August 12, 2025 • 53 mins
Paris 2024 marked another meaningful step forward for equality in Paralympic sport, but the work is far from over. As winter Paralympians look ahead to their own moment on the world stage in Italy, they’re also bracing for the all-too-familiar media narratives that often reduce their complex journeys to a single moment or medal.
In this episode, 2x Paralympian Dani Aravich joins us to unpack what it means to shift the lens. Through her work with Culxtred, the athlete-led storytelling platform she co-founded with fellow PowHERful guest Brenna Huckaby, Dani is challenging the way we talk about adaptive athletes.
Together, we explore how curiosity, empathy, and deeper storytelling can transform the way we see all athletes, not just as competitors, but as whole human beings.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm your host Aja McCord.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
In this podcast, we introduced you to powerful women who
were changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hey everybody, it's aj McCord, host of the Powerful Podcast.
This week, we have a summer and winter paralympian who
is making a difference in the storytelling around these athletes
that we are often so one dimensional about. Danny Aravich
was born without her left hand and left forearm, but
(00:42):
she competed athletically all through high school and actually really
didn't want to be a part of this Paralympic.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Movement and scene and community.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Instead was focused on really big dreams like becoming the
first female GM of an NFL team.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
And it wasn't until a few years ago that she.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Really started embracing everything that sport could offer her as
a Paralympic athlete. And so she made her debut in
twenty twenty one and then in twenty twenty two, and
now she is making a difference really from the inside
out with Team USA while she prepares to compete in Milan,
Courtina in just a few months. This conversation with Danny
(01:20):
Aravitch is a reminder of how important it is to
listen and not assume you know somebody's story just because
of what they've shared. It's a good reminder for me personally,
and I hope it will help all of us move
forward in our lives and in our communities, which is
a little bit more intention and a little bit more
curiosity than assumption. And so, with no further ado, I
(01:45):
welcome Danny Aravitch onto the podcast. She is a summer
and winter Paralympian currently based out of Montana and a
friend of somebody else who has been on the Powerful podcast,
Brenna Huckabee, you guys started culture together. So we're going
to dive into all the things Paralympics. But I want
to start with the fact that you were one of
(02:06):
the few who has been both a summer and winter Paralympian.
You competed in Tokyo and then like six months later
competed in Beijing. Now you're getting ready for Italy. How
the heck did you do all the things?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
How'd you do that not with ease.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Let me say I had gotten a lot of inspiration
that you could do a summer in winter from my
teammates Kendall Gretch, Oksana Masters Aaron Pike three who had
been doing the summer winter back to back. And when
I started training in track and field, I got recruited
to try this sport called cross country skiing, which I
(02:43):
had never done prior. And I knew it was possible
because my three Nordic teammates had done it, but obviously
they had a lot more experience under their belts. And
it was my debut at both those games for the
summer and winter, so that tight timeline did not and
it meant taking some sacrifices and some hits in both
(03:06):
sports to maybe not perform to the best I could
have if I went all in on one sport. But
I did it, and I'm proud to say I did it.
The double debut was the goal. And it's been nice,
though to focus just on the one thing for a while.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I can totally understand that.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So you competed in track and field T forty seven
four hundred meters in Beijing, and then you competed in Nordic.
I'm sorry in Tokyo and then you went to Beijing
and you competed in Nordic where you got a top ten,
so you didn't just debut like you competed and did
pretty well. But I want to go all the way
back because obviously the Paralympics is having a really cool
(03:49):
movement beginning.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
We saw it in Paris twenty twenty four. But what
can you.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Say about the growth of the attention on the Paralympics
in even just the time since your debuts in Tokyo
and in Beijing.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
I think Paris did a lot of really good things
for it, and I think it's because a lot of
people took to social media to talk about it, and
I was a little worried that people would be hesitant
to speak about it because there still is the stigma
of talking about disability and people not understanding the sports
(04:25):
and are they going to be able to comprehend it
because they are complicated. And that's why it's so important
that we get broadcasters in place and experts, whether they're
former athletes or coaches or people who have studied it,
because there is a lot of details that you might
not have to think about when you watch the Olympic
(04:46):
side of sports, and I think viewers like to understand
what they're watching and you know, have those context clues
when it comes to it. So I was a little
bit nervous that people would like be hesitant, and I
think the world really embraced it, and I think a
lot of that is credit to the Paris organizers. I
(05:07):
think they really helped the city and the country of
France get behind it. And you know, I got to
be there in Paris and go to a lot of
the events, and one of the nights I went to
track and field. It was sold out, so there was
almost seventy thousand people in person watching Paralympic Track and Field,
(05:29):
and you know, I was trying to look around and
understand who the audience was, like were they were they global?
You know, family friends, Like who are these seventy thousand people?
And while those people were there, it was so many
Parisians and so many teenagers and so many young people,
and I was just really impressed that all of these
(05:51):
people were, you know, choosing to spend their Tuesday evening
at the track and embracing this event. And so I'm
very hopeful that we'll have that moment for the Winter Games,
because I think we have yet to see the attention
and the fandom and all of that for Winter Paralympics.
I think we've seen it for Summer Games like London
twenty twelve, and now I think Paris also set a
(06:13):
new standard. So I'm very hopeful that one of the
Winter Games. But the Winter Games do have a lot more,
you know, difficulties for fans, just in the nature that
events are very far apart from each other. It's different
athlete villages and different locations because obviously it's hard to have,
you know, an area that has a alpine mountain that's
(06:34):
steep enough for you know, the super g that also
has a halfpipe, that also has a bobsled track and
a hockey arena. So there's so many more things, And
that's why I think Salt Lake twenty thirty four will
have a great opportunity because it is so much more
centralized into one place that I think fans will be
able to get to tons of different stuff. Transportation will
(06:56):
hopefully be seamless, and I'd be really out of the
US if we could be kind of the backbone of
the standard of attention on a Winter Games.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I love that and it's so interesting because so I
have covered Paralympic athletes for more than a decade now.
My first introduction was Sochi in twenty fourteen when Alena
Nichols was competing in the Paralympics in Sochi, and that
was my first, like real introduction into it. But my
family has been involved in California with CIF, with the
(07:31):
Challenge Athletes Foundation and making sure that there's accessibility with
you know, getting people out in the ocean because that's
my passion. My safe place is the water, and so
it's been fantastic to see it grow. But I love
what you called out there, and you put it on
your Instagram too. You said that your biggest worry about
the Internet not latching onto the Paralympics is the potential
(07:52):
fear of saying something wrong or offensive when it comes
to disability, and you say, as a two time Olympia Paralympian,
you're here to dismantle the fear. Post about it, ask
questions about it, and don't worry about saying the wrong things.
Make the memes about the funny moments, the sad moments,
the moments of triumph, just as you did for the Olympics.
Why is it so critical for you to dismantle that
(08:16):
stigma and that anxiety and that fear for people to
talk about the Paralympics and Paralympians.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
People rightfully have fear because we live in a culture
where people are getting canceled left and right, and disability
is very unknown to a lot of people, and so
it's very scary to talk about. And I totally understand
because for most of my life, until I and turned
into the space of the Paralympics, I didn't identify with
(08:46):
having a disability. I did not want to be a
part of that community. I didn't understand it, so I
didn't I also had fear around it. And you know,
when we think about Paralympics and Paralympic export, at the
end of the day, it's elite level sport, and that
seems to be often missed, unfortunately in the messaging, because
(09:07):
people do see the disability first rather than you know,
the four, eight, ten, thirty years of training that went
into that one moment on television of an athletic performance,
and people, you know, just are so afraid of saying
the wrong thing. But at the end of the day.
