No Barriers

https://www.instagram.com/jake.skis/ VIDEO: Invisible Mountains: Jacob Smith, Blind Skier (Skiing the Big Couloir)

Many entrepreneurs say that starting a business is something they always felt destined to do. Then there are people who never in a million years thought they’d be running their own business, but, lo and behold, somehow the opportunity found them. The ‘accidental’ entrepreneur some might call themselves. Meet Tiffany Fixter. She founded The Brewability Lab, and what’s interesting is not only her path there, but the entrepreneurial journey, filled with challenges and adversity, that she is still smack in the middle of right now. Unique to this business are its employees. Disabled, abled, neurodiverse, you name it… bottom line, great beer and food create by people who’ve traditionally seen very limited career options. This inclusive workplace Tiffany is creating is prepping its employees for more opportunities beyond. How does she do that? How does she handle the skeptics? Was she destined for this journey or was it an accident? Hang around and find out.

Penny Melville Brown's passion is cooking. However, for a career she chose the Royal Navy. Yes she’s British. During her service in the Royal Navy she became the first female barrister there; it’s a type of lawyer, the ones that wear those wigs. Then as it happened to all of our guests on this podcast, she had a life altering moment. In Penny’s case, she lost her sight and had to leave her 20-year career with the Navy. The next chapter of her life get’s real interesting. With an eye towards her cooking roots, she sets her mind on a culinary focused worldwide journey to learn and teach the concepts of baking blind. In the process she’s shattered assumptions about the capabilities of blind chefs. In this episode we jump from the Australian outback, to the streets of Paris, to a small Malawian village, and more.

SAM'S SOCIALS: Instagram - BionicKick VIDEO: Muay Thai and Me WEBSITE: https://www.samanthatokita.com/

Polar adventurer, expedition guide, dog musher and educator, Eric Larsen has spent the past 15 years of his life traveling in some of the most remote and wild places left on earth. He traversed 550 miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean to get to the North Pole. That wasn’t enough, so off he went to the South Pole. 600 frozen miles and 41 days later he made it. Then back to the North Pole in winter, then up to the top of Mt. Everest… shall I go on? The curveball arrived. Did these journeys of isolation and endurance prepare him for the ultimate battle; one for survival in the face of an unexpected cancer diagnosis? In this episode Larsen's shares his honest and thoughtful insights; honed from the mental gymnastics practiced during the the isolation experienced in expanses of snow and ice.

To kick off 2023 we want to take a trip down memory lane from 2022. This episode showcases some of our favorite highlights from guests we spoke to in 2022. Enjoy! Listen to the full episodes referenced in this episode. EPISODE 136: 500 MPH WITH FORMER BLUE ANGELS PILOT JOHN FOLEY EPISODE 148: OVERCOMING TRAGEDY WITH SEBASTIAN “ZUKO” CARRASCO EPISODE 152: MINDSETS WITH MATT LEWIS, NAVY SEAL AND COO EPISODE 159: LONNIE BEDWELL FEAR SLAYER EPISODE 161: DR> HOBY WEDLER AND HIS SUPER SENSES EPISODE 162: SEEING SILENCE WITH PETER MCBRIDE

A long or arduous search for something. The act of seeking. The idea of a quest is littered throughout history with 1000s of famous examples. Right now? humans want to go to mars AND return to the moon. The quest to solve climate or energy crisis is happening in real time. What do these have to do with the… Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition …. the life of the famous Apache leader Geron-imo …a 16th century explorer’s death defying navigation of the Amazon … or the The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett. In the words of our guest today, Buddy Levy, who’s authored books with those titles, he says, “Humankind’s quest for knowledge and understanding has set many a historical precedent. And these historical models provide a sort of connective tissue for today’s innovators and thought leaders who will show us the way to do the things we need to do in the future to survive on this big rock.”

