Sebastian Zaghoubi's journey exemplifies resilience and a profound connection to the outdoors, despite the profound challenges he has faced following a life-altering accident. After sustaining a spinal cord injury, Sebastian embarked on a tumultuous path of recovery, grappling with the realities of his new existence while nurturing an unwavering passion for nature and adventure. In this discourse, we delve into his gradual resurgence into outdoor activities, emphasizing the transformative power of adaptive sports and the vital role of community. Sebastian's narrative is not merely one of struggle; it is a testament to the indomitable human spirit, illustrating how connection and support can ignite a renewed zest for life. Through his experiences, we explore the significance of fostering inclusivity and accessibility in outdoor pursuits, inspiring others to rediscover their own passions in the face of adversity.

The episode features Sebastian Zaghoubi, an individual whose life was irrevocably altered by a severe motorcycle accident that resulted in a complete spinal cord injury. Despite the profound challenges he faced post-accident, including grappling with the realities of his new physical limitations and the emotional turmoil that ensued, Sebastian's journey reflects resilience and transformation. He recounts the process of rediscovering his passion for the outdoors, a fervor that had characterized his life prior to the accident. Through adaptive sports, such as wheelchair rugby and mountain biking, he not only regained a sense of purpose but also connected with a community of individuals who share similar experiences. This episode delves into the importance of finding one's tribe and the therapeutic power of nature and physical activity in the face of adversity. Sebastian's story serves as a beacon of hope, demonstrating that life can be fulfilling even after significant setbacks, inviting listeners to reflect on their own challenges and the possibilities that lie ahead.

Takeaways:

• Sebastian Zaghoubi's journey from a tragic accident to rediscovering his passion for the outdoors emphasizes resilience and determination.
• The importance of community support is highlighted as Sebastian shares how connecting with others helped him regain his love for outdoor activities.
• His story illustrates that recovery is not just physical but also mental, requiring a shift in perspective to embrace new possibilities.
• Sebastian's advocacy for adaptive sports demonstrates the need for greater accessibility and opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
• The conversation underscores that personal growth often comes from stepping outside one's comfort zone and embracing new challenges.
• Sebastian's experiences highlight the significance of finding joy in life's simple pleasures, such as camping and outdoor adventures, regardless of one's circumstances.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Abilities Expo
• Spin Art Atlanta
• Aguair Professional Training
• Disability In
• North Face
• Casa Colina

The following is a productions original series.

Hello and welcome to Walk and Roll Live.

I am Doug Vincent along with Addie Rich.

Our podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of, of the disability community.

I'm a polio survivor and Addie has cerebral palsy.

Yay.

Well, just like last week, I, I, I want to repeat it.

I want to give you an opportunity to talk about your event coming up this weekend.

Yes, coming up this weekend.

But first we have to shout out the birthday boy.

Happy birthday.

Happy belated birthday.

Another year, put another notch on the tree.

Yes, absolutely.

Had a great day, though.

Had a great day.

You know, anytime I could spend time with my daughter and my granddaughter, you know, went to breakfast and I found this thing on.

She, I saw her a week or two ago and just hung out with her for a while.

It was so great.

She's showing me through her room and, you know, she had this tub full of, you know, squishies and different.

They're all the, the, the fidget toys.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

And, and she just enjoys them, I guess.

I don't think she has a, you know, a real medical need for them.

She enjoys them, but she's showing me all where they've come from and all that.

Well, I'm looking through social media and I see this, like an egg.

And then it, it, it'll un, kind of unravel.

It looks, it looks kind of like a pineapple where, where you have all the leaves.

You know how all the leaves.

Okay.

So that shape will just.

If you hold it by this one part on the top, it just all unfolds without falling apart, but it just kind of in a spiral, it does.

Like a weird little wave, and then.

You can put it back together.

Yeah.

So, yeah.

She loved that.

She was, she was sending me videos last night of doing it in slow motion.

Oh, fun.

Yeah.

So it was a big hit.

So that you win, you win the grandpa toys game?

No.

That's so fun.

Yeah.

Then had dinner with a friend last night.

Got to go over the beach.

I left here.

It was 107.

When I got there, it was 82.

Yeah.

This is a good idea.

Yuck.

Yeah.

This whole week.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Around Thursday is going to be like 107 or.

My God.

Hydrate.

Yes, yes.

Seriously, like, check on your friends without air.

Like, no joke.

I mean, we're making humor about it, but it, it's dangerously hot and those.

Things creep up on you.

You know, you, you think you're doing fine, but next thing you Know, or.

You think you've drank enough water but you don't realize how much you're sweating out.

I was watching part of a documentary.

Well, I guess it was the Sunday morning show.

I'm officially old.

Oh yeah.

But they were talking about the heat wave and like on record, looking at time and like how long, you know, the.

Basically the planet is kind of heating up because there's unusually hot temperatures, you know, and some climate person was talking about the fires and like, you know, all the different things slightly being related and like how it's all interlocked because things are drier because it's been hotter and there is.

Well, and this is because this is what Earth does, you know.

Yes.

Geologists go back and look and we've warmed up and we've cooled and we've warmed.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

It's cycles.

But needless to say, we're here as humans and it can be damn hot.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

That's right.

I think I mentioned I'm going to Phoenix for the, for the Abilities Expo and then go see my brother.

Well, Phoenix, you know, you can imagine in September I'm bracing myself for 120.

And I know I'm like, you need shorts, you need those chillo towels, you need like all the things.

Right.

I need to be inside with ac.

That's right.

That's what I'll be.

But I'm like, I, I'm planning.

My brain is like worst case scenario, what do we need that you can like deploy and.

Because like you say you don't realize I'll be out in the backyard and like literally I.

So I put up my pool all excited to have my pool up, then decided it was very annoying because dogs like to drink out of it.

But it's been so hot that like going out to try and bail the water and stuff, it was way too hot.

I would just be sweating and cursing and all the things and so I decided the other morning at like 6:40 in the morning to go out and like bail it out and lay it out to let it dry.

You know, is this a rigid one, like a rigid plastic one or.

It has kind of rigidy sides but so you know, you have to kind of like make it deflate and flat.

Out so you can get the water out.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

And I'm sure the neighbors were like, why is the girl outside at 6:40 in the morning like trying this.

But literally by 8:15 it was dry and I rolled it up because it had been so hot.

So well and I learned this years ago, and it's one of those early indicators is you get a headache at the top of your head.

Yeah.

And that's from dehydration.

So if you're getting that signal, the others can't be too far behind and.

Yeah.

Your brain guggling water.

Yeah, exactly.

All right, so tell us more about your big event coming up.

Well, I. I'm excited.

It's this Sunday.

It's at Spin Art Atlanta.

And we're gonna break some stuff for.

My mom who hates for therapeutic reasons.

We're gonna break some things for therapeutic reasons, but hopefully more importantly to me is to let people be seen and talk about some things that are really heavy and we carry around and we don't feel like there's a space to.

To say it and where, you know, we're so socially conditioned as people that when people say, how are you?

You say, great.

And it literally is like, not the case.

You've just trained your face to like, button it all up inside.

And I want to, like, give people permission that it's okay to be mad, it's okay to be sad.

Just don't stay there.

And so kind of in this three hour period, let's kind of what we.

Do here, you know, we give people permission to.

Exactly.

And just, you know, teaching people that it's okay to grieve, it's okay to be human.

It's because there's so much like, oh, don't say that, don't do that, don't, you know, or you must do X, Y and Z.

Right.

And I feel like as I've aged, I've learned that a lot of it is just social conditioning.

And so.

So with the attendees having an opportunity to kind of share, you know, some experience that.

Yes.

And whether, you know, thing they've learned some strategies, they've learned to help in certain situations so they can pass that on to somebody else.

Yeah.

I kind of want to make it like a live a listening circle.

Right.

