The Heroic Minds Podcast

Victoria Arlen’s life drastically changed in 2006 at the tender age of eleven when she developed two rare conditions known as Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. She slipped into a vegetative state in which doctors had written her off as a lost cause. Victoria spent nearly four years “locked” inside her own body completely aware of what was going on just unable to move or communicate. Doctors believed there was little hope. She could hear doctors say to her family, it may be better off to give up. Nor she or her family gave in.

In 2010 after almost four years she began the nearly impossible fight back to life. Learning how to speak, eat and move all over again.

Victoria went on to exceedingly defy the odds and not only recovered but has since become an accomplished Motivational Speaker, Television Host and Swimmer. Her swimming resume includes three Silvers and a Gold medal from the London 2012 Paralympic Games as well as multiple World, American and Pan American Records. 

In April 2015, Victoria made the transition from professional athlete to sportscaster and joined ESPN. In the Spring of 2016 Victoria defied yet another odd and after spending nearly a decade in a wheelchair paralyzed from the waist down was able to learn how take one step after another and eventually not only did she learn how to walk but within a year and a half in the Fall of 2017 she learned to dance as a contestant on Season 25 of Dancing with the Stars.

Victoria's Book - Locked In

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John Boockvar is the Vice Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and the Director of the Brain Tumor Center at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.

Dr. Boockvar is well known from the incredible Netflix Documentary, Lennox Hill, Where the viewer gets to dive into the lives of four doctors as they navigate the highs and lows of working at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

I encourage you to watch the show because Dr. Boockvar and everyone else in the show, (doctors, nurses, patients and patients families) are everything we talk about in this podcast rolling out in front of your eyes. Without the science, without the complexity, just raw humanity in its most courageous and resilient form.

From Michael Jordan to Tom Petty, why you should "never let the holes in the Swiss Cheese align", why performance begins with a mindful minute, and why throwing tennis balls randomly at your kids to catch is an innovative life lesson, hear about all this and much more in this incredible episode.

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Dr. Gale Gazelle is a medical doctor, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, physician coach, mindfulness teacher and author of, Everyday Resilience, released this past august 2020.

Growing up, Dr. Gazelle was abused by her father. That is where the episode begins. In this episode we talk trauma, how it hides in our subconscious, how it surfaces and how it can be dealt with. Then we move into a long list of tools and techniques anyone can implement into their life today to increase their ability to sustain the stressors of life. 

"Far from being a passive endurance of life’s tribulations, resilience is an active process with which you can choose to engage."

I love doctors Dr. Gazelle's approach to awakening resilience because it is simple and easy to implement right away. It is realistic, primitive and not a "life hack"

Dr. Gazelle gives story after story explaining how slight adjustment of everyday habits can change your ability to handle stress. This is an episode where you can instantly test out the ideas in your life, like the idea of micro-connections, the first and second arrows of pain, what to do next time you are picking up garbage, and what your life purpose statement is. Yes, get ready!

Everyday Resilience

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Jesse Thistle is Métis-Cree, from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is an Assistant Professor in Métis Studies at York University in Toronto.

Honestly, I wanted to name this episode, the toughest man you never met, because when you see this intelligent, well spoken, empathetic, caring, loving person today, it is difficult to image the past he had.

Before Jesse landed at York University and became one of Canadas most decorated phD students, he was dealing with mental illness, homelessness, addicted to crack cocaine, paid regular visits to correctional facilities across Ontario, couldn’t read or write, and couldn’t walk because of a staph infection. He says he was the limping homeless person on the side of the road begging for change.

Jesses story and his incredible work makes the passed on, intergenerational trauma from generation to generation so tangible and digestible. In hearing his story you begin to understand the pain, the sadness and the emptiness that dominated his nurturing. It was little experiences of love through his youth into adolescence that kept a tiny spark inside him alive.

After an unsuccessful robbery in 2006 or what a judge claimed was the worst criminal he’d ever seen, Thistle turned himself in to police and entered a drug rehabilitation program.

In 2012 he entered the undergraduate history program at York University.

So yes, lots of questions, lots to unpack, and that is what we will cover in this episode.

