When he was just 8 years of age, his friend accidentally lit him on fire. The impact was severe. Undergoing decades of surgeries to treat the 65% of his body now covered in scars, Shay is a true Phoenix. His inner spirit, and his joyful charm, have been forged like steel through fire. In spite of constant pain he became an undefeated boxer, an Ironman and multiple time World Champion athlete, and in Tahoe a Spartan. As he says, obstacles are merely opportunities in disguise, face everything in life with tenacity and perseverance… and most of all HUMOR!

Stay tuned at the end to hear Joe De Sena (Spartan founder and CEO) and Johnny Waite talk about what they learned from Shay and how you can integrate those lessons into your life.

LESSONS Humor is powerful medicine- don't take yourself so seriously When your comfortable with you who are, those around you will be as well People gravitate to inner strength Have fun with the challenges you face Be memorable It's all about tenacity & perseverance Competition vs. athleticism Don't take your gifts for granted Obstacles are opportunities Find your "why" Enjoy joyful suffering Don't be a victim Never quit

LINKS https://shayeskew.com https://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/shc

This episode is brought to you by www.TRUEFORMRUNNER.com

TIME STAMPS 0:00 Johnny & Joe introduce Shay Eskew 1:50 TRUEFORMRUNNER.COM break 2:20 Interview Sefra & Shay begins with getting set on fire 3:15 Shriners Hospital comes to the rescue! 4:00 Loving to compete 5:35 The emotional journey 7:00 Leading life with humor 8:30 being comfortable with who you are 9:30 turning fear into fun 11:00 being memorable 11:30 TRUEFORMRUNNER.COM Break 13:20 Interview continues with thermoregulation 14:30 Tenacity & perseverance 16:00 Competition vs athleticism in Ironman's 18:00 A lifetime of care at Shriners Children's Hospital dealing with burns 21:00 Don't take for granted the gifts you have 23:00 Tough love works - obstacles as opportunities 24:00 "What the Fire Ignited" 26:00 Three takeaway lessons 28:40 The joy suffering 29:45 Lose the victim mentality - never quit 30:45 Joe & Dr. Johnny discuss Shay's awesome perspective

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpShow YouTube: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpYT Google Play: http://bit.ly/SpartanUpPlay FOLLOW SPARTAN UP: Spartan Up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/spartanuppodcast/ Spartan Up on Twitter https://twitter.com/SpartanUpPod CREDITS: Producer – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc. Hosts: Joe De Sena, Sefra Alexandra & Dr. Johnny Waite Col. Nye is off in a secret location Synopsis – Sefra Alexandra | Seed Huntress Production Assistant - Andrea Hagarty © 2019 Spartan