(09:28):
These are athletes, and you know, if there is a
really hilarious crash or fall, like, talk about it again
exactly how you would if you saw that on the
Olympics side, because those are the things that bring more
fans and more attention in and if you you know,
(09:49):
see the best finish you've ever seen, Like I always
think about my teammate Kendall Gretch in the twenty twenty
Tokyo Paralympics for the wheelchair class of triathlon. You know,
in an hour and ten minute race, she won the
race by point oh one seconds and just barely beats
the next person across the finish line, And like, you know,
(10:10):
people should be talking about that type of stuff. And
we at our company, Cultured, we want to always focus
on the sport and those moments first before we talk
about the disability, because there is this tendency to focus
on the disability and really be talking about you know,
(10:31):
these stories of overcoming an injury or a tragedy or
any of that, and that consumes the entire story. Then
when probably the athlete wanted to talk about you know
like actually that was a bad race for me for
this reason. It did not feel inspiring disappointed with this
(10:53):
performance or I'm pumped about this performance because of this,
and I want to tell you about this. And we know,
as the media, as the athletes have to constantly be
chasing better storytelling for them because otherwise the sports don't grow,
because it can't always be this feel good story. Like
(11:15):
we know that from watching every other sport we enjoy,
whether it's you know, professional football here in the US,
or it's the Olympics or whatever it might be. We
need all of those moments. We need, you know, the
rivalry that exist, and we need the good guys versus
the bad guys, versus your hometown team versus your favorite athlete.
(11:39):
We need all of those different pieces to the puzzle
to make sports interesting and fun and gain fans. And
if we only talk about these stories that often are
driven from this inspiration porn concept, then we are not
building a true base of fans.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, okay, talk more about that, because it is something
that I've heard from multiple paralympians, this idea of inspiration porn,
which straight up was not a term that I knew
until within like the last year. But it is so
interesting because I think there's more to be said about
(12:20):
that because as somebody who's always been drawn to the story,
to the heart of what makes somebody tick, what makes
them capable of doing these crazy things that most could
never dream of, whether it is competing for Team USA,
missing your left hand and forearm, or dropping into a
barrel in Tahiti because these waves are massive and insane. Right,
(12:45):
these are two things that I cannot imagine actually the
reality of doing and having that be in my life. However,
the human experience of overcoming, of figuring out how to
pick yourself back up and choose to make the most
of your circumstances, or choosing to paddle in despite being
(13:08):
afraid of it, choosing to do an adventure despite the fear.
Those are the tangible, like relatable points that I can
see as a broadcaster, as a human, as a way
to develop authentic fans. So talk more about the balance
between telling the story and finding those those you know,
those ties human to human, with not turning a paralympian
(13:33):
and their story into simply inspiration porn mm hm.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
I believe it all comes down to letting the athlete
drive the conversation or where the story's going. I think
often the media comes into a conversation into an interview
where they want it to go, and so they are
going to lead you with questions about, you know, what
(14:00):
was it like growing up without your hand or did
you feel left out of sports because you were different
than everyone else, or you know, for someone who's gone
through an injury that led to their disability, like getting
really into the points about that, and it's like, yes,
that might be for the athlete part of why they
(14:25):
tick the certain way or what you know made them
become who they now are, But it's always letting them
drive it because you know, maybe on that particular day
they just really don't want to talk about their disability,
or you know, maybe they have been going through something
(14:46):
else this past year, like a sport related injury or
you know, a big life change, and that's what they're overcoming,
Like they're overcoming being told, you know, you have now
this injury related to your disability from your sport that like,
how are you going to come back and make the games?
Like or yeah, a major life event that could have
(15:08):
totally shifted something and like for that and them, that's
so much more of the piece of the puzzle that
might be relatable to the audience and I think for
the media, it's always then thinking about where why you're
asking the things you're asking, and if it is to
get to you know, this point of like this is
(15:30):
a feel good story, I'm trying to make it one,
and I'm asking these questions to get them there. Like
that's part of the problem, because you know, we most
of us, do not find ourselves inspiring because of our disabilities.
We find ourselves inspiring because yes, you had the courage
(15:50):
to take a leap of faith and leave a career
to start training, or because your classification got cut from
the Games then you to compete against people who had
less impairments than you. There's so many other things that
I think make paralympians inspiring that actually have nothing to
(16:12):
do with their disabilities and their daily lives. And we
are not here to exist to make someone else feel
good about their life. And that's where I think the
media sometimes gets it wrong. Is you know, you see
the headlines like born without legs, this person overcame the
(16:33):
odds and is a Paralympian, and you know, they know
probably not that much about what that person's experience actually
was like, and the assumptions are made and sometimes they
might be correct, but oftentimes they are wrong. So I
think it's very important to think about why you're asking
these questions, what you're trying to get to, what assumptions
(16:54):
are you making, and hopefully that can be stopped by
letting the athlete lead conversation.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I love that, and honestly, it's such a good reminder
for me personally, as somebody who interviews all the time,
Like I have a whole set of notes because I
truthfully believe that preparation is what leads to the closest
thing to perfection, right, and so I have all these
notes on like coming into an interview.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
But it is such an art to and a human practice.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Even as the person who's supposed to be driving a conversation,
to listen first and to let the athlete drive the conversation.
And as we move into Italy and all of these
questions of okay, explain to me, you know what sled
hockey is, right, Like, explain to me sled hockey. That's
always a sport that everybody loves to get behind her wheelchair.
(17:48):
Curling is going to be at the same venue as
dwnhill skiing, not same venue, same town. They're both in Kotina.
But it's such a good reminder to just sort of
view everybody, regardless of their classification, as a whole human being,
because that's what you are. Yes, some people are coming
into this as their first Paralympics having not be somebody
(18:12):
who would have qualified for the Paralympics four years ago
when they came around right because there was an injury,
because there was a trauma, because there was a moment.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Some people are coming into this like you where you've
you've lived with this your whole life.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
You've you've lived without your left hand, without your left forearm,
and you've been an.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Athlete your whole life.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Might I add like I was looking back at all
the sports that you competed in in high school, all
of them in just your high school division, not in
anything you know specifically, and it's so it's such a
good reminder to just.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Not come into it with the arrogance that you know
what the story is.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
That's a great way to phrase it. I like that.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So with that, I'm so excited to talk a little bit.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
About your road to Milan and what you're working on
right now in Bozeman, Montana. I see a lot of
biking on the Instagram, So I like the cross training
here for Nordic. But for those who don't know the
Nordic classifications, can you break down what you're going to
be competing in.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
So most of our athletes globally in paracross country aka
Para Nordic also compete in para biathlon, which is something
very different than the Olympics side, because we are still
quite a bit smaller, and for a long time those
two sports were governed by the same international federation, and
(19:36):
so many of our competitions, World Cups, world Championships, even
the Games had both biathlon and cross country ski races.
