A York amputee is supplying trendy walking sticks to Hollywood celebrities.

Lyndsey Watterson created Neo Walk in 2013, three years after she had her leg amputated.

The mum contracted the MRSA superbug during an operation in 2007, causing irreparable damage to her leg, leading her to decide to have it removed.

Ms Watterson now counts celebrities, including actors Selma Blair and Christina Applegate, among her clients and friends.

READ MORE:

Lyndsey told the Press: “I was a stay-at-home mum who had trained to be a hairdresser but life had other plans.”

After the trauma of losing a leg, she wanted a brighter, more colourful walking stick to better reflect her personality.

It led her to create her first walking stick in her kitchen using an oven-heated piece of arcrylic moulded around a wine bottle.

Using a prosthetic leg, Lyndsey also trained as a circus performer and appeared in the opening ceremony in the 2012 Paralympics in London.

York Press: Selma Blair with one of the canes

The business grew, selling its walking sticks and canes online, which are all handmade and created in a workshop at the back of her hope.

Then, in 2021, Lyndsey received an email from Hollywood actor Selma Blair, who had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018.

Lyndsey continued: “Selma bought walking sticks off my website. I thought that can’t be true. She’s become a good friend of the business. She’s very supportive. She’s a lovely lady. I have met her a couple of times.

“She introduced us to Christina Applegate. She’s also a good friend of mine. I have met her many times. I have met Selma in London. I went to LA this year to meet several people. I spent time at Christina’s house, were we chatted about the world and everything.”

Lyndsey had been talking to Christina, who had been diagnosed with MS in 2021, on the phone for about a year about a campaign to raise awareness of MS and funds to fight it.

The pair launched FU MS, a special walking stick that Christina revealed on the red carpet in the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards in February.

Lyndsey said: “We decided to come up with these sticks that resonate her personality. They’re a bit grungy, which is her to a tee.”

Other well-known customers include Jamie-Lynn Sigler of TV’s The Sopranos, plus British Paralympian Kadeena Cox.

Looking back, Lyndsey recalls how a serious event for her transformed her life into an entirely different direction, where she can change the lives of others for the better.

York Press: Selma Blair with a cane

She said of her walking sticks: “They are sturdy. They look good. They give you confidence.”

She likens her products to how glasses have changed from the dull things of decades ago to exciting designs of today, where people can show their personalities.

Last year, Lyndsey appeared in TV’s Dragon’s Den, but despite not getting the funding she hoped for, the exposure and meeting the dragons was good, with Neo Walk smashing the sales targets she gave them.

Now, the business employs eight staff and exports to 25 countries, with half the sales to the US.

It has just received a £60,000 loan delivered by the Business Enterprise Fund, which will allow the business to expand further and take on three more.

York Press: Christina Applegate with a cane

Neo Walk plans to complement its current range with a custom design service that offers customers a walking stick that truly reflects their uniqueness.

Lyndsay said: “Life may present unexpected challenges, but it's in our power to turn them into opportunities. Neo Walk is not just about walking sticks; it's a symbol of resilience, individuality, and the limitless potential within us all.”

Neo Walk can be found at: Home - Neo-Walk