Chris Waddell's Nametags Chat Podcast: Recent Episodes
Chris Waddell
Those who face the greatest adversity tell the most enlightening stories. Hall of Fame Paralympic athlete, the first “nearly unassisted” paraplegic to summit Mt Kilimanjaro and the founder of One Revolution Foundation Chris Waddell chats with members of the adaptive community regarding some of life’s most enduring questions: am I a victim or a survivor, is the situation overwhelming or a challenge, am I alone or part of a team and do I have one strategy or many? One Revolution’s Nametags Educational Program provides a jumping off point for people who live a life of courage, fulfilment and purpose that defies many.
Zach Miller is a 24yr old snowboarder who was born with Left Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. He discovered snowboarding through his treatment at Children’s Hospital Colorado, and has been a member of the US Parasnowboard Team since 2018. He is a 2022 Paralympian, 2-time World Champion, and avid enthusiast of motorcycles and video games.
As an Australian sporting legend, Katrina Webb is no stranger to a Gold medal podium or a star-lit stage. She has received awards and medals most athletes only dream about. Despite this success, her journey hasn’t always been easy.
Paralympic Gold Medalist & Wheelchair Softball and Basketball Champion on the Nametags Chat Podcast with Chris Waddell.
I am a 38 year old Adaptive Athlete, Professional Monoskier, TeamUSA member, World Cup Ski Racer, USA National Alpine Ski team member and 2022 US Paralympic Ski team member -Big Sky resort Athlete Ambassador - I'm also one of only a few Sit skier to ski Big Sky’s Big Couloir and Many first sit-ski descents, Gullies 2,3, Summit Direct, and Lower Pinnacles at Big Sky as well as first descents of Jaws 3D, Slushmans Ravine and Pat’s Chute at Bridger Bowl. Some of my recent projects have been featured in Outsideonline.com (Outside Magazine), Freeskier mag, Teton Gravity Research, Snowbrains, Dailymotion, Powder magazine interview and others. 8 years ago, I was paralyzed as a passenger in a car crash in the Gallatin Canyon. It was a challenging time for myself, my wife and our 3-year-old twins. After 2 months of rehab, I returned home to Bozeman. 4 weeks later I was learning to monoski at Big Sky.
Egyptian wheelchair racer now living and training in the US. Hoda shares her journey to coming to the US to train and compete and what the future holds for her!
Dan is a co-founder and President of Team See Possibilities, a non-profit organization which empowers young people with vision loss to thrive by providing scholarship and mentorship to high achieving college students who are vision impaired. He also serves as chairman of the board of Success Beyond Sight, a nonprofit corporation that helps individuals who are blind or have low vision to advance professionally and fully engage in community life by eliminating barriers to their equal opportunity for success.
Dan is a member of and co-founded Team Sea to See which was comprised of four blind cyclists riding tandem bicycles in 2018 Race Across America, known as the toughest bike race in the world. They completed the race in an amazing 7 days, 15 hours, and 3 minutes. Team Sea to See is now producing a documentary on the project with Sterling Light Films.
Dan also enjoys taking on epic endurance challenges around the world, challenging the perception of what a person with vision loss is capable of achieving. Dan was the first blind runner to complete the 46 mile rim to rim to rim run across the Grand Canyon and back, and has subsequently run over a dozen marathons, Ironman triathlons, as well as trail-ultramarathons in South America, Africa, Asia and New Zealand.
When motivational speaker Mike Schlappi takes the floor, a dazzling smile greets you. Then you notice the wheelchair. If ever a man was defined by what he can do instead of what he cannot do, it's Gold Medalist and Author Mike Schlappi. At the age of 14, Mike was an outstanding athlete when a gunshot to the chest at point-blank range challenged his dreams. He would never walk again. After months of rigorous physical therapy, he began playing basketball from his wheelchair and went on to become a standout athlete.
Lacey Henderson is an alternate for the Tokyo Paralympics. She was on the bubble for Rio too, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t make some noise if she gets there. She’s ready to go. Let’s see if she gets the chance. She started to pole vault on a bet from her father, which led to long jumping on the highest level.
Ann Cody is Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the State Department, but she was also one of the top wheelchair athletes for years. She’s been shaping this world one way or another since the ‘70’s.