Where I bring kind of the humor, I start the story, but the story is really theirs to tell.

However we kind of take it.

I know that I've got X amount of time.

I know that we're gonna break for 45 minutes, you know, and then come out and then talk about things and what you know, you can share what you let go or not.

It's your business.

But I want people to feel like the Internet can sometimes make you a friend.

Yes, it could be a creepy place, but it can also Be a place that you realize you're on an island in.

So where do we get tickets online?

You can DM me, you can go to my website and, and, well, Facebook is probably easiest because anybody can find anybody.

Addie Rich and Common.

Not as common first name.

So look for that and I can send you the link and, and we'll get you there with us.

And we're gonna have some snacks and we're gonna break some stuff and you know, hopefully leave with a few pictures.

A lot of laughs and a little bit lighter.

Might be a few tears and a lot of laughs, huh?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm the crier.

You know, like you're already calling it into being.

I'm gonna cry just because people are there.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's your baby you're putting together.

Yes.

Well, good deal.

Good deal.

All the luck and can't wait to hear about it next week.

Yes.

All right.

And you know, I've been.

I talked about it last week, but they got the.

Got the patio all finished.

Love it, love it, love it.

And now I'm just waiting for the patio cover people to come in, but I've been out there watering it so it cures properly.

Amazing.

Yeah, yeah.

So.

And, and the accessibility is just awesome.

You know, I can go out the garage, get around to the backyard, you know, and just practically I've got another egress if a fire happens because if, you know, if I went out the back door, I'm not going to be able to really.

Especially with that condition, you know, the house burned down, get down the grass and get out the gate and all that.

So this make it much easier, you know.

No, I'm amazed.

It's like one of those things like you and I were talking about.

Like, you don't realize the adaptions you've made or the things you've just like, put off because it just wasn't available to you.

And now it's available.

You're like, oh, my God, I have a hole.

Whole yard.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's.

It's odd going back out there and just.

Yeah.

Having more space and, you know, and it was.

I mean, it seems like a minor thing, but, you know, brick alone because, you know, any wheelchair user knows there's the slightest little thing will stop a threshold.

Doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but when you're going through a door, you're opening the door, you're trying to push the chair forward, then you get, hum, hung up on the, on the threshold, you know, and the doors trying to close on you as you're trying to push.

Yeah.

No, there's a video I made when I was at Disability Inn because I was trying to be cool and I was trying to make a video of like opening the door and then like pushing and you see in the room.

No, what you really got was like a minute and a half of me swearing because the door was swinging back so fast.

Perfect.

Yeah.

I was trying not to break my face.

I feel like I should post it just so people could laugh.

You should, you should.

That's real.

That's what you go through.

Yeah, for sure.

But.

But the brick, the brick patio that was there before, you know, in addition to brick and all, it was undulating because it wasn't flat by any means.

And no floor is flat.

Everybody knows, you know, that we use a wheelchair that.

No, for floor.

You sit somewhere, you don't put your brakes on.

You're rolling away on what looks like.

A perfectly level checker for you.

Yeah.

So all of that.

Yeah, he's gone.

And it, you know, feels great.

So.

Good, good, good.

So we want to say thank you to Christina Rhodes.

She was our representative from Abilities Expo and so many other things.

I was listening back to it and it was radio and, and singing and writing a book.

And she's so multi.

Accomplished.

Yes.

And she's young.

Crying out loud.

I know.

All right, so we'll, we'll harass her when we go to.

Or at least when I go to.

I know you.

You'll harass on behalf of the both of us.

Yeah, absolutely.

Gladly.

All right.

You know, to.

One other thing I wanted to do anthesis is having their dinner, annual dinner every year, which is an organization that helps people with, with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

And you know, we have day programs, we have outings, we have job searches for them and you know, those kinds of things.

And we have our annual dinner coming up and there's going to be a number of our participants that won't be able to go.

They just don't have the resources.

And I just thought maybe if we could, and if you were feeling generous enough, you know, our lovely listeners, if maybe we could take a bit of a collection and see if we can get as many participants to the, you know, to the dinner as possible.

You know, that's the reason we're having an annual dinner.

So be great to have as many.

So it's a hundred dollars a ticket.

Anything that you can, you can donate and I'll put something up on a PayPal.

So it'll it'll come in if you want to make it.

Well, actually, there's a donate button on our page if you want to donate.

Just designated for anthesis, which is a N. And then thesis, the word thesis, which, you know, if you're wondering what is that?

That's.

That is the moment when a flower reaches its full bloom.

They call that the thesis.

Yeah.

So that's the name of the organization you learn.

And then, you know, we can, we can bring a few of the participants along to the dinner.

It's always great to have them.

They're, they're, they're fun.

So that's it.

And let's break.

Hear a word from a yard.

Professional Training.

Going to be back to talk to Sebastian Yagubi.

Yes.

Yes.

I was like, who are we talking to?

Sebastian?

You know?

Yeah, and we'll, we'll tease a little bit.

He is a guy that is very passionate about being outdoors in any way, shape or form.

So he'll tell us all about it right after this.

At AGYAR Professional Training, we know that your greatest asset is your team.

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From the Agyar Professional Training Studio, you're listening to Walk and Roll Live.

The morning light spills across the floor.

I take a deep breath and think about what's ahead.

Most days I'm moving without a hitch.

Sometimes my body taps me on the.

Shoulder and says slow it down for a while.

The day is mine.

I've got people I love and people who love me back.

I get to chase what matters and laugh until I can't breathe.

Some days I pause but I never stop.

Life with rolls on and I'm rolling with it.

We are back to Walk and Roll Live.

And our guest this week, I'll just say Sebastian and got to let him give you a thumbnail introduction of himself and then we'll really get to know him.

So go ahead, Sebastian.

Yep, my name is Sebastian Yubi.

I'm living down here in Southern California.

All right.

Well, as we like to do here, we like to get to know the.

The pre injury Sebastian so gives us kind of a context and get to know who you are and all that good stuff.

So are you originally from Southern California?

More or less, yeah.

I grew up kind of all over Southern California between San Diego, Orange County.

I live in Idaho for a few years when I was younger, which I'm really thankful for.

And kind of small rural town, middle of nowhere, and could ride my bike across town 20, 30 minutes.

And yeah, that was kind of really unique compared to the Southern California experience I had for the majority of my life.

But yeah, different perspective, huh?

Yeah.

And what were your interests when you were younger?

Oh, younger, kind of.

That's shifted a lot over time, I'm sure for most everyone.

Right.

But like, if you weren't evolving, you weren't alive, so know.

Yeah,.

I mean, I think sports and activity and out.

The outdoors has always been some part of my life in some way or another that's kind of shifted to different sports and activities throughout the years.

But thinking back, that's always been.

All my memories are almost always outdoors, you know.

Yeah.

In my later years, probably more so than younger, maybe just because I remember them more.

But the young kid as a young boy, right.

You're just like, ah, whatever.

We were either at school where we didn't want to be, or outside running around causing havoc.

Like that is the summation.

Whereas us females can be like, well, then in fourth grade I read this book.

You know what I mean?

We have.

What are you talking about?

We can't relate.

Right.

A lot of me, right?

Yes.

So.

But you were active and you used your body a lot to get around and do things.

And school was a necessity, but not necessarily a love.

Would that be a correct summation?

Yeah, I think.

I don't know how young, But I had a feeling pretty young.

That just school wasn't the thing for me.

Like, I just didn't see myself like, you know, as a scholar or something, you know, it was like I just liked being doing stuff.

And in my mind when I was in school, it was always just paperwork and reading and doing math.

And I'm like, yeah, you're like, when?

When are we done?

When are we done?

How many more?

When are we out of here?

When A snack.

When do I get to go outside?

All those things.

Right.

In my young mind, I kind of treated it like a job.

I got to be here.

Okay, I'll focus while I'm here.

But when that bell Goes off, that's me time.

And I'm going to go off and do what I want to do and run around like it sounds like you did.

Yeah.

And like, I think maybe at some point, like, maybe high school.

Ish.

Like, I understood kind of the value of using, like, work to facilitate fun in some way.

And that kind of shifted gears and like, okay, well, what job could I tolerate doing to like, maximize my fun outside of work?

Mm.

And I guess that's still what I'm trying to do now in my later age, you know, not that I'm that old, but, you know.

Yeah.

It's just kind of always seeking out, like, what job can I enjoy the most, but also, I guess trying to incorporate that fun into work as much.

Yeah.

So don't they say if you pick a job you love it, you'll never work a day in your life?

So sort of that thought process, right.

That you're not like toiling away for no good.

For.

For no good reason.

Right, Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just like finding that meaning, I guess.

Right.

Where.

So you went through school.

School.

You go through school and then obviously we.

Did you go to college or what?

Not till later.

So again, in high school is like coming senior year, it's like, okay, well, the college talks start happening and so what do you want to do?

Are you going to college?

What's going on?

And I just, I didn't want to do the whole thing of like, well, I don't know what I'm gonna do, so I'm just gonna go get a business degree or, you know, psychology or mark, you know, like, it just.

Communications just wasn't my, like, calling.

So I was just like, well, I need to figure out what I want to do first.

Right.

I didn't rule out college altogether.

It was just.

I didn't want to do it just to do it.

Right.

So really after high school, I just kind of went on this like, self discovery journey of sorts, just trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

And was one of those things where it was like kind of a new job every six months, just.

I'll try it out.

Okay.

This isn't for me.

Let's look for something else and find the next thing.

And just trying to see what finally clicked.

And, you know, I did everything from rebuilding transmissions to assisting with surgeries in a dental office.

So there's like this huge kind of spectrum of things I ended up doing.

But it was kind of through that process I. I realized that, like, I really love medicine.

Like, so you know, originally I had was working on, like, cars and construction, like, kind of building and fixing things.

And, like, medicine was kind of like that for me, but it was like the human body, which is like this living and complex organism that's, like, constantly changing and having to figure out, like, that was just so much more, I guess, appealing to me.

And like, when you fix something, it's like someone got relief or there was, like, some kind of, like, feedback, you know?

And as much as I like that, I didn't like being in an office.

So it was like the traditional kind of doctor or medical route wasn't really something that again, it's like, don't want to be in inside, like, fluorescent lights, like, for the next 20 years, like.

Yeah.

So I decided I wanted to go into search and rescue.

Amazing.

Yep.

Like, be in wilderness.

I love the outdoors, trees, fresh air.

Like, every day is different.

You're always somewhere new.

I still get to help people.

I still get to, like, enjoy medicine and fixing things, you know, and.

Right.

You're fixing something in a triage sense.

Right.

Once you find them, you're like, oh, snap, now I found you.

Now what?

How many pieces are you in?

And what can we do?

Right.

Yes.

And it, like, that was the other thing kind of it too.

Like, I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie.

And like, that kind of had that whole, like, pressure and in, like, a good way where, I don't know, I could never see myself, like, as an account, you know, it's like, I need that kind of like, oh, gosh, where are they?

What's next?

Like, gotta get there and find them before, you know, whatever.

And if, like, at the same time, I. I'm sure throughout this, like, conversation, see, I'm very like, like, squirrel.

There's that, like, like, so at the same time, like, I was going to, like, I decided to go to school for aviation as well.

Kind of like the funny joke.

I was like, I liked building fast cars, but, like, the fast cars seemed kind of slow after a while.

So, like, the next step was planes.

And what's the fastest kind of planes was fighter jets.

And I wanted to go see if I could be a fighter jet pilot.

And knowing me, I knew I wasn't a scholar.

And I knew that that was a very difficult selection process to get through that.

And I'm like, well, like, let's keep this thing going as, like, a backup plan.

Let's try the aviation.

What's the worst case?

I get my pilot's license.

I do my search and rescue Maybe I could fly the helicopters and also be a medic on them, you know, like, keep my options open.

Was having fun with it, and I kind of finally settled into where I want to be in life in a sense where it's like, I kind of know my trajectory now.

I did that discovery process.

I knew where I was going.

And then my accident happened.

How old were you?

Oh, sorry.

We both.

I was about 22 years old.

So, like, I had just finished being.

I don't like to call myself homeless because, like, I was living in, like, my car, which was really a truck with like a camper, like an rv.

I lived on a boat for a little while and it's like I saw what, like, true homelessness was, where it was like people who find a sleeping bag in the trash can and throw that in the bushes overnight.

And to me, that's what, like, real homelessness is.

You were nomadic, you were, you were.

So, like, throughout the whole time, like, my grandparents, like, started getting older, they needed help.

And I'm like, well, this could be like a very, like, good, like, opportunity.

It's like, I can go help them.

Like, help them with groceries.

My grandma was like, to the point where she can drive anymore and, like, I would have a place to stay, I could go to school.

Kind of the next chapter of my life.

And yeah, so 22 years old, I had got a motorcycle.

It was kind of something I always wanted to get.

And I guess in my young 22 year old mind, I justified it to myself as, oh, you know, like, I can save gas money to get to school and like this and that.

And, oh, traffic's not going to be that much of an issue because, you know, like, I could just split lanes and get to school faster and not have to worry about being to class on time.

You know, like the, the things we tell ourselves.

Right.

All the upside.

Yeah, really, it was like, I just like riding a motorcycle and I like to have fun.

But hey, you liked adrenaline.

We've already established, so.

Yes.

And, you know, I'm sure after talking to as many people as you have, like, it wasn't doing anything crazy on the motorcycle that did me in.

It was the normal day just going around a corner and I had a mechanical failure.

My brakes stopped working on my bike.

I couldn't slow down and I went headfirst into a car.

It was just.

It wasn't speeding.

It wasn't doing, you know, wheelies down the freeway and all these crazy things and zooming through Canyon Rose.

It was just.

I couldn't slow down one day and just going around the corner at 20 miles per hour or something like that.

And yeah, yeah, you hit the nail on the head there.

You know, that's.

That's the one thing, you know, I went into this, sure, I've been in the disability community, but having all these in interviews has, has kind of opened my eyes to so many different things and that's one of them.

It's.

It can be the silliest thing sometimes, you know, or it can be very dramatic, you know, if you hear the stories.

But it, you end up at the same place.

Yeah.

You know, so.

So at that point, you know, of course all your life changes and what goes through your mind at that point and you know, did you just think, this is it, everything else is kind of gone.

I mean, all the dreams that you had had and plans maybe you were really starting to formulate at that time?

In a sense, yes.

I mean, that was for sure in my mind where it was like, what are the next steps?

Right.

Of course you're struggling with the whole like, am I going to walk again?

What's that going to look like?

It was like one of those like blessing and a curse kind of things where, I mean, I don't.

The first few weeks are just a total blur for me.

This is like from a lot of what people have told me over the years.

But like, I think like the third or fourth day some friends came and visited me and they said, I told them that I'm so glad that this happened because life was boring before and now every day is going to be interesting.

Yeah.

You're like, okay, the optimist, the unique optimist with your hd.

And everything came out and was like, hey, let me just stick my head out real quick and put a spin on it.

But you know what, that's sometimes self preservation.

Right.

Because you, if you really looked into the deep of it, you just couldn't.

Your brain could not calculate.

It was like an.

To me, it's like I couldn't change anything as, as much as I tried to move my legs, I couldn't do it.

So why not just go straight into that acceptance and be like, it is what it is at this point, let's just see how I can move forward and what the next steps are.

So it's kind of like, you know, if you look at it as a, a fight or flight, you decide to fight in that sentence.

I suppose.

Yeah.

I mean, like, it definitely probably was like a just coping preservation type thing too.

It's just like, absolutely.

It.

Looking forward is a lot easier than, like, dwelling in the present, I guess.

Yeah, exactly.

You had a sunny disposition prior.

Like, would you consider yourself a person that always kind of found the upside, or would you consider yourself a person, or were you just so, like, happy, go lucky and trying to find your way and not really giving a crap that, like, that's just naturally.

You lean that way.

I think I. I'm always curious about disposition prior and then how that disposition then pulls you through whatever challenge you meet.

I think to some extent, like, my prior circumstances were like.

I mean, I remember trying to feed myself off, like, $10 a week, you know, where it was like, I gotta go to the store and buy a can of tomato sauce for a dollar and a box of pasta for a dollar, and that's, like, my meal for the day.

And I gotta figure out how many times I can do that throughout the week to feed myself.

And it was like, to me, like, being through to me those, like, hardships, like, I had built up, like, maybe a resilience or like a appreciation for kind of those smaller things in life where it was like, in, like, yes, I am now dealing with this injury and trying to process that, but it's like, at the end of the day, like, I'm.

I'm here, right?

I'm breathing.

Like, I. I can still communicate.

I can still talk.

I can still, like, smile and laugh and do all these things.

And, like, it didn't seem like the end of the world to me, in a sense, where it was like, I still had all these small things to hold on to, to kind of carry me through and kind of be my support, in a sense.

I can definitely see how it's like, I don't know, you wake up and it's like, I can.

Well, I guess I did hit that phase later, actually.

I mean, it.

It.

Yes, I was very, like, maybe too positive in the beginning.

And I think that, like, kind of came back in a very negative way later on where during that time, like, you know, the inpatient rehabilitation process, and everyone's like, he's doing so great.

He has such a positive outlook.

And, like, that whole mental health side of things was really kind of, like, put aside, you know, it was like, oh, he's.

What do you mean?

He's depressed.

Like, he's not sad.

He's happy.

He's positive, like, willing to accept the challenges and do all these things.

And inside, are you feeling like, oh, I don't know if that's the real.

What's real?

That's going on here.

I honestly don't know if I knew at that point.

I mean it was just, maybe just that survival mechanism was like, wake up and what do I have to do today and tomorrow I'm going to do the same thing.

And just one day at a time, one second at a time, like each breath like, what's next?

I didn't really have that time in the hospital, especially when it's so fast paced where it's like you wake up in the morning, you go to your therapist and that's all day long and you trying to figure out like at night times, almost like a patient education session with the nurses, here's what you have to do.

And it's like my brain didn't have the chance to like just pause and reflect and like understand things.

Really?

Yeah, you know, process it, you know,.

And so I didn't grieve in the hospital.

And then when I got home, I think I carried that kind of mindset through to a point.

But then like once things start to settle down at home, you have a chance to catch your breath and then it's like you take that breath in one day and it's like, okay, now what it's.

And I think that's maybe when it hit me one day where it was like, what am I doing with my life now?

I'm like, I have to rediscover this purpose that I felt or thought I had found before, which I can no longer pursue.

So I have to refine my purpose and what is that?

And just really struggling with what's next.

It's no longer like taking it a day at a time.

It's now thinking about that, what's next month, what's next year, what's the next 10 years?

And I think that's when I really kind of not really went into a spiral, but like, I think those like that grieving kind of hit me more.

And then at that point it was like, I hope I was at home.

I didn't have all these resources available to me.

I wasn't talking to people every day.

I didn't have these psychologists and therapists available like I had in the hospital.

And so I was really having to like kind of figure out how to process and deal with like a lot of that on my own at home.

And I think how I dealt with that was primarily like self isolation.

I just, I decided I was going to go back to school.

That was, you know, just keep moving, keep busy, like don't let yourself stagnate and School seemed logical, but I end up doing, like, all online classes.

So it was just.

I was at home, I was doing something, which to me, like, that was moving forward, that was progress.

But it was in a way where I kind of tricked myself that, like, staying at home all day every day was okay.

Just because I was doing something.

Yeah, right.

So, yeah, like, that.

That went on for good five or six years, you know, leaving the house only to go to doctor's appointments and stuff.

And, you know, I try to hang out with friends every now and again.

Like maybe once or twice a year I might go out with them and just kind of, hey, what's up?

And like, I'm alive.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, that's a huge change too, because you're kind of a rolling stone as a human, like, living on a boat, living in your car, like, doing these things, things.

And now you have to go to, like, a stationary place with four walls and like, all the things.

I imagine that was a.

A change for you, but also a change for your family if they got used to, like, you kind of being the rolling stone that they, you know,.

I think probably to some extent they were just happy to have me in one place for a certain amount of time.

But of course, that gets old after, you know, a little while.

But yeah, it was definitely.

I mean, the first word that came to mind was like, feeling trapped almost.

Where it's like, I'm.

It's not a prison, but it might as well be.

You know, I'm trapped inside these walls and I don't feel like I can leave.

You know, it's like a prison of your own design, sort of a thing where you put these barriers around yourself and.

Yeah, it was.

Which maybe like, further led to that kind of, like, isolation where it's like, this is my home now and this I have.

Have to learn how to be happy within these constraints, whether they're real or artificial.

Like, this is my perceived reality at that time.

And I guess moving for, like, how I got out of that, I had started going to, like, seeing a new doctor.

Kind of just coincidence, where one doctor.

I went to one doctor one day, like, yo, you should see this doctor.

And I'm like, okay, I'll go see him.

Schedule an appointment.

And that happened to me with A doctor named Dr. Block over at Casa Kalina.

See, younger guy, some of your listeners may know him.

He's like, super active rock climber, you know, doing all these things.

And he kind of related to me, you know, as, like, I saw more and more we kind of, like, learned each other's, like, backstories, and it's like, dude, why aren't you active anymore?

Like, you can still go outdoors.

And my God, you know the excuses that we come up with.

And over at cause of cleaning, they have the outdoor adventures program.

And he was really pushing me.

He's like, just, you know, talk to Lisa.

Like, you know, just give her a call.

Here's her number, and just see what they have going on.

And they do skiing and this and that.

And I'm like, My mindset was, I'm already injured enough.

I don't want to get injured more.

It's, oh, yeah, sure, I can go skiing.

And then what happens if I break my hip?

That sounds like a super fun experience.

No, thanks.

Right, right.

Heard that perspective before.

But, yeah, I could see it was like, again, probably just putting up those barriers for myself where it was like, trying something new was really scary in a way I didn't maybe consider or realize.

And getting over that kind of fear of getting outside of my comfort zone, which had been built up in this very tiny space over years and years, where home is the only place I'm comfortable at that point.

And, like, to even think going anything outside of that is, like, panic inducing in a lot of ways.

No.

Yeah.

So, like, I. I had coming up with excuses, you know, it's like kind of this is that that.

And a physical therapist of mine was like, hey, there's this thing called the abilities Expo.

Like, should come check it out.

I'm like, okay, sure, fine.

I. I'll go.

I'll check it out.

Just see what it's about, you know, and you're rolling around.

I went to the cabish, just say hi, and Lisa was there, and it was just this kind of crazy, like, coincidence where she's like, oh, hi, how are you?

What's your name?

Like, oh, Sebastian.

She's like, you're Sebastian, huh?

Yeah.

I've been waiting for a call from you for the last six months.

What's going on?

Yeah.

And at that point, it was like the face to face thing.

I couldn't come up with that, like, excuse of, like.

And, like, you've talked to Lisa before too, right?

You know Lisa.

She's not gonna take like, no, it's like, your excuses is not a real excuse.

Like, we're gonna figure out how to make this happen.

Like, I don't want to hear it.

And she'll smile at you and, like, listen, but then she's like, how long till you're done?

