This episode is a little different! It’s a conversation between Lowell and Ed which they recorded at their training camp in Arizona in Dec 2022. They’ve had two training camps SINCE then (and life obviously got away from me), but I swear it’s still relevant! They debrief their 2022 season and discuss plans for their 2023 season which basically kick…

Today’s guest is our friend (and Lethbridge local!), Jared Heidinger! Jared has had many roles in life. University basketball player, teacher, coach, husband, father, son & friend (among other things!). He has also experienced many chapters in his life, and he takes us through them. From the passing of his wife, Krista, and raising his three kids a…

Paralympic champion Nate Riech is here! Nate—who comes from an intensely athletic family—was hit in the head with a stray golf ball when he was 10. He acquired a traumatic brain injury and was initially paralyzed on his right side. He surpassed all expectations for his recovery, and burst onto the international para athletic scene in 2018! He holds…

Ina Forrest is a four-time Paralympic Wheelchair Curler! At her first Paralympic games on home soil at Vancouver 2010, the team won GOLD. Most recently at Beijing 2022, they brought home the bronze medal AND Ina was one of Canada’s flag bearers for the opening ceremonies! When Ina was 21, she became paralyzed after the vehicle she was driving in wa…

It’s Green Shirt Day! We are re-sharing last year's conversation with the Boulet family. New year and new episode art… same conversation, same beautiful family. Today—April 7th—is Green Shirt Day, and we had the pleasure of chatting with Logan Boulet’s family. Logan is the inspiration behind Green Shirt Day and the Logan Boulet Effect. On April 6, …

Four-time Paralympian Jessica Tuomela is here! Jessica started out as a swimmer, and most recently competed in triathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Jessica—who lost her sight by the age of three as a result of retinoblastoma—tells us about overcoming her fear of deep water, how she got into competitive swimming, and the transition to triat…

First time Olympic bobsledder Taylor Austin is here! He’ll be piloting two and four-man sleds for Team Canada at Beijing 2022! Taylor was born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta. He moved to Calgary after graduating in 2008, and played football for the Calgary Colts before being recruited to bobsledding. We had a blast getting to know Taylor, and le…

Marie-Claude Molnar is Paralympic cyclist and World Champion! When MC was just 21, she was hit from behind by a vehicle traveling 110km/hr. She sustained head trauma in addition other serious injuries. Her positivity, resilience, go-getter attitude and athletic ability propelled her in para-sport. She shares the mindset of a champion, and what keep…

Greg Stewart is a Paralympic shot put CHAMPION! He earned his gold medal and the Paralympic record at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and he’s here to tell us all about it. Greg is extraordinarily athletic, and has excelled in a variety of sports—both para and able bodied. He was born without his left forearm, and it wasn’t until he was 28 years old that he …

Shawna Ryan is a Paralympic cyclist AND goal ball player. She’s had low vision all her life as a result of being born with cataracts. She wasn’t introduced to parasport until the age of 28, and it gave her a place to belong and race without fear. As a child, Shawna’s sister passed away, and later she lost her step dad to suicide. She now uses her e…

The fastest Paralympian on EARTH is here!! Jason Smyth is a FOUR-TIME Paralympic gold medalist in the 100-meter sprint, and he chatted with us from his home in Ireland! As a result of Stargardt’s disease, Jason has lost all of his central vision, and has about 5-10% of his peripheral vision left. He tells us about the mindset of a blind sprinter, h…

Olympic basketball player Ross Bekkering is here! Ross is a born-and-raised Southern Albertan with a Dutch passport. He just represented the Netherlands playing 3x3 basketball at the Tokyo 2020 Games! After we talk about how the 1999 school shooting at WR Myers in Taber impacted him, we get a nice overview of Ross’ life with fun stories AND pearls …

Stu Starkey is blind as the result of a degenerative condition called Choroideremia. He started losing his sight in his twenties, and para sport taught him that he didn’t have to be ashamed of his vision loss. Stu started out in able bodied swimming, and competed in rowing and para triathlon. ALSO, he’s legit a genius, and pours his brain power—AND…

Keely Shaw is a Paralympic cyclist who won Canada’s first medal of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games—a bronze! She has two more races coming up, and she graciously took the time to chat with us FROM TOKYO. Keely’s story is a roller coaster! Dreams of playing Olympic hockey, a fall from a horse, a brain injury resulting in left-sided weakness, and str…

Stefan Daniel is a Paralympic triathlete who is ready to compete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games! He earned a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, and we can’t wait to see what he does in Tokyo. Stefan was born with bilateral radial club hands. With the support and encouragement of his incredibly active family, Stefan not only found sport… but d…

Ryan Lachapelle—Amazing Race Canada brother, avid skier, and adventurer extraordinaire! He—along with best friend Kenneth McAlpine—competed on season 5 of the Amazing Race Canada as Team GIVE’R… and promptly won the hearts of Canadians. Devastatingly, Kenneth passed away in a hiking accident on August 26, 2019. Ryan is open about how this loss impa…

Marc Mundell is an Olympic Race Walker. He’s currently living in Canada, but will be representing his home country of South Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games! This will be Marc’s third Olympic Games, and he’s currently the South African national record holder for the 50km race walking event, as well as the continental record holder (for the sa…

Married duo Haley Smith and Andrew L’Esperance (aka Lespy) are professional mountain bikers. They both ride for Norco Factory Team as well as the Canadian National Team, and Haley is CURRENTLY in Tokyo ready to represent Canada at her first Olympic Games! We caught up with Haley & Lespy last week while they were in Andorra prepping for the upcoming…

