No Barriers

At our most recent No Barriers Summit at Lake Tahoe this past June, our three hosts were joined on stage by Mandy Harvey for a special live production of our podcast. Mandy Harvey is an award-winning singer and songwriter who also happens to be deaf. Mandy was a Vocal Music Education major at Colorado State University, when she lost her residual hearing at age eighteen due to a connective tissue disorder that affected her nerves. She left the program and pursued several career options, including education, but returned to music in 2008, as her true passion could no longer be denied. She quickly became a successful performer and has released three albums and won numerous awards. Most notably, in 2017 she was on America’s Got Talent where her performance of her original song “Try” while playing the ukulele, moved Simon Cowell to press his Golden Buzzer to send Mandy straight to the Quarterfinals. She went on to make the Finals and placed 4th overall. Watch her performance here. Mandy is also an ambassador to both No Barriers USA and Invisible Disabilities with a mission to encourage, inspire and assist others to break through their personal barriers. Though her hearing loss is profound, her timing and pitch are perfect and her passion is tremendous. With support from friends, family and her faith, Mandy continues to find joy in music. Our hosts talk with Mandy about the hard work and dedication that goes into being an award-winning singer and the efforts she puts in to not only keep up the quality of her own work and continue to tour and perform, but how she translates her style to teach others to "find their rhythm." Mandy recently released her latest single: "Release Me" and the music video is incredible. Watch (and share) it here. Follow Mandy on Facebook: @mandyharveymusic Follow Mandy on Instagram & Twitter: @mandyharvey Visit her website: Mandy Harvey Music to learn more.

Warning: Adult Content, please do not play with children present. The night before our No Barriers Summit began, our hosts Dave and Erik met with Gabriel Cordell at Squaw Resort at Lake Tahoe to record. Gabriel was scheduled to speak at the No Barriers Summit opening ceremony the next evening but came in early to meet with our podcast crew. Throughout the hour, Gabriel detailed how he dealt with his car accident at age 22 that left him paralyzed from his mid-chest down. After four months of recovery and physical rehabilitation, Gabriel continued to pursue his dream of being an actor, now as a paraplegic. He established his acting career on stage and screen, with credits including CSI, Dexter, and Numb3rs as well as national ads for IBM, Maxwell House and Pizza Hut. At the age of 42, Cordell focused on a different kind of role. He became the first person to roll across the United States in a standard, manual wheelchair — a 3,100-mile journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic, the final destination being his hometown of West Hempstead, New York. The inspiring trek is the subject of an award-winning documentary film called, Roll With Me: A Journey Across America. In 2014, Gabriel traveled to Israel and mounted a Roll for Peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, completing that 100km journey from Haifa to Tel Aviv in his wheelchair. In 2015, he teamed with the North Shore Animal League America and Bianca’s Furry Friends to raise money and awareness, by rolling 123 miles across Long Island, New York. As a motivational speaker, Gabriel Cordell finally gets to share his inspiring story of turning tragedy into triumph. Gabriel dives deep into the dark places his injury and subsequent anger and frustration led him. His truthfulness is raw and real and Gabriel goes on to talk about what inspired him to stop doing drugs, to reassess his life, and to take on the athletic challenges he pursues. Listen to hear Gabriel’s story along with his new No Barriers Pledge. Follow Gabriel on Facebook and Twitter at @rollwithmeusa and his website. Watch his film: Roll With Me on Netflix and for more info on his documentary visit: Roll With Me: The Movie

Hosts Jeff and Erik spoke with Marisa about her trajectory from a dancer to finding her voice and her own company, Infinite Flow. After 20 years of dancing ballet and contemporary dance in both the US and Japan, Marisa discovered and fell in love with ballroom dancing while recovering from spinal cord infarction, a rare stroke which caused her to be temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. In 2015, Marisa founded Infinite Flow, An Inclusive Dance Company, leading a global movement to make dance accessible to all and use dance to inspire inclusivity. She has brought Infinite Flow’s professional dancers with and without disabilities to perform at over 100 events, from school assemblies to corporate events with Apple, Red Bull, Porsche, Kaiser Permanente, and others. Infinite Flow’s videos have been viewed by over 50 Million people and she has been featured in over 100 media outlets including NBC Today, Good Morning America, Refinery 29, and others. Our team was introduced to Marisa when she came to a No Barriers Summit in 2017 and performed onstage with her then dance partner, Adelfo. They made such an impression on the crowd that we invited them back to perform at the NYC Summit in 2018. Together, Jeff, Erik, and Marisa explore how her own brush with disability informed her mission and how the adversity she experienced in her life has motivated her to find the dancer in everyone she meets. Check out Infinite Flow Join us in San Francisco for our 2020 No Barriers Summit. Follow Marisa on social channels: @infiniteflowdance #infiniteinclusion

