MESA, AZ — Mike Bolland is one of those guys where almost anything he puts his mind to, he can achieve.
ABC15 met with him at a basketball gym in Mesa, where he had no problem pulling up from outside the three-point line and hit a few in a row.
In his 58 years of life, he’s never once let the fact that that he was born without a right hand, prevent him from doing something.
Bolland and his family moved to the Valley in the 70s, he tells ABC15 his parents took him to an appointment with a prosthetic maker.
A production company was looking for someone like him, the appointment directly led Bolland getting the role of 'Danny' in the movie 'The Trail of Billy Jack'.
Part of the role included Danny playing guitar with a prosthetic and singing.
”I sang a song in the movie, I’m on the soundtrack. I actually got shot and killed in the end, which killed my acting career maybe that’s why they didn’t want me in Kingpin,” said Bolland.
As an adult, Bolland broke a barrier as the first congenital amputee bowler on the PBA tour. He said his mom used to drop him off at Apache Lanes and he would bowl all day long.
“I tried right handed, I was no good,” he said.
With that sense of humor and leaning into self-deprecating jokes, Bolland’s day job became a comedian.
A typical opening line for his set, he holds up both arms and shouts, ”alright something is missing, something is missing… I forgot my glasses!”
Today, Bolland is a family man with two girls in their 20s. Bolland is also an ambassador with the local Amputee Coalition. He says he aims to lead other amputees by example, showing them how he made adaptations to life with one hand.
At home, he focuses on his ‘We’re Not Stumped’ podcast where he shares the stories of other amputees.
He’s approached everything in life the same way.
“I can walk in like this and kind of hide my hand, or I can walk in like this and say, I’m here let’s go! That’s the way I choose to be, and I don’t mind being like this,” said Bolland.
He admits, people will stare and sometimes ask odd questions. What that attention has proven and continues to prove, a positive approach – is always worthwhile.
“I want to make sure any correspondence I have, anyone who is staring or asking a question, because that why it’ll be positive for the next person,” he added.