Arts & Culture
24 February, 2026
Campbelltown paralympian flying high after Britain’s Got Talent honour
Campbelltown paralympian and disability advocate Paul Nunnari is flying high this week after having received Britain’s Got Talent’s highest honour: the ‘Golden Buzzer.’
Campbelltown paralympian and disability advocate Paul Nunnari is flying high this week after having received Britain’s Got Talent’s highest honour: the ‘Golden Buzzer.’
The 53-year-old wowed the judging panel (which consists of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and British rapper KSI) and the audience by conducting a series of 360-degree spins high up in the air using only a red silk rope.
Each of the judges expressed their amazement at what Mr. Nunnari did, and Simon Cowell, who initially said he ‘wasn’t a fan’ of aerial silk rope work, was totally stunned and reached over and hit the Golden Buzzer, showering Mr. Nunnari in golden confetti and a standing ovation from everyone in the room.
He first learnt how to do it back in 2011 when watching his sister go up in the air on the silk ropes and wondered if he could ever do it himself.
Mr. Nunnari has never been someone to shy away from taking on a challenge.
He attended St Paul's Primary School in Camden and John Terry High School at Rosemeadow.
He suffered a severe spinal injury in 1984 at the age of 11 after being hit by a car and was in hospital for several weeks. But he didn’t let that stop him.
“The first thing I wanted to do in hospital when I knew I was going to be in a wheelchair was chase nurses and learn how to do wheelies!” he joked in an interview at an event in QLD in 2025.
“A wheelchair has always been an enabler, not a disabler to me, and it’s been a great leveller to change misconceptions around disability.”
He also outlined the measures his schools went to, to make him feel included.
“I was in 6th class when I was injured, but a lot of my school wasn’t accessible,” he said.
“The school made an amazing effort – they held a working bee for all the parents where they just built ramps for me into each building of that school – they removed the social barriers so I could remain in a mainstream schooling situation, which is what I wanted.”
He also went on to compete in three paralympic games (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004) in the 100, 400, 800 and 1500 metre wheelchair T54 races, qualifying with a silver medal in the T54 4x400 metre event alongside fellow athletes Kurt Fearnley, Geoff Trappett and John Lindsay, which he describes as a ‘defining moment’.
He also entered into Australia’s Got Talent back in 2013 for the aerial work, under the moniker ‘The Other Superman’ reaching the finals of AGT.
He even broke a world record in 2018 in Italy for the most 360-degree rope rotations in one minute, which is 77.
He is now the CEO of film, television and advertising company Inclusively Made, which is designed specifically for inclusive production in those industries.
To watch the full 32 minute interview that Dan Krigstein did with Paul Nunnari, visit https://www.bandt.com.au/paul-nunnari-i-never-saw-myself-reflected/.
A video of Mr. Nunnari’s efforts in the Britain’s Got Talent performance is shown below.
Read More: Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly