has exploded way more than I imagined," she said.
Rohr has been confined to a wheelchair for more than three decades due to muscular dystrophy. But she loves attending concerts and always wondered what it would be like to crowd surf.
“This has been a bucket list item, to crowd surf, forever and ever. So when I had the opportunity to do it, I took it!” she said.
That opportunity happened after wheeling her way into what she calls a mellow mosh pit.
“I was getting high-fives and I just had a guy come up and go like, ‘Do you wanna go up?' And I was like, 'Yes! I’m not turning this down!'" she said. "So him and a couple other guys just came over and next thing I know, Dexter is pointing at me and they’re talking about me up there. So it was wild!”
That would be Offspring lead singer Dexter Holland.
Making the whole thing even more surreal, Rohr's boss and fellow concert lover Kevin Witzenman watched the whole thing happen from his lawn seats.
“It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a very long time!” he said. “I’m just sitting there and say, 'I really think that’s Teresa.' So I text her, I knew she was going to the show and I’m like, 'Hey, was that you?' And she says, 'Yeah, that was me!' And I was like, 'That was so cool!'”
And Rohr says none of it would’ve been possible without the caring and kindness of several complete strangers.
“Because that was just so incredible to have all these strangers just work together to get me up there. They just created magic for me," she said. "So I appreciate them and I just wanna say thank you to them — that was awesome!”
That magic now lives forever online, due to several people posting the video on their social media pages — including the band. The Offspring almost immediately put it on all their social media pages.
Once she comes down from this natural high, Rohr says she’s going to keep on living life and rocking out!
