Adaptive: The docuseries that captures Ezra Frech’s life on and off the track
Perhaps one of the proudest achievements of Frech’s past year is the release of his docuseries Adaptive, which follows the journeys of three elite Para athletes, including Frech himself, ahead of Paris 2024.
But documenting every moment of the past five years has not been easy, Frech admits to Olympics.com. Every loss, every hard moment, laid bare for the world to see. It is vulnerable and brave, but Frech is no stranger to cameras or the spotlight.
“I grew up with a camera in my face pretty much, so it wasn’t that different from what I was used to.”
In fact, as Adaptive shows, his life has been captured on film from the very beginning. The series includes remarkable footage of his birth, a lens on him since the moment he entered the world.
Frech is no stranger to talking about his story, either, as he grew up explaining to classmates and friends why he looks the way he does, all coached by a mother determined to turn vulnerability into strength.
“The start of my public speaking career goes way back, I think I was four years old when I first started giving speeches,” he says in Adaptive. “Growing up, we were always talking to people about my story. There was no hiding my disability. I wasn’t allowed. I was educating people and explaining to people what physical disabilities are.”
That openness has become the heart of Adaptive, which Frech admits was received better than he would have ever anticipated. “It’s a little scary, right? You don’t know how people are gonna perceive it. So to see how amazing the positive reaction has been is really heartwarming.
“We wanted to tell this story in a way that the average American sports viewer could be engaged and watch. And I think we did that. If you love sports and you love entertainment and you love good storytelling, then you’ll like Adaptive. It’s not a disability story, rather it’s a story and its characters just happen to have disabilities.”
Frech is hoping to build off of that success, and even hinted at a second season that would follow some Para winter athletes. “I might even try to make it out for the Paralympics in Milan, which would be amazing”.