As a performer with Nitro Circus, the 21-year-old spends his days performing death-defying stunts, to the cheers of countless fans.

But unlike his fellow action stars, Fotheringham, who was born with spina bifida, a defect of the spinal cord, performs his stunts in a wheelchair.

It has been an amazing journey for the Las Vegas native, who has refused to let his wheelchair define him.

"I've never felt like I'm disabled," said Fotheringham, who does not have any use of his legs. "When I was young, I was on crutches a lot more and if my friends wanted to go to the convenience store, I would ditch my crutches and grab my wheelchair because it was easier.

"I would feel more disabled if I didn't have a wheelchair."

Fotheringham first experienced the thrill of action sports at the age of 8, when he "dropped in" at a skate park with his brother. Despite crashing a few times, Fotheringham realised he could just "roll away from it".

He honed his skills at skate parks, challenging himself to try different tricks and flips.

In 2009, Nitro Circus came calling and after only one jump, Aaron was accepted into the show.

"They invited me to come out and practise," Fotheringham said. "And when I hit the ramp, they said, 'you're in'."

For Fotheringham, one of the highlights of his career has been his first forward flip, which he successfully performed in New Zealand in 2011.

He relishes the opportunity to work with his heroes, such as pro BMX rider Chad Kagy, whom he looked up to as a boy, and gain advice from Nitro Circus founder Travis Pastrana.

"I always dreamed of being a pro skate boarder or a pro BMX rider," Fotheringham said. "I realised I was able to do it on my wheelchair.

"All those dreams have come true, but they're a lot better than what I imagined."

But for Fotheringham, the most amazing part of his job is the chance to challenge society's perception of people in wheelchairs.

"I just want people to see the wheelchair as something fun," he said. "It's always negative, [the idea that] you're in a wheelchair, you can't do anything.

"I want to be able to change the stereotype."

While he admits that the tricks and stunts in Nitro Circus can sometimes be daunting to perform, Fotheringham believes overcoming challenges is an important part of life, wheelchair or not.

"It would be fun if you weren't scared," he said of the job. "If [only] people could just see - and not just people in chairs - that obstacles are mostly in your mind.

"But it's definitely not boring going down that ramp."

Nitro Circus Live performs at Wollongong's WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night. For tickets go online to nitrocircuslive.com.