Patrick Kane needed a prothetic arm. Would he rather have one that looked quite natural, with real looking skin or one that was ‘machine beautiful’ with exposed titanium, carbon fiber, alloys, and the like. . Prosthetics have been around for 1000s of years. They’ve been found in Egyptian tombs. There’s a story about a German soldier who lost his arm in war, but that didn’t stop him from returning to the battlefield. He had a suit of armor made with a metal hand on it and he was known to be brutal. The phrase Ruling with an Iron Fist is sometimes attributed to that story. What about the ethics of prosthetics? Here’s simple question. Just because someone is missing an arm do they need to wear a prothesis. Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes? Patrick Kane was once known as the bionic teenager. He was one of the youngest people to ever be fitted with an artificial limb. He joins our host Erik Weihenmayer and guest host Billy Lister and they tackle these ideas and more.

Born without legs, one would think Jen Bricker would be destined for a life of hardship. However, the hand of destiny brought her an amazing adoptive family, who gave her one simple rule, “Never say can’t” and helped her forge a life of triumph, not tragedy. As a child, Jen was obsessed with gymnastics, and her idol was Olympic gold-medalist Dominique Moceanu. Seemingly against all odds, Jen went on to compete against able-bodied athletes, and became a State Champion in power tumbling—only later to discover Moceanu was actually her biological sister.

TED TALK: Is the Grand Canyon for Sale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71jvm2Pq0Us WATCH: Peter’s 750-mile trek across Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLDc1Ib1acg LISTEN: NPR 1A podcast with Erik & Peter https://www.npr.org/2021/10/03/1042831854/seeing-silence-one-photographers-mission-to-find-the-worlds-quietest-places READ: Seeing the Silence book excerpt in Nature magazine. https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/book-excerpt-search-for-silence/

As Dr, Hoby Wedler puts it, wine is just two ingredients, yeast and grapes. Yet when people talk about how wine tastes it’s more complex and described through the lens of fruit flavors or perfumes or other plants and trees. As a food and beverage sensory expert Dr. Wedler's clients rely his abilities to translate those complexities into products that you and I enjoy. There is a twist though. Dr. Wedler is blind. Hoby earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Davis, and is the founder and director of the nonprofit organization, Accessible Science. In our conversation Hoby was a fountain of so many ideas that, we ran out of time during the original recording and resumed the next day. I guarantee a few of these you can put into action as you look towards a goal for today or a year from now. One thought I had, that probably you do to… Is it true that when people who lose one sense can gain super abilities in another? Or maybe “super-abilities” are through plain hard work? Stick around.

Our guest usually finds himself speaking in front of large audiences motivating them through topics like the power of change or embracing the struggle, but today… we get him all to ourselves. Chris Waddell is a Hall of Fame Paralympic skier and wheelchair track athlete. A college skiing accident paralyzed him waist down. Yet he went to the highest levels of competition in the Paralympics winning medal after medal for a decade. The adventure continued with his unassisted ascent of the highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro at over 19,000 (the first paraplegic to do so). Authoring a few books came next, founding a non-profit, delivering commencement speeches, and the list goes on… ’m glad you’re joining us for this conversation between host Erik Weihemayer and guest Chris Waddell.

In 2013 Erik Weihenmayer picked up the phone with an idea and a pitch. After 6 years of training, he was ready to throw himself into some of the biggest whitewater in the country... in a kayak. Where? That stretch of the Colorado River flowing through Grand Canyon. Who did he call? Lonnie Bedwell; today’s guest. Erik’s journey learning to kayak was a bit lonely at times. Where were the other blind kayakers? Eventually he found Lonnie, blind, who had thrown himself into the sport, and with rapid speed, into that big water in Grand Canyon as well. Erik wanted Lonnie to join him on this epic river adventure. His pitch, “One blind descent is an anomaly, but two would be a statement”) Erik and Lonnie indeed tag teamed that descent through the Grand Canyon and inspired others who followed years later. Let’s get into Lonnie’ story. We’ll cover how he lost his sight in a hunting accident, kayaking the Zambezi in Africa, how his experiences in the military on submarines taught him about managing fear, adaptations he’s made working in construction whether roofing a house or running electrical, and how he re-learned to mow a lawn, with his daughter, who was 5 at the time, … and much more…

Our guest today grew up in rural Mongolia; hundreds of miles from anything resembling an advanced health care facility. So when his legs stopped working as a young boy; finding out the reason would not be easy. The family began their quest by traversing over 400 miles across Mongolia without a paved road in sight making their way to the capital city. They found new jobs and connected their son with the best health care available at the time. 3 years later they still had no answer. In fact in took 7 years until our guest, Bayar Damdinjav, received his diagnosis of an incurable auto-immune disease. The pivotal moment in Bayar’s life was when he decided to move back home to eastern Mongolia and attempt to be a normal teenager, which at that point involved going to high school. Nothing in his town was built for someone in a wheelchair. No sidewalks, no paved roads, no ramps, or elevators. Academically, there would be a lot of catching up to do, as he hadn’t attended school in 3 years. The odds were stacked against him. What he’s accomplished since then, might surprise you.