Jeff and Dave spoke with Scott Kim a few weeks before he was scheduled to speak at our No Barriers Summit in Tahoe. Scott called in from his hometown of San Francisco (and was appropriately sporting a Warriors jersey) to tell them about his journey to success in creation of the Rapael Smart Glove. As with other innovators and entrepreneurs they have spoken with previously - Scott outlines the difficulties and barriers he faced and how he dealt with them. Background: Scott is the CEO of NEOFECT USA, and one of the founders of its parent company, NEOFECT, a rehabilitation technology company headquartered in South Korea. He wore several different hats before joining Neofect – a management consultant and a product manager in the software industry. Scott worked for mobile gaming companies such as GREE, Z2Live (which was acquired by King.com, a “Candy Crush” maker) and 505 Games, and founded a couple of startups. Recently, NEOFECT went on an IPO in November 2018, and is currently traded on the KOSDAQ. A passion project; this innovation was born from personal experience. Scott was born with spinal bifida and has undergone surgery and understands the long process of rehabilitation. His prior experience in the gaming software industry has also contributed to his ability to create the games and software for the Rapael Smart Glove in the US market. Learn more here: Neofect.com

Erik, Jeff, and Dave connected with Mindy to talk about the leaps and bounds she's made in the field of accessible fashion for people with physical and cognitive disabilities. Although she had been in the fashion world for years she was unaware of the lack of consideration given to those with alternate needs until her son, Oliver, who was born with muscular dystrophy, wanted to fit in with his friends - fashion-wise. “In my entire career in fashion there was never a thought of the challenges people with disabilities faced.” Mindy talked about the emotional and personal struggles that came with having a child with a disability that wasn't immediately diagnosable and how ultimately her situation provided inspiration to help others. “I could help not just Oliver’s life but the millions of people out there who are experiencing the same thing. This gave me a sense of purpose in a situation where I felt helpless.” Our hosts dive into the Pioneering process Mindy went through from creating jeans in her living room to having an accessible line with Tommy Hilfiger and founding RoDF. Listen and let us know what you think and subscribe to hear more No Barriers stories. Check out Mindy's Runway of Dreams Foundation and keep up with their latest news!

Our hosts caught up with Natasha Nurse, before they meet her in person at our No Barriers Summit this June 13th-15th. Natasha spoke with Jeff and Erik about the map to start loving yourself and the road she personally traveled to get to that point herself. Now, a successful business owner and coach who illuminates the path for others, Natasha will be speaking and sharing her pointers with our No Barriers audience this June in Tahoe. Listen to the episode and let us know what you think in a review. If you haven't signed up for the No Barriers Summit yet go here and Register today For more about Natasha's company, Dressing Room 8, Check it out here. Get more fashion tips at Plus Model Magazine. If you loved the content of Natasha's story, definitely check out her and her husband's podcast: WokeNFree

Jeff and Erik connected with Jamie to hear her story and how her drive and grit has led her to become such an accomplished actress, activist, dancer, and founder of THISAbility, a performing arts conservatory and professional theatre company, cultivating inclusion in the arts. At age 19, Jamie was given a misdiagnosis and experienced a terrible reaction to medication that led to semi-paralysis and confinement to a wheelchair. After such a devastating blow, Jamie chose to fight back. Listen to Jamie discuss her musical and artistic trajectory and how she became a well known face and name in the performing arts community. Follow Jamie on social media at: @thisabilityarts Register for our No Barriers Summit here.

