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The Texan and aspiring Oprah host may have cerebral palsy, but his wicked sense of humor teaches us how to fly
By Mary Elizabeth Williams
SALON.COM
The Internet – it's not just a place for bros to Ice bros; it's where the unlikeliest of stars emerge. And the viral darling of the day is a 25-year-old actor and self-professed babe magnet named Zach Anner – a man who isn't about to let being confined to a wheelchair get in the way of starring in Oprah Winfrey's newest venture.
When the doyenne of daytime put out the call last month for someone to host a show she's developing for her new network, she predictably got the kind of stampeding response one would envision for a dreamy vampire holding the newest iPhone. And in among the cute moms and would-be decorators, there was Zach, an Austin native with cerebral palsy – which he describes dryly as "the sexiest of the palsies." After showing on his audition video why he's not cut out for an exercise or cooking show ("Normally I set my pants on fire"), he makes a bold case for a different kind of show – "a travel show for people who never thought they could travel." Why? "To prove that no obstacle is too big, no mountain is too high, no volcano is too hot and no Atlantis is too underwater or fictional."
And with that, a viral sensation was born.
As the weeks have passed, he's continued to demonstrate his ballsy, up-for-it spirit – and willingness to make out with a wheelchair ramp sign -- in ensuing YouTube clips. And he's been unabashedly, infectiously reciprocal with the love he's been getting from his legion of new fans, saying, "You've made somebody who can't walk at all fly ... You can post on Facebook that we're in a relationship."
