Disability to Ability Podcast

Our guest this week on the podcast is Brett Cassella. I had the pleasure of meeting Brett 7 years back at my first powerlifting meet. I was amazed at how strong of a bench presser he was. It wasn't until meeting up with him and hearing his story did I realize how difficult of a road it was for him dealing with a hidden disease all while still trying to compete as a powerlifter. He was diagnosed with Ulcer Colitis. It took over a year of being misdiagnosed and dealing with different levels of sickness all the the way to almost dying. In the process, he lost over 100 pounds from being sick at one point to being able fight his way back to being able to bench press over 500 pounds post diagnosis. He is now back to living a normal life while closely monitoring this very unpredictable disease.

Adam Lucio was in a car accident at 5 months old when a drunk driver ran a stop sign hitting his parents car. He was ejected from his car seat leaving him paralyzed. His accident didn't stop him from anything it only made him stronger. Adam and I talk about his childhood and where his will to want to push his body to limits came from and what makes him who he is today. 

Sam was born with Cerebral Palsy. They have been friends since high school. They have been making videos together sharing their adventures with Sam’s off-road wheelchair. They now can been seen jumping in the woods or ripping it up at the skatepark. Seeing the incredible bond they have and Sam’s contagious smile, what’s not to love about these guys. The message they are trying to get out there is to be inclusive and that is okay to be friends with people with differences. They are proving to everyone that no matter your condition you can make the most out of your life with a positive mind set. Follow their journey on Tik Tok, Instagram or Facebook @ExtremeMotus. For more information on the wheelchairs go to extremotus.com. 

Chelsea Bear was born with Cerebral Palsy. She is an advocate for those with her condition on social media and Aerie ambassador. She believes in living life with a positive attitude and making the best out of the life we are given.

Kevin Bramble is an American Paralympian Sit skier and Mono skier. In 1994, he was in a snowboarding accident that paralyzed him. This was caused from an incorrect landing off of a cliff. It was a few years before recovery, although he was still paralyzed. He then decided to start sit-sking. He taught himself how to ski and he found a passion in the sport. In 1999, he made the U.S. ski team. He went on to win a gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002 and 2006 in the Torino Paralympics in Downhill Sit-Skiing. He has also won a bronze medal in the 2016 Aspen Winter X Games in Mono Skiing. He is currently working on a come back to compete once again in the next winter Paralympic games. He also founded the adaptive competitive ski company KBG Goodz. His skis can be seen used by the worlds top athletes. His product line up doesn't stop there as he continues to raise the bar in other areas of adaptive mobility sports. He is working on and creating electric skateboards, quad cycles, wheelchairs and wake boards.  www.kbggoodz.com for more information on what he has to offer.

Kristen Victoria was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Scoliosis. She is a blogger and a world traveler. 

In 2012 Clint Zentner crashed racing his dirt bike and had another bike land on him leaving him paralyzed. He has always had a passion for racing motorsports. He didn't let his accident stop him from chasing what he loves. He got into UTV racing and eventually competed on a professional level. He talks about what it took for him to reach his goal of racing again and the struggles a long the way. 

Shannon Crossland was born with Ectrodactylya. She was born with just one finger on each hand and two toes on each foot. As a child she under went multiple toe to hand transplant operations. She now is an advocate for embracing differences in people with all abilities and having self love.

Carley Meuchel was born with Cerebal Palsy she only weighed 2 pounds 4 ounces at birth. In 2019 she became a public speaker and a published author. She released her book about her life in 2019 "The Wheel Truth: Don't Just Survive- Learn To Thrive". Since her career change she has touched peoples lives everywhere and she continues to show with the right attitude you can achieve greatness. 

Kelly Northington sustained a traumatic brain injury while serving active duty in the U.S. Army. Along with dealing with her brain injury she also has PTSD, Anxiety and ADHD. Even though she has had to face these obstacles she has chosen to live with the attitude of being able to over come any obstacle that gets in her way.

Ben Huntzinger was involved in a wreck on April 25, 2009, that left him paralyzed from the chest down. While he was in physical therapy, he started to realize the wheel chair industry was missing an affordable off-road wheelchair. He wanted to be able to return to enjoying the outdoors without limitations of his wheelchair. He decided to modify his chair to make that possible. What started as a way for him to get back to doing what he loves, turned to something much bigger. It has now become his life passion to build affordable off-road wheelchairs. That is when Spartan Wheel Chariots was born. Listening to his story of where he started and how far he has come with this journey is so inspiring. For more information about the chairs he builds visit his website at www.spartanwheelchariots.com

Kimberly Borg has PTSD and anxiety driven Tourettes.  She became a service dog handler in 2012 when she was paired with her dog, Lady. She worked with a trainer to train Lady and discovered that she had a passion for working with dogs. She later went on to apprentice under the trainer to become a dog trainer herself. She started her own Service Dog training company 4 years ago called Furever Pawsitive Change. 

We talk with Amy Brancifort she was born with Autism and ADHD. She has lost over 160lbs through nutrition and being physically active. One of her biggest passions in life is competing in obstacle course races all over the country with her service dog. She tells us how service dogs help her get through her daily life. 

We talk with Matt Coyne about living with Multiple Sclerosis and how he found fitness as a way to battle his disease. 

Kirstie and Keith talk to Pramit Bhargava, the creator of Louie Voice Control. In 1999, he took a medicine for pain relief. This medication had a 2% chance of visual impairment as a side effect. He later went on to nearly lose all of his vision. He got the idea to develop the voice control app called Louie from his need to utilize cellphone apps in his daily life.

We Got the chance to talk with Angela Kim a tramatic brain injury survivor. She is a life coach and career coach and her passion is working with the disabled. We go in to detail about her journey into coaching. 

This weeks guest Madeline Weiss she was born with a rare genetic lung disease called Primary Cillary disease. She wasn’t diagnosed with it until she was 13 years old. She shares her story of growing up with this condition and how it affects her daily life. She discusses how her love of music and theatre has helped her cope with her daily challenges. She also shares how the pandemic has affected her life while dealing with a lung disease.

Keith and Kirstie talk with Colm Whooley as he discusses being a wheelchair user in Ireland. He also goes into detail about the self defense course for wheelchair users he is developing. 

Keith and Kirstie talk about finding love with a disability and share personal stories of their own love story. Keith shares stories of dating growing up and what some of the challenges were. 

Keith and Kirstie talk with Olivia Freed a student studying to be a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst. She explains what Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy is and how it can benefit those with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She shares her first hand learning experiences and explains why she is passionate about the ABA field. 

Keith and Kirstie sit down and talk with Evan George about his vision impairment Optic Atrophy. Listen as he shares stories of how he dealt with it as a child and continues to overcome it in his daily life. 

Keith and Kirstie discuss why it is important to be physically active and the different ways individuals with disabilities can achieve that goal.  

Keith and Kirstie talk about Keith's Pet peeves as a wheel user and personal experiences. Some of the topics include handicap parking, using public bathrooms and treating people with disabilities as equals. 

Keith and Kirstie sit down with Carrie Naylor and discuss the struggles of being mute as a child and what it is like living with a learning disability.

Keith and Kirstie discuss the questions that they have been asked.

Join hosts, Keith and Kirstie, in an introduction episode. On this episode, you'll hear Keith's story of his journey of being disabled, along with conversation between a husband and wife. 

Disability to Ability Podcast announcement