Mat Hotho sits down with Julia Halberstam, who competes in the Upper Two Point division and placed second at the 2025 CrossFit Adaptive Games. Their conversation starts with the hilarious story of how they met at the 2024 Sea Dog competition—when Mat walked up to Julia's tent holding Chick-fil-A and she thought he was going to talk to her about Jesus. 

Julia was born with cupped hands, a condition where her fingers were fused together, and shares how doctors created functional hands for her through multiple surgeries. 

Beyond CrossFit, Julia's in nursing school working toward becoming a forensic nurse, and she volunteers on a sexual assault victims hotline. She talks about the power of finding community, the beauty of being different, and why adaptive athletes see the world in a way that makes them more human. 

It's a conversation that moves from belly laughs about cow tails and sorority hand signs to deep reflections on standing out instead of fitting in—and why the people who see you for who you really are are the only ones worth keeping around.

Content Warning: This episode briefly discusses Julia's work supporting sexual assault survivors. We don't go into graphic detail, but if you need to skip that section, it starts around the 33-minute mark.

Follow Julia on Instagram: @stayadaptive

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Follow the podcast on Instagram: @TheAdaptiveAthletePod