They have since been separated into different international federations. But
for the Games, for example, they'll basically change each every
(19:57):
few days. They'll be a cross country race, they'll be
a bys on race. And for those two sports, we
have three different larger classifications based on your impairment, and
so I am in the standing classification, meaning you ski
on two skis, you compete in both classic and skate techniques,
(20:17):
and depending on then your subclassification determines whether you use
two poles, you use one pole, you use no polls,
and you get a percent. We call it the factor
that basically is determined by classifiers and the classification system
that is taken off your total time. So if you
(20:40):
were to see I don't know, thirty minute whatever race
I first skate, am a ninety six percent factor, so
they basically take ninety six percent of that time, and
that is what my result is on paper. And similarly
for the sitting class, that means every athlete is in
it sits this bucket made of either carbon some types
(21:03):
of plastic. They compete against each other but have sub classifications.
And then lastly, visual impairments similarly have a spectrum, so
that determines what the factor will be. So I compete
against basically any woman who's standing. And at the Games,
we have seven events, three cross country ski races, three
(21:27):
biathlon races, and one team relay. And I yeah we
have events. Yeah, there's seven in I believe the Games
are nine days long, so you get like two great days. Yes,
not a ton of time to recover. But I you know,
(21:49):
I haven't decided. I technically haven't qualified for the Games.
We won't find out until January time. But if I,
if I qualify, I will likely probably not do every event.
I'm not sure which one I will sit out quite yet,
but that's kind of how many of the athletes will
go about it. Will kind of look at the schedule
(22:10):
and determine, okay, like when what days make sense to race.
Cross country is quite a bit different, I would say,
than like track and field or swimming in the sense
that people might have a preference, like I might be
a better sprinter compared to middle distance, but most athletes
compete in a wide variety of both the skate and
(22:34):
classic discipline and then distances, so it's not like you
probably go and be like, I'm only you're doing the
one sprint race because I'm only a sprinter. Like people
have kind of a wide variety of the types of
races they compete in and definitely have preferences to some.
But some athletes like Oksano Masters on my team, make
(22:55):
Adam off like they are strong at every distance they
compete in in don't necessarily have just a bread and
butter specialty because they're so good at everything.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Okay, So when we're talking about Italy in particular and
getting ready for it, we kind of I joked about
some of the training that you're doing with biking, but
can you tell me a little bit about how you're
getting ready for it? Because I think there's a massive
misconception with both Olympians and Paralympians that you just kind
of show up and qualify the year of qualifications and
(23:29):
that's it. But that's not the case. You have competitions
year in and year out. So what have you been
doing since we last saw you in.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
The Paralympics to get ready for this Paralympics.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Yes, that is a huge misconception and it drives me
nuts because I feel like when people ask me about
like athletics success, they're always asking about Paralympic Games medals,
and it's like, Okay, I don't have one of those,
but I am a world champion and I have a
World Cup medal, And people put obviously so much weight
(24:00):
behind the Games, But in those four years, there's so
many different competitions that sometimes matter more to athletes because
you know, maybe there's more money on the line, like
maybe the prize person is better or maybe you know,
it's yeah, like a world championship often is for us,
(24:20):
at least in the US. On our team, it's often
harder to make a World Championship roster than it is
the Paralympic Games roster. So yeah, there is a lot
of different things that Carrie still a lot of weight.
So since Beijing, we've had you know, three now full
seasons of we've had gosh, i think three World championships
since Beijing across Nordic and biathlon, we've had many World Cups. Training,
(24:47):
you know, is eleven months out of the year for
this sport. The only off month is April, and then
you start back in May, even though there might not
be snow on the ground or you might not have
access to it, you are starting to put in and
based training. And cross country skiers are very focused on
yearly hours trained. Where it's coming from, Like collegiate distance running,
(25:11):
it was very focused on mileage and it's like depending
you know, how long it took you is how long
it took you, But like we focus on how many
miles did you train this week? How many miles did
you train this year? For Nordic, it is all about
hours trained. So you are looking at your year and
figuring out, you know, when do you have the capacity
(25:32):
to do a lot of volume, When are you going
to focus on like shorter anaerobic like trying to do
a lot more intensity type of workouts, and so you
kind of like lay out this year and figure out
how many hours am I trying to train in this year,
and you basically just start building in May and your
(25:52):
roller skiing, you're biking, you're running, you're swimming, you're integrating
strength training, you are basically doing any type of cardio
based activity that can help you build your aerobic capacity
and get you ready to go skiing for really long
amounts of time. And that's something I really appreciate about
(26:14):
this sport. Like I don't think I could be an
elite cyclist ever, because I don't think I could only
cycle like I do. Like that I can like look
at my week and you know, have my key workouts
where I'm trying to go really hard, really fast on
roller skis. But then I can also be like, all right,
I need to get three hours in on Sunday, I'm
(26:35):
gonna go for a big mountain run or long bike ride.
And it's really fun. And I think that's one thing
about the culture about Nordic skiing as I'm learning it now,
only being into like year four of it, is everyone's
just an outdoors person. Like everyone just wants to spend
time outside, playing in the mountains and doing long, fun activities,
(26:56):
which is a really cool cultural aspect to the sport
as well.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I did an interview in the last season with Gwen Rudy,
who is trying to make this SKA mountaineering team which
is making it stay here Fortina or in Italy in
twenty six and it was the same thing where she's.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Just like I just like being outside.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
All of us just want to spend all day every
day outside, which I personally can relate to.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
It's a lot of dry land time for me.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
I would appreciate a little bit more water in corporation,
you know, whether that's like rafting, kayaking, surfing, something like that.
But I do love that just culture of people who
compete in endurance sports in particular is there's just like
this desire to stay outside.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
And one of the things with that.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Obviously you have a very full calendar with your schedule
for training to try and compete for the Paralympics and
get that Paralympic medal that you know will be added
to your many others, but you also have an incredible
history in the workforce in sports in general that I
want to talk about. Because you started working for the
Jazz after college, You've had experience with the Pacers, the Colts,
(28:03):
So walk me through how your roles with those teams
have impacted the way that you are building cultured and
the way you're honestly building a brand for yourself on
social media and outside of your sport.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Because I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
The exact statistic, but it's an offensively high number of
Olympians and Paralympians who live below the poverty line.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Like it's there's a lot of them who.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Do not make enough money doing their sport to have
it be their full time job. So give me a
little bit of background of your of your experience and
professional you know, sort of mainstream sports, and how that's
played into what you're doing now.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
I always wanted to work in sports, and I went
to college, you know, not knowing anything about Paralympics, and
I was focused on getting my career started after college.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
It went also to run and it ended up leaving
the team midway through college, and I was very focused
on how I'm gonna get that job, and I just
wanted to be like the first female GM of an
NFL team and be a powerhouse business woman. And I
(29:14):
was very lucky that I was able to do some
internships with professional teams in town football and basketball, and
then was looking for my first job out of school, knowing,
you know, I'd probably have to start pretty ground zero
wherever I went and would just have to work my
way up and be willing to, you know, grind it out.
Like I think, working in professional sports and so many
(29:37):
different areas of business is a lot like sports. It's
a lot of time for often a little pay at
the beginning, in the know that you get somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah, I know that.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Oh my gosh, it is not a dream life. Let's
just say for a bit there. You really have to
sacrifice a lot of time and a lot of like
financial opportunity that you probably, you know, if you were
working somewhere else. Like when I started in sales in
the NBA, and even while I was selling well, I
(30:11):
was like hearing about people who had gone into tech
sales or med device and I was like, damn, like
I could have been doing a lot more.
