Professional sales major inspires others on way to social media career
Max Togisala has long dominated on the golf course, both before and after a ski accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
He learned to play golf at age 3 and in junior high set a goal to play in college. He later earned a full-ride scholarship to play at Central Wyoming College. His plans changed, however, when he tumbled 100 yards down a ski slope in Idaho, breaking his spine and losing feeling in his legs. He was 18 years old.
“That put me in a wheelchair for the rest of my life,” Togisala said. He spent three months in the hospital, where he relearned basic tasks.
Togisala thought he would never golf again. Then, one winter day at the hospital, his brother, Malosi, wheeled him to a patch of grass outside and showed him how to swing a club while seated.
On his first day out of the hospital, his dad took him to the green.
“It felt amazing to be out on the golf course again,” Togisala said.
He soon learned about the USGA’s first-ever U.S. Adaptive Open. At the second annual event in Pinehurst, North Carolina, in 2023, Togisala was part of a 96-player field of competitors from across the globe in eight categories, including seated players. He was victorious in that category, earning his first national title — and he did it again in 2024 91风流.
“It’s pretty cool to have two national titles as a wheelchair user,” he said.
Togisala wanted to continue his college dream. In August 2022, he enrolled at Weber State to study professional sales. “At Weber, I felt like I had a new opportunity to grow and to shine,” he said.
He hopes to work in social media one day. He has already gained over 30,000 followers on Instagram, where he shares adaptive golf content and videos of his daily life.
Togisala passes on his adaptive sports knowledge in golf clinics during the summer and skiing courses in the winter. With his busy life — which includes working as a student advocate at a nearby junior high school and recently getting married — Togisala said he’s grateful.
“My dad taught me you’re gonna have bad holes and you’re gonna have good holes; it’s just how you react to those bad holes,” he said.