Bob is a US Army veteran and served from 1976-1978 when he sustained a spinal cord injury in an automobile accident. Post-injury he moved to California and earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism from California State University, Long Beach. As an athlete, he twice won the Los Angeles Marathon and represented the United States at the Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea and again in Atlanta, GA. Bob hosted a long-running TV show, “In Pursuit,” on ESPN which highlighted a wide variety of disabled sports and athletes. Bob loves being outdoors doing activities such as handcycling, swimming, and gardening in his backyard.
Josh George moves fast. At the age of four he traded in walking for rolling and then turned those wheels into wings, constantly striving to move faster. Josh has won five Paralympic medals, is a six-time world champion, world record holder, and has won multiple major marathons. Along the way he has become a sought after motivational speaker, and an entrepreneur. In his journey Josh spreads the message of inclusivity, maximizing your potential, and, above all else, the idea that we must keep moving fast.
Dana lost her leg to cancer, but leaving her abusive marriage was more difficult than cancer recovery and amputation. An educator at heart, she’s shifted to empower others to extract themselves from abusive relationships. Those efforts go well beyond words as she recently finished her first marathon.
Kendall Gretsch is not one to go to sleep without solving the problem. In Tokyo, she solved a math problem of epic proportions to make up four minutes and four seconds to win by a half a chair length. That she won shouldn’t be surprising, she’s already won numerous gold medals in her second sport of cross-country skiing because originally her class couldn’t compete in the triathlon.
Have you ever heard of a blind downhill mountain bike racer? Bobby has raced every major downhill mountain bike race, broken more bones than Evil Knievel, battled cancer multiple times, kidney transplants and still rides on like a legend.
Ray is the kind of guy who solves problems. In his first Paralympic Games, he lined up next to the fastest starter in the world for the 100 meters. Not wanting the other guy’s start to affect his race, he closed his right eye so he couldn’t see him. It ended in his first gold medal.
Rob Balucas is an ‘every-man joe’ who was thrust into extraordinary circumstances in 2015 when a cycling accident rendered him paraplegic. At the time he was training for his first half IRONMAN triathlon the very next weekend. He vowed to return and raced in 3 sprint-distance triathlons as a paratriathlete that following year. Since then he’s competed in 6 half IRONMANs, including the 2019 half IRONMAN World Championships in France. After qualifying, but delayed by 2 years of COVID, his next goal is to cross the finish line at triathlon’s biggest stage - the Kona (full) IRONMAN World Championship - this coming October 2022. Outside of paratriathlon, Rob resides in Southern California with his partner, Erika, and their dog Chloe. He is founder and Chief Creative Catalyst at babaLucas Creative, serving the branding and online marketing needs of small businesses and nonprofits.
David Kiley, aka DK, began his love affair with basketball straight out of the womb. Raised in Costa Mesa in SoCal, DK played the sport from morning to evening on the hoop his dad hung from the garage roof or on any outdoor court that he could walk or ride his bike to. Playing and practicing solo and alone was a habit he enjoyed and while dreaming of the time he'd possibly be playing at UCLA or being a pro with the Lakers. However, spinal cord injury rocked his world at this time while he was inner tubing in Southern California mountains at Big Bear. Devastated, DK entered rehabilitation at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, in Downey, CA. What would follow over the years would be playing for the USA in four different decades winning 9 Paralympic Gold Medals, 2 Silvers and 2 Bronze in three different sports i.e. Basketball, Track and Alpine Skiing. 8 NWBA National Championships and 6 MVPs (the most won by a player) World Championships and much more that will be left unsaid. David Kiley was also the first wheelchair athlete to appear in Sports Illustrated and to his joy, he was pictured with his two children Justin and Danielle. Married to a loving and supportive wife, Sandy, DK is now a grandfather, a role he embraces like no other and feels "life couldn’t get any better."
Marlon Shirley was the first amputee sprinter under 11 seconds for the hundred meters. He stood on top of the world with gold in 2000 and 2004, but his story of being the son of a prostitute and a pimp, of running with gangs, of adoptinon, of breaking the Paralympic high jump record before he even knew what the Paralympics were and the story of redemption through sport and the love of his family.
