BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A Tampa Bay area organization is making it possible for people with disabilities to hunt from a distinct vantage point.

Independence Hunting Towers create solar powered elevator lifts that are handicap accessible. It’s changing the realm of possibility for accessing hunting.

“When I first saw it, my jaw just dropped,” Ryan Kress said.

For Kress, there’s a sense of freedom when he goes to his backyard. A sense of independence that comes from a hunting tower.

“The ability to come out and hunt by myself without the reliance of depending on someone else. The independence that it gives me, and it’s going to give so many other disabled people — it’s really just invaluable,” he said.

Kress, who contracted polio at 2-months-old, has been disabled his entire life. What may seem like a setback has only added fuel to his passion for proving otherwise.

A big help has been from Independence Hunting Towers, co-created by Wade Sutherlin.

“There are a lot of obstructions to shoot around in a hunting scenario,” Sutherlin said. “Getting up off of the ground makes a big difference.”

The idea came to Sutherlin thanks to his background in elevators and some brainstorming with his business partner.

“There really is a demand for something like this to get hunters and, not just hunters but, maybe parks and recreation could use something like this to get towers out there,” said Sutherlin. “Stairs and ramps are so expensive to get people up higher off the ground for photographic opportunities or just recreation.”

And it’s helping offer a new outlook on life for Kress.

“When I’m up here, everything else just kind of disappears,” said Kress. “I’m not thinking about my disability. I’m not thinking about anything else in life, really. I’m just out here enjoying nature. It’s an unbelievable feeling and so freeing.”

Offering freedom to enjoy an activity that once seemed impossible.

Sutherlin said they currently offer five-foot hunting towers. They are hoping to construct their first ten-foot tower soon.