Jesse’s book, from the Ashes, is as much educational, as it is empowering. This is the first book that has made me stop reading in awe of what I just read. It is so difficult to fathom where he is today. It truly is a life changing book and may change your life differently than it would your neighbours

Book - From The Ashes

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Ryan Straschnitzki was a couple days from his 19th birthday playing for the Humbolt Broncos Hockey Club in 2018 when the bus crashed where 16 people died and left 13 injured. Ryan left him paralyzed from the chest down. In only three months he was getting back onto the ice as a sledge hockey player. His goal is now to represent Canada at the Olympics.

This is one of those episodes, similar to many in the past where it is not complex psychological or philosophical ideas but rather a call to action, a positive meditation if you will, on living a resilient and courageous life, no matter what.

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Ben Flanagan is an NCAA Champion from the University of Michigan. Ben went into that same race seeded as the 23rd fastest runner out of the 24 who qualified. Ben became the 2018 men’s outdoor 10,000m NCAA Champion with a time of 28:34. Today Ben is a professional Reebok sponsored runner and Olympic hopeful.

In this episode we dive into the mind of a long-distance runner and how it all relates to life.

• How does one go into something THEY know will be uncomfortable and avoid getting caught up in their own head?
• How do you create a sustainable plan for improvement where your input may not be 100% everyday but your output is?
• How do you deal with uncertainty? Especially in a sport that is so numbers driven?
• What doesn’t work from the common narratives around motivation
• How did Bens parents change the script on how they motivated their son
• How did his coaches feedback on the night before that big race, give him everything he needed to succeed?
• One of my favourite topics discussed, I have heard this many times on many podcasts about how to get into a dark place or survive in that quote un quote “dark place” to be successful?
• Last but not least, Why trying to “will” yourself through things… even long distance running, won’t work.

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Sam Chase delivers programs in mindfulness, yoga and resilience for organizations and high performers, nationwide. Sam teaches the science of the human mind and the tools that help people lead flourishing lives. Sam is certified to teach by the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, the largest yoga center in the nation, he received his Master's Degree at Harvard University's A.R.T. Institute, he has his own private practice in New York City and is the author of the incredible book, Yoga and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Heroic Apparel #PayAHeroForward

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Dr. Cowan is a Board-certified Naturopathic Doctor and leading authority/practitioner of high performance medicine who is most recognized for his work with professional athletes. Dr. Callum clearly explains how food can be something that holds you back or powers you to enhance how you feel, work and recover.

We can be performing well below our maximum and not even know it purely due to what we are eating and how we are eating.

Get your notebook out… but seriously…

From coffee to inflammation, vitamin-D, sleep habits, gut-health, detoxing, hormones, sleep-wake cycle, and more, we cover a lot of ground!

Everyday Hero Cap

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Matt Nichol received his Bachelor of Education degree (Kinesiology/History) from McGill University and his Masters of Kinesiology & Masters in Coaching Theory from York University. He is the Creator of Biosteel Sports Drink and is a strength coach for some of the best athletes in the world. In this episode Matt defines strength, he debunks myths about what is strong and what is not. In a social media, research driven world, Matt provides insight into how we should approach “exercise” and how we should execute it. We then dive into some specifics, What is the relationship between strength and mobility? What is a strong core? Is HIIT Training as good as “they” say? Should we always train to failure? and MUCH more.

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This episode has two outstanding guests. Dr. Kim Dawson, professor of sport & exercise psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University and the infamous Joey Hishon past Ontario Hockey League All-Star, and NHL All-Star hopeful until injury pivoted his career path in a new and exciting direction.

Kim’s extensive education and research in psychomotor behaviour and exercise science gives her a deep understanding of the issues that affect performance. Kim also continues to do extensive work on career transition and identity. Working with elite athletes, Olympians and professional sport organizations for over 10 years, Kim developed the principles of Mind2Achieve to support people in their quest for personal success.

Joey is presently the Assistant coach and Assistant GM of the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League while also working with top NHL players and elite NHL prospects through on-ice still development.

In this episode I wanted to facilitate a discussion between the science and the lived experience of career change. The issues intertwined when the change is forced or chosen, how to approach the situation, how to leverage it and how to improve through it.

We start with where the issues begin and move through the process to overcoming the issues that may have been present for an entire career.

Last but not least Joey shares some updates on his newest client of his on-ice skills business. Every Canadian knows this individual but I don’t think you would predict his attempt at the NHL.

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