Two-time Paralympian Nick Catanzarite took the 2007-2008 season off to do something that he would consider to be harder than ski racing - his first year of law school. But, Catanzarite got right back on the ski circuit in spring 2009 and competed at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Shams Aalam has a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering & MBA in HR & Operations. Shams is a world record holder for longest open sea swimming by paraplegic person, an international gold medalist para swimmer & was awarded best emerging leader in disability sports & sports diplomacy by U.S. department of state global sports mentoring program 2018. Shams has been interviewed by Kiran Rai " 300 most influential people in Asia 2020" published by the New York press news agency & Role Model Awarded by Ministry of Social Welfare Department Government of Bihar. Shams is co-founder of Whitemint media and has delivered various TEDx talk & motivational speeches in various schools, colleges, universities and corporates as chief guest & keynote speaker on various occasions.
Roy Tuscany is the co-founder of High Fives Foundation which has helped over 150 athletes recover from paralyzing injuries. In 2006, he suffered a devastating spinal cord injury while skiing that left his lower body paralyzed. Instead of realizing his dream of becoming a world-class pro skier, he had to relearn how to walk. But two years later, he was able to step into skis equipped with outriggers.
Roderick has seen a lot in his young life. He has the wisdom of someone far older, but he also has the little kid enthusiasm as he tells the story of how his good bud and roommate Rudy Garcia-Tolson hooked him on swimming when he let Roderick ride on his back as Rudy swam in a hotel pool. Fear of the water soon became a desire to faster and empower others the way that Rudy had empowered him.
Cheri Blauwet is an American physician and Paralympic wheelchair racer. She is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, is Assistant Professor of PM&R at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Ted Fay joins us to explain the often misunderstood "Factor System". A former Paralympic (1980 – 1991) and Olympic (1988) coach and international cross country ski official (1988 – 2010), Dr. Fay has an extensive background in international sport including being active in the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Fay is recognized as an international expert on issues related to the integration and inclusion of athletes with a disability in mainstream sport
Bob started skiing in Wisconsin in 1968 after watching Jean Claude Killy win all three gold medals in the Grenoble Olympics. “He was so cool, I have to try that”. Skied pro moguls and performed in ski shows, both indoors, and outdoors... Became a stuntman for Hot Dog The Movie.
Ryan Baker is a former Paralympic Ski Racer and current Lacrosse player. As founder of Wheelchair LaCrosse USA Ryan is pioneering the game and spreading awareness for spinal cord injury survivors through his work at Twisted Spine. Check it out!
He inspires millions of people across the globe with his universal message of living life on your own terms and building the framework for self-acceptance. Born with an extremely rare form of dwarfism (metatropic dysplasia), Brandon has turned his life experience of suffering, isolation, and victimhood into empowerment, impact and influence.
Artemis Joukowsky III is an American director, author, producer and disabilities activist. He is best known for his work on the documentary films Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War, Carbon Nation and more. Artemis is also an aspiring paralympian!
What's next for Dianne Vitkus? After an unfortunate accident Dianne is determined to rehab and is hopeful for the future.
As a cancer survivor, he races for all those who cannot...His credits his mother as the most influential person in his life and career.
Was born without her left hand and forearm...After her time as a DI cross country and track and field athlete, she quickly became involved in the adaptive sports community where she not only volunteered as a limb-different coach, but also began training in track and field for the Paralympic Games...Aravich caught the attention of a U.S. Paralympic Nordic Ski coach who invited her to a training camp in 2019, which sparked her training for the Paralympic Winter Games.
Lera was born in Saratov, Russia with a congenital condition called Arthrogryposis of the lower extremities. Lera was adopted and came to the U.S. in 2005. In addition to Para Nordic Skiing and Biathlon, Lera has been actively training and competing in sled hockey as a member of USA Hockey Women’s Sled Development Team and San Diego Ducks Sled Hockey team.
He competed at the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 for Serbia, to become the first ever winter Paralympian in Serbian history...In 2010 he was granted his U.S. citizenship, and he was named a member of the U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing National Team beginning in 2012...He competed at the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 for Team USA.
A Fascinating look into the evolution of Wheelchair racing technology. Chris Peterson is President/Co-Owner of Carbonbike USA Founder of Top End Wheelchair Sports 1987. Market leader in product design for challenged athletes dedicated handcyclists.
After a base jumping accident Jay Rawe picked up sit skiing. Now he's skiing big lines, doing back flips and even ripping the terrain park. This is his incredible story.
