The Ramp. It. Up! Podcast

Rhonel Cinous

Hosted by Rhonel Cinous—Certified Digital Accessibility Tester, radio personality, and passionate disability advocate—the Ramp. It. Up! Podcast offers an engaging blend of education and entertainment. Rhonel, a C4-C5 quadriplegic, shares real-life accounts of injuries, illnesses, triumphs, and even jaw-dropping antics, offering a candid glimpse into the life of a wheelchair user. Each episode features inspiring interviews with members of the spinal cord injury/disorder (SCI/D) and wheelchair user community. Guests from diverse backgrounds and experiences share their journeys, exploring topics like career growth, hobbies, adventures, relationships, and maintaining a fulfilling quality of life. Through storytelling and honest conversations, the podcast celebrates resilience and underscores the shared belief that no challenge is insurmountable. Join the Ramp. It. Up! Podcast for insightful, empowering, and often hilarious discussions that amplify the voices of the disability community. Ramp. It. Up!

  1. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month 2026: Regina Beach

    MAR 9

    Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month 2026: Regina Beach

    On this episode of the Ramp. It. Up! Podcast we are observing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month.  MS is a chronic neurological disease where the immune system attacks the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves), causing symptoms like fatigue, vision loss, pain, and mobility issues. The month of March is set aside to raise awareness, promote early diagnosis, and support funding to find a cure. Our Guest for this episode of the podcast is Regina Beach, an author, an adventurer, a fellow performer of the From Where I Sit project, and a person living with MS.  Regina shares about her life, her work in the arts, navigating living with MS, and how to keep things sexy with your partner, even with a disability.  Ramp. It. Up! Get to Know Our Guest Regina Beach is a disabled poet and essayist. Originally from the American Midwest, she now calls the U.K. home. She is a freelance writer and editor passionate about accessibility in the arts. She is the founder of the literary magazine Lesions | Art + Words, featuring the work of creators living with chronic conditions. She hosts Writers’ Hour and is the editor of the London Writers' Salon’s Writing in Community anthology. She facilitates creativity workshops for the MS-UK charity and is the producer of the Living Well with MS podcast.  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reginabeach_creativewellbeing Facebook: http://facebook.com/ReginaBeachCreativeWellbeing/ Substack: http://reginagbeach.substack.com/ Website: http://www.reginagbeach.com/  Click the links below to watch the From Where I Sit performance presented by UAB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfCYWhId-48https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvBSsiIQODQ Click the link below to watch the From Where I Sit documentary directed by Ingrid Pfau: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M3qmd4WoPg Stay Connected to the Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp.it.up.podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeOnWheelz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAnH8I6sGEf7SJ9OKw8dEA Email: rampituppodcast@gmail.com We want to hear from you! Support the show

    1h 4m
  2. Falling Spectacularly with Anita Hollander

    08/03/2025

    Falling Spectacularly with Anita Hollander

    On today's episode of the Ramp. It. Up! Podcast, we are joined by singer, songwriter, composer, director, actress, and advocate Anita Hollander.   Get to Know Our Guest Anita Hollander has worked throughout Europe, Asia, Russia and America as an actress, singer, composer, lyricist, director, producer, and teacher.  She has premiered new works of composers and playwrights at Carnegie Hall, Playwrights Horizons, and New York Shakespeare Festival, where she sang original work of Philip Glass. She received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical for the Olney Theatre premiere of The Fifth Season and originated the title role in the award-winning play Gretty Good Time at the Kennedy Center in Washington. As a two-time cancer survivor, Anita has negotiated over half her 50-year performing career on one leg, using her disability not only to enhance her roles, but to enlighten the world about disability and promote greater visibility and employment for performers with disabilities.  Anita Hollander has performed throughout the world, including such places as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, London’s West End & NY Shakespeare Festival, and her award-winning original solo musicals, Still Standing & Spectacular Falls and film, Everyday Mermaid, have played nationally & internationally. She’s guest starred on Law & Order, FBI: Most Wanted, and Welcome To Flatch, and appeared in films such as Handsome Harry and Musical Chairs. A favorite theatrical role was Grizabella in CATS, which she played as a 3-legged cat and won a Broadway World citation. www.anitahollander.com Website: https://www.anitahollander.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.hollander.56 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anitahollander/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@anitahollander  Stay Connected to the Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp.it.up.podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeOnWheelz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAnH8I6sGEf7SJ9OKw8dEA Email: rampituppodcast@gmail.com We want to hear from you! Support the show

    1h 8m
  3. On a "Roll with Cole and Charisma"

    11/27/2024

    On a "Roll with Cole and Charisma"