Speaker 6 (30:20):
Really true, my bank account is missing that, yeah, but
I get to watch basketball games instead and you know,
it taught me a lot, and I think at the
time my challenge at the job I was that was
trying to be a standout female in particular because I
think the culture still in a lot.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
Of professional sports orgs has been very male dominated. And
it was while I was working there that I started
to learn about the Paralympics, research it, and I was
kind of curious about, you know, how I could get
back into athletics, because I never ended my personal athletic
(31:04):
career on a great note, and that's what led me
to start training. And so I was training while I
was working and that in professional sports, and it was
really difficult and just the timelines and again like the
money stuff and trying to afford the sport with what
I was making. And so I ended up moving into
(31:26):
a part time role at the ORG and thought I'd
just do that for a year to see if I
could get to the Tokyo Trials at least to make
the team. And I then got introduced to Nordic during
that timeframe, and I still though very much set a
hard stop. You know, maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't,
(31:49):
but I'm hard stopping. After twenty twenty two, and I'm
going back to work because like, I'm not going to
allow my business career to slip. And ultimately the pandemic happens,
I get laid off of the job in the NBA,
and so desperate for money, I was trying to find something.
And I had always been curious about social media, but
(32:12):
like I was in college twenty fourteen to twenty eighteen,
so it's like, yeah, social media marketing was coming up,
but it wasn't really being taught in school quite yet.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
And I'll say because I was in college at the
same time, ish, and I'll say, also, it's it's not
just that it wasn't being taught, it was.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
That there was so much.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Question about how to use it, right, because you could
have you could have a public profile, and there was
still like, go, well wait a minute. You know, from
a journalism perspective, there was very much like, wait, you
don't want to you don't want to share your personal
life because you're not the story and that's going to
make you biased or come off biased in your coverage. Right.
(32:55):
So even though it's not even that it wasn't being taught,
it was that everybody was like, wait, at how is
this going to affect people's careers because if you post
something personally you it could follow you to a job
and like you could not you could get passed over
for what you posted.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
No that, So it was all such learning, so much learning.
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Yes, I feel like there wasn't the realization of how
powerful it would be for business and for yeah, brand,
I don't think like the concept of the influencer probably
still it was people just assumed, you know, maybe they're
making some money now, but that's not the last it's sustainable,
and it was.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Like so cringey.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
It was like that was the cringe. The cringe was like, oh,
you're using social media to get paid or to like
get product, and it was like, let's just grow, you know.
It's like there was a cringe.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
To it even one hundred percent. And yeah, I know,
it's being taught way more now in school and I'm
still like I'm actually in like a grad certificate program
right now even doing like trying to do more on it.
And it's funny even to see that it still hasn't
been now updated in like three issu years. So we're
(34:08):
talking about Twitter way more than I think we're talking
about now, Like threads is not even a concept on
their younger or anything. Okay, yeah, so a little behind there,
but yeah, I think it's you know, I I was
curious about it, Like I definitely felt like I had
somewhat of a creative eye. I'd liked photography, and I
(34:29):
ended up finding a remote role which works really well
when I'm now trying to pick up this training with
Kodiak Cakes, which is a protein pancake company, and I
started working on their social media team, and so I
was learning a lot from a brand, you know, and
that was twenty twenty that was rapidly growing actually in
(34:52):
the influencer marketing space and really seeing you know, like
the power of social media and spreading the word about
the company and the message and also the actual product.
And so I was very lucky that I found that.
And I was like, wow, this idea of working you know,
remote and you know, not full time more like a
(35:13):
freelancer worked pretty well with training. And I was spending
so much money on training, Like over these two years
of trying to qualify for Tokyo, I spent in coaching fees,
travel to the races because I wasn't on the team,
so none of that is provided, and so to get
(35:35):
to the point where I had to was able to
qualify for the games. Up until that point, I spent
almost thirty thousand dollars just on like direct training, but
I obviously wasn't making much and so it was very
much a hodgepodge. I decided, you know, maybe I could
go find some like freelance clients of small businesses and
do their social and ended up, you know, through some that,
(36:00):
landing a job for a bit in casting, and so
I worked in casting for Meta and I was it
was the first time where then you know, I started
being involved in this Paralympic community and meeting more folks
with disabilities and understanding a bit more about that, and
I focused on casting those people for these meta marketing projects,
(36:24):
and it was the first time I kind of got
to combine you know, that that interest in like the
media marketing space with now this like new understanding about disability,
and so I was able to kind of combine those
I was like, wow, this is really cool and the
idea that I can like give this person an opportunity,
a paid opportunity, UH to share a bit of their
(36:46):
story because they were it was real people casting. So
finding real stories that already existed was so cool, and
that's something I really took with me, was like seeing
the power of the storytelling, of the stories that existed
amongst the community. And you know, very fortunately, I, just
as I continued continued to find some more opportunities in
(37:10):
the space, ended up about three years ago landing a
job with the Olympic and Paralympic Committee on the digital
media team. And so it's been a really interesting experience,
you know, being an athlete competing for this organization, but
then also seeing the flip side of the digital media team.
But I feel very fortunate because then I can, you know,
(37:32):
help push a lot of our Paralympics but stories that
exist and help really try to connect the athletes to
Team USA at large. But I always said when I
when I started competing, because I obviously went back on
my word of saying I was going to stop after
twenty two.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Which, thank god, thank goodness, go back to the office.
Speaker 4 (37:57):
The one thing I always said was like, no matter what,
no matter how much money I could make from sport,
because I really didn't think I was going to make
anything from sport, even when you know, when I got
my first sponsorship around Beijing, I was like, you know,
this probably won't have so like, gotta make sure you
know I'm still working. But I always said, my LinkedIn
(38:18):
resume better be a hell of a lot better than
my athletic resume by the time I finish. And I
know that, you know, not every athlete is as fortunate
as me in the sense that I had the business
experience prior I went to college to get my degree, Like,
not everyone has that opportunity. But something I want to
continue to see for for all these athletes is that
(38:41):
you know, they are starting to hone their skills outside
of sport, or take the skills they learn and see
how they can transform that into a career, because that's
a huge problem in our space, is employment post and
employment during because the money that comes in from Olympic
and Paralympic sports, unless you're part of this very select few,
(39:04):
is so minimal that you to be a human that
can pay rent and you know, have health insurance and
all these things that are required to exist, you might
need a job. And so I hope people in companies
and organizations can start to see, you know, how athletes
(39:25):
can transfer those skills. So I'm very lucky, but I
just love the space and it's so cool to see,
you know, starting out in those major sports. Now being
an Olympic and Paralympic marketer focused person, like the Olympic
and Paralympic space is just so special and so unique.
And I think working with the athletes is my favorite
(39:48):
thing because none of them that I really get to
experience or work with, even when I've been on the
other side working for Team USA or when I worked
in sports sponsorships, like these Olympians of Paralympians are so
grateful for opportunities and are just such a pleasure to
work with, and I can say I didn't always get
(40:09):
that experience.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
And then at the NFL, there's something very pure about
the vast majority of Olympic, Paralympic.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
And action sport athletes.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
As somebody who has covered I've covered the NFL, I've
covered the NBA, I cover college football, like there's something
epic about those sports and about those athletes. But as
somebody who's always drawn to the story, to the human story,
there is something there's something special about the athletes who
(40:42):
exist in these spaces, And maybe it goes back to
what you're talking about with like even the community that
you train in as people just want to be outside, right,
Like people are just doing this to be outside and
like training and don't mind the training because we're going
to spend five hours outside and that's a great day.
