Tilly Lockey is a remarkable young British influencer and innovator, best known for wearing 3D‑printed bionic arms from Open Bionics. Born on 7 October 2005 in County Durham, she contracted meningococcal septicaemia at just fifteen months old. Despite being given virtually no chance of survival, she not only lived but grew up without both forearms and several toes. Her mother made her a promise one day she would have hands again—and true to her word, Tilly became an ambassador, co‑developer and public face of the Hero Arm project, beginning around age eight.

In place of conventional prosthetics, Tilly opted for bold and expressive bionic technology. She rejected early silicone limbs that mimicked human skin, instead choosing the Hero Arm for its mechanical design and colourful swappable covers, which she views as fashion accessories. Tilly has described her limb difference not as a limitation but as “a superpower”, saying she embraces being visibly different and wants people to be inspired by that distinctiveness. Her arms have given her everyday independence—enabling gestures like thumbs‑up, peace signs, and even holding a microphone or gaming controller—and they fuel her creative outputs.

Beyond her bionic advocacy, Tilly is a multi‑talented creator. She shares makeup tutorials and style content, works as a radio presenter, hosts drive‑time shows, and even launched into music as a “bionic pop artist” with singles such as “Porcelain”. She was the winner of CBBC’s singing competition Got What It Takes? in 2021 and has performed at high‑profile events, including BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, where she opened for Ed Sheeran in front of 20,000 people. Her public speaking spans conferences from AI for Good to summits with the Dalai Lama, focusing on technology, motivation, empowerment and inclusion.

More recently at age 19, Tilly has upgraded to the Hero PRO—the world’s most advanced wireless bionic arm capable of detached motion control—demonstrating sci‑fi‑style autonomy, and even performing “hand crawling” gestures in press appearances. She continues to evolve her platform by trialling the newest prosthetic innovations, giving feedback to engineers, speaking worldwide, and working to inspire others to embrace difference. Her vision: a future where bionic limbs are both functional and fashionable for everyone.