Michelle Salt is a Paralympic Snowboarder. Her right leg was amputated above the knee following a near-fatal motorcycle crash in 2011. Michelle represented Canada at the Paralympic Games in Sochi in 2014, and PyeongChang in 2018. Prior to her accident, Michelle competed as a fitness model in the NPAA, and three years after her accident, she returne…

From podium to politics, Adam van Koeverden is an Olympic kayaking champion and politician. Adam attended four Olympic Games, and earned Olympic medals and World Championships GALORE throughout his athletic career. He retired from competitive sport after representing Canada one last time at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. In 2019, Adam was elected a…

Tandem cycling duo Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal are here for our Father’s Day episode! You may recognize Lowell as, well, the co-host of this podcast. ;) Ed is his tandem cycling pilot… that means he rides on the front of the bike. As the blind athlete of the operation, Lowell is the stoker who rides on the back. They are fresh off of representing Canad…

Payden Vair is a Canadian sitting volleyball player headed for the Tokyo2020ne Paralympic Games! Payden’s right leg was amputated below the knee following a mowing accident in 2018. Before her accident, she was a starter for the Kodiaks— the Lethbridge College soccer team. Since her accident, she has joined the Canadian sitting volleyball team and …

Today we have TWO special guests—Chandra Crawford & Gaby Estrada—who are both involved in the wonderful organization that is Fast & Female! Fast & Female is a Canadian charity on a mission to keep self-identified girls aged 8-14 healthy and active in sports. Fast and Female believes in the power of positive sport experiences and role models to give…

Maya Jonas is a para runner AND skier... and she's also hilarious! Like Lowell, she has Retinitis Pigmentosa. She was diagnosed at age 24 and was completely blind by 40. It was in her late 40s that she developed a love for sport and became an avid runner. After completing multiple marathons, she set her sights on Nordic skiing in her fifties. She h…

Catharine Pendrel is an Olympic cyclist. She’s a new mom and also happens to HAVE an incredible mom… very appropriate for this Mother’s Day episode! Throughout her 14-year cycling career, Catharine has won countless World Championships and National titles. She’s a three-time Olympian who has a bronze medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics, a gold medal f…

David Willsie is a Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby player and coach! He became a quadriplegic after he was injured during a hockey game in 1995. Shortly after his injury, he was introduced to wheelchair rugby (aka MURDERBALL), and made the national team in 1998. David participated in five Paralympic games throughout his 19-year career on the national t…

Sarah Wells is an Olympic hurdler, Amazing Race Canada Sister, and Founder of the Believe Initiative! Sarah is very familiar with obstacles—literally and figuratively—and she has become an expert at getting over them. As a hurdler, she competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and won the silver medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Her athletic care…

Tristen Chernove is a Paralympic cycling champion who is set to compete at the Tokyo 2020ne Games! In 2009, he was diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) disease which is a degenerative disease of the peripheral nervous system. In an effort to counteract the impacts of the disease, Tristen switched from competitive paddling to cycling. He is now …

Natalie Spooner—our Amazing Race Canada sister and Canadian Olympic Hockey champion! Natalie started playing organized hockey at the age of four, and after high school was offered a scholarship to attend The Ohio State University. She played for the Buckeyes for four seasons, and holds the all-time goal-scoring record for the school! In 2012, Natal…

Today—April 7th—is Green Shirt Day, and we had the pleasure of chatting with Logan Boulet’s family. Logan is the inspiration behind Green Shirt Day and the Logan Boulet Effect. On April 6, 2018, the Humboldt Broncos hockey team bus was involved in a crash that shattered the hearts of Canadians. 16 of the 29 passengers on the Humboldt team bus lost …

Michael Frogley—widely known as Frog—is a revered wheelchair basketball player and coach. After becoming paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident in 1986, he was introduced to wheelchair basketball while at a rehab centre in Ottawa. He made Team Canada in 1989 and competed with the Canadian Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team at the 1992 Paraly…

Hal Johnson & Joanne McLeod aka 80s/90s sensation BodyBreak! The Canadian television hosts are both former international-level athletes. Hal with baseball, and Joanne as a hurdler. Since 1988, they produced over 300 short episodes of BodyBreak as well as a single season television series. They expanded the program into speaking engagements, fitness…

Jon Montgomery is best known as the beloved host of Amazing Race Canada as well his gold medal in skeleton from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and the jug of beer he carried through Whistler Village! Jon was born in Russell, Manitoba, and currently lives in Victoria, BC with his wife, Darla- also a Skeleton athlete—and their two beautiful kids. In 20…

Marnie McBean is a rowing champion, and one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians! She competed in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, and 1996 in Atlanta, and brought home three gold medals and one bronze from those two Games. A back injury forced her to withdraw from competition at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. After her rowing career, Marnie cont…

In 2004, Josh Dueck was paralyzed from the waist down in a ski accident. With the support of his now wife, Lacey, he embraced the challenges he faced. In 2009, he was the Para Alpine world champion. He went on to win silver at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics, and a gold medal at the X Games in 2011. In 2012, he made history by becoming the first per…

Catriona Le May Doan was the fastest woman on ice! She’s a two time Olympic speed skating champion and the first individual Canadian to ever defend an Olympic gold. She has countless medals, records, awards, and honourary degrees. She was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame AND appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. After retiring from…

Stephanie Dixon is a Paralympic swimming champion who was born with one leg! She has competed in three Paralympic Games, and earned 19 medals—7 of which were gold. She holds multiple world records, and was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is 2016. In 2017 she received the order of Canada, and was a CBC sports broadcaster for the 2018 Para…

Introducing the new podcast on the block.By Lowell& Julie Taylor