And so but there's something special about it and I
feel it too. So I'm so grateful that you're in
(41:02):
that spot with TSA, that you didn't go back to
the office job. However, fully support the idea of you
becoming a female GM, Like let's go after that after
we win a Paralympic medal or seven more So that
would be my personal.
Speaker 4 (41:16):
I don't think and you know, even after the sport
itself has done that I could ever leave the Olympic
and Paralympic space now it's it's yeah, it's just so
special and phenomenal. And with LA coming up and then
Salt Lake City that we're going to be hosting both
the Summer and Winter Games, Like, I think there's going
to be so many good opportunities for athletes in this
(41:36):
space to get jobs, to work, you know, whether it's
on the brand side, the media side, the organizing committee side.
So I hope to continue to exist in this space,
even when the sport itself has wrapped.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
A million person and the space is grateful to have
your experience in it because it matters a ton. So Okay,
we're going to trans position now because I could talk
to you forever about the Olympic and Olympic sports and
how we can how we can expand the spotlight so
much more than it is.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
But we're gonna switch gears. This is our something to
Sip On segment.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
It is brought to you by the Sports broad which
is the very first women's sports bar that we know
of in the entire world, started in Portland, Oregon.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
And I want to know, Danny, what do you sipping on?
Speaker 1 (42:22):
It can be a cocktail, a mocktail, a beverage, like
any kind of beverage. What do you sipping on after
a hard day playing outside.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
I am a beer snob. I worked in a brewy.
I love beer, but I also love cocktails. I also
love wine. I think this is one thing that's really
funny about endurance athletes is they either are like drinkers
or they don't drink at all. AND's like the spectrum. Yeah,
(42:55):
and I fall to the love side, and I am
you know, a big fan of an adult beverage. So
this summer I have been scaling back a bit, so
I have been NA bearing it quite a bit and nice.
I think there's a ton of great options out there.
(43:17):
But yeah, I'll say, I'll say NA beer, but occasionally
we might toss in an alcohol committer too.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
I like it.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
I love eight oh five just came out with an
NA and then I still think athletic bring is like
the goat of of NA beers. They've just they've been
so committed to it for so much longer that it
is so good.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
It's so good. Okay, I love that. Our next segment
is called powered Up.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
So this is where I ask you three semi off
the cuff random questions about what keeps you powered up
for your sport.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
So the first one is, what is the one thing
that you have to double triple quo droup will check
on your equipment before you can be confident that you
are ready.
Speaker 4 (44:04):
For the race, That my boots are tied a certain way?
And what is the bummer is with missing my hand.
I can tie shoes, but I can't tie them very tight,
and I have to have my boot tied really tight,
like almost to the point where people assume I'm losing circulation.
(44:24):
And so we basically like designate a staff member, whether
it's a wax tech or a coach, on the day
of a race to be my boot tire, and we
like make a plan of where we'll meet, you know,
amidst the chaos of a race day for them to
tie my boot and like get my cuff aall tight,
and that like has to be done how I like it,
(44:45):
or I feel like I can't ski correctly, even though
I probably could, but it like has to be a
certain amount of tight on my get it on my ankle.
Speaker 1 (44:54):
You're like, I need to feel the indentation of the
tie through the shoe onto I love that, and I
love that you have somebody who's your designated tire on
the day of the race.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
That is that is a well oiled machine of a team.
I'll tell you that, okay.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
And then you are competing on the Nordic course, you
are in a moment where you go, oh, man, I
don't know if I can do this any longer. What
is the thing that you tell yourself or whose voice
comes into your head that gets you through the worst moment.
Speaker 4 (45:24):
So it's usually my own voice, and it's always you know,
like a conversation. It's so cliche, but like a double
and an angel on your shoulder of someone telling you
that you can and someone who's like it be okay
if you stopped. But I try. I try to tell
myself to think about just what I'm doing in that moment,
(45:45):
because something I've been working on in sports psychology is
we as humans have a tendency to paint ourselves narratives
or stories and tell ourselves that is the truth and
that is reality when it's probably not true, like the
thoughts you know that can creep in during a race,
like everyone's going to be mad at me if I
(46:05):
don't do well, or like my career's over, or you know,
like why did I even like bother doing this? Or
I shouldn't have come or whatever it is, like those
are not reality, and we tell ourselves these to like
hope with the discomfort. But if you can draw your
(46:26):
attention to something in the present that will help you,
like release that narrative that's not serving you. And so
the way I do this, and I often do this
when I like lay down on the map to shoot
my rifle. Is I actually speak out loud to myself
and some people are like, you shouldn't be able to
speak if you're going that hard. I'm like, if I'm
going really hard, I can speak because I am in control,
(46:49):
and I like literally will say something to myself out loud,
like all right, Danny, you're doing this right now. Or
I might say the technique thing I'm focused on to
try to stay in that moment. Or sometimes I talk
to the coaches on the side of the course or
my competitors. I've even have like if they're passing me
or I'm passing them, I'll literally like say something like
(47:10):
you crushed that last till like damn or something, and
that helps me hear audibly something that's in that moment
and present.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Oh, that is so good.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Do you have a quote from a sports movie or
a sports movie in general that is like a go
to if you need inspiration, a go to if you
need to feel like a total badass, Like what pop
culture thing are you relating to?
Speaker 2 (47:37):
I listen?
Speaker 4 (47:38):
So I was very anti like music when I trained
or pre race, because I was like, I don't get
to listen to it when I'm out there. Alone in
the woods, so I should do it with that. But
I do struggle transparently, you know, with motivation sometimes. I
think that's something that doesn't get talked about, is that
people who literally get paid or expected to do exercise
(47:59):
struggle some times to do the same task.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
I mean, just like everybody else.
Speaker 4 (48:03):
Yeah, like it can be hard to get through some
especially you know if you're training by yourself or you know,
the workouts really boring and you just need to like
get through it. And so I, you know, decided, okay,
I'll start listening to stuff to see if that helps
get me through it. And I found these Spotify compilations
(48:24):
of motivational speeches. It's called Motiversity, and it's a lot
of speeches. I mean, they do Kobe Bryant, they do
like old Arnold schwartzeneg or like just all these people
who do these motivational speeches. And there is one called
dog mentality, and it's basically just like men screaming at
you about like how to release hear their dog. I
(48:49):
like love that low key and uh, I just think
about that sometimes. But one of my favorite quotes when
I when I get overwhelmed, since you know, this balance
of work in business and training and training sometimes for
a different sport, and like life get overwhelming and I
(49:09):
feel like I'm not doing enough for one of the
pieces of the puzzle. My agent, Ian Beck, who was
an elite level speed skater, he told me once when
I was telling him, I'm like, how am I supposed
to do this all? And like be great at all
these different things? And that's part of you know, my
brand and who I am is that I do all
(49:30):
these different things, like I'm not siloed into one thing.
And he said, you know, why does it have to
be all or nothing? And I think about that pretty
regularly because it's like, if we are wanting to do
more than one thing, yes, you're not going to be
all in on one of those things, but it doesn't
(49:52):
have to be all or nothing, Like you can do
a lot and do it well and you don't necessary
they have to decide, And that's you know, for other athletes,
I know, that's probably not what their mindset would be
because they are one hundred percent all in on their
sport all the time, and that's how they become the best.
