Exo suits: The next step in human evolution?

In the space of four years, Rajiv Odhavji has gone from climbing mountains to overcoming obstacles of an entirely different kind.

The Sydney resident's life was turned upside down in 2017, when he was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).

"I noticed it when I couldn't really walk properly one day, I felt like I had no brakes," Rajiv said.

"What I have is one of the rarer types of MS. I have over 120 lesions on my brain and eight on my spine. Basically, I have a really crappy type of MS."

As part of his physio, Rajiv has been working with the team at Royal Rehab and one of their specialist pieces of equipment – the EksoNR robotic exoskeleton.

According to Rajiv, the exoskeleton is "really, really, really, freakin' cool".

"There's a video of me on my Instagram in the Ekso, with the 'Terminator' music playing," he said, laughing.

"You feel like an android, like this is the next step in human evolution.

"What's so amazing about this is that I can start the movement in the Ekso myself. It's up to me to begin and help my legs along.

"And each time, it's tailored to your specific movement, so it tells you if your leg isn't lifting high enough for example."

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Without private hospitals, Rajiv said he would never have been able to use the EksoNR.

"It's crazy there aren't more of these machines in Australia," he said.

"There's 300 clinics in the US where you can access this technology, but here there's only one. And you know, without private hospitals, I wouldn't be able to access this tech at all."

Rajiv is coping with his MS and talking about his rehab journey on his podcast, called Multiple Stories.

"With the podcast, I started it because I wanted to help other people," he said.

"I know what that fear is like when you're diagnosed – to go home and just feel your whole world vibrating around you.

"If people listen to me and are inspired, or even if they think 'wow this guy is way worse than me', then if that makes them feel better, that's great.

"Looking back at my symptoms, I've probably had MS since around 2005. And if I can climb Mt Fuji when I had this disease and didn't even know it, and now to talk about it with other people, I just hope that's inspiring."

Read more: Robot suit helps Mum, 77, 'regain her life'

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