Human Powered Potential is launching the Second Wave with all-female crew members: Elizabeth Hall, Becky Watt, Ashley Ellis, Megan Laughlin, Maureen Twohig and Andrea Vigil. Photo courtesy of Human Powered Potential.
Two years ago, Team Human Powered Potential (HPP) launched from the California coast and crossed the Pacific Ocean with one bold mission: to test the limits of human endurance and help accelerate a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
With over 2,800 miles to the finish line in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, Brendan Cusick, Peter Durso, Scott Forman and Patrick Morrissey faced relentless waves, sleepless nights, setbacks and breakthroughs. But the row became much bigger than the crossing itself — it helped raise $43 million for Parkinson’s research and inspired people around the world.
For Patrick, who is living with Parkinson’s, reaching Kauai was “the ultimate validation that my body was not broken and that a diagnosis doesn’t define my limits.” Two years later, he points not to the miles rowed, but to the people touched by the journey itself. “If my story inspired even a few people to reclaim their identity and keep moving, then every single mile of that ocean was worth it,” he said.
Now, HPP is preparing for its next chapter: the Second Wave.
Led by Orlando-based master’s rower and mother of three Ashley Ellis, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s at age 40, a team of six female athletes is training to row the Great American Loop in 2027. The more than 5,000-mile route will take them through rivers, canals, the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. If successful, they will become the first team ever to row the route — and Ashley will be the first person living with Parkinson’s to do so.
For Ashley, the idea began as a daring adventure and slowly became something more. After connecting with Patrick and learning more about HPP’s mission, one question stuck with her: “What if we continued their legacy?”
That legacy will travel with the team aboard the American Spirit, the same boat that carried the original HPP team across the Pacific. Like the first campaign, HPP’s Second Wave team will fundraise next year through Team Fox, MJFF's grassroots community fundraising program, with 100 percent of proceeds going directly to Parkinson's research.
The Loop will bring a different set of challenges from the Pacific, but it will be no less physically demanding. Instead of open ocean, the team will face tides, currents, boat traffic, shifting winds and coastal storms. For Ashley, rowing the Loop is both an adventure and a way to raise awareness for the disease: “Parkinson’s is not going to get us. We’re going to get it.”
For the HPP founders, watching the Second Wave team step forward is exactly what they hoped their original mission could become. Brendan sees this next phase as a chance to “expand our voice,” reach new endurance and adventure communities and continue raising critical funds for research. The lesson he still carries from the Pacific is simple but lasting: “Never underestimate your potential.”
The passing of the oars has been practical as well as symbolic. The founders have shared lessons from the Pacific, helped HPP’s Second Wave team learn the American Spirit and emphasized that the hardest parts of a row like this are not only physical — they are mental, emotional and relational.
Scott’s advice to the team reflects that hard-earned wisdom: “Your greatest strength will not come from your muscles. It will come from your relationships.”
For Ashley, that support has made HPP’s Second Wave feel like much more than an athletic challenge. It is a continuation of HPP’s mission and a chance to carry it forward with a new team, a new route and a new audience. “I’ve never been more inspired and grateful to be a part of something that’s bigger than myself,” she said.
And she is clear that this story is not hers alone. It belongs to the full team — Elizabeth Hall, Megan Laughlin, Maureen Twohig, Andrea Vigil and Becky Watt — and the Parkinson’s community behind them. “It’s not about me, but I’m willing to be the one who raises my voice,” she said. “My why is them. My why is everybody who’s struggling with Parkinson’s, everyone who’s impacted.”
Looking ahead, Peter hopes the ripple that began with HPP becomes “an unstoppable wave of a movement,” helping people with Parkinson’s accomplish things they once only dreamed possible.
Learn more, meet the team and stay updated on HPP's next adventures.