Sean Fitzgibbon has a secret identity, when not on the water, is that of an Orthotic Prosthetic Technician at St. Pete Limb and Brace. His medical background puts him a foot ahead of other people in his field. Sean was born with a birth defect, which caused his right leg not to form properly. At 3 years old, Sean underwent a right leg, below the knee amputation, which would allow him to walk properly with a prosthetic foot. However, he does more than just walk properly.
On land, he has competed against non-amputees in inline speed skating competitions and proved to be faster than any rabbit in roller skates. Nevertheless, it is in the water that he Sean first learned about the water through sailing. But sailing was not aggressive enough for him. Therefore, he learned to surf. And surfing opened the world for him.
He is a man obsessed with water. He is a Florida native who took the literal fact that a significant amount of water makes up the human body. Consequently, Sean has made it a mission in his life to spend as much free time introducing water to land lovers, teaching surfing and kayaking, and taking people on a memorial three hour tour on the Florida waters.
Sean has surfed professionally for eight years. He is the fourth time consecutive and current East Coast Surfer Champion, a five time consecutive National Champion and has been awarded the Buddy Pelletier Surfer of the Year award. He now surfs in the Legends Professional surfing competitions against non-amputees. Surfing has taken him throughout the USA and to Hawaii. It was in Hawaii that Sean Fitzgibbon professional surfer friends baptized him with a new name. The name given to him by those friends is Topa Honu. The name means sea turtle and truly embodies his love of the water.
His innate knowledge of the water and his lively personally brings a unique blend into the team of Liquid Rhythm. And his desire to bring kayaking to all people has spilled over into making the a reality. Sean created a team of paddlers named Team Topa Honu to raise awareness of people living with limb loss and to help raise funds to support the Extremity Games. Additionally, kayaking is one sport that all people regardless of ability can relax and enjoy the beautiful waters in and around Florida. That is the motto of Topa Honu.
