A TikTok influencer who was born without limbs, Briel Adams-Wheatley (@no_limbs_) is planning to recreate one of the most memorable moments from her first wedding, a spontaneous jump into a pool. This full-circle moment ties back to her lifelong love of water and the unique ways her family taught her to embrace it.
Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, Briel found the Farmington City Swimming Pool to be her personal hell and haven. Per People Magazine, her family grabbed season passes every summer for Briel because, as she explains, “I have no arms and legs, it’s harder for my body to stay cool and regulate heat.” As such, her body temperature is often high, sometimes to the point of passing out from overheating.
Her parents knew she needed the water, but they faced a challenge: “How is she gonna swim?” Briel recalls. Her dad, being the direct type, decided to skip the lessons and just threw her into the deep end one day. “I sank straight to the bottom,” Briel says, recounting the shock. Her dad quickly jumped in to grab her, telling her, “If you’re gonna be in the water, you need to know how to swim and protect yourself and float.”
“I sank straight to the bottom”
For the next two summers, her whole family chipped in, teaching her how to stay afloat and move in the water. This hands-on approach built up Briel’s confidence, leading her to do something truly amazing: conquer the high dive. She’d beg her brothers to take her up there, and she’d sit at the edge for what felt like an eternity, sometimes ten minutes.
The entire pool would literally freeze, watching her. She sometimes needed a little extra nudge, with her dad or brothers saying, “If you don’t jump right now, I’m coming up there to push you. There’s a whole line waiting.” That threat always got her to take the plunge.
That deep connection to water became a central part of her life. Which is how it became part of their wedding night.
These experiences have also fueled her confidence, which she now shares with a massive audience on social media. She frequently posts videos of herself swimming and openly discusses what life is like with a disability. One video of her and Adam having a cannonball contest absolutely blew up, racking up over 75 million views. Another clip of them just messing around in the water hit over two million.
“When I meet people, they sometimes talk down to me like I don’t understand them,” she says. Through her online presence, Briel wants to broaden people’s understanding of what disability truly looks like and how normal people like her are. Honestly, Briel’s reasons for wanting to be an influencer are far better than those who try to use the position to bully others for freebies or cause harm to animals in their care.
Published: Mar 30, 2026 09:15 am