Mike "Brolylegs" Begum, fighting game fan supreme, was kind enough to consent to an interview about gaming and life. Here's the resultant article:
Mike Begum – Competitive
Gamer
“Handicapped.
Disabled. Physically challenged. Crippled. Abnormal. Different. Every word to
describe what I was, I’ve heard it all. Twenty-five years of living it all out.
I've felt trapped, incapable, useless, and extremely dependent of others during
the course of my usual day. My only escape is my perfectly capable mind. Something
I have been blessed with all my life.”
So
begins devoted gamer Mike Begum’s newly released autobiography, My Life Beyond the Floor, an 87-page
e-book chronicling his adventures as a son, a brother, a friend, a survivor,
and, perhaps most relevant to readers of this magazine, a serious competitor.
Despite severe physical limitations, Begum, who wrote the book by holding a
chopstick in his mouth, competes in video game tournaments throughout Texas
and, recently, has been traveling to various competition events across the
country.
Begum
was born with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder that causes severe
joint contractures and muscle weakness. As such, his arms and legs, which are
bent at odd angles, are largely useless for such ordinary endeavors as walking,
driving, flexing, kicking, stretching, picking up objects, and playing video
games (more on that later). As if that weren’t enough of a cross to bear, he
also has multiple scoliosis.
Indeed,
everyday life is a struggle for Begum, but he doesn’t want to be pitied or
fussed over, just treated normally with the occasional helping hand. He
appreciates (and welcomes) the assistance he receives from friends and family,
but he admits it’s not always easy asking for help—he hates the idea that he
might be a burden on anyone.
“My
biggest frustration in life is getting off the ground,” he said. “I can’t go
anywhere without my family having to pick me up off the floor physically. I
only wish to find a way where I can transport myself off the floor without
having to depend on others so much.”
Begum
has used an electric wheelchair periodically throughout his life, but he’s much
more comfortable in a prone position than he is sitting up. Begum spends most
of his waking hours flat on his stomach, using his arms and shoulders to prop
up his torso and head. Sitting for too long in a standard position makes Begum
sore and tired, so he avoids it when he can.
When
Begum was in elementary school, his (now deceased) father, an expert welder, converted
an electric wheelchair into a motorized bed, meaning he can maintain the prone
position for hours at a time instead of having to sit. Begum must be lifted
onto the customized cart (usually by his brother and sister), but once in place
he can move around pretty well.
Speaking
of moving around pretty well, Begum manipulates the images on his television
set with surprising grace and fluidity, especially considering the limitations
placed on him by his disorder. Watching Begum play video games, which he does
by propping a controller in his hand and using his face to push buttons, is truly
inspirational.
In
a recent interview, I asked Begum to describe his gaming method.
“I
use my left hand to hold and support the controller to my face,” he said. “My
hands act like a table so my face won’t have any trouble positioning over any
of the buttons or joysticks. I then place my left cheek on the joystick to get
some grip on it. To move my character, I move my face to use my cheek in
different directions. For the buttons, I use my tongue inside my mouth to push
buttons like a single finger. I never press the buttons with my tongue solely.
Instead, I push through the interior of my mouth to eliminate any health
concerns.”
Mike
Begum was born April 26th, 1988 in Tampa, Florida, where his father owned an
auto repair shop while his mother stayed home with the kids.
During
a fateful visit to the shop, “an elderly woman came by to have her vehicle
looked at, and saw my mother standing by,” Begum said. “The woman placed her
hand over my mother’s stomach. After feeling her, she revealed a prophecy to my
mother: Please don’t be alarmed, but there is something wrong with the baby.”
The
woman also told Mrs. Begum that her son would be a “great figure in the
community” and “respected by all,” but that didn’t stop her from insisting that
the woman leave the shop.
A
short time later, Mrs. Begum got a sonogram without her husband’s knowledge and
was told that she needed an emergency C-section. After being contacted about
the dire situation, Mr. Begum rushed to the hospital. He arrived just in time
to hear one of the doctors yell, “Oh my god, this baby is severely deformed!”
Begum’s
parents were devastated by this news, but over time they grew to accept what
had happened. They loved their son, gave him the medical care he needed, and
worked hard to make his life as normal as possible. In fact, when Begum was
just two-years-old, they bought him something more befitting of a kid with
fully functional arms and hands: a video game system.
“Gaming
started in my life at the age of two,” Begum said. “I had recently recovered
from several surgeries, and my birthday was just around the corner. At my
birthday party, my parents gave me an unusual gift: a Nintendo EntertainmentSystem or NES for short. The reasoning for getting their disabled son this
machine is still a mystery to me, but I think it was something my father was
interested in trying. I believe he wanted to merely show me the way it worked,
and have me watch him complete the games he bought for it. My mother was not
very keen to the whole video game entertainment scene, but she also thought it
was a good idea for me to watch and learn from dad.”
Begum’s
father bought a number of games and would get his son to watch him play, but
then something incredible happened: Begum, using his wrist and chin and a
healthy dose of toddler ingenuity, figured out a way to play the games himself.
Amazingly,
after a few weeks of trying, the gaming prodigy beat Super Mario Bros. 3—a fairly difficult title for anyone to
complete—before he turned three-years-old.
“My
learning how to play video games stunned both my parents,” Begum said. “They
could not believe their son could achieve this without the muscle capacity of a
normal child.”
Watching
other kids engage in physical recreation, such as running down the street and
playing tag, remains a painful memory for Begum. One day, when he was
eight-years-old, the enormity of the limitations caused by his condition sunk
in. With tears streaming down his face, he asked his dad why he couldn’t ride
his brother’s new bicycle. His father didn’t say why, but Begum, experiencing a
rather dubious epiphany, realized that he already knew the answer: he simply didn’t
have the physical capabilities of the other children.
