Back Up was founded in 1986 by the former British and European Freestyle Champion and James Bond stunt double Mike Nemesvary, who's life was devastated when he broke his neck during a training session. Despite being paralysed from the shoulders down, Mike was determined to get back to the life he enjoyed. Back Up was initially set up to offer ski courses for those affected by spinal cord injury. In 1988, the charity formed a partnership with The Calvert Trust and began to expand its courses to challenge and empower people to get ‘back up’ to a place they were at before their accident.