Yeah, it was like.

So she's like, call me.

Like, it was like, tomorrow or like the next two days or whatever.

It's like.

And we're gonna figure it out.

I want to know why you haven't called me.

And we're gonna figure out, like, how to get you to come out for at least one day.

And it was like, okay, fine, but I'll give you the call.

Like, I'll come out.

I'll give it a try.

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

Off my back.

Yeah.

Now I'm slightly personally embarrassed, so I have to do this because that feels worse than not calling you.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

It wasn't like this, like, abstract phone call thing that I could just kind of put aside and be like, oh.

It was like, who was that girl anyways?

Yeah, exactly.

And I ended up giving Lisa call.

She's like, what's going on?

I gave her the whole thing where it's like, I don't want to get injured more.

It's like this and that.

She's like, well, find a sport that you don't feel like you're going to get injured doing.

I'm like, okay, you know, that's.

That's a fair request.

I could do that.

You know?

And I looked into it.

I'm like, what about this sitting volleyball thing?

That seems, like, pretty safe, you know, no one's gonna get no risk of injury, you know, Seems like something I could maybe do.

She's like, you gotta come in, like, tomorrow.

Which I think I called on, like, a Thursday.

And, like, they have their sports day on Fridays.

So she's like, come on in.

We'll.

We'll make it happen.

Okay.

Okay, Go in there.

Like, it wasn't no idea what to expect.

Right.

This is a brand new thing for me.

I had never even, like.

I mean, I had heard of adaptive sports, but my introduction to, like, adaptive sports was like seeing a hand cycle at rehab and then my physical therapist telling me it's like, that's too difficult to get you in and out of, so we're just not going to do that.

And that was my, like,.

Whole, like,.

Adaptive, like, recreation experience at that point.

We're just like, oh, that's too difficult.

I'm.

And you're like, see, a physical therapist told me, so I'm gonna believe it.

Like, Bible validity.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't know.

That's sad to hear that a physical therapist would say that, though.

Well, you know, to be entirely fair, I was at the point at, like, my rehabilitation journey where it's like, I wasn't really even able to the point of being like, up in a standing frame at that point.

Just because the body adjusting to the blood pressure issues and all that, that sorts of stuff where it's like, it may have legitimately just been like, too medically, like, risky or so.

Not just the physical part.

That way it went might have changed how you heard it if they said your body's not ready for that, but someday you could shoot for it.

Right?

It just.

But yeah, I get it.

So anyway, she.

She had.

She volun told you that you were.

Going to this thing in the best way possible?

Yes.

And I showed up and there was a kind of like one of those pop up tennis nets set up in the.

In the kind of like, parking lot we all do our sports at over at Casa.

And I just showed up and there was like, all these people in wheelchairs.

I'm like, huh?

It's like, to me, that was like the first time really interacting with anyone else in a wheelchair, let alone, like, we started playing sports and like, we all start laughing and it's like, oh, like, you have the same, like, injury as me and you're doing that.

Oh, okay.

And it was like, that was like my first sense of community, I guess, for the first time in.

So, you know, six, seven years.

Yeah.

That point.

And I just remember, like, going to try to hit.

Like, we used this inflatable beach ball as a volleyball just because it's lighter and easier to hit.

And I went up to try to hit it over my head, and I don't have triceps, and my hand just flopped down and knocked me up on the top of my head.

And I was like, I just kind of giggled and laughed and like, I looked around like, everyone was like, oh, yeah, yeah, that, like, how it's like we're all kind of like, laughing at the shared, you know, experience.

And it was like, oh, my gosh, like, I can still have fun.

It was like kind of in some regard, like, the first time I remember, like, genuinely laughing in a really long time too.

Yeah, yeah.

So, so awesome.

And like, we play that for a little while.

And like, I think about halfway through the sports session for the day, like, Lisa was like, I brought some rugby chairs too.

She's got you on the fast track, huh?

Well, so a little backstory with that too.

Like, I remember when I was doing inpatient, they showed me, like, these highlight clips of like, murder ball and like, paralympic Wheelchair rugby.

And to me, as, like, a newly injured person in the hospital, seeing clips of people getting knocked over in wheelchairs and having to get flipped back around and this.

And, like, I'm like, this does not seem fun to me.

Like, why do you think this looks fun to me right now, where I'm like, I'm just trying to stay alive, like, getting thrown it out of my wheelchair.

Like, no, thanks.

Right.

And I kind of mentioned that to Lisa, too.

And so she.

I think she, like, knew about, like, my hesitation to rugby, and, like, maybe that was, like, a good way to kind of really, like, overcome that barrier, but where it was like, by the way, you're having a fun time doing this.

Maybe you should just give it a try while you're here.

Okay.

You know, why?

Why not?

What's the worst that could happen?

Well, I'm here.

The rugby chairs are here.

I'll get in it.

I'll push around a little bit.

Nothing too crazy.

Yeah.

And I remember getting in that chair and, like, bumping into another rugby chair for the first time, like, whoa.

You're like, my adrenaline switch has been re.

Switched.

Yeah.

It's like, I can, like, not only was I laughing for the first time again, it's like I felt that, like, almost, like, competitive drive where it was like, yeah.

Oh.

Like, I can still be, like, active and, like, an athlete and, like, push myself and enjoy these things in, like, a really unique way that I didn't even think was possible before.

That's cool.

Yeah.

Like, ever since then, I've been hooked.

I think I've been to, like, almost every single sports, you know, thing that the outdoor Adventures in Wheelchair Sports programs put on for the last year since I got involved that first time.

And that was, like, really the.

The spark for me that kind of led to everything that I'm doing now.

You know, I just love this whole story because it really encapsulates what we say all the time is to find your community.

And.

And, you know, I started very early on telling these stories, and, you know, a lot of the first people we talked to and, you know, they're like, where you are now.

You know, they've been through the whole process and all that and processed everything.

Processed everything.

And.

And some people were faster than others.

And, you know, but I love.

For.

For the purposes of the community, this is a great story in that, you know, you are not afraid to talk about that struggle.

There is a struggle.

It's not even those people that you see are happy, go lucky, you know, and seem to accept it all very quickly and easily.

You know, when they're alone at night, sometimes they're really struggling, and.

And.

And that's what I started to worry about.

You know, we're.

We're talking about the people that have made it in.

In a way, you know, in a sense, they've.

They've kind of made that transition to now.

They're.

They're thriving in life again.

They're accepting of.

Of their new life and enjoying it and loving it and all the activities and whatever it is, if it's competitive or just recreational, whatever it is, and it leads them to other things in their life.

And I worry about those people that are still in the midst of it and how did they make it?

So I love to hear stories like this where it just kind of Just serendipity, you know, it's like a doctor, you know, gave you a.

A visit to another doctor, you know, recommended a visit to another doctor, who then mentioned Lisa to you, and it just.

You get there and then just see how quickly things started to change for somebody that's really in the depths of depression or whatever.

Yeah.

And, like, I think it's one of those things.

So I'm, like, kind of weirdly thankful that I went through that at this point, too, where it's like, I understand where a lot of people may be coming from now.

You know, you have empathy and not just sympathy.

Yeah, good.

Right.

It's like, I've been there.

Right.

It's like, I know it's scary.

I know it's like, honestly, I'd go a step farther than Scar.

It's just terrifying.

It's.

You have to try something that you've never thought you could ever do before.

Right.

It's in this new way, in this new body and.

Yeah.

And in a lot of ways, too, where sometimes when I, like, go visit newly injured people and they're in that kind of state that I was in, where I was like, everything's cool.

Everything's fine.

Like, I'm not.

You know, it's like, is it, though?

You know, maybe now, but, like, what's gonna.

What's that phone call gonna be like in a few months if I were to make it?

You know, it's like.

And check in on you.

Are you still gonna be fine then?