(50:12):
But there's also other ways that people can achieve success,
and it might be by doing it in quite a
different lifestyle or quite a different way, and it might
take longer or it might not happen, But you know,
that's the decision I've made, is that I'm going to
do different things and be involved in different things. And
(50:32):
I just really think about that a lot. Like everyone says,
you know, be all in or like one hundred and
ten percent, and it's like, that's not realistic time, So
it's more so about giving enough to get the result
you would like, Yeah, oh, should I think about that line?
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (50:54):
Why does it have to be all or nothing?
Speaker 2 (50:57):
My brain is getting rewired as you're talking. I'm gonna
have to think about that one. But I love it.
Speaker 1 (51:05):
And then the last question that I have for you is,
obviously this is the Powerful podcast. We're all about celebrating
powerful women like yourself. What does powerful mean to you?
Speaker 4 (51:15):
Powerful means showing up in whatever way that might exist
and doing the relevant task at a high level with confidence,
because so often I think we do get wrapped up
in the results and what happens from doing the task,
whether it is winning a medal or like achieving a
(51:36):
certain thing at work. But you don't get to that
point without doing said task really well. And I think
that is where like power comes from, is having the
ability and the preparations and all of that to show
up and do the task really well and be confident
(51:56):
in your ability to do it, because that is something
I think a lot of women, I think a lot
of Paris athletes sometimes like, because the world is putting
limitations on you, like you have to own what you
do and feel a lot of confidence in the way
(52:17):
you do it and how you do it. And sometimes
the confidence might not be real and you have to
fake it for a moment, but that will lead to
real confidence. I like that.
Speaker 1 (52:27):
Well, Damie, thank you so much for being on the
Powerful podcast.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
This has been awesome.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
I'm so grateful for you showing up as yourself day
in and day out, both as an athlete and as
somebody who.
Speaker 2 (52:38):
Lifts up other athletes.
Speaker 1 (52:40):
The team USA and Paralympic and Olympic world is better
because you're so invested in it.
Speaker 2 (52:45):
So thanks for being here.
Speaker 4 (52:47):
Thank you for having me, and thank you. That's a
very very kind statement and it means a lot because
I do hope that the space is a little better
than how I found it.
Speaker 2 (52:58):
It absolutely is, and if you guys want to follow along.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
You've got to shout out your Instagram handle because it's
actually one of my favorites.
Speaker 4 (53:06):
Thank you. My Instagram handle is the one Armed Dance
spelled out so t A T O N E A
R M D A N and Brenna and I founded Cultured,
which is a Paralympic media company. If you want to
learn more about Paralympic sports, and that is c U
l X t U R E D. Don't ask about
(53:29):
the X. It was a trademark issue.
Speaker 1 (53:34):
As somebody who's dealt with trademarks, that is the most
that is that is real.
Speaker 2 (53:38):
The spelling is oftentimes simply to get the trademark.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
Anyway, On that note, thanks for joining us on the
Papa Podcast.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
We'll see y'all next week.
Speaker 1 (53:47):
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
everywhere you get your podcasts, And if you really enjoy
this and don't want to miss an episode, be sure
to hit that subscribe itton
Hello, friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm your host Aja McCord.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
In this podcast, we introduced you to powerful women who
were changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hey everybody, it's aj McCord, host of the Powerful Podcast.
This week, we have a summer and winter paralympian who
is making a difference in the storytelling around these athletes
that we are often so one dimensional about. Danny Aravich
was born without her left hand and left forearm, but
(00:42):
she competed athletically all through high school and actually really
didn't want to be a part of this Paralympic.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Movement and scene and community.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Instead was focused on really big dreams like becoming the
first female GM of an NFL team.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
And it wasn't until a few years ago that she.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Really started embracing everything that sport could offer her as
a Paralympic athlete. And so she made her debut in
twenty twenty one and then in twenty twenty two, and
now she is making a difference really from the inside
out with Team USA while she prepares to compete in Milan,
Courtina in just a few months. This conversation with Danny
(01:20):
Aravitch is a reminder of how important it is to
listen and not assume you know somebody's story just because
of what they've shared. It's a good reminder for me personally,
and I hope it will help all of us move
forward in our lives and in our communities, which is
a little bit more intention and a little bit more
curiosity than assumption. And so, with no further ado, I
(01:45):
welcome Danny Aravitch onto the podcast. She is a summer
and winter Paralympian currently based out of Montana and a
friend of somebody else who has been on the Powerful podcast,
Brenna Huckabee, you guys started culture together. So we're going
to dive into all the things Paralympics. But I want
to start with the fact that you were one of
(02:06):
the few who has been both a summer and winter Paralympian.
You competed in Tokyo and then like six months later
competed in Beijing. Now you're getting ready for Italy. How
the heck did you do all the things?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
How'd you do that not with ease.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Let me say I had gotten a lot of inspiration
that you could do a summer in winter from my
teammates Kendall Gretch, Oksana Masters Aaron Pike three who had
been doing the summer winter back to back. And when
I started training in track and field, I got recruited
to try this sport called cross country skiing, which I
(02:43):
had never done prior. And I knew it was possible
because my three Nordic teammates had done it, but obviously
they had a lot more experience under their belts. And
it was my debut at both those games for the
summer and winter, so that tight timeline did not and
it meant taking some sacrifices and some hits in both
(03:06):
sports to maybe not perform to the best I could
have if I went all in on one sport. But
I did it, and I'm proud to say I did it.
The double debut was the goal. And it's been nice,
though to focus just on the one thing for a while.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I can totally understand that.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So you competed in track and field T forty seven
four hundred meters in Beijing, and then you competed in Nordic.
I'm sorry in Tokyo and then you went to Beijing
and you competed in Nordic where you got a top ten,
so you didn't just debut like you competed and did
pretty well. But I want to go all the way
back because obviously the Paralympics is having a really cool
(03:49):
movement beginning.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
We saw it in Paris twenty twenty four. But what
can you.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Say about the growth of the attention on the Paralympics
in even just the time since your debuts in Tokyo
and in Beijing.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
I think Paris did a lot of really good things
for it, and I think it's because a lot of
people took to social media to talk about it, and
I was a little worried that people would be hesitant
to speak about it because there still is the stigma
of talking about disability and people not understanding the sports
(04:25):
and are they going to be able to comprehend it
because they are complicated. And that's why it's so important
that we get broadcasters in place and experts, whether they're
former athletes or coaches or people who have studied it,
because there is a lot of details that you might
not have to think about when you watch the Olympic
(04:46):
side of sports, and I think viewers like to understand
what they're watching and you know, have those context clues
when it comes to it. So I was a little
bit nervous that people would like be hesitant, and I
think the world really embraced it, and I think a
lot of that is credit to the Paris organizers. I
(05:07):
think they really helped the city and the country of
France get behind it. And you know, I got to
be there in Paris and go to a lot of
the events, and one of the nights I went to
track and field. It was sold out, so there was
almost seventy thousand people in person watching Paralympic Track and Field,
(05:29):
and you know, I was trying to look around and
understand who the audience was, like were they were they global?
You know, family friends, Like who are these seventy thousand people?
And while those people were there, it was so many
Parisians and so many teenagers and so many young people,
and I was just really impressed that all of these
(05:51):
people were, you know, choosing to spend their Tuesday evening
at the track and embracing this event. And so I'm
very hopeful that we'll have that moment for the Winter Games,
because I think we have yet to see the attention
and the fandom and all of that for Winter Paralympics.
