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Okay, welcome to the AdaptX podcast where we have conversations with individuals who

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are building accessible businesses, advocating for inclusion or excelling in adaptive sports.

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Our intention is never to speak on behalf of those with disabilities, but provide a platform

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to amplify their voices and share their ideas to a more accessible world. Today I'm joined by Jeff

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Bowman and Mark Fuquerile. Fuquerile? Fuquerile? Yeah. Interviews are saying different last names

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for you, pronouncing it differently. Two men who aren't defined by the events from 11 years ago,

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but who you unfortunately might be familiar with from the Boston Marathon bombings. Both have

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experienced incredible loss, but in this conversation I hope we can more so focus on what they've gained.

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Preparing for this podcast was a challenge. Reading Jeff's memoir, interviews with Mark,

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videos from the events of April 15th was not easy, but I hope I'm able to articulate my

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thoughts and questions in a way that doesn't encroach on your privacy or evoke any negative

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feelings. So Mark and Jeff, thanks for joining me today. For those who aren't familiar with who you

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are, can you maybe lead us in with why you were at the Marathon in 2013 and what you remember from

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that day? And then we'll transition into a discussion on adaptive sports and the role in recovery.

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You want to go first? Yeah, I'll go first. Sure. They should pick you up. They should pick me up

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wherever I am? Yeah. All right. So yeah, Mark Fuquerile, 11 years ago on April 15th, 2013,

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a group of friends of mine, we all decided to go in to support a friend at the Marathon that day, who

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was running. We made our way to in front of the foreign restaurant and the rest is pretty much

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history. You know, the first bomb went off down by the finish line and 12 seconds later the second

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bomb went off. Taking my right leg, it was quite an experience rolling around and, you know, talking

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to different individuals that were assisting me like Kayla Quinn, Jimmy Davis, Shayna, you know,

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and I got, I was lucky enough because there was no more ambulances. So I got put in a paddy wagon

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that day with Jimmy Davis and a Boston firefighter, along with,

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oh my God, Mike and... You got the paddy wagon ride. I got the paddy wagon. First class ambulance.

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They, who did they end up in there with? The right leg above the knee, female. She married Mike.

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Oh, Roseanne. Roseanne. Roseanne Sadoja. She's a single above knee. Yeah. And I can't believe I

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was just drawing a blank. Unfortunately, you know, the blast did leave some of us with brain injuries

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that kick in and on, turn on and off sometimes. I think sled hockey has helped mine out. So yeah,

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that's what brought me to the marathon was to support a friend, right? That was Ron and one

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to support him. So that was the key. And then everything else from there is history. I did do

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45 days in Mass General, 55 days in Spalding, and another additional 10 days back in Spalding,

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as well as 365 days at Walter Reed Medical Facility. So my recovery in and out of hospitals was just

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over three years. That's great. Yeah. So I was at the first bomb that you mentioned. And yeah, it

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was crazy. I was there watching my girlfriend at the time run her first marathon. She trained for

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it. It was crazy. I know I wasn't really into the marathon. I was like, you're putting 26 miles.

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That's crazy. You can see that. I'm not watching that. Like, I remember running like six miles

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once and I was going to die. I was like, this is how can you run 26? You got to just push through

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it, right? So I was pumped for her and I was with her friends. And we were in this thick crowd.

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This weird dude bumped into me and he looked very weird because we were all having fun and

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cheering. And like everyone was having fun with their, there was families, kids in strollers and

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stuff. And he was alone. And he was like, had a heavy coat on, a backpack and his hat pulled

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down low. And then I saw his bag on the ground and he was gone. And I was like, Oh, that's not good

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in my head. And then I nudged my errands, the girl that I was watching, she was running, but I nudged

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her friend. I was like, let's get out of here. Like that it's just something seems off. And she

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was like, what are you talking about? Like two seconds later, boom, like went off and you saw a

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flash of white and I was on the ground. I opened up my eyes and I was like, I was concussed, obviously.

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And my ears were blown out. And I was like, why are they shooting fireworks? I was all mad because

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they shot fireworks off into the crowd. That's what I thought. Then I looked up and I was like,

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Whoa, I was like, this is big time looking around. I didn't even notice my legs yet. And as soon as I

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saw my legs, I went into like tunnel vision and it was horrible. Just your life slows down to like

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a seconds, you know, one second equaled like one year it felt like. And I'm thinking about everything.

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I'm like, I'm, you know, I'm not going to run. I'm not going to skate. I can't play hockey anymore.

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I can't do this. I'm like, Oh, I'm starting to look around a little bit. People are starting to

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jump over me. Oh, I'm probably going to die here. Like this is it. It's my injuries are horrible.

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Like my legs were someone grabbed me and pulled me out of like a pile of blood and my legs stayed

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there. And I was like, Oh no. And luckily people started to run in and help us. Like Mark said, and

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brave people, because I did hear the second bomb go off, but that felt like, you know, an hour later,

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it was only what 20 seconds or so 12, 12 seconds. Yeah. So it felt like an hour. Like it did. It

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felt like 30 minutes later. And then I was, I was actually looking up to looking up, looking up.

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I thought we were being bombed. No, I thought we were being bombed. And I was like, Oh wow.

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And then people started to help. And luckily a guy with a cowboy had jumped in and, you know,

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tied a tourniquet around my right leg and I grabbed my left and I'm a volunteer. She was

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brave enough to run in with a wheelchair and got me out of there. And I, I didn't go in a

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paddy wagon. I went into an ambulance. I'm high class. So yeah, it's gonna care.

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Yeah. They, when they triaged the situation, I lost, my leg was gone instantly through my knee.

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Yeah. I was heavily burnt. I was fired three different times. Yeah. We were all

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toast. We were extra crispy. Yeah. You know, the nurse helped me. She put the tourniquet on and

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she was like, Oh shit, he's still on fire. And, uh, that's when I grabbed my shoes. We've got to

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get his pants off. I need scissors. She was screaming for scissors. So I panic and I undid

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my own belt to help get my pants off. What was left of my pants. So in the paddy wagon or the

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hospital? No, I was laying on the sidewalk for quite a while. Yeah. They backboarded me to put

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me on a backboard and then they were just waiting and trying to, they were screaming, stop, stop to

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ambulances. Nothing was stopping. And they were talking to me. And just like you said, it felt

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like I was right. Like, yeah, I just want to see my son. I just want to get home. I just want to

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go home. I just want to see my son. You know, and that's all I kept repeating and saying, and

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they were asking me my name and like, you know, like Jeff said, it definitely, you were, we were

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both severely concussed my eardrums as well as his, I had to, you know, cut my hair, peel it back,

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put the new air drum on and use a skin graft from your armpit, you know, because it's this soft,

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thin skin that they use and stretch it back over. Yeah. I'm scared to do that surgery. Yeah. I,

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I tell you that recovery from that surgery, I felt was worse than the five amputations that I did.

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Oh, geez. Now he's definitely not going to get it. But yeah. So, you know, me and Jeff both feel

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the same way about people that day, like two evil people did an evil thing. Yeah. But when you look

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back at the pictures I do, I know, I know Jeff doesn't like to as much as I do, but I love to

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see where I came from being on that sidewalk. And what I also love to look at is all the brave men

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and women that ran to help people that they didn't know. Yeah. That was, that is what motivates and

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drives me. And then the days and year to come and the support that we still receive to this day,

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all the time, there's a true blessing. And, you know, those, those, those are what I like to

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focus on after everything, you know, is, is, is that complete strangers across this world,

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helped us and supported us if it was a gift, if it was financially, or if it was just words of

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kindness and acts of kindness. So yeah, it was, you know, I think me and Jeff both, you know,

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we, we get it. Oh yeah. You know, we, and we both, you know, feel the same about a lot of things to

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do with the marathon and the people like, you know, a lot of veterans too, cause we kind of get a

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piece of what they, the ones that got wounded, you know, we got a little piece of what they go

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through and they have been very supportive to us. Oh, they are. I mean, like you said, you got,

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you were at Walter Reeve for awhile. I get to play on, you know, their sled hockey teams and they

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simplify was right there in our hospital rooms. Yeah. And we said, oh yeah, right. Immediately

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meeting after Friday. God, well, I didn't wake up. I'm really until Friday. You know, these are

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people, these guys are, you know, recently just got blown apart like us, but they're walking around

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already and up and, and coming in like yelling at us in our faces. Remember you mentioned that in

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the book that when you saw two double above knee, that was one of the times where you're like, all

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right, maybe I can get back to this. It's very, you know, you see it, see a move and you're like,

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oh man, they're living life. They're doing it. Yeah. Did you wish that picture of you and Carlos

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didn't exist or didn't gain the same virality? No, now that I look back, I think it's a good thing,

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you know, just to see like, it's, you know, it shows what happened. You can't really deny,

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I don't want to like censor it. It happened. Yeah. At the time though, it seems weird to me that

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everything's going off and someone had the wherewithal to start taking pictures. So I actually

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have spoke with one of the photographers and he caught a lot of heat for it, you know, but even my

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nurse tried to help Lindsay Lue, but there was so many people trying to help. She couldn't get into

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help. She stepped back over me thinking I had already passed, but I was just unconscious because

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I was in and out of consciousness, but I tried to sit back up and she was like, oh my God, let me

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help. Let me help him, you know, but it just shows the photographer said, I'm not trained to help

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people. What I'm trained to do is take pictures and document this as its history. And I was like,

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you know what? I appreciate it because it's also evidence. It's a lot of things that he could have

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caught. And it was able to allow me to see the individuals and people that really rushed in to

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help. So he did catch a lot of heat and a lot of people feel have mixed feelings on that. And I

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think it just, you know, reverts back to your training and your job, right? The nurses that

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were there off duty, they jumped it. Yeah, they did. Nurses are the best. I mean, you mentioned

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in your book that you don't consider yourself to be brave. You're kind of like thrown into this

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situation as a whole. And then you kind of became the face of the Boston Strong Movement. Was there

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added pressure from that? Did you ever feel like undue pressure from kind of being the face behind

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it? At the time, I really didn't feel a lot of pressure. It was more of like a lot of support.

