Texas Disability History Collection

Greg Speed was born in 1970 on Travis Air Force Base in California. Two years later,
Speed’s father retired from the Air Force, and the Speed family moved to Fort Worth,
Texas. Speed acquired paraplegia in 1984 after being hit by a car while riding his
bicycle.

Speed entered UT Arlington as a freshman in 1988 with ambitions of earning an
aerospace engineering degree and working in the aviation industry. He soon became
involved in both adaptive track and field and wheelchair basketball, due in large part to
his friendship with Chris Goad and the mentorship of Jim Hayes. Speed was also a
member of Student Advisory Council during his time at UT Arlington.
Speed was highly successful as a track athlete. He won national-level events, set the
national record in the 100-meter dash, a world record in the 4x100m relay, and was
selected to compete for the United States at the 1990 and 1991 IWAS World Games,
and 1992 Paralympic Games. He was also a founding member of the UTA Movin’ Mavs
wheelchair basketball team, winning two national championships with the team.
After graduating from UT Arlington in 1995 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering, Speed
accepted a job as an engineer at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. He left
Lockheed Martin in 2000 to focus full-time on his own web-consulting and information
technology business. As of 2016, he is the owner and operator of Speedsoft, a firm
that provides website hosting as well as website design, information technology, and
online marketing consulting services. He also serves the community through his
activities with the United States Olympians and Paralympians Association, which
promotes physical fitness, athletics, and Olympic values among young people.