The Unexpected Journey

David McCauley is an internationally renowned artist, a sailor and board member of The Impossible Dream organization, a traveler, a partner, an activist, and many other things. He is also one of my first friends also living as a quadriplegic with spinal cord injury. We met sailing from Boston to Newburyport, Massachusetts on The Impossible Dream several years ago. David came on The Unexpected Jour...

Sierra, Chris, Jack, and Arlo Rehrer live in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Sierra is a physical therapist and Chris is a physician assistant. When Chris and Sierra met and fell in love, they dreamt of traveling the world and using their medical skills to serve rural communities. That changed when their first child, Jack, was diagnosed with spina bifida and hydrocephalus while Sierra was pregnant....

Sam Bloom is a world champion adaptive surfer, a competitive kayak racer, a public speaker, world traveler, and a wife and a mother to three boys. The story of her accident resulting in spinal cord injury and the recovery process for Sam and her family is the inspiration for the feature film Penguin Bloom starring Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln. Sam is fortunate to have many opportunities in her l...

First episode of Season 4 dropping Thursday, August 8!

Louis Arevalo is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, outdoor adventurer, husband, and father who grew up and currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was paralyzed in a backcountry skiing accident in 2020. In the nearly 3 years since, he has been on a journey recovering his career, his ability to experience the outdoors, and finding renewed focus and commitment in his relationships and in his ab...

Indiana Porta was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease, her senior year in high school.  While it has always presented challenges, she pursued her dreams - traveling abroad, graduating from law school, and landing a  job as an attorney in New York City. In 2021, an incident related to her lupus resulted in paralysis, paraplegia, and full-time wheelchair use. She shares her story of recovery...

Jack Trottier grew up in Northern Massachusetts an athlete and a hometown kid. When he was 17 years old, he was paralyzed in a backyard snowboarding accident resulting in quadriplegia. In the years since, Jack has built a purposeful life for himself, recently riding his handcycle from Massachusetts to Atlanta to raise awareness and funds for the Shepherd Center, a spinal cord injury rehab hospital...

Trevor Kennison is one of the best adaptive skiers in the world and now a household name in the ski community. He is continually pushing the limits of what is possible as a sit-skier, and goes by the moniker #sitskiboss social media. He is currently on a film tour for his full length documentary "Full Circle" that follows the story of his accident, the life of a kindred soul Barry Corbet...

In episode 23, we spoke with Kirk Williams about his journeys traveling the Americas in his wheelchair accessible camper vans. At the time of the interview, Kirk was about to head down to Baja, California for some rugged exploration. When he eventually returned stateside, Kirk and I caught up again and he shared some stories from an epic adventure!  Guest info: @impact.overland kirk@impactoverland...

Jacques Matellus is a model, actor, and musician. From an early age he was drawn to performing. As an adult, Jacques was paralyzed in a stage accident resulting in a spinal cord injury and quadriplegia. After taking time to focus on physical and mental recovery he returned to his career as an artist. Recently he has modeled for big-name brands like Target and Tommy Hilfiger, and released his first...

Alana Nichols is legendary in the adaptive sports and disability community. She is a three time gold medalist and dual sport athlete in both wheelchair basketball and Alpine skiing. She's also the first female American to win gold in both the summer and the winter Paralympic games. Alaina's been featured on 60 minutes, has big-time corporate sponsors, and is a force in the world of women...

Sam Summers is a skier, mountain biker, hockey player, CrossFitter, and surfer.  She's also a scientist, traveler, and a partner.  Five years ago she was paralyzed and now navigates the world in a wheelchair. In the last half decade she has returned to work, returned to her life as an athlete, discovered new sports, married her longtime boyfriend, and embraced a new community.  Sam thoughtful...

Annijke Wade grew up in Northern California and developed her passion for the outdoors in high school and then college in Oregon. After twists and turns in her professional career she landed in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she  discovered and fell in love with mountain biking. Quickly, she was on a fast track to being a sponsored racer. In July 2021 her path averted when she was paralyzed while trai...