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That's what it felt like, a lot of support. And also, like, I didn't want to let anybody down.

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So that was in my mind, like, I'm going to let people down. Yeah. So that's to a degree pressure,

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I guess. Yeah. It's some obligation to the people that are supporting you. It is more like an

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obligation, but it's also a blessing that so many people support you. You know? Yeah. I mean,

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you're a few Dread Talks fans. So like the Ortiz speeches and stuff, like, did that motivate you?

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I know you kind of had the contrast in the book. Yeah. I mean, with the contrast stuff, that was

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just more like the ghost writers. And also with the movie with like Jake and Jake Johnall and all

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the directors, like David Gordon Green, they had to figure out a way to make it entertainment.

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And they said that to me. And it's like, I get that. Same with the book. It's like, they have to

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make sure it's entertainment for the people that want to buy it to make money. It's like my chance

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to make some money. And I took that opportunity. I didn't want to at first. My dad and my mom

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really talked me into it. Because you're like, you don't really have anything like, you're not

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a college graduate at this time. And like, I don't see it. You don't want to go back and work in the

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chicken room and the deli and Costco and stock, you know, crates all day. I don't think you can

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do that anymore. And I'm like, I think I could do it. But I just had an opportunity with the

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book and the movie and I took it in. That was really just like the Boston Strong thing. We kind

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of all use it as like an opportunity to get our names out there, which was cool. It was really

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glad. Yeah, 100%. I mean, I think you definitely should have done it. Well, thank you. I know you're

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I know you were saying that for since day one. Yeah, I've been bothered about, you know, everybody

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asked me to write a book. Like, why, you know, my story pretty much is the same as what Jeff's like,

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went through the same stuff, the challenges, the stories out there. But I love it because that book

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became a movie that movie became something that people will remember. Right. It's it's that never

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forget. And it's not really about don't forget what happened to me. Don't forget about what

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people did. I mean, there was a lot, a lot of generosity and kindness that came out of what it

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came out. Yeah, that was the craziest. I didn't get that. Like I remember I had to clean out one

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of my rooms that I had to put stuff in that I got sent. Like people would just send me stuff from all

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over the world. And it's like blankets and blankets, hats, everything. And it's like,

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I'm talking like a full room up to the ceiling of this stuff. And it's like I had to go through it.

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Like it took me months to go through it. And this is like five years later. Like this is crazy. It's

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like the support is nuts. And like, it that just boggles my mind. Because you I mean, we see this

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stuff happen kind of like all over the world. And I you feel bad, obviously, when you see stuff

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horrible happen, true traumatizing events, and people go through war, like war zones, and it's,

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you feel bad for those people. And I couldn't imagine like setting my time out and actually

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like making a quote for somebody and sending it to somebody. You know, it's like the nicest thing.

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We in in a big thing is like, I'm glad you did the movie in the book, because

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it really shows people your life can change in the blink of an eye. Oh, yeah. So don't take it for

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granted. Yeah, don't take the opportunities you have right now for granted, because they might not

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be here tomorrow. Absolutely. And that and that's, I'm just I'm just no one else has done it really.

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Like, I mean, Rosanne wrote the book, right? I mean, but nobody else Mark Wahlberg did the movie.

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But that was more about the chase. Like, Oh, yeah, your life that changed. And now that that book is

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there. Like, I don't know how many times over the last 11 years that I've told people they've had a

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watch stronger, you have to watch like, I watched the movie. I'm like, what one now like Mark Wahlberg,

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I'm like, yeah, great movie. But Jeff Bowman's movies the best. Oh, yeah, I seen that strong.

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Yeah. I'm like, that's a better, better movie. You know, and I mean, don't get me wrong, Patriot's

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Day Mark Wahlberg movie. Great. Phenomenal. Like, I like it, because again, it's that piece of

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history that will go away that people will remember because there were a lot of police

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offices, FBI agents and people that put their time in, you know, to to do what they did on their end,

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you know, are there any ways that your lives are better after the incident?

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Oh, yeah, in certain ways, like I have, I have, I have a daughter now. That's way better. That's

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like, she's awesome. And she's nine now. And that's I was really scared when I found out that I was

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like, just freshly like a year into my amputation, or like getting blown up. And it's like, Oh, I'm

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gonna have a daughter. I was like, no way. Like, I'm not gonna be able to do anything with her.

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Like, that was my whole mindset. Like, I'm gonna be what am I just gonna sit here and watch her

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like live and, you know, watch her run and do things. But that's totally just not the case.

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That's another thing I was just like fearful of. And yeah, it's I mean, I can't say I probably

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would not have a child right now. If I didn't go through all this. I mean, same, like I feel, you

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know, it's how we choose to look at it. Right? I think, you know, my life was great, you know,

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before the bombing, but I think it, you know, definitely got better in a lot of different ways,

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introduced me to a lot of different great people, definitely changed my perspective on life a little

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bit for the better. And yeah, I would never met my now wife, Nicole Browder, right? So she's a

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quote, born quadruple amputee. And I got to meet I mentor kids with Mr. Lim's and Lim differences

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through different charitable organizations. And it really just shows me and appreciate it makes me

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appreciate life more, you know. And also, I thought I believed I could do anything. But now, seeing

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what Jeff does and what I do on a regular basis every day, and I've done eight full marathons on

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a hand bike, and 26.2 miles is legit crazy. Like Jeff said, every time I start out, I'm like, what,

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what am I doing? Why am I doing this? This is pure punishment. But every time I completed, I'm like,

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Oh, wow, that was easy. And it shows you in life as long as you don't stop, and you just keep going

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and you don't quit, you eventually will get to finish in your goal or whatever it is. And I don't

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know, it's it's definitely, definitely taught me a lot of great and amazing things.

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Or the hand bike, it's a little bit easier than running it. Hey, hey, hey, you've done it.

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You've done it. I think you can you could probably walk it. I think you could. I don't know, I,

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I bet you could. Yeah, it's, you know, so Mark, he did like the hand cycling, but I started sled

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hockey. And he tried it. And we needed a goalie like a couple of years ago. And I was like, Mark,

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you got to come, come, come play. He's like, I got my shoulders are so bad. I can't skate. I can't

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skate out. I'm like, oh, you can play goalie for us. And stand there and get pummeled. We won the

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league championship. I was the number one goalie. Yeah, he's the number one goalie. Awesome. My

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rookie. Yeah, it was really good. Did those resources exist? For you guys, like you said

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that you mentor kids with limb loss. Were there people for there for you 11 years ago saying like,

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this is what you can do? Like, what, how has it evolved over the last 11 years, I guess,

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in terms of like resources? Well, I mean, back then, I had two charities that really helped me

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that were Wiggle Your Toes in Minnesota with Aaron Holm. He's a double above the knee amputee. He's

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awesome. Wiggle Your Toes is great. And then 50 legs down in Florida with Steve Chamberlain. He's

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from Draykid, actually. He was in a motorcycle accident, lost his leg below the knee. And he's

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got a cool they got awesome connections. But Steve's got connections down in Florida with like

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Hulk Hogan and stuff. They're like ex wrestlers. You should see him. He's like 6'3". He's got to

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go to his full dude. He just raised like a half a million dollars. Yeah, half a million. I gave him

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my bib for the marathon. The BAA lets us have like a bib every year. And some and now that you

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mentioned it, like MRA, awesome organization, charity organization and Heather Abbott's Heather

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Abbott Foundation is is amazing. And they raise a lot of money and Heather's organization helps

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amputees to all over the world. So JP and Paul, they got the leg forever foundation now. Yeah,

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so the two brothers that I was standing with. So out of my group, those three of us that lost our

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legs, all three lost our right leg. JP's are below the knee, Paul's above the knee, and I'm above the

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knee amputee. Their mom started a foundation called the leg forever. And they give back to amputees

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that lose a leg to a traumatic accident or injury. And they help bedside care as well. And they do

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an amazing job just like the Heather Abbott Martin Richard Foundation and you know, the 50 legs.

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And then you just started your foundations. Yeah, I just launched in January the remarkable

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foundation, which we help people mobility is disabilities, as well as their caretakers in

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other nonprofit organizations with supplying adaptive equipment. Yeah, let's talk about the

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Mark network a little bit as well. So that's gonna be a great resource. Yeah, so you talk about those

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resources in nonprofits that helped us, you know, I feel that the publicity around our event, right,

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I mean, ESPN reached out to me, I did two, three ESPN E 60s that they did on me. And Jeff has the

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book in the movie. Most people don't have these organizations like 50 legs or, you know, camp no

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limits or other organizations like Achilles, Semper Fi, America's fun reaching out to them like we did.

