Bathurst locals will have spotted Mr Triming zooming around the city in his electric wheelchair, wearing bright fluro colours, with an Australian flag waving proudly behind him.

But he didn't always need a wheelchair to get about.

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In 1996, Mr Triming was working as a security manager for Coles-Myer in Queanbeyan.

He was deployed to the Canberra store for a few weeks and during that time sustained a back injury as a result of unloading items from a truck.

"They had no one to unload two semi trailers in the dock; their dock staff were sick. I thought I would volunteer, because back then I was fit and able to chase crooks and whatnot," he said.

"However, I was unloading heavy items like oil-filled heaters that were wider than my body and also items in boxes from above my head height. We were never told the correct lifting procedures, we were only told how to bend your knees.

"Just one morning I was doing this, using different muscles to what I was used to using, and that afternoon I was back in the security office and filing in a filing cabinet on the bottom, at ground level, and couldn't get up.

"That was the start of it."

He said he received incorrect medical advice about how to treat his back injury, which should have only been temporary.

Prior to his injury, Mr Triming and his wife were planning to move to Bathurst to open a restaurant.

Still believing his back problem would be temporary, they proceeded with their plans and opened their restaurant in January 1997.

But instead of making a recovery, his injury worsened.

Over time he progressed from one crutch, onto two, and then found himself needing a wheelchair to get around.

After owning the restaurant for seven years, the Trimings decided to sell the business as it had become too much for them.

"I progressed to only being able to work for about half an hour a week, and you can't run a business like that, so we sold the business and at the same time I switched over to my first electric wheelchair," Mr Triming said.

In addition to needing a wheelchair, Mr Triming was on "a heavy regime of drugs" to manage his chronic back pain.

As the years went on he learnt better ways to manage his pain, but the injury still impacts his life every single day, with him not even allowed to carry a cup of coffee these days.

His injury opened his eyes to the challenges people with a disability face and so he became a voice for those people.

It was an opportunity for him to give back to the community.

As a disability advocate, Mr Triming has been the driving force behind many projects in Bathurst that have increased accessibility.

He served as the chairman of the Bathurst Regional Access Committee (BRAC) for many years and after departing the group has continued to serve as a private disability advocate and consultant.

He makes himself available to community groups to give presentations about accessibility issues, advises businesses about ways they can improve access at their premises, and has also penned multiple brochures about access.

It is a service he has no intention of giving up.

"I'll keep going, because whatever I get fixed helps existing and future people with disabilities," he said.

"Who knows? You could be in a wheelchair tomorrow. I went to work one day and I wasn't expecting to end up in a wheelchair a few years later."

Mr Triming wants to see disability discrimination come to an end, and the best way to do that is to ensure equal access to buildings and services wherever possible.

"I just think everything everyone does, especially council, access has to be top priority," he said.

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