Disability to Ability Podcast

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

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

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

www.kbggoodz.com for more information on what he has to offer.

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

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

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

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

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

For more information about the chairs he builds visit his website at www.spartanwheelchariots.com

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