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So navigating that system of support, events and organizations is very difficult. I learned

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that by engaging with families like a grand estate adaptive sports with kids with autism,

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and kids with spinal cord injuries. Talking to their families was the same difficulties as

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amputee families, and people with Parkinson's and MS, I found out they struggle with resources and

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awareness to nonprofit organizations like where do you play sled hockey in central Massachusetts,

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right? It's very difficult to find because they're very small marketing budgets. So I created the

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Mark network mobility awareness resource community we just launched to I just launched that business

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at the same time as my nonprofit. It's Mar C network. It's free. It's an Apple and Google

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stores to download. It's for loved ones and for individuals and for the community that services

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people with disabilities to engage in conversation and share information in products that they love

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and that they use. So it could help speed up the recovery of an individual getting that new diagnosis.

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Right? This 300 to 500 scheduled limitations every day in the US. That's 300 to 500 families

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that wake up needing help. And they usually don't get it because they weren't blown up at the Boston

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Marathon. They don't have the publicity in the media coverage that we did. So yeah, that's what

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I launched in. You know, like I said, you know, you were asking about, you know, finding these

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programs and support and adaptive. It's very difficult, still very difficult. We just found

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out about your adaptive gym down here in Lancaster. That's like, that's amazing. Like didn't even know

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this exists here. Right? It's an amazing job. Yeah, I wish I guess I wish I was in over near me and

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maybe we'll have to open a second. Okay. You enact them to get it. Yeah. I'll run it into the ground.

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Yeah, that's awesome. So the network, the Mark network, is it ideally for, do you want businesses

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to upload information about them? Do you want individuals who find these resources to review

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them to a degree? Like who's the target consumer? All of it. I mean, we want them to do all of it.

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Right. So it's an opportunity. It's a direct marketing platform. Right. So it's an opportunity

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for providers like wheelchair providers, prosthetic providers, physical and occupational therapists

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to engage with their community. Right. And figure out how to service them better,

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but also just bring awareness to where they are. Right. Like I'm an amputee, Jeff's a double amputee.

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We weren't aware of where you are. Right. So when we build a community, we have a focused group

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right there to talk to and chat with and engage with and show your new products, your new workouts,

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your new gym equipment in your new location. So it's pretty much for everybody. We are definitely

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looking for sponsors and support. We, you know, we run, we do, we're doing all seven abilities

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expos across this country. We just did LA in February. We did Dallas in last November, LA.

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I just got back from New Jersey Sunday night from doing the abilities expo down there. We did the

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Boston outdoor expo to show inclusivity with, you know, people with disabilities, because

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people with disabilities can get outside just like a mountain biker. We can still partake right next

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to you. You go skiing. Me and Jeff both ski in a mono ski. We just want, I want to show people

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that there's hope early in their recovery. Like Jeff said, we were blessed because Semper Fi

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actually ran that race. There were amputees that ran that race. It had already been finished. They

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were back at their hotel rooms, saw the bombs go off and wanted to rush back down there. And they

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were in our hospital rooms through the system that they navigated to be there to show our family

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support. I want my app, it's a free app to be in every hospital in every newly amputated person's

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hand day one to show them that they literally can do anything. And this is how you do it with

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what organizations we have a geo map location. We have everything. This thing is state of the art,

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top notch community platform. That's amazing. Um, but like I said, it gives you everybody I go

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and visit, I don't know about you, Jeff, but they feel alone, right? When they just wake up and now

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they're missing a leg or they're now paralyzed. Like they feel by themselves. They don't think

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they're ever going to be able to do nothing. That was my mentality. I didn't know. And now I do more

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than most able-bodied friends of mine. Um, and I do it all with my family, just like Jeff, Jeff

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skis with his daughter, he plays hockey with his daughter. I mean, nothing holds us. There is no,

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there is, there isn't anything you can't do. And I want to change that attitude early in someone's

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recovery. When they get that diagnosis, I want them to know they need to work hard at physical

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and occupational therapy. That's where it all starts. Day one. We're grateful for the support

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of our first show sponsor. Resolution Fitness offers leading brand health club equipment and

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accessories for residential and commercial use. In addition to traditional exercise equipment,

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they specialize in adaptive fitness products and wheelchair accessible machines. If you're interested

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in outfitting your fitness facility or home gym to be more accessible, visit www.resolutionfitness.ca

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or the link in the show notes below. What's the role of adaptive sports and recovering from

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something like this? Oh, let's tell them about Jimmy. Who? James. Oh, James. Jimmy. All right.

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Yeah. We have a, we have a good friend. He's probably not going to let us, he's going to

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listen and then I'll tell him what's happening. He's a vet. And, um, I don't want to tell a story

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too much, but he was in the army, he was in a cavalry unit. So we drove like Bradley's, the

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trucks, he was a driver, but he had to raid a house and he got, and he, and he got shot by all

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like six, probably four or five times, I think. And he had a rough recovery and he went into,

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you know, a dark place for a while. And, uh, he's found sled hockey and he started to play up in

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Maine. He had to go up there with the, uh, the Maine warriors up in Maine. Uh, and he played with

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them. And then I started, we started to play against them and I got to know, like them and

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talk to them. And then he jumped onto our team and now we're good friends with them. And, uh,

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so what he says is like, you know, I, I really didn't connect with anybody. And even down at

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Walter Reed, he was at Walter Reed for a while. I think everyone's in their kind of own little

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world down there and their bubble sometimes. And, and when you get out, you get like thrown back out

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into the world. It's probably totally different than what they're used to, but he found like a

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camaraderie with sled hockey and adaptive sports because there are a ton of vets that play and

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there are a ton of, you know, everybody has basically a disability. And he just came out

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of a shell and he like, he's wicked thankful for it. And he, and he's like, he interacts,

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I guess he did. He just like sat at home and didn't do much. And now he's like, goes out and

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we travel all the time now for sled hockey and going out. So like, just like something like that,

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just getting people out of their, their comfort zone, their bubble, you know, their darkness.

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And then it gets you into no competing again. And that for me, it's the competition. I would

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never think I would just go and be able to like, you know, watch Mark fight somebody on the ice.

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And which has happened is James fought somebody, James fought Troy. I only throw their sticks at

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each other. If you've ever seen a sled hockey stick, they have a spike at the end. Throwing

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them like spears at each other. Like every team needs an enforcer. Yeah, exactly. I, to my defense,

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I defended myself on the ice. I didn't fight on the ice. I was being punched in the back of the

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head. So tied up on the skate, stuck there. I asked him nicely to stop. He didn't, but he kind of just

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put them in a reverse chokehold. Little lie. It's hard to do what you gotta do. No, but adaptive

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sports definitely is huge in the recovery. Right? I mean, look at our U S Olympic team, you know,

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the sled hockey team and the basketball, wheelchair basketball team and diving and swimming and track

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and field. It's just, it's an opportunity for these kids to inspire, to be these athletes.

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It's growing. And that's what the Mark network wants to be about too. I want to bring awareness

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to the mobility community because, and I want to live stream it to where everybody can see it.

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And these young children can inspire to be these athletes because like, if you don't,

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you know, know what's out there and can't, you know, so a lot of people just can't do it

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right until they see it. And I know with me, you know, Jeff had to do some convincing to get me

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to play, but once I played it's, you get a hooked and I love it. But my, unfortunately my schedule

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traveling and doing what I'm doing messes that up a little bit, but I always try to work it in.

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You know, I say I'm done right now, but when season gets going, I'll probably be there back

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up. Holy that's springfield. He jumped out on defense cause he played like he, like me,

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we played hockey growing up. So we jump out on the ice and it starts to click again. And it,

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you know, it might look different. Like you're sitting down, you're in a sled,

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but it's still the ice and you still have these blades and you, you gotta cut, I mean, you gotta

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get into your turns. You gotta lean in. It's all core to lean into your turns. It's a, it's a beast

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sport. And it's just like any other, Oh yeah. It's super physical. Just like probably any other

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sport. Skiing is I skied a little bit growing up. I grew up skiing. Yeah. So I, I, my girlfriend

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loves skiing and my daughter loves skiing, but I hate it. I like, I love sled hockey. I'll go out

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there and battle all day, play it all night. You can put me on the ice, but you throw me up on a

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black diamond. I'll cry. Like I'm like, I'm going down this ice. I scream. I look for the, I look

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for them. I'm a decent skier. Like I can skate. Yeah, I can ski and you can ski it's, but you

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got like some people love it. I'm like, all right, if I go down a black diamond, I'm swearing at

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people. Yeah. I love it. You took me down a black diamond. I, when, when you hit the slopes, when I,

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I actually kind of skied before I walked. Uh, and it was the first time I felt freedom in months.

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I literally felt like I was standing and skiing down that hill and in Breckenridge, Colorado is

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where I first learned how to ski. That high up to like losing your legs and then just being that

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high up in the elevation and into the mountains. It's like, it's something else. It's like,

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cause you like, I'm like, I've heights, but I can do like a three, like maybe a 2000 or 3000 hill,

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you know, a little hill. I can't do the 4,000 footers. Like I used, maybe I could, it would

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take me like two days. I'd have to camp, but being up on the mountain, like up on top of like cannon,

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like you're like, it's, it's inspiring and it's, it's awesome. And the best is when you're going

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down, it's just, there's no restriction. Like it's hard for us, like as amputees with these legs to

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like walk, it's literally physically challenging, but that freedom of momentum just going down the

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hill and then being on the ice. Yeah, it's on the ice too. But it's hard to push it's,

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but when you're glad and that's fun, it's fun. We don't get hit.

