No Barriers

Today we meet Alice Brouhard and her daughter Kara. When Kara was 5 she was struck by an out of control skier. The accident caused a traumatic brain injury, left Kara legally blind and mostly paralyzed on one side of her body. Kara's parents helped her relearn as much as they could and raised Kara to live as independently as possible, patiently pushing her to chase her dreams. Alice took finding assistive technology into her own hands and in the process became a champion of the use of technology to support people with memory and cognitive challenges. She has worked tirelessly to set up a system that allows Kara to live independently. What keeps Alice going? How does Kara navigate life with such spirit, and what does it tell us about accessibility and resilience? We’ll hear about Kara's incredible journey and her dedication to living independently, even amidst challenges like vision loss, paralysis, and seizures. Today, she manages her life with the help of wonderful technology but more than anything, her fiery spirit.

What would you with an extra tank of gas? It’s a metaphor for living that we had not heard, until now, when we interviewed Nick Martinez. He’s a true adventurer and survivor of life's highest peaks and deepest valleys. And to complete the metaphor, yes, the fuel indeed ran out and not just once. His narratives provide insight into his world of BASE jumping and climbing as well as his life-altering experiences that have shaped his unique perspective on life, death, and everything in-between. He’s lost loved ones in tragic accidents and survived near-death experience himself. You’ll hear how he emerged with a view of life with "extra mode" activate - an extra tank of gas, something to be cherished and refueled every day, with the good things.

Book Link. RESILIENCE: THE SCIENCE OF MASTERING LIFE’S GREATEST CHALLENGES Dr. Dennis Charney on LinkedIn

4DWN Film Trailer https://4dwn.org/ https://www.instagram.com/4dwn_org/ https://www.facebook.com/4DWNskateboarding https://www.youtube.com/@4dwnproject197

https://www.nicnovicki.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nicnovicki/ https://www.instagram.com/disabilityfilmchallenge/ https://disabilityfilmchallenge.com/ The Disability Challenge video. https://youtu.be/FISwEhPXWzQ

Kyle Maynard is no stranger to pushing the limits, overcoming obstacles, and inspiring others to live a no barriers life. That’s why he’s our guest today AND in a few weeks when we see him on stage at the No Barriers Summit. His first No Barriers Summit was 12 years ago and a pivotal moment in his life, because soon thereafter he bear crawled to the top the highest mountain in Africa. Bearcrawled? He’s got a rare condition known as congenital amputation, that left him with arms that end at his elbows and legs that end near his knees. Today Kyle shares stories of his transformation, but we go beyond physical feats and explore the deeper motivations that drive him. Like the importance of connection and the power of using climbing as a vehicle to foster relationships, AND his upcoming project aimed at creating a long-lasting impact in the world. Join us as for stories of triumph, growth, and the relentless pursuit of a life without barriers. Get ready to be inspired and motivated to embrace your own journey.

In anticipation of the No Barriers annual 3-day festival we call the Summit (starts on Aug 25th), we’re re-releasing an episode that was recorded live at a previous Summit in Lake Tahoe. The guest? JR Martinez. His journey is filled with ups and downs. While on patrol with his Army unit in Iraq, his vehicle was hit with a roadside bomb. He was trapped inside as the explosives his vehicle was carrying detonated around him. During his recovery with over 30 surgeries and skin grafts, he found solace in helping other wounded veterans. 8 years later, an opportunity to join Dancing with the Stars arrived… you’ve heard of the show maybe?? …. and he (with his dancing partner) won the whole thing! He was in the spotlight now. Writing a book came soon after, the title: Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength and Spirit. In this episode JR shares these experiences with us in an engaging way. And through out it his message of resilience and optimism rings true.

https://firstdescents.org/

Follow Diva on Twitter @divaamon and Instagram @diva_amon, or visit her website https://divaamon.com/.

http://kathyeldon.com

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/