    On The Ramp. It. Up! Podcast, we are celebrating Thanksgiving! It has been a year, and life has been LIFING! But we want to give thanks that we are still thriving despite what life throws at us! I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Our guests on today's episode are an amazing married couple and dedicated advocates. Cole and Charisma Sydnor or as you may know them from their popular YouTube channel, Roll with Cole and Charisma. After years of following their story and adventures on YouTube, I had the pleasure of meeting them at a conference in 2023. We chat about Cole's injury and recovery journey, their relationship, and their channel. Listen now for the full conversation. Ramp. It. Up! Get To Know Our Guests Cole and Charisma Sydnor, also known as “Roll with Cole & Charisma” on YouTube, are an interabled and interracial couple who started their YouTube channel on the premise of sharing their lives with friends and family who were curious about their relationship. Their content ranges from travel and lifestyle vlogs, to couple’s first times and attempting viral challenges. Their goal from the start has been to destigmatize disability and interabled relationships, and demonstrate that contrary to what many people might think, life with a disability can be exciting and filled with love, laughter, and adventure.   Linktree: https://linktr.ee/roll.with.cole TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@coleandcharisma?lang=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RollwithColeCharisma.Vids/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roll.with.cole/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/happilycharisma YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA5Zfb-OOm7eDHHa8iu9izQ Stay Connected to the Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp.it.up.podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeOnWheelz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAnH8I6sGEf7SJ9OKw8dEA Email: rampituppodcast@gmail.com We want to hear from you! Support the show

    1h 4m
  4. Writing to Heal with Elizabeth and Suzanne

    09/29/2024

    Writing to Heal with Elizabeth and Suzanne

    On today's episode of The Ramp. It. Up! Podcast, we are closing out Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month by speaking with Elizabeth Vander Kamp and Suzanne Costello about the Write to Heal study, a program Elizabeth facilitated during the pandemic for individuals with spinal cord injuries as part of a nationwide telehealth research study. Click here for more about the study. As a participant of the study, I am excited to be sharing some of my writing in a follow up stage performance, From Where I Sit, alongside my fellow participants directed by Suzanne.  Ramp. It. Up! Get to Know Our Guests Elizabeth brings decades of facilitation experience to Expressive Writing through her own writing, performing, and storytelling and story-listening work.  She was certified in Write to Heal through Duke University’s Health & Well-Being Program in 2019.  Since then, Elizabeth has facilitated 1on1 and small group expressive writing with scores of people.  Through the University of Alabama at Birmingham Arts in Medicine program, Elizabeth facilitates expressive writing with people living with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, and family members giving care to a relative with ALS.    Website: https://www.summerreddesigns.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.v.kamp/ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-vander-kamp-64086b23a/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilovestories63 Suzanne Costello began her career in New York and has toured throughout the U.S. and abroad as a dance/theater director, choreographer, performer and teacher for four decades.  She has been at the forefront of the Arts & Health field since introducing the Caring for the Caregiver program in 1991. She is currently working on an extensive project that engages persons with spinal cord injuries in a performance titled From Where I Sit to be presented at the University of Alabama in May, 2025. The cast for this new performance work come from across the country and were brought together through the writing program, Write to Heal, offered by zoom during Covid. These participants’ writings and stories will come to life on stage through movement and voice May 10, 2025 at the Alys Stephens Center.  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-costello-0b8a10217/ Website: http://www.stuartpimsler.com/about/artists-staff/ Website: https://ormaodance.org/suzanne-costello/ Stay Connected to the Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp.it.up.podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeOnWheelz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAnH8I6sGEf7SJ9OKw8dEA Email: rampituppodcast@gmail.com We want to hear from you! Support the show

    1h 6m
  5. W.O.W. Its Natalia Mendez

    08/30/2024

    W.O.W. Its Natalia Mendez

    On this episode of The Ramp. It. Up! Podcast, I have some good news. Your favorite podcast host Rhonel, is officially a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC). Check out the IAAP Website for my information on the certification. Also, joining me for the episode is Natalia Mendez, Founder and Executive Director of Women on Wheels. She shares how she turned her experiences post-SCI led to her advocacy. Ramp. It. Up!   Get to Know our Guest Natalia Mendez is Founder and Executive Director of Women on Wheels, a non-profit organization that educates and empowers women with spinal cord injuries. She is currently Vice President of the United Spinal Association’s New York City Chapter and has over 14 years experience working as a Youth Advocate for children with disabilities at the Bronx Independent Living Center. She also serves as a peer mentor for the newly injured, and has a deep passion for promoting awareness and inclusivity for people of all abilities, especially women.  Website: https://www.womenonwheelsnyc.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenonwheelsnyc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenonwheelsnyc/ Email: womenonwheelsnyc@gmail.com Stay Connected to the Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramp.it.up.podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoeOnWheelz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAnH8I6sGEf7SJ9OKw8dEA Email: rampituppodcast@gmail.com We want to hear from you! Support the show

    54 min
5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Hosted by Rhonel Cinous—Certified Digital Accessibility Tester, radio personality, and passionate disability advocate—the Ramp. It. Up! Podcast offers an engaging blend of education and entertainment. Rhonel, a C4-C5 quadriplegic, shares real-life accounts of injuries, illnesses, triumphs, and even jaw-dropping antics, offering a candid glimpse into the life of a wheelchair user. Each episode features inspiring interviews with members of the spinal cord injury/disorder (SCI/D) and wheelchair user community. Guests from diverse backgrounds and experiences share their journeys, exploring topics like career growth, hobbies, adventures, relationships, and maintaining a fulfilling quality of life. Through storytelling and honest conversations, the podcast celebrates resilience and underscores the shared belief that no challenge is insurmountable. Join the Ramp. It. Up! Podcast for insightful, empowering, and often hilarious discussions that amplify the voices of the disability community. Ramp. It. Up!