Join us on the Tough Girl Podcast as we dive into the inspiring journey of Josie Fouts, an athlete, mentor, advocate, and filmmaker who is leading the charge to make mountain biking a Paralympic sport. Based in San Diego, California, Josie's story is one of resilience, determination, and a relentless pursuit of her passions.

Born in Seoul, Korea, and adopted at six months old, Josie grew up in Ohio, USA, before finding her true calling in cycling upon moving to San Diego. Known as "Ms. Stubbornness," Josie embraced cycling not just as a sport but as a means of redefining her capabilities, riding one-handed without adaptations and challenging herself to excel.

Josie's journey took a pivotal turn when she decided to leave her job in 2018 to pursue full-time training for the Tokyo Olympics. Despite not making it to Tokyo, Josie found solace and newfound passion in mountain biking, discovering freedom and exhilaration on the trails.

In our conversation, Josie shares her insights on adaptive cycling, the challenges she faced in rethinking her approach, and her advocacy to include mountain biking in the Paralympics. She discusses her role as an upper limb mentoring coach, her nutrition strategies for endurance challenges, and mental tips to overcome obstacles.

Don't miss Josie's story of resilience, her groundbreaking work with Tread Setters to promote inclusivity in cycling through filmmaking, and her empowering advice for women looking to make a difference in the world.

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Show notes

• Who is Josie?
• Asian, American, Adoptee and Amputee
• Based in San Diego, California 
• Trailblazing for or mountain biking to be a Paralympic sport! 
• Bio on Instagram - “Mad scientist on a mission to single-handedly save the world with cycling!”
• Why she’s known as Ms Stubbornness
• Reinventing herself during the pandemic
• Born in Seoul Korea, before being adopted at 6 months old and growing up in Ohio, USA
• Getting into cycling when moving to San Diego and using it to commute to work 
• Riding one handed and not using any adaptations 
• Changing her mindset 
• Deciding to quit her job in 2018 and training full time for the Tokyo Olympics 
• Looking into prosthetics and what would work with her and the bike
• Making the decision to quit her job
• Having an adapted mindset 
• Wanting to get in the best shape of her life 
• Feeling over worked and underpaid and taking a step back
• The 3 red flags with her work and knowing she needed to make a change
• Being an athlete full time and why it was awesome
• Getting multiple degrees in nutrition and putting her knowledge into action 
• Working towards and end goals 
• Funding and paying for a coach and training while not working 
• Not making it to the Tokyo Olympics and why she’s grateful 
• Having the pressure taken off and figuring out what she wanted to do
• Finding herself mountain biking and loving the freedom 
• Starting to rethink her stubborn mindset
• Limiting herself by not using a prosthetic 
• Spending time on mountain biking trails in nature 
• Why don’t the Paralympics offer mountain biking?
• Deciding to focus her time and energy on what she can control and change
• Being an upper limb mentoring coach
• Making it up as she goes
• The White Rim Trail Challenge 
• Filming the adventure - Tread Setters - A group of para-cyclists attempt to ride the White Rim Trail through the heart of Canyonlands in one day with the hope of creating awareness around people with disabilities and growing a more inclusive cycling community.
• Tread Setters Film 
• Nutrition and fuelling for challenges and why read food is so important 
• Eating locally sourced and regenerative products 
• Mental tips and tricks to push on through the hard times and why thinking about physics helps
• Why you create your outcome
• Thinking about what’s going to get her through the difficult section
• How to connect with Josie online
• Advice for women who want to change the world 

Social Media

Instagram: @ms.stubbornness

Facebook: @ms.stubbornness

Movie: Tread Setters