I say this in the most positive way possible: there is nothing inherently novel about a pool player with disabilities. 

In the early 1900s, “Handless” George Sutton, with no arms below the elbows, competed against professionals like Willie Hoppe. Across the pond, the one-armed champion Arthur Goundrill was making famous trick shots. Today, Jason Ruggirello competes in the Mid-Michigan American Pool Players Association, though he’s legally blind. William DeYonker is a world-renowned trick shot player who was diagnosed with autism at age 4. Mohammad Ikram is an armless snooker sensation from Pakistan. And, of course, Shane Van Boening is one of the greatest living players, though he is legally deaf. 

All of these individuals are impressive and admirable, and to this list, we should add 52-year-old Chad “Shorty” McDaniel, who was born with brittle bone disease (Osteogenesis Imperfecta), diagnosed to have six weeks to live, and today competes in regional and national amateur pool championships.

But, that’s not what makes 96 Pounds of Dynamite, a 2026 documentary about Mr. McDaniel, so incredibly compelling. If the director Loren Goldfarb simply wanted to make a film about a disabled individual defying expectations by competing in pool, he could have chosen any number of people. In fact, billiards may be one of the only sports that has professional venues for disabled players, including the National Wheelchair Poolplayers Association (NWPA) and the World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS).

Rather, 96 Pounds of Dynamite entertains and inspires because Mr. McDaniel is truly 96 pounds of dynamite – his self-coined sobriquet! Whether seated in his 300-pound Big Bounder wheelchair, or “scooting” across the room, Mr. McDaniel crackles with energy, humor, irreverence, and moxie. From the film’s opening words – “I’ve had people stare at me my whole life” – Mr. McDaniel demands that his viewer abandon any kind of pity party and instead not only respect him, but even envy him for a life that brims with love, friendship, and accomplishment.

“People are going to naturally go, ‘Oh, the poor little handicapped guy.’ Once I open my mouth, I shut that shit down real quick…Napoleon complex, here. That ship sailed off the other way a long time ago,” quips Mr. McDaniel. “I don’t see difficulties the way you normies see them…Adapt and overcome, that’s who I am,” he shares, repeating a refrain that easily could have been the film’s alternate title. 

On the surface, 96 Pounds of Dynamite is about Mr. McDaniel’s pursuit to compete in the American Poolplayers Association (APA) Championship, the world’s largest amateur pool tournament, with almost $1 million of prize money. Held at the Westgate Resort in Las Vegas, the tournament has more than 3500 players competing. 

Mr. McDaniel first began shooting pool at age 11. “That pool table don’t care if you’re 2’8” or 6’8”, the game’s the same,” he explains. He plays with a custom bridge that “evolved as an engineering project.” It was originally something his father made for him with PVC pipe; today it is a ¾ inch metal conduit with 10-penny nails welded at various positions. A custom cue with a 30-inch fiber extension allows him to get the necessary reach across the table. 

Throughout the film, Mr. McDaniel’s shot–making varies between amazing and terrible. “Some days you’re the dog, some days you’re the hydrant,” he japes. (The film is overflowing with such memorable witticisms.) It’s initially fascinating to watch Mr. McDaniel shoot, and then it’s rather mundane, much like watching any amateur player. 

But, Mr. Goldfarb prudently doesn’t allow 96 Pounds of Dynamite to get overweighted by the billiards; in fact, pool is probably less than a third of the film’s 79-minute runtime.

Instead, Mr. Goldfarb expertly weaves in a detailed medical explanation of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI); a brief history of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and a return to rural Columbia, Mississippi, where Mr. McDaniel grew up and encountered discrimination first-hand, such as the school’s efforts to make him the trunk of the Christmas tree in the school play or to schedule the honor classes on the second floor, inaccessible because there was no elevator. Even his wheelchair became the topic of a lawsuit.

Along the way, we also meet Mr. McDaniel’s wife Allison (who also has OI), his mother Jensie, and his pool league friends. There is plenty of laughter and, sadly, plenty of loss concentrated in the short number of months when filming was underway.  

I won’t give away how the tournament concludes, but I will say 96 Pounds of Dynamite is a positive, upbeat movie that leaves no question that Mr. McDaniel “likes living life.” He “do[es] life.” May the rest of us follow his wheelchair tracks.

96 Pounds of Dynamite is now streaming on Amazon and AppleTV. It includes a cameo appearance by the “Striking Viking,” APA Ambassador Ewa Mataya Laurance, and is executive produced by Jeanette “Black Widow” Lee, who knows a thing or two about overcoming obstacles.