Fortunately,video games, along with a prodigious imagination and the will to fight, helped Begum
avoid a potentially depressing life and gave him a fantastic, readily available
outlet for his pent-up energy, competitive nature, and desire for independence.
“All
I wanted was to have something I could do on my own,” he said. “My life was
catered to at every minute. Video games truly granted me a freedom from this. I
found something I could actually do on my own. No dependencies, no physical
struggles, no obstacles in my way. This hobby was an alleviator of my sorrow
and frustration at not being able to do the things others could. Sure, it still
pained me to look out the window and see others doing outside activities with
full use of their bodies, but I always had something that would be my escape.”
Although
he’s never tried the older consoles, such as the Atari 2600 or ColecoVision,
Begum has owned almost every system released from the NES forward. His favorite
all-time console is the Super Nintendo, which was a “huge part of his childhood”
and has a “ridiculous amount of masterpieces” in its library, including his
favorite game for the system, Mega Man X.
Despite
his affinity for the SNES, Begum’s favorite game of all time is Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for the
GameCube. “There is literally not one thing wrong with the game, and I am a
huge fan of Sonic,” he said. “The characters, music, stages, difficulty, and
replayability all come together to make the ultimate gaming experience.”
Begum’s
current game of choice is Street Fighter
4, the popular one-on-one brawler for the Xbox 360.
“The
competitive nature in me keeps me playing the Street Fighter franchise for hours on end,” he said. “I thoroughly
enjoy traveling to tournaments and meeting all kinds of people playing Street Fighter IV.”
You
wouldn’t necessarily know it by his otherwise kind demeanor and friendly,
unassuming smile, but Begum is a ruthless gamer, taking delight in pummeling
his more able-bodied opponents into the ground.
“Competition in gaming has been a part of my
life since my early teen years,” he said. “I have met my very best friends
through competition, and the doors it has opened have been monumental in my
life.”
Begum’s
first tournament occurred at a video game store in 2005 during his junior year
in high school, when he was visiting his mom in Houston, Texas. To the
astonishment of those watching, he finished fourth in a field of 64
competitors. The game was Super
Smash Bros. Melee for the GameCube.
Begum,
who now lives in Houston with his mom, was emboldened by the experience and elated
by the fact that he could hold his own against most any gamer of any skill
level, so he began competing in tournaments as often as possible.
In
2011, when Begum heard about the Evolution World Championship in Las Vegas,
Nevada, he was determined to go. EVO, as it’s commonly called, is the Super Bowl
of fighting game tournaments.
“Every
year in July, players from all across the world fly in to compete in the
biggest event of the year,” Begum said. “But this sort of trip was expensive,
so with the help of my friends, a fundraiser was created to help get me there. I
was humbled by the help a lot of people gave me to get to the tournament,”
where, much to his delight, he placed 64th in a field of hundreds of gamers.
One
of Begum’s biggest fans is Killeen, Texas resident Josh Jones, former event
coordinator for a charity organization called Gaming World Wide, which was
instrumental in getting Begum to the EVO tournament.
“When
I first sat down with him at [a store called] Joysticks Gaming in Killen, I was
blown away by his never-ending smile,” Jones said. “He had shared with me his
struggles, his hopes and dreams. Needless to say, I was nearly in tears at his
never-ending spirit and his ability to move forward.”
After
the interview, Jones setup up a live stream of himself playing Begum at Street Fighter IV, in which Begum is one
of the world’s foremost Chun Li players.
“He
went 40 wins and had only one loss against me,” Jones said. “At that point, I
was beyond stoked, and, well, humbled at the fact that he gave me some fighting
tips after beating me senseless.”
On
January 19, 2013, Begum received what he calls the biggest honor of his life at
the Texas State Trading Card Premiere held in Austin. Hosted by world-renowned
scorekeeper and industry ambassador Walter Day, the event recognized Begum for
“overcoming physical limitations to compete at the highest level on fighting
games” and for his “important contributions to the global video game culture.”
During
the award ceremony, where Begum received a commemorative plaque and his own
trading card, he gave a short speech in which he vowed to never quit gaming “no
matter what disability I have or what stands in my way.”
In
addition to soundly trouncing fellow gamers at street-fighting sims, Begum, who
has a bachelor’s degree in business management, hopes to tour the country one
day, sharing his story in order to motivate others to succeed at their chosen
field. He also wants to open a business where people could come to play video games
while he provides tips and helps them hone their skills.
Given
his disability, it would’ve been easy for Begum to give up on gaming and never
pick up another joystick or gamepad, but he’s a fighter and a survivor, both in
real life and in the gaming world. And he remains extremely grateful for his
family and friends, as he says in his new book:
“Sometimes
it is best to accept the situation you are in and trust that your loved ones
will accommodate you for whatever you need. It is no burden on your part when
the ones who care do it out of love. However, this should never discourage you
from doing everything you can for yourself. People can be very resourceful when
it counts the most. I wasn't going to take my disability as an excuse. What I
needed was to think positively and work with the tools I had. I began
practicing getting off my bed by myself until I had it mastered. No way was I
going to let my disability take every aspect of my being. Nothing is impossible
when you try. That is living. Fighting has been at the core of my being since
the day I was born and will stay in there until the day I die.”
His
pal, Josh Jones, adds, “Mike Begum is someone I admire, respect, and would do
anything for, and he feels the same way about his friends and family. The world
truly needs more spirited individuals like Mike Begum. We really do.”
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