Mike May

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Mike May – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

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Read the inspiring life story of Mike May: blind from childhood, record-breaking Paralympic skier, tech innovator behind accessible GPS, and resilient entrepreneur whose journey challenges limits.

Introduction

Mike May (Michael G. May) is an American entrepreneur, technologist, and former Paralympic skier famed for his work in accessible navigation technology for the blind and visually impaired. Blinded in early childhood, he went on to found the Sendero Group—one of the pioneering firms in accessible GPS—and set speed skiing records for totally blind athletes. His life blends the domains of disability advocacy, business innovation, and athletic daring, offering a profound example of turning adversity into opportunity.

Early Life and Family

Michael G. May was blinded at age three by a chemical explosion that rendered him totally without sight.

Little biographical detail is publicly documented about his parents or siblings, but May has credited his mother for giving him freedom to explore, encouraging him to develop workarounds and adaptive skills from a young age.

He later married Jennifer May, and they had two sons, Carson and Wyndham.

Youth, Education & Early Career

Because May lost his vision early, his formative years involved learning to navigate the world through nonvisual means—relying on hearing, spatial memory, assistive techniques, and sheer determination.

Though full educational history is not widely available in public sources, his later roles in business and technology speak to a deep technical aptitude, entrepreneurial drive, and capacity to bridge between user needs and technological solutions.

May’s professional beginnings included working in various roles before launching his own ventures; some sources note that he had experiences in larger organizations before branching into specialized startups.

Career, Achievements & Innovation

Sendero Group & Accessible GPS

In 1999, Mike May founded The Sendero Group in Davis, California.

Under his leadership, Sendero created GPS tools tailored for nonvisual users: delivering turn-by-turn navigation, environmental description, route customization, adjustable verbosity, speech and braille outputs, and error recovery functionalities.

Over many years, the product evolved across multiple versions to better serve users’ needs, emphasizing usability, adaptability, and reliability.

He has consulted with major tech companies (e.g. Uber) on improving accessibility in their apps, especially in wayfinding and user interface design.

Athletic Achievements & Vision Restoration

Outside business, Mike May became an accomplished Paralympic skier. He competed in the 1984 Winter Paralympics, winning bronze medals in downhill, giant slalom, and alpine combination events.

He holds a speed skiing record for a completely blind person — reportedly racing at 65 miles per hour.

A dramatic turn in his life came in 2000, when May underwent cornea transplants and a pioneering stem-cell procedure, restoring partial vision after decades of blindness.

His experience has been the subject of the bestselling book Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Robert Kurson (2007), which explores both the medical and personal upheaval that came with regaining sight.

Historical & Technological Context

May’s life intersects multiple major trends:

• The growing push for universal design and accessibility in technology (software, mobility, navigation).

• Advances in medical science—especially in stem-cell therapy and ophthalmologic surgery—that made his partial vision restoration possible.

• Increased emphasis on assistive technology as a commercial and social venture, not merely a niche or charitable domain.

• The evolving perception of blindness: from limitation to a domain where innovation and adaptation can yield new capabilities.

• The popularity of storytelling around overcoming adversity—May’s narrative has resonated broadly beyond disability communities.

Legacy and Impact

Mike May’s contributions leave multiple legacies:

• His work at Sendero advanced the field of accessible navigation, influencing how mainstream platforms design for nonvisual users.

• His athletic records stand as powerful symbols of what is possible beyond assumed physical limits.

• Crashing Through has helped popularize awareness of the psychological and identity challenges faced by people who (re)gain vision later in life.

• His consulting and advocacy efforts help guide major technology firms toward more inclusive design.

• His personal story serves as inspiration in disability communities and entrepreneurial circles alike.

Personality, Character & Traits

May is often described as tenacious, inventive, courageous, and humane. He has spoken about adaptability as a core skill developed from early blindness.

The dramatic shift — choosing to undergo a risky operation that could radically change his life — reflects boldness and willingness to grapple with uncertainty.

May’s empathy, rooted in firsthand experience of disability, has informed his advocacy and business orientation toward serving others, not only technological challenge.

Notable Quotes

Here are a few quotes from Mike May illustrating his outlook:

• “One of the benefits of being blind from age three is that I’ve had to learn adaptability from an early age … that ability to be creative, think on the fly, and to develop workarounds … proved one of the most important ingredients in starting up companies.”

• “So much of life, whether it’s crossing the street or figuring out how to deal with a PDF, is about workarounds.”

• From the Sendero “Highlight on Mike May” page:

  “There is Always a Way.” “To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.” (a quoted line presented by May)

These statements reflect his mindset: persistence, ingenuity, and a belief in possibilities beyond apparent limits.

Lessons from Mike May

1. Adversity can spur innovation
   May’s blindness didn’t limit him—it motivated him to invent and improve technologies for others.

2. Design with empathy
   His solutions emerged from lived experience—making them more tuned to real user needs than abstract design.

3. Take calculated risks
   Undergoing a recovery procedure decades after blindness was a bold gamble—one that changed his entire perception.

4. Persist through iteration
   Developing assistive technology is not a one-shot effort; it demands many versions, testing, feedback, and evolution.

5. Identity shifts matter
   Regaining sight brought challenges to his sense of self—an important reminder that major change is both external and internal.

Conclusion

Mike May’s life is a striking testament to human resilience, technical creativity, and the power of vision—both literal and metaphorical. From his earliest years of blindness, through record-breaking skiing, to founding a company that advanced inclusive navigation technology, and finally to the emotionally fraught choice to regain partial sight, his journey is layered with transformation. His legacy continues in the technologies he inspired, the communities he served, and the stories he tells.