Hess's Heroes

Gordo by Chris Hess

It may be universally true that the world is always changing, but it seems like one would be hard-pressed to find a time that the pace of human “innovation” has been such a double-edged sword. While I fully believe in the progress of technology, there is ample evidence that there are some negative side effects. For instance, how many overweight people do you see these days, how many times have you had a half-baked conversation with someone who was mostly paying attention to their phones and whatever your beliefs about how we should handle health care, how many people do you know these days that just don’t feel all that well? Today’s guest on the Hess’s Heroes podcast is Ryan Tauzell. I got hooked up with Ryan a little over a year ago when I wrenched my back picking up a 50 pound dumbbell in a hotel gym in California after a long flight. We describe the turn of events in how Ryan helped me in our discussion, but let’s just say that I got something different than expected. And it turned out to be really effective AND intriguing to me. Ryan works as a physical therapist at Choice PT in Christiansburg, VA and is certified in the McKenzie Method. We talk a lot about how one can recover from injuries, how much of our pain in life today is a product of modern lifestyles, Ryan also offers up some great advice on how to leverage technology for good, how to combat “text neck,” answers questions about the benefit of a standing desk and as usual talks about his influences and makes some brass tax recommendations of some things you can do to make yourself better. I asked Ryan to come on because I think he is a bit of a miracle worker, but I also really love talking with him. His enthusiasm for his work is palpable. This guy has found his calling and if it didn’t cost me a co-pay, I’d visit him for work just to gab with him. Luckily he enjoys a cold beverage much as I do and that affords us alternate opportunities. I hope that you enjoy today’s conversation with today’s Hess’s Hero who I am giving the moniker Dr. Spine.

Hey everyone, today’s episode is going to be a special one. When I was thinking of potential guests for this show, I kept returning to the idea that it might be a really fun opportunity to use it as a means to reconnect with someone in my past that I haven’t had a deep conversation with in some time. And I thought of my brother, who as you will see in this episode has led nothing short of an interesting life. That being said, I hadn’t really talked to him beyond superficially about his experiences and I certainly had not asked him about what some of the major lessons were that he has learned in his crazy journey to Japanese Zen Monasteries and how that has translated back into living back in the western world. Corey and I have shared so much in this life and I have loved being a part of his Odyssey, but it was both eye-and heart-opening for me to get a chance to sit down and talk to him about the wisdom he has gained throughout his trials and tribulations. Some specific highlights include his discussion of how to get over the struggles of meditation – pretty much everywhere you look these days, you hear about the benefits of mindfulness, but MANY people that I talk to have tried and pretty quickly given up – here is your chance to learn from a guy who says he has been in meditation gunfights! Corey also really talks about some of his mentors and how valuable it is to attach yourself to someone that inspires you. Above all, I think Corey’s is a lesson of patience and passion. Many that know him have wondered at times what he was doing with himself and where he was going. Let’s be honest, it is easy to get caught up in the normalcy of life expectations, but not everyone has the dream to be a lawyer or a doctor and who are we to stand in the way of anyone’s search for an outlet for their intensity – to put out the fire burns inside them? I have recently been enthralled by the solo and unaided journey of Colin O’Brady across the length of Antarctica. No doubt to most sensible humans this seems crazy and you couldn’t pay them enough to even give it a shot, but many, many people have been inspired by this adventure. There is danger in making these sorts of grandiose comparisons, but bear with me. I believe we can all find lessons from people who are willing to blaze their own trails, people like Colin O’Brady and people like my brother, who you look at now and see a great father, husband, citizen and perhaps most of all a teacher that just might inspire you to tune out some of the ubiquitous and often overwhelming outside influences of our lives and instead take the time to look inward and to trust your heart and mind to take you to where you belong – it has done just that for me. After listening to our chat, even if you aren’t in any hurry to rush out and join a monastery, I hope you get a lesson or two out of this discussion and if nothing else it encourages you to reach out to your loved ones in an effort to better understand them and reinforce the kind of special bond that can be shared by those closest to you. And forgive the background noise that is heard throughout this. We did this chat in person and I hope that the intimate nature of it makes up for some of the light traffic winding through Whidbey Island at times.

Welcome to the very first “Hess’s Heroes” podcast! I feel like there should be some sort of drum roll or fireworks going off in the background. The reason we are here is that a while back I was thinking about my own strengths and weaknesses and after fumbling around with some classes in machine learning and human-centered design that I thought would help me in my day job, I came to a realization that what I enjoy most is a good story, and so I decided to start a podcast about people’s stories that I personally find inspiring with the may provide a lesson or two for all of us and perhaps a little loftier maybe make us happier and perhaps better. There is a lot of negativity in today’s world and I hope this can provide people some hope. To that end, my guest today is long time friend Nelson Dellamagiore, making him “Hess’s Hero” number one. Nelson was one of the first people that came to mind because he and his team, including his amazingly talented wife Katie have been making documentary films for some time that champion underdogs, inspire their audience and often manage to tug at your heart strings. You probably know their work best from the 2012 film Brooklyn Castle that documents the chess team from IS 318 in New York. I rewatched the film yesterday to get ready for this discussion and it validated every intuition I had about having Nelson on – it is a GREAT story with wonderful characters – I found myself choking up at several moments (I have become a total softy since becoming a father). You want so bad for these kids to succeed, hell I wanted to write my congressmen afterward to suggest greater allocation for after school programs (and we can perhaps talk about government funding later on). In short, Nelson is a great storyteller and I liked that it would be a little “meta” to have someone on that captures stories in a way that this show might aspire to. So welcome Nelson, I am sure that little diatribe only scratches the surface. Tell us a little bit about your background and perhaps what motivates you every time you get up in the morning.

This is an introduction to the Hess's Heroes podcast.