11:00 a.m., January 19, 2022
He prefers to laugh. On Instagram, Romain Guérineau spins, hilarious, in his wheelchair… “When Castex has just announced that from January 3 it is forbidden to consume alcohol standing up in bars”, indicates the subtitle. This is how the 36-year-old firefighter, disabled following a collision on skis, became known on social networks. Thanks to his communicative good humor. Ten years after his accident, the quadriplegic influencer recounts his adventure in Strong Roro – And yet… it rolls! (editions of the Rock). The promotion is just beginning; his subscribers (167,000 on Instagram and 1.3 million on TikTok) are already congratulating him.
“You are a life lesson,” greets one. “This book will be good for many people, disabled or not,” says the other. “Can’t wait to understand this strength that you release,” rejoices a third. Smile of the person concerned, ten days ago, near Tours, in his house where everything is automated: “I am a little guy on wheels who wants to crunch life to the fullest. This is not the handicap who’s going to stop me!”
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He thought about doing the Paralympic Games
Every day, he proves it on social networks. The fact of being in a wheelchair does not prevent him from assuming his role as a father. This week, he provided school at home for his daughter Luna, 9, positive for Covid-19. In kindergarten, the little girl climbed on his knees when he came to pick her up from school, as if to say: “Did you see? I can move around sitting on my dad.” And she warned her comrades: “If someone annoys me, my father, he runs over him.”
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Acceptance, letting go, everyone is concerned
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Table tennis, archery, handcycling, handiskiing, paragliding, bungee jumping, ice rink, marathon… Even if he does occasionally have the blues, Romain Guérineau remains hyperactive: “Paralyzed and deprived of my body at 85%, nothing prevents me from accomplishing everything that comes to my mind.”
When he discovers wheelchair athletics, he aims for the Paralympic Games. He ended up giving up this dream – “Impossible to have a full-time job, to be a solo dad and a top athlete” – but continues to feed his account Roro le beefy. Its objective now is to “de-dramatize disability and raise awareness about it”. And the message goes beyond: “Acceptance, letting go, everyone is concerned.”
Blocked at home, he becomes an influencer
The influencer still works with the fire department. He resumed less than a year after his accident, as an “administrative and technical assistant”. He also responds to emergency calls. Another way to help others. Like his daily publications, broadcast on Instagram, Tiktok or YouTube. His activity on social networks exploded during the first confinement.
Considered a “fragile person”, he is stuck at home, without the possibility of teleworking. He then publishes two or three videos a day to explain how he eats, dresses with home help, writes or goes to the toilet. “Intimate care is the number one problem for being independent,” he says. But also humorous sketches: his mother, a carer, often gives him the answer. A few swear words. Lots of self-mockery. And carpe diem.
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Despite aid, disability is very expensive
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The number of his subscribers is skyrocketing. In May 2020, he ended up setting up the self-employed Roro le beefy. An agent now helps him manage the partnerships. From McDo (an advertisement around parenthood) to Colgate (a campaign on smiling) via Groupama (for a platform on first aid gestures) or Tefal (for a range of inclusive household appliances), the influencer selected. He also gives lectures. “I’ve never taken the train so much,” he laughs.
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If he no longer responds to some 200 messages received each day and stays away from politics, he is the voice of the disabled. He pinpoints the lack of accessibility. Criticizes red tape: “Welcome to absurdity.” And protests: “Despite the aid, the disability is very expensive.” His chair: 6,200 euros (the Social Security reimburses 557 euros!), his adapted car (23,000 euros of equipment), his medical bed (5,000 euros, the Social Security finances 1,000 euros). “And again, I had to fight to get a bed for two!” Plague the firefighter.
The future? He dreams of skydiving; to be offered a series, a film or a chronicle on TV – he loved playing extras in a fiction for TF1 – and says he is ready for new experiences: “I don’t set myself limits.”