Chris Layne on Instagram.

A couple days ago myself, our host Erik Weihenmayer, and maybe 50 others were sitting in an auditorium with our eyes closed. My knees were pressed up against the seat back in front of me. My arms were pinned between the hard wooden armrests. I was not comfortable. However… and I know this may sound a bit out there… buts… minutes later I found myself floating in space. I could no longer feel the pressure points in my knees and arms. I was on my way to a state of hypnosis. I was about to have a conscious conversation with my subconscious mind. That’s the way our guest today describes it. Dr. Vidor Friedman. Dr. Friedman was leading a group hypnosis experience, at the No Barriers Summit, intended to give us a small glimpse into the process. That day was about reprogramming our response to stress or anxiety. However, the potential here runs so much deeper as you hear today. Pain management without narcotics. Surgery without anesthesia (yes, as a matter of fact, there’s been successful implementations of hypnosis in lieu of anesthesia during surgery). And much more….

Some might imagine our guest today as the superhero on the cover a graphic novel. The headline would read… mild mannered kindergarten teacher by day and single handed slayer of ice creatures by night (or weekends more accurately). Kimber Cross was born with one hand. The nutshell version of her journey to where she finds herself today started with pushing her parents outside of their comfort zones, navigating her passions with insecurities, and flipping adversity into ultimately transformative moments in her life. Prior to climbing Everest or kayaking through the Grand Canyon, blind of course, our host, Erik Weihenmayer, was a middle school teacher for many years. He and Kimber compare classroom challenges to mountaineering challenges (subjective vs. objective hazards), they get into the latest in hand prosthetics, the realities of adaptive devices like Erik’s brain port that projects images onto his tongue and the process of figuring out how to connect Kimber’s ice tool to an arm with no hand… Also the relationship between sponsors and their athletes, and ideas around the meaning and role of adaptive athletes in todays world and beyond.

https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/

If you provide care for an aging parent, spouse, relative or for an ill or disabled person, according to the AARP you are one of 53 million Americans in that same boat. That’s nearly one in every 5 people. Our guest today is Bianca Padilla. She also found herself in that position, however, it was at a time this Millenial’s life, when most of her peers were starting careers and stepping out on their own. Her grandmother’s health was declining and she needed daily care to recover from a surgery. Bianca had a decision to make. We all get thrown these curveballs in life. It’s when the unexpected comes hurtling at you and fast… Bianca swung and knocked it out of the park. She turned the lessons and experience she gained by caring for her grandma and used it to start a company with the goal of simplifying the lives of caregivers. Investors thought she had a good idea and put 5 million towards the effort. Now that number is up to 30 million. Let’s face it, as we age we’re gonna need help at some point, could be a little or a lot. We’ve all got that in common and honestly it’s probably something we avoid talking about. So step out of your zone for a moment and get into this conversation between Erik Weihemanyer and Bianca Padilla..

The most recent census reported 7% of the US population are veterans. That’s about 18 million people who served in the active military, naval, or air service at some point and have since been discharged. “transitioning to civilian life” is a common topic for veterans when leaving the military. We get into that with our guest today, Matt Lewis. Matt is the chief operating officer of a spatial data company valued at almost a half a billion dollars. Matt is also a Navy Seal with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan under his belt. . Matt changed his entire mindset as part of his transition to civilian life. We’ll hear about this journey and the importance of seeking challenges in life; including some of his own. Along the way he’s discovered that happiness comes through experiencing discomfort; that juxtaposition is key he says. Matt’s a deep thinker and the insights he shared are applicable to not only veterans, but people from all walks of life.