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Yeah. Punched in the head and punched in that head.

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Do you think introducing people without a disability to adaptive sports like sled hockey would

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be like, I don't know, make it more popular or do you think people? I think it would. We do,

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we play with a lot of able-bodied people in our, in our league and they love it. I wish I...

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It's a different sport. A lot of my friends want to try it is like that I grew up with, like,

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oh, let me get, let me on there. It's just, it's tough kind of lining. That's our problem is like

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lining up ice time with sleds and equipment. I know, like I played for Spalding, they had a van and

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they were good at getting equipment that you needed, but that's like the hardest part. Because I mean,

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we have funding. See, he doesn't, I don't even think he has a sled mark and he's played for like

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three years. Yeah, because it's just cost, financial cost. You stole David Eustis. He stole...

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So David Eustis is now a one-time gold medal Olympian, right? He's one of the best in the

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world. Best in the world. He's an amazing sled hockey player and he grew up around, he's a single

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above the knee amputee and he's a young kid. He's probably 24, 25. 20, probably 22. 22, yeah. Yeah.

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So Jack Wallace is a little older than him. So David Eustis grew up in my hometown. So he's

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younger than me. He's like half my age. Mark knew his, knows his dad. I know his dad really well.

360
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And I knew his dad only because my brother knew his dad, because my brother was a police officer

361
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:28,160
and his dad worked for National Grid and the details. And then my sister-in-law bought the

362
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:37,200
dance studio in our town and his younger sister danced there with my sister-in-law. And my brother

363
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:43,360
in the police offices always supported David Eustis to go to Camp No Limits because David was coming

364
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:48,400
out of school with his mom and his sister and he was five years old. And in actual below the knee

365
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:53,600
amputee, his foot got stuck on the gas pedal and he drove to the crowd and pinned him against the

366
00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:59,920
wall. They took his, I want to say his left leg and his right leg, salvaged limb. The mom was injured

367
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:06,480
and the sister also was severely injured, all three of them. But they all luckily lived. And David Eustis

368
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:12,720
found Camp No Limits and Camp No Limits introduced him to sled hockey at seven and changed his life.

369
00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:17,760
And I was blessed enough to be able to support them and know them. And then this happened to me

370
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:24,160
and David's dad reached out to my brother and as a family, they really supported me and we became

371
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:29,680
really good friends. I helped him fundraise with foot camp with him. What he does is amazing. Paul

372
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:37,360
Eustis. And yeah, so I was just blessed. And I just last year got David's dad's like,

373
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:41,520
Hey, I got a couple of sleds you can piece together. It was a Frankenstein sled.

374
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:47,200
These guys, like we're decent players, but like they've been playing since they were

375
00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:53,440
for like 20 years and they're 22. They've been playing growing up and they just crush their

376
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:58,480
equipment. Like this is steel welded things that they're ripping apart and that's how violent they

377
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:06,560
are. But that's how lucky we are. So like David will come out when he's around and show me tricks

378
00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:12,240
and show me moves, like things on the ice that I'm just trying to get better at as an older guy.

379
00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:19,440
And I'm like, yeah, and he's a phenomenal kid. And that's really, that's an amazing thing to

380
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:24,960
have that support. And Kyle Zich the same way, he'll come out with us and show us moves, but

381
00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:30,400
also you have able-bodied people. This happened in La Crosse last year. I play up at NEP,

382
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:36,800
Northeast Passage, a wheelchair La Crosse and teams bring pros, La Crosse pros out.

383
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:42,720
And then you could have two able-bodied people on your team. And we're like, we had a good,

384
00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:47,920
one of the coaches son, Sam, he's awesome and high school player. We had him and then we had a,

385
00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,840
we were trying to get this pro to play with us and you know, their hands are nasty.

386
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:56,960
It's just, they can't maneuver in the chairs that well. You give them a couple practices. Like my

387
00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:01,200
daughter, nine, she liked playing in the chairs. Like we'd have to be like, all right, somebody

388
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,640
needs the chair, Nora, you know, get out of the chair. She'd be like, come on, dad. And I'm like,

389
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:10,800
come on. And she would actually be out in the, in the practices and like some of our good faster

390
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:17,040
players like Timo, uh, Donnie, he's the George, the Marine that he was a Georgia Marine that got

391
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,960
blown up. The one I crashed into in hockey and he almost actually he broke my ribs. Yeah.

392
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:26,560
Just sitting still and I hit him. He'd be like buzzing. I keep going at Nora and looking,

393
00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:30,240
he's like, Oh, I don't want to run into her. I'm like, Nora, you gotta get out of the chair.

394
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:36,160
But it's, it's interesting to depict adaptive sports is not, not less, but just different.

395
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:40,720
It's not like a lesser athletic endeavor. It's just a different, it's just different.

396
00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:46,640
And it's almost like it could be more because running is so natural. Yeah. Oh,

397
00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:50,240
wheelchair, wheelchair rugby is insane. If you watch wheelchair, it's a,

398
00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:57,600
my body's been beaten. I could barely survive sled hockey. Yeah. And that's the thing too. Like

399
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:01,760
with sled hockey, it's not only do you have to have quick hands, but you also got to have

400
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:07,280
the strength to push yourself as well as the core to stay upright. And then now, so you're trying to

401
00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:12,720
push a chair and use, and you got to carry your stick and then there's it's full contact. So

402
00:39:12,720 --> 00:39:17,680
people are like, you know, pushing you, like people throw you, if you're off balance, people

403
00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:21,680
pushing your chair over and then it's like, no one's helping you get out. You got to either get

404
00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:26,480
out of your chair. The refs will sometimes come over and like give you a little hand, but you got

405
00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:32,560
to get your chair up. And it's like, it's all things you have to learn. And it's, it's a,

406
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:39,040
it's a different adding the equipment that we need to use to sports is a whole nother element

407
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:44,400
that able-bodied people don't have to do. Yeah. The wheelchairs are pricey and they get beat.

408
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:48,880
It's same with your sled. Your sled's pricey. There's only like one kind of vendor that makes

409
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:55,520
them up in Canada unique. And they get beat, they get beat up. Like my sled looks like it's been

410
00:39:55,520 --> 00:40:00,320
thrown through like a war zone. Like it's got chips and it's metal. It's, it's, I mean,

411
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:04,720
you mentioned in your book, your prosthetics were what? $100,000. Yeah. So it's like,

412
00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:11,840
microprocessor needed for monobox. How can, how can you make assistive tech and adaptive equipment

413
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:18,000
more financially accessible? Well, anybody and everybody listening, we know right now,

414
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:23,760
financially, all the challenges that we're facing. Right. So imagine being a husband and a wife

415
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:30,800
or a couple that's together married and you're making $150,000 a year trying to live in the,

416
00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:38,720
you know, state of Massachusetts and you have two kids now add a disability into that wheelchairs.

417
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:47,040
My wheelchair was $17,500. My sled would be roughly five to seven grand with sticks

418
00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:50,480
because you had to have two sets of sticks. You got to have your sled. You got to have your

419
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,640
shoulder pads, your helmet. You're talking close to five to seven grand to get involved.

420
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:59,120
Wait, actually like the normal stuff that you get, like the shoulder or the cheapest stuff,

421
00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:06,480
like the helmets, the, as, as well as, you know, you get into these sports wheelchairs at three,

422
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:12,640
you know, three, four, five, six, up to 10 grand. I know my hand cycle was like 75, 85,

423
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:21,680
800. It's crazy. So nice. But it's the only way you can participate. So it's, it's, it's kind of

424
00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:28,320
crazy. So, you know, we rely on a lot of organizations, unfortunately, like they don't

425
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:33,360
always cover everything and you can't find enough of them, but there's such a need that, you know,

426
00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:38,640
they can't buy every one of them, you know, so it's, there's a lot that goes involved. It's

427
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:43,440
expensive, very expensive. It's just, that's the challenge, right? I mean, you know how hard it is

428
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:51,360
already. And then, you know, like, I think from toe to hip, it's close to like 170,000 that they

429
00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:59,040
bill insurance and then you pay 20%. Is your foundation geared towards supporting people that

430
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:05,760
need financial support and getting them? So, the Remarkable Foundation, our goal is to be

431
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:13,680
our goal is to be very diverse in who we assist and help. I kind of left that way intentionally.

432
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:20,640
So if I see a need, I can help. But my real true passion is finding great organizations that need

433
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:27,040
that one piece or two pieces of equipment to really propel their organization into helping

434
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:34,800
somebody. Because if I supplied a sled, say for $5,000, all the equipment for someone to play

435
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:44,160
sled hockey, but they could keep that there and it could be a different person could use it every day.

436
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:48,400
Right. So it could be a different person every day for five days. Right. So that's five people

437
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:54,720
a week times 52 people a year, you know, 52 weeks in a year. So it'd be five times 52. So I'd be

438
00:42:54,720 --> 00:43:03,040
helping that amount of people verse just giving one person a sled, right. That can go. So there's

439
00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:07,280
a balance and you got to pick and choose. I'm looking to do both. I'm looking to help individuals

440
00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:13,600
as well as teams so they can have people in and out rotate through. Yeah. I'm hoping the

441
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:19,440
representation that comes from the Paralympics being more publicized will help as well. Because

442
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:25,440
I mean, the price point so high because it's so customized, right. It's not really mass produced.

