Upon retiring from the Hashin Tigers of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, James Wa's ex-ballplayer father relocated to San Diego so he could raise a family. Wa attended Rancho Bernardo High School where he excelled at baseball and track, and his quickness and agility propelled him to athletic stardom at Louisiana State University. But after a car was blindsided by a drunken driver, Wa lost his legs and his dreams of becoming a professional athlete were shattered. Becoming an engineer, he developed the Calamity-Brand Cheetah prosthetic legs, which made him a millionaire by age 22.