
OUR STORY
HOW IT BEGAN
Jeff first met Gary in 2011 at the chiropractic office where he was working. At that time, Gary was 63 years old. Ten years before they met, Gary had fallen in his kitchen, hit his head on the countertop and broke his neck. Instantly, Gary was a quadriplegic, unable to use his arms and legs. Before his injury, Gary had a family and was a successful businessman who owned convenience stores. After his injury, he was forced to close them. The severity of his condition made him dependent on others for care and assistance. As years passed his support system grew very small. His full-time caregiver became his 84 year old mother. She did everything for him: moving; feeding; cleaning, and managing incontinence.

THE ORIGIN STORY
AS TOLD BY JEFF LEFKOVITZ
On the day we met, Gary was lying face up on the treatment table. His arms were bent into his chest and his hands were curled. His legs were rigid and held tightly in a crossed position as if he were frozen in cement. He had long been written off by the medical community as a lost cause and told that he would never walk again.
I felt badly for Gary as I listened to his story and tried to comprehend how his injury had impacted his life.
Coincidentally, at the time I was also dealing with a personal loss that caused me to question my purpose.
My father had recently passed away from cancer. Throughout his illness, I couldn’t do anything to change
the course of the disease. I had been practicing for years as a natural health practitioner. Holding degrees
and credentials in: Chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and exercise science, made me very successful at
helping people with physical issues associated with orthopedic and sports injuries. However, with my own
father’s illness I was helpless.
Gary’s neurologic injury, from my perspective, presented as a physical challenge. Albeit much greater than
the ones of my standard clients, his condition seemed like it was in my wheelhouse. I wanted to help Gary,
and felt that in doing so maybe I could help heal myself, and regain confidence in the natural therapies I
had used for so many years.
We began to work together to improve his hands and arms. Our goal was to try to increase range of motion
and function. Over three months I was able to help him slightly uncurl his hands and increase his ability to
straighten his arms. The improvements to his arms were good, and encouraged me to the possibility that
more could be done. I felt that if I could give him the opportunity to stand and walk, it would change his life.
I needed to get Gary up on his feet and this was difficult as he was 6 feet two inches and 225 pounds. I
searched for the right type of equipment that would help me to help Gary. I needed something that could
give him an opportunity to stand and exercise while also providing a chance to walk. None of the available
rehabilitation equipment could meet all of these needs for Gary. Everything was too expensive and the
equipment had very narrow purposes. For instance, there was equipment for standing and separate equipment
for walking. I needed something for both tasks. Even more, there really was no equipment available
for the purpose of helping paralyzed people to stand while exercising.
As I was looking for a solution for Gary, I was also spending some time each day meditating and praying
about life. Not being able to help my dad when he was sick really caused me to search within myself. I had
all these professional skills, but had lost faith. I asked daily, “how can I help?” Gary was often included in my
thoughts. During one of my meditative sessions I had a clear vision of a machine. I saw the whole machine,
I watched it separate into its many different pieces, and then watched it come back together again. Next I
saw what it was used for. The image that I received of how this machine could be used to help people like
Gary moved me. At that moment, I sensed not only a way forward for Gary, but for myself as well.
I immediately committed the design to paper and went to work building the machine. It would be called the
MÁS (mobility activation station). The first day Gary used The MÁS, he was able to take his first step since
being injured. We worked intensively together for two years, while I enhanced the design of the machine.
By the end of our time together, the man who was told he would never walk again could safely walk short
distances with a walker! This had a major impact on his life as he was no longer dependent on his elderly
mother for all of his needs and could now meet many more on his own.
About a year later, I relocated to Los Angeles to help a larger population of paralyzed people in need. I
created the Abilities Recovery Center, which has become one of the largest paralysis recovery centers in
the United States. My team and I have been using the MAS collectively for over a decade on people with various nervous system injuries. Through their direct input and our experiences, the machine has been refind to what it is today: a purposeful tool that has been developed in the trenches of daily intense clinical activities.
THE INCEPTION
Our founder, Jeff Lefkovitz, was so convinced his approach would have a bigger impact on neuro recovery than traditional rehab methods that he reoriented his life and livelihood toward helping people with paralysis.
After meeting Gary, a quadriplegic suffering from a Spinal Cord Injury, Jeff decided more could be done for individuals suffering from neurological injuries.


THE MÁS
Jeff invented (and patented) an innovative machine that allows trainers to single-handedly get people upright and walking. We call this device the MÁS.
After years of iteration and hundreds of clients helped, it is now ready to be shared with the world. Find out how to procure a MÁS for your facility and get trained.
THE FACILITY
We opened Abilities Recovery Center (ARC), a 9,000-square-foot facility that is specifically designed for accessibility and adaptive training.
Our main goal has always been to provide opportunity for people to improve their daily life and independence. See what you are capable of and become a member of the ARC family today.


THE DATA
We invested in high-tech data capture tools to track our clients' progress and continually improve our methods.
These tools unlock the benefits of visualization as clients can now see in real-time which muscles are firing during an exercise, at what intensity and for how long.
THE PRESENT
We continue to seek out new ways to awaken the nervous system and create new pathways from the brain to the muscles.
That is because we are tireless optimists, thinkers, and healers, united in our fight to help people with paralysis—a movement more than 20 years in the making. Meet the team behind the magic.