443
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:31,600
So they can't really get the cost of it down. But if the popularity of it increases, you see now,

444
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:37,040
like with push from wheelchair racers getting sponsors now that they're competing for prize

445
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:42,480
purses and the major marathons and stuff like, oh, that's cool. As the sports become more popular,

446
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:47,280
then you can begin to monetize like your athletic career in the same way that someone else would be

447
00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:52,000
able to. And then you can start to make it more accessible financially. That's the goal of the

448
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:57,040
Mark network. There you go. That's the goal. Let's make it. You know, and if we can organize these,

449
00:43:57,040 --> 00:44:04,000
you know, because I've been involved so many, I see the lack of organization in groups to grow

450
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:09,840
these sports. I see the potential. I'm a promoter. That's what I did. I manage musicians and DJs and

451
00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:18,560
nightclubs and I promoted events, right. And their marketing budgets are really non-existent. So

452
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:24,000
in just what you said, if, you know, there's a hundred thousand people playing,

453
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:28,560
it's a limited market. Once we grow awareness to this and there's a million people playing,

454
00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:34,320
it's a bigger market. And now you can drop the prices because a, it'll also bring in competitors

455
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:39,600
in the market to compete against these individuals to draw down the price too. So that's, that's a

456
00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:44,640
goal. Um, big goal of mine. I want to own the exclusive airing rights at the highest level for

457
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:50,640
mobility impaired sports. And I want to sell that advertisement on that streaming so I can pay the

458
00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:57,040
coaches, pay the leagues, pay the players. That's my dream. I look forward to that dream coming to

459
00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:03,680
fruition for sure. Um, with you both having kids, I have two boys under two years old as well. So

460
00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:08,960
it's something that I'm interested in is how I can get them to grow up and, uh, see disability

461
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:14,400
as just like a natural part of the human existence, or at least be more empathetic and kind based on

462
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:19,200
just being around it, being exposed to it. I think shared recreation and shared interests is one

463
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:25,040
great way of, uh, just kind of normalizing disability inclusion for sure. But how do you

464
00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:32,800
think your disabilities have affected your kids upbringing in a positive way? I think my daughter

465
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:41,120
is, she's got a really great personality and with dealing with me, especially on a day, on a daily

466
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:47,200
basis. And like, like you said, like she's around it all the time, right? She's exposed to, to me

467
00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:54,320
all the time. And so she sees something else. She's very like, uh, not like any other, like there's a

468
00:45:54,320 --> 00:46:01,760
lot of kids that like the stare or like with me, they'll be like, dad, dad, robot legs. Like, oh,

469
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:07,600
yeah. They're like, the dads are more, you know, the parents are mortified. Oh, I'm so sorry. And

470
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:14,800
I'm like, no, it's okay. And they're like, can I touch it? Yeah. I touched the legs. Um, and it's

471
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:19,120
great. Like that alone is great because they're like, now they're interested in their start.

472
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:23,920
They're like, they start asking questions like then like what happened? I'm like, ah, you know,

473
00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:30,080
like I was in like an accident. You got to play it with the parents. I was going on with Nora's, uh,

474
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:36,160
her hockey team, her learned to skate, learned to play hockey. And I would go out there in my sled.

475
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:42,960
And after like three practices, everyone was cool. And I was like, but the first couple times,

476
00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:46,800
you know, I get kids, it's like, you know, they're just staring at me and the still like,

477
00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:51,920
how does that work? You know, there's very, a lot of kids. Yeah. It's curiosity. That's it.

478
00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:55,920
And the parents often squash it by saying like, oh, don't, don't look, don't talk. Like don't

479
00:46:55,920 --> 00:47:00,000
interact with that person. Yeah. You get it. So parents to do that. And I think that's like

480
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:05,520
horrible to be like, no, no, no, don't look. Yeah. It's well intentioned, but it is not. It's just,

481
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:10,800
like, let them go. And for me, it's like, yeah, I'll answer any question up to the point where

482
00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:15,440
they're like, what happened to your legs? They just want to know what happened. And then it's like,

483
00:47:16,240 --> 00:47:24,000
is this an accident? What type of accident? They're smart. The kids are like eight and nine.

484
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:29,040
They're really smart. They're like, there's something happening. You want to know what happened.

485
00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:33,840
They want to know. That's all there. They're curious. Yeah. My, my son was five when I lost

486
00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:39,680
my leg. When I got blown up, I was everything to my son. Me and him were together every day,

487
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:45,920
you know, all day. I was his hockey coach, his learning to skate coach as an able body. So then

488
00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:52,080
all of a sudden dropped him off at daycare and didn't come home for a while. He wasn't able to

489
00:47:52,080 --> 00:48:00,400
see me for two weeks. And then he came in and saw me and now he's 16. And my son volunteers and he

490
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:06,320
mentors siblings of amputees and brothers, you know, brothers of amputees, sisters of amputees.

491
00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:12,320
He's really involved. He gets it. He understands. He can relate. He knows the challenges. He's been

492
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:19,360
with me this whole journey. So yeah, his whole mindset is like, you don't know what people

493
00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:25,680
are facing and challenges at home or because, you know, my son struggles with mine and his

494
00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:30,240
relationship sometimes because of my lack of patience due to my brain injuries, as well as my

495
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:34,880
temper, because of the pain or whatever I'm in and the difficulty for me to do something, I get

496
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:41,920
frustrated. So my son is very sympathetic in the understanding that, you know, there's a kid at

497
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:46,320
school acting out. Well, he's acting out because his sister's autistic and mommy and daddy don't

498
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:52,000
pay attention to him as an able-bodied kid and a kid without a disability as much as they pay

499
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:59,040
attention to their other child. So my son, I think honestly, as much as this has hurt

500
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:04,800
our relationship as a family, it also has helped, but it's also helped him as a, become a man

501
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:12,400
and a better person and understanding challenges people face. So yeah, it's, I don't know. It's,

502
00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:18,400
I think it's a good thing. You know, I think, you know, I think it has made him who he is and I'm

503
00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:24,320
proud of who he is because of it, you know, and I'm glad he was able to, I'm not glad he was able to

504
00:49:24,320 --> 00:49:31,120
experience what happened, but I think the best situation came out of it.

505
00:49:31,120 --> 00:49:35,360
I think even with that, even what happened to us, they both like, my daughter's nice. She knows,

506
00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:41,040
she knows, but it's something that like, they're not, they're not like desensitized to it, but they

507
00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:48,240
get it. And, and it's great to, both our kids can walk into any of our locker rooms and everybody's

508
00:49:48,240 --> 00:49:55,840
missing a body part and they're just normal. And they're also super helpful. Anytime, yeah,

509
00:49:55,840 --> 00:49:59,760
Gavin, anytime it's like, oh, yeah. I'm like, yeah, I've gone, can you grab my water bottle for me?

510
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:07,360
It's in my car. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Nora, same way. She'll grab anything. And Nora, it's actually,

511
00:50:07,360 --> 00:50:11,920
she likes hanging out with the service couple of our teammates have service dogs and she'll like

512
00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:16,800
hang out with them, you know, and watch them. She'll watch them. She takes them for walks.

513
00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:19,120
She takes them for walks. Yeah. With you too. Yeah.

514
00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:24,400
It's a nice parallel. When you mentioned earlier that you were worried about not being able to walk

515
00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:30,560
or run or play with your daughter. And now you're out there on the ice in a different capacity than

516
00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:36,160
you probably had envisioned, but you're still out there. Yeah. Same with like lacrosse too,

517
00:50:36,160 --> 00:50:40,400
because she's, I put on my short legs, my stubbies and like, I'll go out in the field and we'll just

518
00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:46,960
practice catch throwing in. Skiing. You guys go skiing all the time. Skiing. She loves skiing.

519
00:50:46,960 --> 00:50:50,960
The wheelchair lacrosse, the fact that she's like willing to jump into a wheelchair and like,

520
00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:57,040
she didn't want to get out. You gotta get out of the chair. What's the best way for friends and

521
00:50:57,040 --> 00:51:05,040
family to support someone after a traumatic experience like this? Motivate them, do things

522
00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:11,040
with them, include them. Don't assume that they won't do it or can't do it. Ask them and just keep

523
00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:15,920
asking. Like Jeff, you bothered me and bothered me and bothered me about sled hockey. And then my

524
00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:22,240
wife was finally like, you love hockey. Just do it. Yeah. Just do it. Yeah. So stay after people.

525
00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:28,640
Be there for them. Say, hey, if you need something, ask me. Can I help you with that? If not, no big

526
00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:34,640
deal. Let them push them. Push them to challenge themselves, encourage them to go outside of their

527
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:40,400
comfort zone. Because as soon as they do, they really understand that there's nothing that can

528
00:51:40,400 --> 00:51:46,560
hold them back. So that's my message. I'm sure that's the same as 90% of people facing our

529
00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:50,560
challenges would have the same message. Yeah, absolutely. Just to be supportive and

530
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:57,360
to force them kind of out of their comfort zone. That's the big thing. It's like everyone gets in

531
00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:03,760
their comfort zone and doesn't want to leave. I get forced out of it. That's Jeff. Yeah, that's me.

532
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:10,640
Mark Forst. I bug him all the time. He cogs me up. I was questioning if Jeff was going to make it to

533
00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:19,280
the podcast today. Oh yeah. Yeah. Did you have reservations about speaking? No. Yeah. I just,

534
00:52:21,280 --> 00:52:27,120
talking and doing stuff. I did so much of it. I just sort of don't like it anymore. But this

535
00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:32,320
has been very nice because I've done a couple of- Following testimonial, this has been very nice.