And I think a lot of people, they almost, like, forgotten about isn't the right word, but it's like, oh, they're doing.

Fines.

Are gonna be fine later.

And, like, obviously that isn't the case.

Right.

And I think Understanding that now too.

It was like, we really need to be checking on people.

Like, it's, you don't hear from someone in a few months, just give them a text or a call, see what's going on.

It could be something that's like, oh, you know what, you're right.

It's been a few months.

It's like, I gotta, I should get out and go, you know, participate in something again.

It's, it's definitely easy to fall into like a funk, you know, where we get into our routines and.

Yeah, I mean, even beyond that, I think the bigger tragedy of sorts is like, yes, we are very fortunate to know that a community exists, but there are a lot of people out there who don't even know that any of this is possible.

That's what, that's what I'm talking about.

Those, I, I, I really feel bad for those people.

And how do you reach them?

You know, it's not like we can go knocking on doors.

It's, you know, I mean, we talk about that.

For myself, like I was poster child when I was a kid, but then I went off on the wild blue yonder of life and until finding you and like reconnecting the community, could you have asked me what's out there for me?

I don't know, I was just trying to stay upright and not trip in front of people and you know what I mean?

Like, until I really went, wait, so there's a whole bunch of life that I can live by identifying.

I am, I am a version of that.

For both of us, it's a different journey.

We had lifelong disabilities, but when we found our community, you know, it's just still, it's like this kind of a euphoric thing.

Those people that get you, you know, you, I just love those moments when there's an event that's over and there's two or three of you just sitting around just visiting with each other and, and those topics that come up that everybody can relate to.

Well, even now, you know, I'm thinking, you know, nobody else does that kind of thing.

You know, then it's like somebody will talk about it like you do, and the other person.

You do.

You do.

Yeah.

So we all could relate.

Absolutely.

And I think, Sebastian, you have a unique perspective because I think a lot of people obviously that had that happy kind of go lucky and look like they were making it through.

Right.

Like, there is probably a lot of self judgment as, as well.

Right.

Like I'm being a failure.

I'm not being grateful enough Or I shouldn't feel this way or whatever.

And you.

You've kind of gone through those valleys so you can call people or go visit and say, hey, it's okay.

Like, you're not being a failure.

You're not a burden onto.

Or whatever the thoughts are when you're in that dark spot to be like, oh, God, I convinced people I was okay, and now I'm not okay.

But I can't say so because I thought I was okay.

And, you know.

Yeah.

I mean, I think that's something that.

To be totally honest, I still struggle.

I mean, it's been a rough few weeks for me.

And, you know, I don't.

Being better about it and myself even kind of realizing it, it's like just telling people, it's like, hey, you know, it's been.

I'm going through a tough time right now, you know, and not being afraid to say that, but also at the same time having to kind of put that smile on and be.

It's like try to pull other people out of the, you know, the burning building at the same time.

Right.

For like a better phrase, where it's like, yeah, I don't know.

Or the Put your oxygen mask on first or whatever, but.

Right.

Your search and rescue in a different way.

Right.

Because you're going into places where people are injured and you're helping to repair them in some way, even if you've never kind of seen it in that way.

But it's okay for the rescuer to be like, okay, too many missions.

I need a second.

I need a break.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, part of the beauty of.

I feel what we do here, you get an opportunity to sell, tell your story, like all of our guests, in a much longer form.

You know, I would imagine this is one of the first or maybe only times that you've ever been able to tell your whole story, just, you know, with no kind of time constraints on it.

And so we appreciate that very much.

But I know that you have something that you're very passionate about right now.

Well, a couple of things.

Your.

Your work with the rugby team and also your outdoor experiences and people getting back to camping, that they had a love for it before and they think that those days might be behind them, not.

Not the case.

Right.

Tell us about what you're working on.

Yeah, yeah.

So rediscovering that purpose.

Right.

I feel like I'm finally settling back into.

Or it's like I finally found it of sorts, and now I'm like, kind of like settling back into that, like, getting back on that, like, journey of pursuing that goal.

I gotta tell you, Sebastian, your face just lit up when you started talking about this.

So go ahead.

Sorry.

Yeah, yeah, it's like, it.

I, Like, I.

There's nothing that makes me happier now than, like, seeing someone try something for the first time that they didn't think was possible, you know, Because, I mean, probably to some extent, I remember the joy that it brought me when I tried that sport for the first time for me after all that time.

And I was like, oh, my gosh.

Like, I just remember that, like, elation I felt, or, like, almost like a relief at the same time where it was like, I can live again.

And, like, just having your whole, like, world almost, like, open up to the possibilities that exist.

And so, yeah, I think that's really been, like, a driving force for me lately.

I want to try to make that experience possible for as many people as possible.

I think the first part of that is, you know, we mentioned a little bit earlier, it's like getting to the people that don't know that the community exists.

Because for me, it was like, who's gonna think of typing in wheelchair sports or wheel, like, adaptive this, adaptive that.

Right.

It's just not in most people's mind to even look for that sort of thing.

So kind of part of my, I guess, journey right now is trying to reach those people that are sitting at home in that kind of isolation.

I think for a lot of people, healthcare providers end up becoming the only point of contact.

At least that was my experience.

I'm sure it's probably similar for a lot of people and a lot of people's experience trying to get, like, the physical therapists, occupational therapists, the doctors, you know, there's all these healthcare providers that may be interacting with the p. These people and be like.

So there's this really cool thing called adaptive sports and recreation.

Like, maybe just like, here's what it is.

Keep it in the back of your mind.

Maybe have a brochure.

Yeah.

Like, just.

Yeah.

Broach the topic with someone.

At least bring it to their awareness.

Right.

And then hopefully through that process, it becomes, like, to the forefront of someone's, like, mind where they, like, oh, that seems kind of fun.

Like, what.

What?

Mountain biking?

I. I used to mountain bike a lot.

What's.

What's that?

Like, is that what that is in that brochure picture or whatever?

Right.

Like, how.

How can I try that?

So the kind of second part to that is, once they know that it exists, making the opportunity available for them.

So it's one thing that I didn't appreciate before was how much goes into support a lot of these sports and recreation programs.

One equipment is very expensive.

So, yes, like, people affording it themselves.

But for a program to have, say, 10 hand cycles that they can host an event with, like, not only is that a huge, like, economic endeavor, but like, the logistics of the volunteers and the space and making sure everything's safe and everything, everyone's having a good time.

And it's a lot that a lot of people don't realize when they just show up.

Like, I want to try hand cycling or whatever.

You know, it's like there's like, getting more into, like, I kind of like the back end of all that stuff where it's like, okay, how can I facilitate these events?

Okay, so I need to do this.

And that and the operations of an event.

Yes, it's been a learning process.

But, like, through that, my kind of four or five things that I'm most passionate about right now.

I've been very fortunate to try a lot of sports, a lot of different activities, but I kind of just settled into these few things.

It's rugby, mountain biking, skiing, surfing, and then camping.

Those are kind of like my.

My5 outdoor activity recreation pillars right now.

So getting people involved with those activities.

Rugby's kind of an easier one.

Like, there's, well, say, easy but caveat asterisk, you know, unfortunately, over the years, like, a lot of these sports programs have kind of dwindled, like, especially in Southern California, but I think all across the country where right now, like, the team that I play with, the Northridge Knights, I think we're one of the only teams in Southern California and the second team in all of California.

And you think of all these people that have, like, injuries that can participate in that sport, and there's all these millions of people in Southern California and there's this one place they can do it.

And it's like, why?

Why.

So easy?

Yes.

Maybe not as available as I'd like it to be.

So providing more opportunities.

Like, I would love for San Diego to get a rugby team started back up again.

We're really fortunate in this kind of LA area.

We have a lot going on, Unfortunately, a lot of other areas like San Diego, it's.

