"Grandma advised not to look at other athletes"

Six Russian athletes — two alpine skiers, two cross-country skiers and two snowboarders - have received invitations to the Paralympics, which will start on March 6 in Italy. At the first glance at the national team's list, Monzer Philippe Chebbo stands out in particular. The parasnoobarder has not only an unusual surname, but also a biography. He was born into an international family. His father is Monzer Shebbo, a Lebanese citizen; his mother is Maria Surina, the youngest daughter of the famous actress Galina Polsky. When Philip turned 19, his grandmother fulfilled his long—held dream - she presented him with a red Italian-made motorcycle. A few months after that, the young man got into a serious accident on it. The result was multiple injuries and amputation of the leg. Shebbo spoke about his path to the Paralympic national team in an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express.

"I'm here in the role of both a manufacturer and a racer"

— You became one of the six Russian athletes who received an invitation to the Paralympics. Were you surprised to be on this list?

"Not really. We had five candidates, very powerful guys. Therefore, I was a little upset for my colleagues, who also prepared and worked hard. The Russian national team has a very friendly and warm team. So I was sad for my friends at the moment.

— I looked at the list of snowboarders who were supposed to compete at the last Paralympics, but I couldn't find you there. Although you won the Russian Championship in 2020 and the European Cup in 2021. Of course, in the end none of our athletes competed in Beijing, but why weren't you included in the application for those Games?

— Yes, I won the national championship in 2020, but I was not immersed in this sport. He started actively participating in competitions only in 2021. Then it was too late to submit the lists, the quota was filled. And my level wasn't that high either. It was possible, of course, to get in somehow, but it would have been fruitless.

— You have spent most of your life outside of professional sports. What does participation in the Paralympics mean to you?

— Probably the same as for those who have been in sports all their lives. Our goals are the same — to strive to improve our results. Maybe I haven't even fully accepted the idea that we're going to the Paralympics. But this is a very powerful result of my athletic efforts. And not only for sports, because I am also the developer of exactly those prosthetics on which the guys from the Russian Paralympic national team perform. If by analogy with Formula 1 racing, then I am here in the role of both a manufacturer and a racer. I am interested in progressing as an athlete, but also in improving the prosthesis that helps athletes show high results. Even if I hadn't got in now, my colleagues would have performed at my company's modules. I would have the same pride in them and a sense of my involvement in this event. The guys who were supposed to compete at the Paralympics in 2022 also took a huge part in the development of these devices.

— I checked the countries participating in the 2026 Paralympics. There will be no athletes from Lebanon at the Winter Games. Is Lebanon aware of your success in snowboarding?

— Of course, friends and family know, but I can't say if they know in the sports community of Lebanon.

— You spent your childhood in Lebanon, right?

— I was born and spent the first years of my life in Russia. He probably went to Beirut in the third grade. I graduated from school there and went to university in England.

— I'm clarifying because I've seen various information on the Internet. They wrote that you went to Beirut at the age of five, and returned to Moscow when you were in the fifth grade.

— No, in Moscow I went to kindergarten and first grades of school. He returned to live in Russia after graduating from university and working in England.

— Do you come to Lebanon often?

— Now, of course, it is very difficult to get there due to the events in the region. That's why I haven't been there for a long time — about three years. But this is solely due to the current situation. I wish I could come there more often.

— You told me that you are very close to your grandmother. Did Galina Alexandrovna try to lure you into her acting field?

"She's tried and she's trying. I've tried it. I had a few shootings at a young age. I just chose a slightly different path. I've always been interested in sports, extreme sports, and engineering. It was something I've always been passionate about. It started with the TV. I watched skateboarding, motocross and other extreme sports. On the other hand, I've always been interested in the mechanisms of how and what works. I tried to understand toys, bicycles, and motorcycles in depth. That's why I was good at math and physics at school. Internally, I was drawn more to this activity than to acting. There were attempts from my grandmother. Indeed, she was responsible for my upbringing. Of course, she wanted to direct us into her field, especially since we always understood each other very well. But I was not forced, but encouraged by the qualities that I showed.

— And what kind of filming was it? Have you participated in any well-known projects?

— There was a TV series "Strawberry Cafe" — one of the first Russian TV series. I participated in two episodes there. I was engaged in voice acting. The last experience was about five years ago. Because of the timbre of my voice, I was asked to voice an Afghan in a film about the war.

"The accident is entirely my responsibility"

— As a child, we watched a lot of various extreme sports. Was there any one moment that sparked this passion for technology and engineering?