536
00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:39,440
Can I put it on my website? Yeah. Mark is, yeah, it's fun hanging out with Mark. Yeah. We have a

537
00:52:39,440 --> 00:52:50,160
long common, me and Jeff. A lot of our activities that we'd like to participate in align very well

538
00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:57,360
together. We're both competitors. Yeah. Oh yeah. Definitely. Yeah. I don't fight as much as you do.

539
00:52:57,360 --> 00:53:04,160
You like sports. Yeah. You claimed that you weren't competitive before though. What? You

540
00:53:04,160 --> 00:53:07,040
claimed that you weren't very competitive or maybe the people that wrote your book

541
00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:12,400
wrote that you weren't particularly competitive before. So I wonder, have you noticed ways that

542
00:53:12,400 --> 00:53:18,640
you've changed since the- I was always like, I like playing sports, but I wasn't super competitive.

543
00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:22,480
Maybe when it came to, I didn't like running. I think I was trying to get that across.

544
00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:25,920
Don't ask me to run the marathon. Is that where you're trying to communicate?

545
00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:32,320
Yeah. Because no way I'll make it. I wouldn't have made it with my legs. 26. I loved hiking.

546
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:39,520
I was more, yeah, when I got into my twenties, I was like, a lot of my friends played like men league.

547
00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:44,480
I played a little bit of men's league hockey, but then like, I liked hiking. I liked being out in

548
00:53:44,480 --> 00:53:51,600
the woods. Yeah. The biggest thing is, and that's a big part of what we're trying to bring out there

549
00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:58,480
is find the community support. Right? Like if I wasn't running and hanging with Jeff,

550
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:06,080
and I wasn't in contact with somebody facing similar challenges, me, he never would have convinced

551
00:54:06,080 --> 00:54:10,160
me to play sled hockey. Nobody would have convinced me. I never would have really gotten involved in

552
00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:14,960
sled hockey and tell you, it was like probably one of the best decisions I made. And I wouldn't

553
00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:21,760
have done it unless, you know, I was with Jeff, somebody facing the same challenges, convincing

554
00:54:21,760 --> 00:54:27,360
me to do it. That's a big thing. It's like a friend. You'd really need like a friend to do it because

555
00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:32,160
I didn't want to play and I love hockey and I was very, I was like very,

556
00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:39,760
I just kind of got thrown into it. I got, I had some good, actually a vet I was watching, I was

557
00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:47,200
Marlboro watching the Heroes Cup, first responders, my brother's in the air force and up in New

558
00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:52,320
Hampshire, the air garden. He was playing in this huge tournament. He's like, Hey, get down here.

559
00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:58,160
There's people in sled. You got to come see this. So I went down, I'm looking, I'm watching with my

560
00:54:58,160 --> 00:55:04,160
dad because he had a game right after my brother and I'm watching and I'm with like goalie, tall

561
00:55:04,160 --> 00:55:08,800
goalie firefighter from like Kansas City. He's watching, he's dressed in his full goalie stuff,

562
00:55:08,800 --> 00:55:13,360
ready to go play with my brother. My brother's behind me and this sled hockey player comes over

563
00:55:13,360 --> 00:55:21,040
to me. He's like, I know you. And I'm like, like, no, man, I got to leave. And no, no kidding. They,

564
00:55:21,040 --> 00:55:28,160
oh, they stopped the game and luckily Spalding was there and they had, they just pulled someone on,

565
00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:32,400
Dylan out of their sled. They're like, get out of it. They're like, you're like the same size as

566
00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:37,200
Jeff. Get out of your sled. Took my legs off. They threw me in a sled right there. And I played the

567
00:55:37,200 --> 00:55:43,680
game, like played the rest of the game. And I was like, this is wild. Like people like full speed

568
00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:48,480
blowing by me, like pushing me over. I'm trying to, they're trying to get me a goal. And I'm just

569
00:55:48,480 --> 00:55:52,400
barely moving around at that point. And that's what the community does. That's what it's about.

570
00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:57,120
It's like, you kind of just have to throw yourself into it. And that's a lot. That's a, that's the

571
00:55:57,120 --> 00:56:02,640
thing with a lot of things in life, right? Just try it and see if you like. And I was like, cause I

572
00:56:02,640 --> 00:56:07,600
would never think it would add up to hockey and it did. And it was like speed. Maybe the same

573
00:56:07,600 --> 00:56:13,440
endorphins as, as right now. Same endorphins. I slid on Breckenridge, Colorado too. I skied

574
00:56:13,440 --> 00:56:23,040
and I did sled hockey before I ever walked. Yeah. And it was, and again, it was just being around

575
00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:29,520
that community. They motivated you and they pushed you to do it. And then once you do it, you hooked.

576
00:56:29,520 --> 00:56:37,280
Like I never had, had an interest to do the marathon. And it was being around the veterans

577
00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:42,160
with the freedom team from, from Achilles. And they just pushed you and they're like,

578
00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:45,600
no, you're doing it. You're doing it. And I'm like, no, I really don't want to do it. And like,

579
00:56:45,600 --> 00:56:50,880
no, you're doing it. And then you do it and you're like, oh, wow, I can do this. And then it's like,

580
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:57,600
now it just becomes chasing that next one. What did doing that marathon 10 years after the bombing

581
00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:06,160
do for you? You know, it allowed me, I was really out there just to like thank people, right. And

582
00:57:06,160 --> 00:57:12,240
take in the crowd and, you know, just absorb the energy from people. And, you know, I stopped off

583
00:57:12,240 --> 00:57:21,600
at quite a few of the medical tents to thank those individuals for volunteering and being there

584
00:57:21,600 --> 00:57:29,200
because yeah, that's their time that they're donating and dedicating to be there to be supportive.

585
00:57:29,920 --> 00:57:38,240
And I never realized the new save lives. They save a lot of runners. Yeah, they do. Yeah. I think

586
00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:44,480
this year the stats are like a thousand people didn't finish like 800 something medical 10,

587
00:57:44,480 --> 00:57:54,320
there's a marathon, but it was I did. Oh yeah. It shows. Look, I never really realized how important

588
00:57:54,320 --> 00:58:00,400
community and support is. So like that's a community, you know, people in volunteering

589
00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:08,560
and what it takes for some individuals to succeed, you know, and how much it takes for us to succeed

590
00:58:08,560 --> 00:58:13,280
during that event. We need all those people. We need the fans. We need the medical. We need the

591
00:58:13,280 --> 00:58:19,280
event organizers. We need all those people or none of this happens. It is a huge, huge undertaking.

592
00:58:19,280 --> 00:58:24,560
Yeah. The logistics are crazy. When we were getting shuttled from Boston, from the Sheridan

593
00:58:24,560 --> 00:58:29,920
back to Hopkinson to start, I was just blown away by how many officers were there. Like

594
00:58:30,560 --> 00:58:39,360
it is, it's a community that's so it's like its own worlds and in, in that what the support is,

595
00:58:39,360 --> 00:58:43,200
you know, and that's, and I wanted to go out there and just thank everybody for support, support, not

596
00:58:43,200 --> 00:58:46,400
just me, but supporting everybody that was out there doing it. And that's what the fans were

597
00:58:46,400 --> 00:58:50,400
doing. That's what me and my buddies were doing there that day, supporting a friend, like to show

598
00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:54,640
them, Hey, we care. We're glad you're doing this and we're here for you. And you know, for this,

599
00:58:54,640 --> 00:59:01,520
like they put the training in that's like a year of training half year of running in the winter.

600
00:59:01,520 --> 00:59:08,560
Yeah. That's the hardest thing you go from snow, sleep, rain, ice, get your parts frozen. Yeah.

601
00:59:08,560 --> 00:59:14,160
They're fun. I know. They're fits and pieces frozen. For those who aren't familiar with

602
00:59:14,160 --> 00:59:18,640
the functionality of it, can you maybe briefly describe the difference between above knee and

603
00:59:18,640 --> 00:59:23,040
below knee from a functionality standpoint? Yeah. There's a paper cut and then there's a negative.

604
00:59:25,360 --> 00:59:31,040
Paper cuts and amputations. Yeah. The above the, so it's, it's the joints, right? You got your

605
00:59:31,040 --> 00:59:35,920
ankle joint and your knee joint. You definitely want more joints. You don't want less. Yeah.

606
00:59:35,920 --> 00:59:40,320
I'm just jealous. I don't really think it's a paper cut for below the knee, but, you know,

607
00:59:40,320 --> 00:59:47,280
I'm just, it's out of jealousy because to have your knee functionality is so much easier in the

608
00:59:47,280 --> 00:59:53,600
amputee in general from anybody. It's tough. It's not, you got to deal with your leg. It's not fitting

609
00:59:53,600 --> 00:59:57,920
every day. You know, it's something different every day. It feels different. Every time you put it on,

610
00:59:57,920 --> 01:00:01,840
you just got to get used to it. It's like a uncomfortable shoe that has like thorns.

611
01:00:03,200 --> 01:00:06,160
Go put thorns and rocks in your shoe and then walk around every day.

