Robert McMullen was an active child who grew up playing hockey and racing go-karts competitively. At 19, his life took a dramatic turn when he suffered a severe spinal cord injury when he was involved in a racing accident at Peterborough Speedway, while racing a 3/4 Can-Am midget race car. The crash resulted in a broken neck, a burst fracture of his C6 vertebra. Robert was flown to Sunnybrook Hospital, where he was intubated on a ventilator and underwent multiple operations to stabilize his injuries. After three months at Sunnybrook hospital, he spent nine months at the Toronto Rehabilitation Lyndhurst Centre, learning how to live with quadriplegia. 

Robert credits his survival to his loving family, who supported him every step of the way. Despite the challenges of his injury, Robert found that maintaining active participation in recreational and athletic activities was essential to his mental, physical, and emotional well-being. He also experienced first-hand the devastating effects of isolation and inactivity when his former roommate at the rehabilitation centre, Ken, who had been an avid outdoorsman , tragically took his own life after struggling to adapt to life post-injury without access to recreational outlets.

This deeply impacted Robert and inspired his mission to ensure others with disabilities could access recreational and athletic activities. In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert felt the toll of not being able to participate in such activities himself. This led him to found the charitable organization ADAPTED SPORTS AND RECREATION OF CANADA, aimed at providing adventurous, recreational, and athletic opportunities for disabled individuals to improve their quality of life and relieve the conditions associated with disability.