As Jen Lee says, he was "Made in Taiwan" but his family emigrated to the US at 8 years old. Jen joined the United States Army at 18 yrs old, then lost his left leg above the knee after injuring it in a motorcycle accident in 2009 He was introduced to sled hockey by “Operation Comfort,” an organization dedicated to assisting injured U.S. service personnel at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas .
Danelle and Rob joined us prior to Beijing. Turns out Danelle became a flag bearer for the US Team.
Jesper Pedersen won 4 gold medals in Beijing. Before he departed, we had him on the show to share his story and his approach to the Beijing 2022 Paralympics.
Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen was serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009 when he stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) and was wounded in the explosion. Dan was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat.
4-Time Paralympian, 2 x Silver Paralympic Silver Medalist, and 3 x Gold Medalist X-Games Tyler Walker joins us on Nametags Chat! Walker was born with lumbar sacral agenesis, a condition that resulted in his spine missing after the first vertebra; he had both legs amputated at the knee at age four...He grew up skiing in adaptive programs at Waterville Valley and Loon Mountain, eventually joining the New England Disabled Ski Team. At just 19, he was the world cup overall runner-up for giant slalom. A year later, he earned his first trip to the Paralympic Winter Games and captured the giant slalom overall world cup title.
Tyler Carter aka "Captain America" talks about his role at the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, his Paralympic Journey in Alpine Skiing.
Nico Calabria is the captain of the U.S. Men's Amputee Soccer Team and a lifelong amputee. Being born with one leg and hip, Nico learned to walk on a prosthetic but soon learned that forearm crutches would offer greater mobility. This turned out to be a lucky coincidence, as amputee soccer is played entirely on forearm crutches. Starting around five years old, Nico began playing soccer and a handful of other sports with his able-bodied peers. Into his high school years, Nico competed on the Concord Carlisle Varsity Soccer Team in Concord, MA, and also placed third in the state in wrestling. After playing in his first amputee soccer match against Mexico in 2011, Nico soon rose to the rank of captain and has led the team to top twenty finishes at the last two World Cups. With 17 international goals, Nico is the all-time leading goal scorer for the United States. Today, Nico teaches high school history and coaches high school wrestling and soccer. He also hopes to build a regional amputee soccer team in the Boston area to support the growth of a youth amputee soccer program in the United States.
Mike Shultz lost his leg in a Snowmobile SnoCross event. From there he became a 10x X Games Medalist, ESPY Winner, Gold Medalist Paralympian and Flag Bearer in 2018 PeongChang games, and an innovative Prosthetic engineer. Oh yeah he was also voted Top 10 Outstanding People!
Paul's been a success in skiing, cycling, triathlon and hockey, but if he hadn't lost his leg in a car accident he says he probably just would have been a jerk (he might have phrased it differently)
For Bert, whether racing wheelchairs or selling medical supplies, it's always been about the story, and he does it as well as anyone.
Sarah Rejman was our liaison when we climbed Kilimanjaro. She taught me almost everything I know about Tanzania and Africa.
After taking a clinic with Geoff, my mother said that she just liked the way that he explained the sport.
When you talk with Lisa Franks, you realize that you just want to hang out with her and do what she does. She’s a Paralympic Track Champion, who broke World Records. She’s also played on the Canadian National Wheelchair Basketball Team as a quadraplegic. She’s an engineer. But what I think is most cool is that she will pack up her Honda Element for weeks worth of adventures, new friends and new sports.
2 x Paralympic Silver Medalist and 5 x World Champion Monica Bascio joins us on Nametags Chat. You think hand cycling is hard ... try Nordic Sit Skiing!
With 90,000 people in the stands for the 400 meter Finals in Beijing, Chelsea McClammer’s coach worried about her fourteen year old athlete, but when the camera panned to Chelsea she kissed her gloves and smiled for all to see. She’s always been totally calm until the gun goes off. If it stops being fun, that’s when she’ll stop competing. There’s no moment too big.
Sam Grewe just finished his first week of Med School at the University of Michigan and he’s headed to Tokyo to compete for gold in the high jump in two more weeks. He lost his leg above the knee to rare bone cancer when he was twelve and got adopted by the 2012 Notre Dame Football Team that went to the National Championship Game while he was still in treatment. Standing on the sidelines was the only thing that let him forget the difficulty of his situation even if he had to carry ten pounds of IV Treatment in his backpack. Now he’s looking to jump over 6’3” at the Paralympics.