612
01:00:09,680 --> 01:00:14,400
It's like a glove that's way too tight and it doesn't fit right. And then your fingers are still

613
01:00:14,400 --> 01:00:22,960
cold. But it beats, I guess, like, then you know how it feels to be in a wheelchair. Like at home,

614
01:00:22,960 --> 01:00:30,800
I'll have my wheelchair. Just to be able to use my legs and to stand upright and actually to do

615
01:00:30,800 --> 01:00:38,720
something. Yeah. I put my stubbies on and go mow my lawn. And, you know, you have a rough time,

616
01:00:38,720 --> 01:00:44,400
but then you don't take it for granted that you get to move. Even with the knees, it's difficult

617
01:00:44,400 --> 01:00:48,720
with microprocessor knees. Like some movements, you'll just like lose your knee. You're gone.

618
01:00:48,720 --> 01:00:55,120
You're going down. Financially, the cost of below the knee is less than above the knee, significantly

619
01:00:55,120 --> 01:01:01,440
cheaper to be below the knee. Your functionality is a lot better being below the knee than above

620
01:01:01,440 --> 01:01:07,680
the knee. Like Jeff's situation being double above the knee is like, I mean, then there's hip

621
01:01:07,680 --> 01:01:13,200
articulates. Yeah. That's another joint. That's another joint. So that's even more difficult.

622
01:01:13,200 --> 01:01:21,040
So me personally, I could care less if I had any legs or any movement in my legs. If I have a war

623
01:01:21,040 --> 01:01:25,600
prosthetic again, I would be okay with being in a wheelchair. As long as I'm up and about and out

624
01:01:25,600 --> 01:01:32,800
and about. So you can talk to people. You can talk to guys off a truck. I could sell ice to an Eskimo.

625
01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:39,280
But no, it's, you know, the reality is, is just accepting our situation, right? Above the knee,

626
01:01:39,280 --> 01:01:45,040
below the knee, spinal cord injury, whatever it's just accept it because it's never going to change.

627
01:01:45,040 --> 01:01:50,160
It's not going to grow back. You know, they are doing advancements where they're attaching below

628
01:01:50,160 --> 01:01:55,120
the knees, you know, legs and stuff. Amy Purdy had the opportunity to put some below the knees

629
01:01:55,120 --> 01:02:01,120
back on. Like the guy I was down at Walter Reed with, they put, they surgically reattached a

630
01:02:01,120 --> 01:02:07,440
cadaver's arms and they function on them. Yeah. So yeah, technology is insane.

631
01:02:07,440 --> 01:02:13,040
Yeah. Technology will continue to evolve. Yeah, it will continue to evolve. But I, you know,

632
01:02:13,040 --> 01:02:17,920
I look at my situation, I don't need to surgically put a leg back on. No, thank you. I don't want to

633
01:02:17,920 --> 01:02:23,200
take the rejection medications, the risk of infections. I live a great life, you know,

634
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:27,760
and I live a great life because of support too. If we keep our body, like our body's healthy,

635
01:02:27,760 --> 01:02:33,040
eat right, we've run pretty much. Exercise. Yeah. Yeah. It's a thing. Like I feel like there's some

636
01:02:33,040 --> 01:02:38,800
arbitrary standard of like recovery is being able to do X, Y, Z, but it looks different for everyone.

637
01:02:38,800 --> 01:02:43,200
Everyone has different goals. Yeah. And it's not like if someone doesn't walk again after a spinal

638
01:02:43,200 --> 01:02:48,800
cord injury that they like didn't try hard enough. It's like everyone's situation is different. So

639
01:02:48,800 --> 01:02:55,280
absolutely. Every socket, every amputee, we all walk different. We all have different fits. What

640
01:02:55,280 --> 01:03:01,840
works for me doesn't always work for everybody else. Well, even normal people, like they,

641
01:03:01,840 --> 01:03:07,200
everyone has different gates. No one's the same. And it's the same with just because someone's an

642
01:03:07,200 --> 01:03:13,200
amputee doesn't mean I know him. It doesn't mean I like him. Right. Do you like every person?

643
01:03:16,880 --> 01:03:23,440
I don't have to like you because we both miss a leg. Like I usually do like everybody. Yeah.

644
01:03:23,440 --> 01:03:28,480
We'll help you. Yeah. We'll help. Yeah. We'll have to help you. Um, but no, I mean,

645
01:03:28,480 --> 01:03:35,440
you guys are both able to joke around a lot. And I know like in your bookie, there's a quote about

646
01:03:35,440 --> 01:03:42,720
you referencing like Lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump, like the role of humor and recovery must be

647
01:03:42,720 --> 01:03:47,760
essential. That was right there. I, that was the first time I woke up. Yeah. I have my best friend,

648
01:03:47,760 --> 01:03:54,320
Sully, and he was staring at me. I had the breathing tube and I couldn't talk. Like, so I always tell

649
01:03:54,320 --> 01:04:03,360
the joke. I'm like, oh, I'm not in heaven, Sully. But he was, he was scared. Like I saw it in his

650
01:04:03,360 --> 01:04:07,920
face. You know, he's scared. He's like, Hey, you don't have your legs. It's like doing that to me.

651
01:04:07,920 --> 01:04:14,800
I'm like, I know. Then he gave me a pen and pad. And I wrote the first thing I wrote was LT.Dan,

652
01:04:14,800 --> 01:04:20,240
Lieutenant Dan. And he looked at it and he goes, you're an idiot. And then the FBI came in.

653
01:04:20,240 --> 01:04:24,640
And they're like, yeah, hey, they're like, get his breathing tubes out. He's like,

654
01:04:24,640 --> 01:04:28,960
cause I wrote down, I was like, I saw the, I saw the dude. He was right next to me. He had a bag

655
01:04:28,960 --> 01:04:34,320
and a bag. And this was like that Tuesday. Yeah. The next Tuesday morning I wrote that. And then

656
01:04:34,320 --> 01:04:40,000
they got the breathing tubes out and I had to work with them up until Wednesday. I just saw in the

657
01:04:40,000 --> 01:04:43,440
sketch and they were showing me all kinds of pictures. I was going to say, you're already

658
01:04:43,440 --> 01:04:48,560
going through enough trying to recover and making you do all this work. Oh, I had the best nurse,

659
01:04:48,560 --> 01:04:55,360
Odessa, the Rottweiler. She was great. She would swear at the state police, the FBI. Get out of

660
01:04:55,360 --> 01:05:01,840
here. What are you? All right, time's up. Like, no, we need more time. All right.

661
01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:07,920
You done recording? No, I still got to go in here. Yeah. Yeah. No. So for people that maybe want to

662
01:05:07,920 --> 01:05:15,280
get involved with adaptive sports or support organizations that benefit people like you and

663
01:05:15,280 --> 01:05:20,000
people in situations like yourselves, where would you recommend that they go to find?

664
01:05:21,120 --> 01:05:25,840
Oh, I mean, I'd recommend go to the Mark Network. That was a plug. That was a segue into,

665
01:05:25,840 --> 01:05:32,080
uh, into your, that was a softball. Yeah. So, you know, no, seriously, we're looking to partner. So

666
01:05:32,080 --> 01:05:36,800
if you are a nonprofit organization that helps people with any type of disability, reach out to

667
01:05:36,800 --> 01:05:42,000
me, the Mark Network, it's a free app, MARC, uh, and provide us with your links. We want to promote

668
01:05:42,000 --> 01:05:46,640
you, right? We, we interview people. We, we bring awareness to what people are doing out there.

669
01:05:46,640 --> 01:05:51,600
If you have an adaptive sports program, reach out to the MARK Network, please get on our app and

670
01:05:51,600 --> 01:05:56,960
promote your product. That's who we are. We're a promotional platform for people to promote what

671
01:05:56,960 --> 01:06:03,280
they're doing to help other people find what you're doing so they can participate, they can donate,

672
01:06:03,280 --> 01:06:09,120
and they can volunteer. Um, so yeah, I'd say go to the MARK Network, but, uh, there's a ton of

673
01:06:09,120 --> 01:06:14,160
great organizations like Jeff, you know, I'll let Jeff go through his, you know, I have mine that I

674
01:06:14,160 --> 01:06:20,240
believe into like a leg forever. The, the, the Webb and Norden Foundation, the Remarkable Foundation

675
01:06:20,240 --> 01:06:26,240
is mine. Uh, Greg Hill Foundation, the Clatter Foundation with, uh, Ken Casey, they, they helped

676
01:06:26,240 --> 01:06:34,560
us out. Um, Semper Fi, which actually was the America's Fund. Um, there's a ton of adaptive,

677
01:06:34,560 --> 01:06:40,400
Granite State adaptive, Vermont adaptive, Maine adaptive. Um, there are so many great,

678
01:06:40,400 --> 01:06:49,440
great organizations. Uh, we have an adaptive gym here. Um, ADAPTX. So, you know, uh, just do some

679
01:06:49,440 --> 01:06:58,080
research. Where's that? I think it's in Lancaster. Full 17. Yeah. So Jeff would go into a couple of

680
01:06:58,080 --> 01:07:05,200
organizations that he knows and he likes. The gym here is, is amazing. Yeah. It's really cool.

681
01:07:06,000 --> 01:07:11,440
It's like super, you walk in, it's flat. I mean, that's the key. It's like any, there's a lot of,

682
01:07:11,440 --> 01:07:15,600
yeah, no stairs. I mean, that's one of, I think that's one of my goals too, is like,

683
01:07:16,560 --> 01:07:22,400
people assume that you have to have a gym outfit at like Spalding to start working with people

684
01:07:22,400 --> 01:07:28,560
with disabilities. This is like open floor spaces actually better. So it's like, it's,

685
01:07:28,560 --> 01:07:33,680
it's less work to make it more accessible. Like, don't get me wrong. Spalding has a great

686
01:07:33,680 --> 01:07:39,440
facility. It's great for like, I think it's great for inpatient, but this would be like premiere for

687
01:07:39,440 --> 01:07:43,520
like someone that's trying to get back to their life. And yeah, that's our goal to kind of

688
01:07:43,520 --> 01:07:48,480
reacclimate people back into their community. Like look at something that's not a hospital.