Dr. Gabrielle Ficchi identifies as a disabled woman. She is a licensed therapist as well as a certified rehabilitation counselor. Gabrielle has 10 years of both teaching and counseling experience. She currently works as the CEO & Therapist at her therapy practice, New Perspectives LLC. Working to bring mental health services to the disability community & their families. She also works as a...

Kirk Williams is a world traveler. He has driven vans all through the Americas, from Alaska to Chile and Argentina. He's quadriplegic from a mountain biking accident and has become an expert in building out adaptive off-road ready vans. Kirk is also taking his adventuring to another level by joining forces with the Walkabout Foundation to distribute wheelchairs to people with disabilities in...

Meira Nelson is a mother, champion adaptive surfer, former Paralympian, lover of the ocean, and more. She was born in Samoa where she was paralyzed in a car accident as a teenager, and has lived most of her life in Hawaii where she has raised her family, including a disabled daughter, and honed her skills in the waves.  Meira speaks beautifully on her experience with trauma, grief, passion, and lo...

Tim Burr lived a pretty awesome life as an outdoorsy kid in Colorado. As an adult, he still does. In 2014, Tim was paralyzed in a skiing accident. Now, he runs Return to Dirt an adaptive motor sports organization where he helps people of all disabilities get out in the backcountry. Adaptive off-roading is one of the most accessible adaptive sports which allows Tim to help that many more people get...

Welcome back for Season 3 of The Unexpected Journey! This season we talk to an overland adventurer, a nonprofit founder, a model and R&B singer, a highly decorated Paralympian, a peer mentor and disability activist, a champion surfer, and many more. First episode drops June 8! 

Mateo Rodriguez lives at the intersection of developmental disability with autism and physical disability as a person who uses a wheelchair and has vision loss. He was raised in Southern Massachusetts and is adopted, his biological family is Paraguayan. As a child, he hoped to travel to his birth country and to explore and learn more about South American and Central American cultures. When he had...

Tyler Turner - a previous guest on The Unexpected Journey - and I recently caught up in Oceanside, California, where we both competed in the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships as members of the High Fives Surf Club.  If you haven't already, listen to Season 1 Episode 11 to hear Tyler's full story. Recently, Tyler has been on a wild ride full of triumphs and adventure. This episode...

Tony Schmiesing has been in a wheelchair for nearly 40 years. He grew up in Southern California an athlete and a passionate skateboarder and surfer. In high school, an accident resulting in quadriplegia changed all of that.  Following graduation, he enrolled at UC Berkeley and landed in the '80's not long after the '70's disability rights movement. He still lives in Berkeley to...

Olivia Rey grew up in Switzerland in a Swiss and French family of big skiers. As soon as Olivia and her siblings could walk they were on the ski slopes. In 1996, when she was 12, her family moved to Whistler, British Columbia. After moving to Canada, Olivia picked up snowboarding and grew to love traveling and outdoor sports, especially in the mountains. When we recorded this interview she was in...

Jose Martinez is no stranger to adversity.  Following a challenging childhood in Los Angeles, Jose enlisted in the US Army and deployed to Afghanistan where he stepped on an IED. During a long and painful recovery, Jose discovered adaptive surfing. Through grit, determination, and passion, as well as much support from his family, friends, therapists, and sponsors, Jose is now one of the top adapti...

Lizzy Ragan grew up in a small town and went to a small high school in rural Oregon. After graduating from Oregon state, she moved to Boston where she earned a Master's Degree in Epidemiology from Boston University and dedicated her life to studying infectious disease and global health. In her free time, Lizzy would spend as much time as she could outside. As an adult, she became an avid cycl...

Shelby Estocado is the 2021 High Fives Athlete of the Year. This just a couple short years after the snowboarding accident that resulted in paralysis and paraplegia. Her rapid return to living life to the fullest is remarkable. In listening to Shelby share her story, it's clear that  tenacity, positivity, presence, and the strength of her family and community have served her well, and will co...