I think they're struggling a bit right now, and I'd really love to bring some more opportunities to San Diego and that Orange county area, because there's people there too.

Right.

And I think it's a bit unreasonable, like, especially when someone wants to try something for the first time, or they might be getting out of the house for the first time, like I was to ask them to drive like two and a half, three hours to.

Right.

To experience it.

Yeah.

Even just see what it's all about.

Right.

Where it's like, oh, I kind of remember this thing went and okay, well, two hours there, two hours back.

Now it's this whole day thing and trying to figure out transportation and maybe they require caregivers.

I'm going to drive them and all these things.

It's not an easy.

Let me just jump in the car and drive down the street and see what it's all about.

Yeah.

I live that life.

I can't drive.

So everything is calculated or facilitated with help or whatever.

And I, I am like you that I have that adventurous spirit.

But nothing comes without planning.

Like, I can't just be like, you know what?

I want to go do this right now.

I mean, you either have to have the economics or the infrastructure.

And that is, that is a huge thing for people with disabilities.

Yeah.

Especially when something's like really intimidating and it's like, I mean, that's like a real barrier.

Right.

It's not like a self imposed barrier.

That's a real like challenge and obstacle that they have to figure out how to overcome if, if they even have the willpower maybe isn't the right word, but like, if they're willing to even go that far to try something even.

Yeah.

The desire wanes with the challenges put in place.

Right.

Like, suddenly you're like, I don't need a cheeseburger if it's going to be $47,000 to get there.

And they may not send an Uber that can accommodate my walker.

Yes.

There are many times I have cooked at home because I'm like, do I want to do this?

So put it into somebody's hands who isn't used to being as independent or the outside world has terrified them a bit because they've just been away from it.

There's 57, 000 reasons not to.

So I think really trying to figure out how to minimize or reduce as many of those obstacles and barriers as possible.

I mean, that's a really challenging thing to do.

Right.

I mean, it's like as much as we like to wake up and the world has changed, one day for the better, it's a slow process and today.

Is not the day.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's just.

I'm super curious though, to hear about your camping.

Doug has talked about.

You did Some camping stuff.

And I grew up camping, so I'm super.

And I have an RV that I have lived in and out of over time.

So please, I'm being nosy and gluttonous.

So camping was something I stumbled onto like a little more recently, I guess, compared to my other sports.

But it was something that I really loved to do before I was a huge backpacker.

My kind of other side project that I was working on before my injury was I, I want to do what's called a through hike of the Triple Crown.

So you go from there's like three major trails in the United States.

There's like the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

I was like, I know the Appalachian Trail.

Yeah.

So the Triple Crown is all three of those trails.

And like a calendar year through hike is you hike all three of those trails in one calendar year.

So it was like I was working on planning that.

I'm like, okay, have to finish school.

I'm going to do this.

Like, it's a huge, huge logistical thing.

And like I had built up all this like kind of excitement for being able to like work on that like, goal of mine that I had.

And then I was like, well, I'm obviously not doing that now.

Right.

Like, and it's like, I think a few months ago or whatever it was, it was like, well, why not like I got this adaptive mountain bike now.

Like, let's.

How much of this could I feasibly do, right?

So I started kind of like looking into, like figuring out how far I could go with adaptive camping.

So like, there's so many ways to experience the outdoors.

There's the kind of adrenaline junkie extreme way that probably I like to do it where it's like, let's load up a tent and a sleeping bag and some stuff on my mountain bike and drive in the middle of the wilderness and see how far I can go.

And for the record, the fear has subsided, evidently in Sebastian.

Probably a little too much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I've seen some of the clips of you riding your, your off road bike.

A little too comfortable.

Yeah.

There you go.

Yeah.

So there's like that like extreme side of things.

And then I try to be very conscious of that too because I know that that's like a very unique kind of thing for a unique kind of person that wants to do that kind of adrenaline junkie type of sport.

But there's also the, I want to go rent a cabin by a lake with my family for the weekend.

Right.

And that's like a totally fine way to go enjoy the outdoors.

And I think for some reason, people think they can't still do that.

It's.

I'm away from home.

I don't have my.

My equipment, my setup, my routine.

It's somewhere else.

It's like traveling.

I know traveling is hugely intimidating for a lot of people.

It's like, yeah, of course, that's a whole other thing with accessible hotel rooms, but.

Beat that horse to death, but we're not going to stop.

But, yeah, you're right.

Like, it.

It.

It's still totally, like, a very easy thing that most anyone can just go do for a weekend.

And, like, if that's all you want to do, that's totally fine.

But there's also all this other ways to enjoy the outdoors, too, right?

Where you can still set up a tent and you can still sleep inside a tent underneath the stars and fall asleep, you know, with whatever's going on outside and sound of nature.

And I think it can become, like, a very intimidating thing or, like, this huge, like, endeavor where it's like, well, like, like.

So I started.

I did this adaptive camping presentation for rei, and, like, through this process of setting up that presentation, I try to talk to as many people as possible to kind of see what they're, like, perceived obstacles were, where it's like, well, I haven't been able to find, like, an adaptive this or an adaptive that.

It's like, well, do you need an adaptive, like, tent per se, or an adaptive, like, whatever, whatever, whatever.

And I think it's like, you don't.

As long as you knit, like, you're kind of get, like, ahead of myself and backtrack, but, like, jumping around.

So, okay, yeah, re.

Center.

Okay, pause.

Like, willing to try, like, new things.

Like, you can adapt pretty much anything.

Like, just because something doesn't say it's adaptive doesn't mean it can't be adapted to your needs.

That's what I was trying to get to.

Right.

No, I got you.

You need.

You need to be willing to tinker and willing to know that it isn't going to work.

Like, it works for everybody else, but you can make it work.

Right?

I think the defeatist attitude has to stay at home or you'll have the worst time of your life.

Like, I think that's what it is, right?

But I think in general, that's a life tip for anybody, no matter who you are.

Try and leave your defeat, like, on your desk somewhere that doesn't come with you so you can try something new.

You know, having done this for 70 years, you know, I've had to adapt to things, you know, long before there was ever any.

Any adaptive things.

And so when they started to be adaptive, things started to show up at hotels, like.

Like the.

The bars in the.

In the.

And around the bathtub and stuff.

I'm like, yeah, can I have fight a bathtub without this stuff?

This gets in my way.

I mean, it really did.

It would get in my way.

And so, you know, one person's adaptive, maybe somebody else's, you know, hindrance.

So, yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, and try differently.

Whatever works for you.

Because we're all so unique, it may not.

All the things that they do for adaptation may not work for you.

So you have to figure out what's going to work for you.

Absolutely.

Like, everyone, like you said, is just a little bit different in their own way, and everyone needs it a little bit different, like our capabilities.

And one person might get too hot, too cold at night, another person might get too hot at night, and just kind of figuring out, you know, all those kind of nuances.

It's like, plus two, like, into the, like, willing to face the challenge and leaving those problems at home.

I think camping is a really good way to set up, like, a healthy challenge for yourself.

Right.

You think maybe you can't do something, and, like, there's a way to set things up where it can be safe.

Like, you know, I have a state park that's 20 minutes down the street from me, and I can go camp there.

And if something goes wrong, I can literally just load up in the middle of the night and drive back home and be back on my bed and wake up at home in the morning.

Yeah.

Or try it in the backyard.

You know, just mock.

Mock camp in the background.

And I think, like, like, yeah, setting up a tent in the cot in your backyard, and it's like, oh, I. I can do something I didn't think I could.

And it's like, what's the next thing that I can't think?

I, you know, I.

What's the next challenge?

What's the next step?

And then you can, like, get in this, like, mindset of.

Instead of telling yourself, no, it's like, well, what's next?

Right?

What's the next challenge?

What else can I overcome?