- yes. Dad and I were watching Formula 1, I think. During the broadcast, there was an advertisement where the father is sitting in front of the TV in a Ferrari T-shirt, and the son is playing cars that drive on the track. At one of the turns, the car was constantly flying out. Dad, who was a Formula 1 engineer in the story, went up to his upset son, explained something, took a screwdriver, twisted it, and the car stopped flying. I remember my reaction to what I saw: "Wow! How did he know that this was the right thing to do?" From that moment on, I began to have a clear picture of who I wanted to become.

— How did you choose the university? Why did you go to England?

"That's the reason. First, I chose a university with a strong engineering background. Secondly, a university where you can get a path to Formula 1. Because it's a pretty closed world. It's very difficult to get into it with an engineering degree. I studied this moment. The founders of Williams studied at the university where I entered, and many graduates joined Formula 1 teams. The most important thing at that time was that a very cool and talented engineer came there. He wasn't directly involved with the F1 teams at the time, but he had his own powerful team that built engines for the Le Mans prototypes.

— Was it difficult to get there?

— It's very difficult. At that time, it was the fourth or fifth ranked university in the world. The higher the rating, the greater the flow of students who want to enroll there. The selection was serious, but I coped with it and enrolled.

— Who did you ideally see yourself as after graduation?

— My dream was to join the Formula 1 team as a development engineer, where I would gain the necessary experience and knowledge. In the end, I wanted to use this acquired knowledge for my business in Russia and the development of the automotive industry here.

— Did the accident happen during the period when you were studying at the university?

"Almost." It happened after admission. Because of this, I had to start studying one year later.

— How do you remember the day of the accident now?

— Absolutely calm. She no longer causes any emotions. Just a case from life.

— In various sources, a faulty wheel is mentioned as its cause. Whose mistake was it?

— Exclusively mine. Yes, there really was a faulty wheel. I didn't follow. I had a flat tire last night. I stopped at a gas station. Let me down. However, apparently, the pressure gauge was faulty. I felt the problem while driving, but I didn't think much of it. Anyway, it's entirely my responsibility that I didn't double check and make sure of the malfunction.

— How long did it take to recover?

"Fast enough. I don't really remember when I got out of the hospital. I know that I got a prosthetic at the end of January. I guess you could call it the moment when I rehabilitated myself. The accident happened at the end of August, and in January I could already walk with a cane. But all my limbs were injured, I was in a stationary state for a long time, so the rehabilitation took a little longer than I wanted. As all muscle groups have weakened, they have atrophied in places. I probably felt more or less well on the prosthesis by the time I graduated, and I felt better physically, as the muscles responsible for controlling the prosthesis and walking in general strengthened. I rode a motorcycle in June.

— How quickly did you recover mentally?

— When I got home. Because being in a hospital is generally not the most psychologically pleasant feeling. I also coped with the fact that I lost a limb pretty quickly. I have a great family that supported me, super friends. As soon as there was a clear framework for what was possible and what was impossible, and I realized that valuable aspects of life would not go away from me, then I recovered. It probably happened in the first month after the accident.

— Did you feel the difference in the attitude towards yourself in England and Russia?

— Probably not. At first, I tried not to show that I was on a prosthetic leg. People thought I just had some kind of injury. We get more reactions when we exercise. Especially children don't understand what's going on. There was a time when we went on a wake ride with friends. I got out of the water, went up to the pier, and there was a little girl about seven or eight years old, who froze and looked at the prosthesis until her parents pulled her back.

— Less than a year after the accident, you were already riding a motorcycle. Was there no fear?

— To be honest, I don't remember. But there was no phobia or flashbacks of what happened.

"At some point, I came across the potential of the prosthesis, and started working on my own"

— Did you start making your prosthesis at the university or later?

— That was when I was already working in Moscow. My friends invited me to snowboard. My prosthetic was not suitable for this sport, its mechanics are arranged differently. It does not provide specific movements for snowboarding. That's why I was hesitant at first, but then I decided to try. I tried it on a prosthesis that wasn't designed for this. Nevertheless, I was strongly drawn in. I started riding it very actively. At some point, I just ran into the potential of the prosthesis. Without thinking twice, he began working on his prototype design, which allowed him to gain the movements necessary for snowboarding.

For a long time I studied how professional snowboarders control the board and do tricks. I was slowly adjusting my design for optimal biomechanics. At that time, one of my friends posted a video of me on the Internet, and the attention of the para-snowboarding community was drawn to this. We got in touch. I saw that there is a discipline called snowboard cross that is close to me. I decided to try myself. It turned out quite successfully. We managed to win gold at the first Russian championship. This happened at a covid time, so many strong competitors did not participate.