Susannah Scaroni will push a racing wheelchair the rest of her life if she has a choice. Her first two years of college, before she started at the University of Illinois, she’d just go out to look at the scenery and to meditate without regard to speed or distance. One of her professors suggested she use “map my ride,” which revealed she was doing about 22 miles a day. Susannah prefers the purity of pushing herself as hard as she can, but in Tokyo she will pit her strengths against the rest of the world.
Brittni Mason has been fast since she finished fifth in the country as an 11 year old. She was the second fastest sixty meter runner in the MAC Conference and didn’t know anything about the Paralympics. Now the 100 meter World Champion and former Eastern Michigan Scholarship Athlete has her sights on 100 and 200 meter gold in Tokyo.
Brian Siemann is an Access Specialist. He helps students at the University of Illinois find creative solutions to challenging academic life. He’s also doing whatever it takes to avoid being fourth in the 800 again at the Paralympics. It was a painful .01 seconds in Rio. But no matter how it turns out, he knows his dogs Gambit and Ace Michael will love him when he returns home.
Taleah has jumped further in practice than she ever has in competition. She doesn’t need the fans to push her further. That might be a huge benefit in Tokyo because there won’t be anyone in the stands. And, if all the pieces come together she might just really fly.
Kelsey had no intention of racing wheelchairs and thought it a bit strange that University of Illinois coach Adam Bleakney told her she had long arms. When she started racing she understood that those long arms were an asset--an asset that has taken her to two Paralympic Games. She’ll be looking to put them to good use in Tokyo.
Femita broke a 15 year old record in the 100 meters at Trails, but she didn’t even want to go to the ones for Rio. It sounded too expensive and she could just run at a local meet instead. Her coach’s urging and her naivety brought her to sixth in 2016--on a jogging leg. She might not be as naive this time--and she’s not running on a jogging leg anymore.
Listen to see if you believe Erik’s story that Kym only dated him because he had a car and she couldn’t drive because she’s visually impaired. They’re husband and wife now and both headed to the Paralympics in Tokyo. This was a funny conversation from their room at the Training Center in Chula Vista.
ThatBeatriz Hatztrains with the Olympic Heptathletes shouldn’t be surprising even though her 100 meter, 200 meter and long jump only comprise three of the heptathlon’s seven events. When you meet and watch her, you can’t help but come away with the feeling that she’s tough and won’t be denied. It’s only fitting that her preparation follows those who will compete in track and field’s most grueling event. She missed the 100 meter win at Trials by .02 and won the 200. I wouldn’t bet against her in Tokyo.
At the Track and Field Trials for Tokyo when most athletes were trying to achieve a mark as close to the A-Standard as possible, Justin broke the World Record removing all doubt that he’d be on the team. Becoming a World Record Holder is a long way from getting shot in a McDonald’s parking lot and then having the shooter say at the trial, “Enjoy your wheelchair.” Justin’s enjoying the journey and perfecting his craft. He might soon be able to add Paralympic Champion to the resume of his young career.
Hunter was a Paralympic silver and bronze medalist while still in high school. He’s become a full-fledged star on the world stage, forgoing his season with Arkansas because of the NCAA’s rules at the time against athletes making money from their likeness. He’s professional now and has pointed his season toward the Paralympics. It will be exciting to see just how fast he can go.
A few things blew me away in my talk with Noelle: she hated to run (I don’t think she does anymore, but you’ll have to listen to find out), she returned to play Division I lacrosse after losing her leg above the knee, she did countless agility drills in practice, which might well have set her up for success in the Paralympics, and she beat the best person in the world in her very first meet (when she wasn’t even sure where the start and finish lines were on the track the day before).
During this chat, we had probably the most profound moment we’ve had in the more than a year of doing these when Cheri recounted the story of why she got back in the sport. I met Cheri back in 1996 when she was a nineteen year old kid. Twenty-five years later, the mother of two girls, I root for her because she’s still trying to go fast--and she’s still doing it.
Sam has an amazing ability to endure pain. It’s caused her problems in the past when she has worn out joints by pushing too far, but now she’s getting strategic about her bike set-up and protecting her body. Her ability to climb into the “pain cave,” makes her one to watch in Tokyo.