689
01:07:48,480 --> 01:07:53,680
This is like a gym that you work out. It's great. Planet fitness. This is like you're with people.

690
01:07:54,800 --> 01:07:59,040
You're not with patients and you're not a patient anymore. You're a person. It gives you back your

691
01:07:59,040 --> 01:08:05,440
dignity and your pride. Absolutely. And it's like you walk in here just like in your normal. Yeah.

692
01:08:06,320 --> 01:08:11,680
Thank you. That's a lot. But I definitely appreciate both of you coming all the way out to

693
01:08:11,680 --> 01:08:16,240
Lancaster. I know it's in the middle of nowhere, so you even have to eat a salad for lunch. So I

694
01:08:16,240 --> 01:08:24,160
apologize for that. The salad was good. I went into like the tofu stuff. Yeah. You can pay me

695
01:08:24,160 --> 01:08:33,200
to eat that. I had a nice burger. I'm going to have a steak tonight for dinner. Well, we'll plug,

696
01:08:33,840 --> 01:08:38,320
we'll make sure the Mark Network is listed in the show notes. I'll include Stronger,

697
01:08:40,320 --> 01:08:45,920
the movie and the book as well. What was one of the contingencies that the most handsome actor

698
01:08:45,920 --> 01:08:50,960
in Hollywood play you? No, I didn't. I said, you didn't pick Jake Gyllenhaal? No, I said,

699
01:08:50,960 --> 01:08:55,040
so they make us look like each other. I said they'd have to hit me with a bat a couple of times.

700
01:08:57,200 --> 01:09:02,400
Get you to his level. Yeah. Or they have to do plastic surgery on Jake to make him look

701
01:09:02,400 --> 01:09:06,800
better like you. No, he did a fantastic job though. Talk about someone that is,

702
01:09:07,840 --> 01:09:14,080
he's serious and he wanted to get like the disability down. Like he was

703
01:09:14,080 --> 01:09:19,600
intrigued about the legs and the movement and what it had to, you know, what I was going through,

704
01:09:19,600 --> 01:09:24,640
just like everybody else that I worked with. It was awesome. Good. No, I think he did a phenomenal

705
01:09:24,640 --> 01:09:30,240
job. I mean, I truly like, I'm just impressed with everything positive that you have to say about

706
01:09:30,240 --> 01:09:38,240
that individual, you know, about him. It was cool after too, is we had some fundraising and he did

707
01:09:38,240 --> 01:09:43,680
a fundraiser where he started this program called the Stronger program with Wiggle Your Toes and

708
01:09:43,680 --> 01:09:49,680
Minnesota. And we got like 30 running legs for kids and we kept it going for a couple of years

709
01:09:49,680 --> 01:09:55,840
and we're just trying to keep it going right now, just doing promos. And so hopefully that keeps on

710
01:09:56,560 --> 01:10:04,720
keeping on. That'd be awesome. I mean, he's kids, they need a lot of kids with amputees,

711
01:10:04,720 --> 01:10:09,920
they like the blades so they can run. Yeah. And the blades aren't covered by insurance most of

712
01:10:09,920 --> 01:10:14,320
the time. Unless children, I don't know about, I know as far as if I went to go get a running.

713
01:10:14,320 --> 01:10:20,320
It's different. Yeah. They only cover a certain amount. But in mass, I guess they're trying to

714
01:10:20,320 --> 01:10:27,520
work towards more of that. 80 at least, you know, covering a good portion of it through insurance.

715
01:10:28,160 --> 01:10:34,720
No, but I love, I like seeing someone like Jake's with his status being so down to earth and so

716
01:10:34,720 --> 01:10:41,600
involved and so dedicated to doing what he did. And I know, I know I trust Jeff's opinion on people

717
01:10:41,600 --> 01:10:46,320
because I know Jeff really well. And when Jeff speaks highly about someone like that, it's like,

718
01:10:47,440 --> 01:10:51,680
he's definitely the real deal. So yeah, I could text him at any time and he's always there.

719
01:10:51,680 --> 01:10:57,440
So he's checking in, see how I'm doing, what I'm up to. That's cool. That's awesome. Yeah.

720
01:10:57,440 --> 01:11:03,680
This summer we were hanging out with him and he was taking Nora for rides in his Tesla. It was funny.

721
01:11:03,680 --> 01:11:09,440
She was, Oh my gosh. She loved it. Imagine you're like, yeah, I just hang out with Jake.

722
01:11:10,400 --> 01:11:14,160
Like your daughter hangs out with Jake, like everybody's going to want to be her friend.

723
01:11:15,120 --> 01:11:17,840
Yeah. So when I asked you earlier about how your life is better now after

724
01:11:18,880 --> 01:11:22,000
something like that, that's pretty cool. I could have added Jake and

725
01:11:22,880 --> 01:11:28,320
hanging out with Mark. Mark and Jake. Yeah. We would have other survivors too. Like the survivors

726
01:11:28,320 --> 01:11:33,600
are awesome. We have a good family. Like we have Fenway this year. Again, Fenway invites us every

727
01:11:33,600 --> 01:11:39,280
year, which is amazing. And that was the first time I was on the field in like six years. I

728
01:11:39,280 --> 01:11:44,000
finally did it. You went this year again? Yeah. Nora wanted to go. She wanted to say play ball.

729
01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:49,280
So we all said play ball. You know what? I swear he only went because I was in Aruba.

730
01:11:49,280 --> 01:11:56,000
Yeah. We were taking a vacation and I went and it was fun. Yeah. Gronk did the spike. Yeah. With

731
01:11:56,000 --> 01:12:03,760
the ball. Yeah. And I didn't see Pedro, but we did the play ball and then got like, it was, it's kind

732
01:12:03,760 --> 01:12:08,880
of, I'm like trying to walk off and we're getting like a standing O from everyone, which is fantastic.

733
01:12:09,600 --> 01:12:16,080
It's the Red Sox organizations. They're obviously on like for us. I literally just pick up the phone

734
01:12:16,080 --> 01:12:22,960
with them and anything you need. They have been amazing. I've been, I the first year, so I've been

735
01:12:22,960 --> 01:12:28,480
going back and Jeff's been skipping out. Then the one year I skipped out, he goes back. He's like,

736
01:12:28,480 --> 01:12:34,640
Mark's not going. I'm going. I don't have to talk to him. Hey, we've been a lot. I was like,

737
01:12:34,640 --> 01:12:38,960
I only went cause Nora wanted to go. She was like, dad, we got to go. And she's at that age,

738
01:12:38,960 --> 01:12:44,880
nine. She's like, she likes to do stuff. And I'm like, all right. I know that's, I'm blessed with

739
01:12:45,840 --> 01:12:52,640
my son. I, 90% of what I do, I would never go to certain concerts. I would never go to Fenway.

740
01:12:52,640 --> 01:12:58,640
I would never be near a crowd again if I had a choice, but my nephew, my niece, my other nephew,

741
01:12:58,640 --> 01:13:04,320
my other niece, Uncle Mark, do we want to go to Morgan wall and can you call? Yeah. We want to

742
01:13:04,320 --> 01:13:09,600
go to Zach Brown. Can you get us tickets at Fenway? Like, yes. Can we go, can we go to the Red Sox

743
01:13:09,600 --> 01:13:16,400
game and throw out the first pitch? My nephew, Finley loves baseball. So I'm like, yes, we'll go.

744
01:13:16,400 --> 01:13:21,760
But if I had choice, I wouldn't go. Yeah. But so that was me for a while, but I do like that.

745
01:13:21,760 --> 01:13:27,040
Family members pushing you out of your comfort zone. They do. But once we go there, the people

746
01:13:27,040 --> 01:13:31,920
that are there, the best, they treat us like they are amazing. They're so sweet. And the crowd,

747
01:13:31,920 --> 01:13:38,240
yeah, the crowd. It's just, it just reminds you of the support support. And it's like, it does drive

748
01:13:38,240 --> 01:13:44,880
you to do more and do better and come out of your shell. Yeah. But thank you for having us, man. I

749
01:13:44,880 --> 01:13:50,080
appreciate it. This was great. It was least got me to see my friend, Jeff, you know, cause I have to

750
01:13:50,080 --> 01:13:55,760
always bother him to hang out and he's always, he's busy. He's a busy man. Right. Appreciate you guys

751
01:13:55,760 --> 01:14:01,200
taking time out of here. I was trying to get you to skate yesterday. I had some stuff. Thank you.

752
01:14:01,200 --> 01:14:06,320
Thank you for having us. Thank you for listening to the AdaptX Podcast. Our effort to amplify the

753
01:14:06,320 --> 01:14:10,320
ideas of our guests and create more inclusive and accessible industries is futile unless these

754
01:14:10,320 --> 01:14:14,880
episodes reach a larger audience. If you enjoyed our discussion today, please leave us a rating or

755
01:14:14,880 --> 01:14:19,440
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756
01:14:19,440 --> 01:14:23,280
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757
01:14:23,280 --> 01:14:50,080
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