I think we've seen it for Summer Games like London
twenty twelve, and now I think Paris also set a
(06:13):
new standard. So I'm very hopeful that one of the
Winter Games. But the Winter Games do have a lot more,
you know, difficulties for fans, just in the nature that
events are very far apart from each other. It's different
athlete villages and different locations because obviously it's hard to have,
you know, an area that has a alpine mountain that's
(06:34):
steep enough for you know, the super g that also
has a halfpipe, that also has a bobsled track and
a hockey arena. So there's so many more things, And
that's why I think Salt Lake twenty thirty four will
have a great opportunity because it is so much more
centralized into one place that I think fans will be
able to get to tons of different stuff. Transportation will
(06:56):
hopefully be seamless, and I'd be really out of the
US if we could be kind of the backbone of
the standard of attention on a Winter Games.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I love that and it's so interesting because so I
have covered Paralympic athletes for more than a decade now.
My first introduction was Sochi in twenty fourteen when Alena
Nichols was competing in the Paralympics in Sochi, and that
was my first, like real introduction into it. But my
family has been involved in California with CIF, with the
(07:31):
Challenge Athletes Foundation and making sure that there's accessibility with
you know, getting people out in the ocean because that's
my passion. My safe place is the water, and so
it's been fantastic to see it grow. But I love
what you called out there, and you put it on
your Instagram too. You said that your biggest worry about
the Internet not latching onto the Paralympics is the potential
(07:52):
fear of saying something wrong or offensive when it comes
to disability, and you say, as a two time Olympia Paralympian,
you're here to dismantle the fear. Post about it, ask
questions about it, and don't worry about saying the wrong things.
Make the memes about the funny moments, the sad moments,
the moments of triumph, just as you did for the Olympics.
Why is it so critical for you to dismantle that
(08:16):
stigma and that anxiety and that fear for people to
talk about the Paralympics and Paralympians.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
People rightfully have fear because we live in a culture
where people are getting canceled left and right, and disability
is very unknown to a lot of people, and so
it's very scary to talk about. And I totally understand
because for most of my life, until I and turned
into the space of the Paralympics, I didn't identify with
(08:46):
having a disability. I did not want to be a
part of that community. I didn't understand it, so I
didn't I also had fear around it. And you know,
when we think about Paralympics and Paralympic export, at the
end of the day, it's elite level sport, and that
seems to be often missed, unfortunately in the messaging, because
(09:07):
people do see the disability first rather than you know,
the four, eight, ten, thirty years of training that went
into that one moment on television of an athletic performance,
and people, you know, just are so afraid of saying
the wrong thing. But at the end of the day.
(09:28):
These are athletes, and you know, if there is a
really hilarious crash or fall, like, talk about it again
exactly how you would if you saw that on the
Olympics side, because those are the things that bring more
fans and more attention in and if you you know,
(09:49):
see the best finish you've ever seen, Like I always
think about my teammate Kendall Gretch in the twenty twenty
Tokyo Paralympics for the wheelchair class of triathlon. You know,
in an hour and ten minute race, she won the
race by point oh one seconds and just barely beats
the next person across the finish line, And like, you know,
(10:10):
people should be talking about that type of stuff. And
we at our company, Cultured, we want to always focus
on the sport and those moments first before we talk
about the disability, because there is this tendency to focus
on the disability and really be talking about you know,
(10:31):
these stories of overcoming an injury or a tragedy or
any of that, and that consumes the entire story. Then
when probably the athlete wanted to talk about you know
like actually that was a bad race for me for
this reason. It did not feel inspiring disappointed with this
(10:53):
performance or I'm pumped about this performance because of this,
and I want to tell you about this. And we know,
as the media, as the athletes have to constantly be
chasing better storytelling for them because otherwise the sports don't grow,
because it can't always be this feel good story. Like
(11:15):
we know that from watching every other sport we enjoy,
whether it's you know, professional football here in the US,
or it's the Olympics or whatever it might be. We
need all of those moments. We need, you know, the
rivalry that exist, and we need the good guys versus
the bad guys, versus your hometown team versus your favorite athlete.
(11:39):
We need all of those different pieces to the puzzle
to make sports interesting and fun and gain fans. And
if we only talk about these stories that often are
driven from this inspiration porn concept, then we are not
building a true base of fans.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, okay, talk more about that, because it is something
that I've heard from multiple paralympians, this idea of inspiration porn,
which straight up was not a term that I knew
until within like the last year. But it is so
interesting because I think there's more to be said about
(12:20):
that because as somebody who's always been drawn to the story,
to the heart of what makes somebody tick, what makes
them capable of doing these crazy things that most could
never dream of, whether it is competing for Team USA,
missing your left hand and forearm, or dropping into a
barrel in Tahiti because these waves are massive and insane. Right,
(12:45):
these are two things that I cannot imagine actually the
reality of doing and having that be in my life. However,
the human experience of overcoming, of figuring out how to
pick yourself back up and choose to make the most
of your circumstances, or choosing to paddle in despite being
(13:08):
afraid of it, choosing to do an adventure despite the fear.
Those are the tangible, like relatable points that I can
see as a broadcaster, as a human, as a way
to develop authentic fans. So talk more about the balance
between telling the story and finding those those you know,
those ties human to human, with not turning a paralympian
(13:33):
and their story into simply inspiration porn mm hm.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
I believe it all comes down to letting the athlete
drive the conversation or where the story's going. I think
often the media comes into a conversation into an interview
where they want it to go, and so they are
going to lead you with questions about, you know, what
(14:00):
was it like growing up without your hand or did
you feel left out of sports because you were different
than everyone else, or you know, for someone who's gone
through an injury that led to their disability, like getting
really into the points about that, and it's like, yes,
that might be for the athlete part of why they
(14:25):
tick the certain way or what you know made them
become who they now are, But it's always letting them
drive it because you know, maybe on that particular day
they just really don't want to talk about their disability,
or you know, maybe they have been going through something
(14:46):
else this past year, like a sport related injury or
you know, a big life change, and that's what they're overcoming,
Like they're overcoming being told, you know, you have now
this injury related to your disability from your sport that like,
how are you going to come back and make the games?
Like or yeah, a major life event that could have
(15:08):
totally shifted something and like for that and them, that's
so much more of the piece of the puzzle that
might be relatable to the audience and I think for
the media, it's always then thinking about where why you're
asking the things you're asking, and if it is to
get to you know, this point of like this is
(15:30):
a feel good story, I'm trying to make it one,
and I'm asking these questions to get them there. Like
that's part of the problem, because you know, we most
of us, do not find ourselves inspiring because of our disabilities.
We find ourselves inspiring because yes, you had the courage
(15:50):
to take a leap of faith and leave a career
to start training, or because your classification got cut from
the Games then you to compete against people who had
less impairments than you. There's so many other things that
I think make paralympians inspiring that actually have nothing to
(16:12):
do with their disabilities and their daily lives. And we
are not here to exist to make someone else feel
good about their life. And that's where I think the
media sometimes gets it wrong. Is you know, you see
the headlines like born without legs, this person overcame the
(16:33):
odds and is a Paralympian, and you know, they know
probably not that much about what that person's experience actually
was like, and the assumptions are made and sometimes they
might be correct, but oftentimes they are wrong. So I
think it's very important to think about why you're asking
these questions, what you're trying to get to, what assumptions
(16:54):
are you making, and hopefully that can be stopped by
letting the athlete lead conversation.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I love that, and honestly, it's such a good reminder
for me personally, as somebody who interviews all the time,
Like I have a whole set of notes because I
truthfully believe that preparation is what leads to the closest
thing to perfection, right, and so I have all these
notes on like coming into an interview.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
But it is such an art to and a human practice.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Even as the person who's supposed to be driving a conversation,
to listen first and to let the athlete drive the conversation.
