Welcome to Starter Pack, a gear-obsessed series that gives WIRED readers a peek into how notable personalities live, shop, and tinker.
When he was 27, snow cross racer Mike Schultz (who got the nickname “Monster Mike” because of his renowned fearlessness) drifted off course in a race, flew off his snowmobile, and obliterated his knee. It required multiple surgeries and multiple days in a coma to save his life. Ultimately, his medical team had to amputate his leg.
Rather than give up his love of action sports, Schultz engineered his own prosthetic knee and founded his own high-performance prosthetic company, BioDapt. His prostheses use a patented proprietary linkage system and mountain bike shocks to dial in such precise performance, enabling him to return to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Since 2008, he has won multiple Winter Paralympics and World Championships for adaptive snowboard cross and banked slalom.
More importantly, however, extreme athletes, amputees, and veterans all use his prosthetics. That includes many of his competitors, whose gear he sometimes ends up repairing right before an event. “You never get the temptation to, you know, ‘fix’ a competitor’s Moto Knee?” I asked him over Zoom when WIRED caught up with him for a few minutes at training camp for the 2026 Paralympic Games. (I also made a little wrenching gesture.)
“I just tell them, ‘Yeah, I’m sorry, there’s actually a recall on this one. I’ll get it back to you in April,’” Schultz says. “Make sure you put the ‘just kidding’ part in when you write that!” Here’s what Schultz is bringing to Cortina.
His Prothesis
Courtesy of BioDapt BioDapt Moto Knee 2 Shop at BioDapt
Ordinary prostheses are fine for walking around and going to the grocery store. But for snowboard cross—a sport where you fly over jumps and take hairpin turns at high speeds—you need a rugged, durable tool that can withstand low temperatures, endure physical abuse, and absorb precise levels of pressure quickly. Schultz's Moto Knee 2 and Versa Foot 2 are both tuned precisely for the event. “The alignment is crucial, otherwise you're not going to be able to roll over to your toe edge or heel edge to make a turn,” Schultz says. “Changes in an angle by half or a quarter turn on a set screw are noticeable. Having those alignment options on my snowboard leg is crucial for that ultimate performance.”
The Helmet
Courtesy of R.E.I. Giro Owen Spherical MIPS Helmet $280 REI
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