Lee Floyd Fugatt is a man with a long and illustrious history within the throwing community, having competed at Master level in numerous IKTHOF competitions in the late 90s and early 'naughties’! He held his own against the best in the world despite being born blind in one eye and thus having to compensate for a lack of depth perception.
After serving over two decades as an Army Ranger and having become an accomplished knife and flute maker, honouring his own cultural traditions as part of the Navajo first peoples, no one would have blamed Lee if he had elected to step into his golden years at a leisurely pace and enjoy a well earned rest…but that is not in his nature!
In 2009 Lee suffered a near fatal stroke; he woke up several days later, emerging from a coma, to find himself paralysed down the left side of his body and now completely blind. It would seem that his throwing days were over and Lee slipped away from the community. However, this year, assisted by his good friend Rick Lemberg, Lee stepped back into the competitive arena and is now outperforming his peers who have the benefit of 20/20 vision!
In this interview I was privileged to talk to both Lee and Rick about the remarkable journey that both men have undertaken and it became quickly clear that Lee is not done yet! Lee’s story is truly inspirational and I feel very lucky to be able to offer this episode to the throwing community - I present to you the real life Zatoichi - Lee Floyd Fugatt.
