Global Opportunities Unlimited: Building Community Through Adaptive Outdoor Access
GO Unlimited – Albuquerque, NM
Dustin Berg has spent a lifetime chasing adventure in New Mexico’s outdoor spaces. From camping trips, mountain bike rides, days on the water, and simply exploring new trails, getting outside is how he stays connected to the places and communities that make New Mexico home.
Before becoming the founder and Executive Director and CEO of Global Opportunities Unlimited, Dustin was studying Civil Engineering at UNM. A motorcycle crash left him with a lifechanging spinal cord injury. After months of rehabilitation and adapting to using a wheelchair, he returned to school and work, but found himself restless and longing for quality time spent outdoors.
“I found myself sitting at work, sitting in school, sitting at home… and it was like, what am I going to work for? What am I going to school for? I can’t even go and enjoy camping on the weekend or fishing or bike riding or any of the stuff I love to do,” Dustin recalled.
As he began connecting with other people living with spinal cord injuries, he realized his experience wasn’t unique. Many wanted to return to the outdoors but faced barriers that had little to do with determination and everything to do with access. Dustin wasn’t willing to be complicit, instead, he forged ahead down a new path.
In 2005, Berg and a few motivated friends started Global Opportunities Unlimited (GO Unlimited), a New Mexico-based nonprofit dedicated to ensuring people with disabilities could experience the freedom, confidence and community that come from spending time outdoors.
“At first, we just gathered up enough money to buy a few fishing poles and take the kids from the children’s hospital fishing.”
That first fishing trip planted the seed for what would become one of New Mexico’s leading adaptive outdoor recreation organizations. Among GO Unlimited’s offerings are peer support groups and one-on-one consulting with newly disabled individuals.
“There’s a lot of steps in between getting injured and going mountain biking in Angel Fire. We help get these individuals from the hospital back to living their life, going to school, going back to work, doing things with their family. These first steps are essential, and then you can start working on getting folks outside and acclimated to using adaptive gear.”
When New Mexico became the first state in the nation to establish the Outdoor Equity Fund in 2019, GO Unlimited was among its first grant recipients. The investment helped expand adaptive fishing and boating opportunities for disabled youth while demonstrating how outdoor recreation can improve health, build confidence and strengthen communities.
Since then, support of over $350,000 from the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division through the Outdoor Equity Fund, Trails+ Grant, and Outdoor Marketing Grant programs has helped GO Unlimited expand its reach while advancing accessibility across the state.
Today, GO Unlimited provides a lot more than adaptive outdoor experiences for youth and adults across the state. In recent year’s, the group has also started a professional consulting arm, helping to evaluate and make accessibility recommendations to communities, public land managers and trail developers using universal design principles.
Creating access doesn’t always require rebuilding an entire trail. “Sometimes it’s ten feet of trail that could be modified slightly to open up ten miles of trail,” said Dustin. That perspective is helping reshape how communities think about outdoor infrastructure. Small, thoughtful improvements can unlock opportunities for thousands of New Mexicans and visitors alike.
Beyond the physical barriers to outdoor access for disabled individuals are the cost barriers. Adaptive mountain bikes can cost upwards of $15,000 and a wheelchair-accessible van can exceed $90,000. Reaching an outdoor destination requires specialized transportation, equipment and planning that many people never have to consider. “That’s a freedom I think a lot of able-bodied people take for granted,” Dustin said.
Through equipment lending, community partnerships and grant-funded programming, GO Unlimited helps bridge that gap while connecting individuals with additional resources. Organizations like the Kelly Brush Foundation and the Challenged Athletes Foundation provide grants for adaptive sports equipment, and GO Unlimited regularly helps participants navigate those opportunities so they can continue enjoying the outdoors independently.
For Dustin, accessibility is not simply about compliance or accommodation. It’s about creating healthier communities, stronger local economies and giving every New Mexican the opportunity to experience the outdoors. “When we invest in access, the possibilities are great,” he said. “You end up with a healthier society that’s motivated, that’s working, that’s going to school, contributing to the community and participating in the economy instead of being left on the sidelines.”
After over two decades of work, GO Unlimited continues to prove that when barriers are removed, opportunity follows.
