No Barriers No Barriers USA

Quinn Brett and Jason Stoffer share their adventurous spirits and experiences before and after their spinal cord injuries, including crossing the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, on hand trikes, and their work with Unite to Fight Paralysis; aiming to improve the lives of people with spinal cord injuries through advocacy, education, and fundraising for research towards better treatments and potential cures.

Two of the people behind the remarkable TetraSki, a partnership between the University of Utah Health’s — Global Adaptive Program, the TRAILS program, and Tetradapt. Program Manager, Tanja Kari and Ross Imburgia, Engineer.

Gabriel Rodreick is a multidisciplinary artist from Minneapolis. Music, dance, poetry, and visual art is his way of learning how to live in a body. At the age of 15, he injured his C5 vertebrae and has been living with quadriplegia and using a wheelchair since. His dark, dank, and dirty artistic voice tells stories of life blooming in the shadows and those lives taking shape in a myriad of bodies. His stage name is Freaque.

By request from our listeners! To kick off 2024 we want to take a trip down memory lane from 2023. This episode showcases some of our favorite highlights from guests we spoke to in 2023. Enjoy!

You've arrived at the intersection of human willpower and biomechanics. After this episode you’ll be wondering, “is the term ‘disability’ about to be dismantled and and reshaped by pioneers using the power of technology?” Our guests are Keenon Werling and Russel Martin, two pHd students from the Stanford Biomechatronics lab. The topic. Wearable Robots. Exoskeletons.

Meet Davis Phinney. He’s an Olympic Bronze medalist and Tour de France stage winner who has the most victories of any cyclist in American history. 328 in all. All that work as a professional cyclist came in handy years later when he confronted a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Despite the uphill battle that confront him, Davis realized that he could take action to feel healthy and strong. He started a foundation to promote and fund innovative research that seeks to improve the quality of life forthose living with Parkinson’s. Today the Davis Phinney Foundation is a leading source for education and resources to help people with Parkinson’s take action to live well today. Davis is joined Kevin Kwok. With 30 years under his belt in biopharmaceutical operations, Kevin is a valued advisor on the board of directors of the foundation and living with Parkinson’s as well.

Our conversation with Kevin and Davis is a deep dive into the unpredictable and challenging world of Parkinson's—a condition whose intricacies are being unraveled each day, revealing a dance between genetics and environment. Both Kevin and Davis have undergone life-altering deep brain stimulation procedures, offering them newfound liberation from the shackles of medication dependence and illuminating the path towards an improved quality of life.

They candidly reflect on how the disease has reshaped their perspectives, compelling them to slow down, yet simultaneously enabling them to uncover joy in passions like skiing and cycling. As advocates for proactive disease management, they emphasize the power of exercise, embracing supportive relationships, and the significance of living in the moment.