Koichiro Kobayashi, known as “Koba,” is a “paraclimbing legend.” Koba went blind at age 28 from a degenerative eye disease and at age 31 decided to take up climbing. He has since racked up a number of gold medals around the world! Koba envisions a world where various groups of people can live together without being worried about their handicaps. To pursue his vision, he established a Tokyo-based non-profit organization called Monkey Magic that promotes free climbing among those with visual impairments. Koba believes climbing “is a lifetime sport that people with disabilities can enjoy throughout their lives which increases exercise opportunities, promotes self-reliance and social participation by empowering, and improves quality of life.” Koba is joined today by his guide, Naoya Suzuki. Erik and Skyler speak to Koba and Naoya about their journey into paraclimbing and how they work together in this adaptive sport. They speak about all the different techniques they use together on a technical level to communicate and get Koba up the rock face. One example is that Naoya uses the “clock method,” and explains which hold to grab by saying 1 o’clock or half past 2 etc. They have traveled the world together and discuss the challenges of entering the World Championships and what being on that level of competition means to them. Koba also reflects on how he heard of Erik back when he was beginning to go blind and the inspiration that meeting provided. In Japan, the blind people he had met stayed away from sports and being active. But, Naoya bought Koba Erik’s first book about his ascent of Everest and he was blown away. So, he reached out. Naoya and Koba came to the U.S. and met Erik together and they have all been close ever since. Trust is an integral part of their relationship. Naoya reflects on times Koba has lost competitions, essentially on bad calls he has made, and how Koba never blames him. They make mistakes together but: “I trust him. No matter how much he makes mistakes, I feel big passion from him, so I trust him.” After Koba climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with Erik and other blind people in 2005, he was inspired to start a climbing gym in his home country of Japan for folks with disabilities. The climbing is an essential service he offers but Koba recognizes that the social aspect is almost even more impactful. Going blind can lead people to isolate and stop going out but Koba realizes how important it is to meet new people and be connected with others. Koba talks about how climbing has become like a friend in his life and his pursuit of the sport has led him to find satisfaction. He does not need his sight to feel fulfillment in his life and to have the love of his community around him. From his climbing community to his wife to Naoya, Koba has met so many supporters in his life since going blind that he has discovered that: “blindness made him big.” As Erik puts it, “sometimes even hardships end up giving us gifts we might never have gotten otherwise.” In Koba’s case, going blind led him to tdiscovering the climbing community building and building deeper relationships with the people in his life.

Our three hosts sat down with George Basch in our studio. Repeat episode description. For Jeff and Erik it was more of a reunion as they have a climbing history together. They reminisce on their first climb in ‘98 up Aconcagua. In fact, George and Erik met in Phoenix during Erik’s previous life as an English teacher (he taught George’s son!) and he essentially became a mentor and an inspiration when he was looking to make his life in the mountains as an adventurer. Previous to his life as an adventurer, he was a business person. Our hosts dive into George’s past in the business world; including a time when he had to declare bankruptcy. He essentially started over at age 50. Part of his internal ethos (that he inherited from his family) is to go out and DO. To be part of action and make a difference in folk’s lives. He’s active in the American Alpine Club, the Explorers Club, and other organizations. But one constant has been his desire and drive to give back. “That was part of the family DNA - there was an aspect of my life in giving back.” During one of his many expeditions to Nepal he became fixated on the horrible air quality in the homes he visited due to the traditional stoves they used to cook their food that ran on yak dung and polluted their dwellings. George tells the story of how, in 2009, he came upon a company who was designing more fuel efficient stoves. These new stoves solved so many issues, including lessening the insistence of immune sickness, respiratory problems, and blindness/eye issues. “It transforms the life of a family.” George created a system where stoves are delivered all-over the countryside and within ten minutes of set up the entire living space is transformed. We were lucky enough to see these in person when George brought one into our studio and set it up within no time. For George, the difference each stove makes to each family, is what drives him to continue, even despite his age. When the work gets overwhelming he reaches out and gets the help he needs to continue: “Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.” By calling it the Himalayan Stove Project, George has created a legacy that will live on when he is gone. The team then discusses a tragedy that occurred in George’s life, and how his philanthropic undertakings have helped him in his emotional recovery. “Every stove that we deliver honors the legacy of my son.” Listening to George, it’s clear how he leads a life of purpose and how he seeks meaning. It’s a core component of his identity but it does not mean it’s easy. George discusses how he has gone about facing his own barriers - both in work and in his personal life - but how, ultimately his passion to help others, continues to push him onwards. “What do I want on my headstone? ‘He made a difference.’” Register for our No Barriers Summit To support George's efforts in Nepal visit his website: Himalayan Stove Project Follow Himalayan Stove Project and stay up to date on Facebook To purchase a copy of the book George and Jeff reference: Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World Photos of George's stoves will be shared on the No Barriers Facebook page.

*Please note that this episode explores mature themes and has minor profanity Dave brought Nadia in as a guest after he heard her speak at the Nantucket Project and was incredibly impressed with her and the parallels of her words and our No Barriers messaging. All three hosts sat down with Nadia in our studio in Golden to talk about her own journey to become a Pastor for House for All Sinners and Saints, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado. From her struggles with alcoholism and feeling lost in the world, Nadia found a community when she entered the world of comedy and became a stand up comedian. Using humor and her faith as therapy, she eventually began to heal and transformed her trauma into a passion for helping others. Now, she has two best-selling books and most recently released her latest book, Shameless, an examination and take down of the "harmful and antiquated ideas about sex, gender, and our bodies." The hosts and Nadia discuss the concepts of forgiveness, faith, trust, and spirit in this hour of reflection. (http://www.nadiabolzweber.com/) FB: @sarcasticlutheran Twitter: @Sarcasticluther Instagram: sarcasticlutheran