Rudy has been a badass from the time he was little running on blades and swimming like a fish, to winning medals and breaking World Records at the Paralympics, but during the COVID lockdown, in preparation for Tokyo, he trained in David Duchovny’s pool. Find out how all that shook down.
Oksana (pronounced Oak-sana) will be the most exciting person you meet today. You won’t be able to resist her sheer joy. Despite a difficult past that started with an abusive orphanage, she demonstrates the inner strength we all hope we possess. A nordic skier in the winter, she’ll put that inner strength on display this summer handcycling for Gold.
When you talk to Ezra Frech you’d have no idea that he’s trying to be the youngest male Paralympic Track and Field athlete ever. He’s witty, insightful, engaging, missing one leg above the knee, but could jump over most people and recently turned sixteen.
Standing only 4' 9" Scout Bassette has done some really BIG things. This includes being an American record holder, a world record holder, she's run 2 marathons and was in ESPN's the body issue.
Amanda loves to organize. She’s also smart, funny and really fast. This past year she landed her dream job as the Archivist and Collections Curator at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Blind Long Jump World Recorder Holder Lex Gillette’s motto is, “No need for sight when you have vision.” I think that says it all. We’ll even talk about the time he missed the pit. Join us to hear his vision.
Sarah Will retired after sweeping four gold medals in all four alpine disciplines (downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom) at Salt Lake City. She was nominated for an ESPY Award as Best Athlete with a Disability and worked as a sports commentator at the Olympic Winter Games. She is an advocate for accessibility, working to make her community a more accessible place for disabled individuals.
From the Roosevelt Projects of Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, where he lost his leg in a random street shooting, to three-time Paralymian and Four-time National Champion skier. Ralph Green graduated cum laude and has his MBA. He is now a Market Sales Manager for Frito-Lay in the greater Seattle area.
3x Paralympian
4x National Champion
Was starting QB at 16 when he got shot
Was in the hospital for 6½ months
His mother kept him on the straight and narrow
I wanted to know why Jason seemed to like it better the scarier the situation. He said that if everyone was miserable and he could find a way to be happy, he had an advantage. Check it out.
Kevin Bramble is an American disabled ski racer, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist in Alpine skiing, freeskier, and monoski designer/builder from the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey, United States. He competes as a monoskier in the LW 12-1 class and is known as a "speed specialist," preferring to compete in downhill and super G.
George Sansonetis brought a passion and a commitment to adaptive skiing that was like few others. I was not convinced that he was in control most of the time, but that didn’t seem to bother him at all.
Ravi Drugan scored his first World Cup podium with a bronze in the first Slalom in Leogang, Austria. I had a chance to talk with him about his training, this crazy year of competition and his hopes for Beijing 2022 before he left.
That Brenna Huckaby was in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue makes perfect sense. She’s defining what’s beautiful as a Paralympic gold medal winning snowboarder and as a woman and an amputee. She’s bold. She’s thoughtful. And she’s onpoint. Check it out.
Candace Cable competed in three-sports, winning twelve medals over nine Paralympic Games. She was the first woman to medal in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, won the Boston Marathon six times and the first four Los Angeles Marathons. She’s a recent inductee to the US Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame and has an amazing story.
Learn how the former professional skateboarder is now taking Paralympic Snowboarding by storm and raising his daughter Skylar.
After a diving accident had left Matt paralyzed he discovered a whole new world in Adaptive Sports. This included downhill mountain biking, hand cycling, wake boarding, scuba diving and skiing! Matt is a professional ski instructor and the founder of Adaptive Adventures, a progressive year round sports program for adaptive athletes.
Monica set Handcycling standards and finished on top as few can. She wracked up medals and podiums in her second sport as few do in their first. Add that she's a mom and a strong advocate for athletes within the organizing bodies. And she's just about to finish her MBA.
Mike stood on the podium with his teammates at the Sochi Paralympics as part of an epic US sweep of the inaugural Snowboardcross. It was a dream realized, but Mike had had to fight addiction to pain killers and alcohol to get there. His fights to get clean and reach the top of his sport inspire his continued fight to be a great husband, dad, coach, woodworking artist and mentor for so many.
The 56-minute film of Bobby's Downieville Race, The Way Bobby Sees It. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8YGDTagWrE&t=1761s
This film gives you a sense of what Bobby really sees. I waited for the crash the whole time.
www.rideblindracing.com