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Paralysed student’s boyfriend application receives hundreds of interested responses: ‘Sign me up’
‘Got the key to the wheelchair swing’
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A paralysed medical student based in Newcastle, Australia, has gone viral after revealing that he’s looking for his significant other, and sharing all the reasons he would make a good partner.
In a video posted to TikTok on 23 February, Jimmy Jan shared his “boyfriend application,” in which he detailed all the reasons why he’d be a good significant other. He noted in the caption that he was “looking 4 love.”
“Application to be your boyfriend,” the text over the video reads. As he spun around in his wheelchair, he went on to list the benefits of dating him, including that he “will never walk away from” his partner.
In the next clip, Jan could be seen holding a tape measure, noting that he’s 4ft 7in tall in his wheelchair but 6ft 4in “when standing.”
Jan also acknowledged his access to handicapped parking, which he called “premium parking.”
“Got the key to the wheelchair swing,” the text reads, as he’s shown on a swing at a park. “And the key to your heart,” he added.
As of 7 March, the video has more than 12.3m views, with TikTok users in the comments wanting to submit their own applications to date Jan.
“Application approved,” one person wrote, while another viewer said: “Approved. We’re dating now.”
“How long would it take to wheel yourself to New Zealand?” one TikTok user asked.
Others said they wanted to see Jan’s relationship journey documented on television, with someone else asking: “Can we campaign for Jimmy to be the next Bachelor??”
“Great idea for Jimmy to be [the] next Bachelor,” another person wrote.
In a series of videos shared in January, Jan detailed the skiing accident that left him paralysed after he landed directly on his head and lost consciousness. After weeks in the hospital, doctors told Jan that he was paralysed from the waist down.
“I’m not trying to undermine the significance of a spinal cord injury,” he explained in one video. “The accident I had that day was pretty severe and the course of my life changed in an instant and it will literally never be the same. But there’s nothing I can do to change what happened, all I can do is look back and say ‘oopsie.’
“My point is that sometimes bad things happen in life, and there’s nothing you can do to change them,” he added.
Speaking to The Independent, Jan said that he’s received of high volume of responses to his boyfriend application. “I have had many people reach out, via Instagram DM, email, and especially through the TikTok comments,” he explained. “Lots of mothers have even reached out to set me up with their daughters.”
With that in mind he’s come up with a few first date ideas, including the Wings for Life global run, which takes place in May.
“I’m an ambassador for this foundation, and it’s an event where you run with thousands of people around the world at the exact same time, until you get caught by a Catcher Car,” Jan added. “And the best part, 10 per cent of the entry fees and donations go straight to Spinal Cord Injury research, to help find a cure for spinal cord injury.”
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