The first one's the hardest, and then once you learn about yourself, hey, I did something I didn't think I could do, the second one isn't quite as daunting, and then the third one loses, and, you know, the fourth One by, you know, by, you know, the end of it, you're just like, I'll try anything.

Yeah.

I mean, like, even, like, just setting up a 10 in your living room at home.

Why not?

Right?

It's like, whatever you're comfortable with.

Start there and then just push yourself a little bit further each time.

And then before you know it, you know, it's like, oh, camping.

Yeah, of course I do this in my living room.

Yeah, let's do it.

It's like, just building up that confidence.

And like, yes, like, camping is one conduit to do that.

But, like, really, I think that's just like, adaptive recreation as a whole.

It's like, it provides these really unique opportunities to push ourselves in ways that maybe we didn't realize we could.

And.

Yeah, that's why it's like, I'm.

I guess I'm so passionate about it.

It's like, I really think that, like, the key to living, like, healthy, independent lives is, like, one the community.

But also it's like being active.

Right.

Being outdoors, having a friend you can talk to about something that maybe only they understand.

And, yeah, it's just getting.

Well, you opened my eyes because I used to go camping with my daughter when you.

She was young, probably 8, 9.

And we go to a lake and we tent camp and do all that.

Well, now she has a daughter and they go camping, you know, and I'm thinking to myself, I sure would like to go camping with them, but I don't know if I could do that.

And then going to your presentation opened my eyes to it, you know, so I've already talked to them about, hey, I'd like to come because I'll just run to the beach on a Friday night, you know, and spend the night and then come back the next day.

It's like, I'll go along with you.

And so, yeah, so I get to spend time.

Your ripples are already happening.

Yeah, they're happening.

Happening.

Sebastian, he came back to me, too, and was like, hey, camping.

I was like, okay.

You know, he inspired me to do the camping category on my website.

And there you go.

We're adding to that, you know, so it's working.

It's working.

Yeah.

And you know how social media is.

As soon as I start, like, looking at anything camping, it's showing me all kinds of stuff about camping.

So I've got to go back and add those resources.

There's cool stuff.

There's a, like, a boardwalk kind of a thing through the redwoods where it's all accessible.

They built a redwood walkway through.

That's amazing.

Redwoods.

I'm like, I gotta go check that out.

So.

So unfortunately, we do have some time restraints, so want to wrap up?

What's life like now?

Are you.

I mean, are you consumed?

It sounds like this takes up a lot of time.

Are you.

Are you working or what's happening?

So I took a little bit of time off of school once I kind of discovered the adaptive sports stuff.

I got was so burnt out at school at that point, and all of a sudden there's this like, super fun thing that I'm like, enjoying.

And I'm like, you know, go back to school and then next semester.

And then it's like that, that one semester turned into two semesters.

And like, now I'm at this point now I'm like, like, what.

What is the next step?

I've taken enough time off of school.

School now.

And it's like, do I go back to school?

Like, I mean, I tried working and it's like I just felt like my health was really starting to suffer or it was like it was just too difficult for me to work enough and be like, try to take care of myself at the same time.

Yeah, I just, quite frankly, my mental health sort of suffer from that a lot.

And so I'm at the point now where I'm like, okay, I really like this adaptive recreation stuff.

It's something where I wake up in the morning and it's like, I want to do this.

I want to see smiles on people's faces going back where it's like, I want to find the job where, like, I want to do every day.

And like, this is it.

So I think I'm at the point now where it's like, I want to try to figure out how I can maybe like, facilitate, like, I don't know, work or some, like, form of, like, sustainment for myself through, like, adaptive recreation type stuff.

I think there should be a position for you at rei that that's.

That's exactly what I humble.

Like, I think that sometimes you just have to knock on a lot of doors to find out where the door actually exists.

Exist.

And if it doesn't exist, you just make one.

Yeah, I mean, like, and you're a.

Personality who will make one.

We can help you make one.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was like, I'm like, well, like an adaptive tour guide.

Sounds kind of fun.

I haven't.

I haven't really heard those around and like, where I guess my dream would be, someone just comes to me and let's like, I want to do this.

And I'm like, I can make that happen for you.

Yeah.

Where it's like, no matter how crazy, it's like I enjoy the crazy stuff.

So the wilder of an adventure you can come up with, the more I will enjoy helping like it make it like make it happen for you.

But it's like really anything.

And it's like, I think that's really what's gonna be my next steps in life and what's going to bring me happiness.

You know, that's, that's an interesting idea because there are countless, you know, people that put together together tours.

You know, my aunt and uncle used to do tours.

He was a Greyhound bus driver.

And so they took that and then on their own, besides him driving for the company, they put their own tours together, you know, and they fill a bus full of people and go to some resort or go on some trip or whatever it was.

I mean you could do the same kind of thing with a group of people that are disabled that want to go camp.

I think he and Corey Lee should chit chat about.

Yeah, this is where us sitting together.

My brain is already like networking in my mind for me too.

Wa.

We're excited to see see what you done to us.

I think.

Where can people get a hold of you if they want to chat about the camping or the rugby or the any of your activities?

And yeah, like Instagram's a really easy way.

It's just my name, Sebastian ubi.

I'm sure that be sped out in like the episode and stuff.

I know it's crazy thing to try to spell from like hearing it, but yeah, Instagram's a really good way to get a hold of me.

I can put like my email too if you want to put that in the description or something.

I'm usually really responsive to email.

Okay.

Yeah, like reach out with anything.

It's like I want to help.

Like that's really like I am of service to others now where it's like that's what brings me joy and happiness.

And it's like I really like, I want to help you.

I know a lot of people say that, but it's like I am happy helping and it's like if you give me the opportunity, like, please, like yeah.

Yes.

And you find a lot of that in this community.

So you know, if you're a loved one of somebody with a disability and you recognize that state in them, like you heard from Sebastian, you know, maybe you can refer them to Casa Kalina or some of these others, and we can help you do that.

Get a hold of us, get a hold of Sebastian, and will help you put all that together.

Alrighty.

Well, thank you for your time.

We appreciate it very much.

Better than I even anticipated.

So thank you for sharing all the information.

Yep.

Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

Each week on Walk and Roll Live, we share honest and open stories of.

People living with a disability.

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This was such a fun.

Sit down.

Obviously, you've known my parents when I was growing up, and they were campers, like, especially even when they went their separate ways.

That's what mom could afford, right?

It was like a night at Fifer or whatever, and other friends had a camper, and we would go and sleep day and whatever.

And honestly, like, you know, when you're a kid, you don't remember, like, how hard it was probably to get me around to camp.

I have great memories of camping, but now as an adult in, like, getting in and out of my own toy hauler, I'm like, how did I get up the stairs?

Like, how did I not eat it on my face?

You know?

So I. I think it's so cool that, like, Sebastian and others now are, like, focusing on ways to truly make camping accessible, you know, that isn't by hook or by crook or like, a friend just holding my butt while I crawled up the stairs.

I don't know how I.

You know what I mean?

It's cool.

It's cool.

And I.

Obviously we recorded this before I went to Disability N. And then I met some other people that worked for North Face and different things, making adaptive equipment that's coming.

And so that was cool to then connect those dots and say to Sebastian later, like, hey, there's another cool connect for you.

And it's just you and I talk about this all the time.

It's so interesting to see how the world has changed from when you grew up, when I grew up, to now, how much more there are things, but the things are not even necessarily so talked about unless you're in the circles, right?

We've talked to guests that, you know, didn't know.

All of these things that we talk about all the time are out there.

Well, and even me, I show up to the interview, and you're like, oh, yeah, and blah, blah, blah.

And I'm like, what?

Like, I kind of represent both sides of the fence because I'm oblivious enough for you to teach me, but I'm in the know enough to sort of.

Know, you know, and hopefully it inspires people that are in areas that don't have all of these things.

And so much of it is.

You know, that's what I love about bocce ball.