The One with John-Edward Heath

The LGBT Sport Podcast

John-Edward Heath is someone who lives and breaths sport.

A powerlifter, a snowboarder, a Crossfit competitor and an adaptive athlete with dreams of medalling on the grandest stages of them all – John-Edward is a man with big ambitions and the drive to match.

But he’s also a man who has had to overcome extraordinary obstacles.

As a child, he experienced homelessness; as a gay Marine, he was outed; he had to deal with the trauma of a partner and a best friend taking their own lives; and, after being hit by a drunk-driver and experiencing a significant number of medical difficulties and complications, he made the decision to have his lower leg removed.

With all of that trauma, you might think that John-Edward was consumed by negativity – but actually, the reverse is true, and the American adaptive athlete is focused on competing at the Paralympics and the grandest stages that sport has to offer, and of raising others up along the way.

We talk about all of that in this episode – including how he discovered sport was for him, understanding his own sexuality, the idea of being ‘inspirational’ and loads more besides, in a truly memorable episode.

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BBC ACTION LINE WEBSITE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1NGvFrTqWChr03LrYlw2Hkk/information-and-support-mental-health-self-harm

SAMARITANS WEBSITE: https://www.samaritans.org/