In 2021, I was drawn into sports more seriously, and my prosthesis also evolved. That's why we started participating in regional competitions, and later we managed to get to international competitions, where I saw other colleagues. The guys from our national team and foreign teams noticed the prosthesis. I have already taken several adjustment tubes to Finland so that different athletes can try it. This caused very positive emotions. The demand turned out to be high. But these were prototypes. Then the guys from the Russian national team and I began to refine the prosthesis. There are different nuances. Dima Fadeev will also perform at the Paralympics. He rides with his prosthetic leg forward, and I have it behind me. We have been working together to adjust and come to the final product that we have now.

— What is the advantage of your prosthetics?

— Unlike the others, he is polycentric. The prosthesis repeats the bend of the knee more correctly, and also adds a bend in the ankle separately from the foot. When we squat, not only does our knee bend, but we also slightly engage our ankle so that the center of gravity moves vertically. If you remove this function, the prosthesis will put a lot of pressure on the foot when squatting. And if it puts pressure on the foot, then the front edge is activated, as a result of which the athlete loses speed and becomes bent. Therefore, it is necessary to align with various incorrect body movements. Our prosthesis provides the correct vertical dynamics in such cases. The second advantage is its light weight. The correct kinematics can be adjusted to different weight categories. Well, our drawings are beautiful. For the Paralympics, we made different visuals — khokhloma, gzhel, to emphasize the country of origin.

— Is there a regulation on prosthetics in a parasnowboard?

— Yes, but we clearly get there.

— Is it possible to identify a person riding on a prosthetic leg on a slope?

"You wouldn't have guessed if you hadn't rolled up your pants leg." Of course, there are signs by which you can understand. Anatomically, the prosthesis does not completely repeat the leg. Therefore, when the pant leg is shaken by the wind, you can see some voids.

— Are only Russian athletes performing on your prosthetics?

- yes.

— When you went to international competitions in 2021, did you receive any orders from foreigners?

— Two athletes, one from Romania and the other from Belgium, really wanted to get this prosthesis. For some time we had correspondence about how we could sell them. But then events did not allow it to be realized. There is also a difficulty in certifying such products. Certification in Russia and Europe is different. In the current conditions, it is almost impossible to do this abroad. Especially for a small company like ours.

— How did you come to your company?

— At first, I made the same prototypes for other athletes. Then we discussed cooperation with the Ortho-Cosmos company, which uses the most advanced technologies in the field of prosthetics and is the main prosthetists of the Russian Paralympic national teams. We agreed on a strategy and mission and decided to jointly establish a company that will manufacture sports modules, but now we have already entered the market for everyday modules. There was a symbiosis of talented engineers and powerful prosthetics.

— They said that there are difficulties with certification in Europe. But is there a desire to enter the global market?

— Yes, of course, there is such a goal. We have a great product. For me, the goal is for the prosthesis to make patients' lives better and more active. I would like to give access to our product to the whole world.

— Will the Paralympics be an advertisement for your product?

— Of course, this is a kind of stage where you can also demonstrate the capabilities of our modules. Maybe it will give some kind of boost. But it is quite difficult for a Russian company to do this. The question is not whether the product will pass certification, but whether it will be possible to submit a Russian product for certification.

— In 2022, Russian athletes were banned from international competitions. How have you spent these four years?

— Relatively sad. Any athlete grows up in a highly competitive environment. We didn't have enough of this competition in Russia. Another issue is the specifics of the trails. Everyone has different terrain, speeds, weather conditions, and difficulties. Due to the fact that we participated in competitions only in Russia with trips to China, we had several times less rolling on different tracks than when we participated in international competitions. Competitive experience is also important, which psychologically prepares athletes. We don't really have one either.

— Have the Russians dropped in the results in four years?

— We are growing in level because no one has canceled the training. The question is the speed of this progress. It is important to compare this with our foreign colleagues. I think the Paralympics will provide an objective assessment of our level.

— What are the goals in Italy?

— For a good result, give it your all.

"And the medal?"

— This is the primary goal. Why go to the Paralympics if you don't expect to win a medal? Of course, this is important, but we also need to evaluate our strengths, given the fact that we have less experience due to the suspension.

— I looked at your schedule for the Paralympics. You compete in snowboard cross immediately upon arrival, and the start in the banked slalom will take place a week later. Is it probably a good thing that there will be time for the second competition to get used to the Alpine slopes?

- yes. It's great for me, because I have different inventory. For snowboarding, a cross—country board and soft boots are the usual thing, and last year I decided that I would compete in speed slalom on a slalom snowboard and in hard boots. I did it for the sake of experiment. No one in the world has ever ridden a rigid snowboard on a prosthetic leg. I insisted on it for three more years, and only last season I was allowed. I was very good at it. The difference between the two types of boards is enormous. That's why the week before the start of the bunked slalom will give me a little chance to roll on this board.

— What did Grandma say when she found out that you were going to the Paralympics?

"She's very proud." She told him to try to drive for his own pleasure. Just think about doing well on the track and not looking at others.