And as we move into Italy and all of these
questions of okay, explain to me, you know what sled
hockey is, right, Like, explain to me sled hockey. That's
always a sport that everybody loves to get behind her wheelchair.
(17:48):
Curling is going to be at the same venue as
dwnhill skiing, not same venue, same town. They're both in Kotina.
But it's such a good reminder to just sort of
view everybody, regardless of their classification, as a whole human being,
because that's what you are. Yes, some people are coming
into this as their first Paralympics having not be somebody
(18:12):
who would have qualified for the Paralympics four years ago
when they came around right because there was an injury,
because there was a trauma, because there was a moment.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Some people are coming into this like you where you've
you've lived with this your whole life.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
You've you've lived without your left hand, without your left forearm,
and you've been an.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Athlete your whole life.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Might I add like I was looking back at all
the sports that you competed in in high school, all
of them in just your high school division, not in
anything you know specifically, and it's so it's such a
good reminder to just.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Not come into it with the arrogance that you know
what the story is.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
That's a great way to phrase it. I like that.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So with that, I'm so excited to talk a little bit.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
About your road to Milan and what you're working on
right now in Bozeman, Montana. I see a lot of
biking on the Instagram, So I like the cross training
here for Nordic. But for those who don't know the
Nordic classifications, can you break down what you're going to
be competing in.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
So most of our athletes globally in paracross country aka
Para Nordic also compete in para biathlon, which is something
very different than the Olympics side, because we are still
quite a bit smaller, and for a long time those
two sports were governed by the same international federation, and
(19:36):
so many of our competitions, World Cups, world Championships, even
the Games had both biathlon and cross country ski races.
They have since been separated into different international federations. But
for the Games, for example, they'll basically change each every
(19:57):
few days. They'll be a cross country race, they'll be
a bys on race. And for those two sports, we
have three different larger classifications based on your impairment, and
so I am in the standing classification, meaning you ski
on two skis, you compete in both classic and skate techniques,
(20:17):
and depending on then your subclassification determines whether you use
two poles, you use one pole, you use no polls,
and you get a percent. We call it the factor
that basically is determined by classifiers and the classification system
that is taken off your total time. So if you
(20:40):
were to see I don't know, thirty minute whatever race
I first skate, am a ninety six percent factor, so
they basically take ninety six percent of that time, and
that is what my result is on paper. And similarly
for the sitting class, that means every athlete is in
it sits this bucket made of either carbon some types
(21:03):
of plastic. They compete against each other but have sub classifications.
And then lastly, visual impairments similarly have a spectrum, so
that determines what the factor will be. So I compete
against basically any woman who's standing. And at the Games,
we have seven events, three cross country ski races, three
(21:27):
biathlon races, and one team relay. And I yeah we
have events. Yeah, there's seven in I believe the Games
are nine days long, so you get like two great days. Yes,
not a ton of time to recover. But I you know,
(21:49):
I haven't decided. I technically haven't qualified for the Games.
We won't find out until January time. But if I,
if I qualify, I will likely probably not do every event.
I'm not sure which one I will sit out quite yet,
but that's kind of how many of the athletes will
go about it. Will kind of look at the schedule
(22:10):
and determine, okay, like when what days make sense to race.
Cross country is quite a bit different, I would say,
than like track and field or swimming in the sense
that people might have a preference, like I might be
a better sprinter compared to middle distance, but most athletes
compete in a wide variety of both the skate and
(22:34):
classic discipline and then distances, so it's not like you
probably go and be like, I'm only you're doing the
one sprint race because I'm only a sprinter. Like people
have kind of a wide variety of the types of
races they compete in and definitely have preferences to some.
But some athletes like Oksano Masters on my team, make
(22:55):
Adam off like they are strong at every distance they
compete in in don't necessarily have just a bread and
butter specialty because they're so good at everything.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Okay, So when we're talking about Italy in particular and
getting ready for it, we kind of I joked about
some of the training that you're doing with biking, but
can you tell me a little bit about how you're
getting ready for it? Because I think there's a massive
misconception with both Olympians and Paralympians that you just kind
of show up and qualify the year of qualifications and
(23:29):
that's it. But that's not the case. You have competitions
year in and year out. So what have you been
doing since we last saw you in.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
The Paralympics to get ready for this Paralympics.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Yes, that is a huge misconception and it drives me
nuts because I feel like when people ask me about
like athletics success, they're always asking about Paralympic Games medals,
and it's like, Okay, I don't have one of those,
but I am a world champion and I have a
World Cup medal, And people put obviously so much weight
(24:00):
behind the Games, But in those four years, there's so
many different competitions that sometimes matter more to athletes because
you know, maybe there's more money on the line, like
maybe the prize person is better or maybe you know,
it's yeah, like a world championship often is for us,
(24:20):
at least in the US. On our team, it's often
harder to make a World Championship roster than it is
the Paralympic Games roster. So yeah, there is a lot
of different things that Carrie still a lot of weight.
So since Beijing, we've had you know, three now full
seasons of we've had gosh, i think three World championships
since Beijing across Nordic and biathlon, we've had many World Cups. Training,
(24:47):
you know, is eleven months out of the year for
this sport. The only off month is April, and then
you start back in May, even though there might not
be snow on the ground or you might not have
access to it, you are starting to put in and
based training. And cross country skiers are very focused on
yearly hours trained. Where it's coming from, Like collegiate distance running,
(25:11):
it was very focused on mileage and it's like depending
you know, how long it took you is how long
it took you, But like we focus on how many
miles did you train this week? How many miles did
you train this year? For Nordic, it is all about
hours trained. So you are looking at your year and
figuring out, you know, when do you have the capacity
(25:32):
to do a lot of volume, When are you going
to focus on like shorter anaerobic like trying to do
a lot more intensity type of workouts, and so you
kind of like lay out this year and figure out
how many hours am I trying to train in this year,
and you basically just start building in May and your
(25:52):
roller skiing, you're biking, you're running, you're swimming, you're integrating
strength training, you are basically doing any type of cardio
based activity that can help you build your aerobic capacity
and get you ready to go skiing for really long
amounts of time. And that's something I really appreciate about
(26:14):
this sport. Like I don't think I could be an
elite cyclist ever, because I don't think I could only
cycle like I do. Like that I can like look
at my week and you know, have my key workouts
where I'm trying to go really hard, really fast on
roller skis. But then I can also be like, all right,
I need to get three hours in on Sunday, I'm
(26:35):
gonna go for a big mountain run or long bike ride.
And it's really fun. And I think that's one thing
about the culture about Nordic skiing as I'm learning it now,
only being into like year four of it, is everyone's
just an outdoors person. Like everyone just wants to spend
time outside, playing in the mountains and doing long, fun activities,
(26:56):
which is a really cool cultural aspect to the sport
as well.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I did an interview in the last season with Gwen Rudy,
who is trying to make this SKA mountaineering team which
is making it stay here Fortina or in Italy in
twenty six and it was the same thing where she's.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Just like I just like being outside.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
All of us just want to spend all day every
day outside, which I personally can relate to.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
It's a lot of dry land time for me.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
I would appreciate a little bit more water in corporation,
you know, whether that's like rafting, kayaking, surfing, something like that.
But I do love that just culture of people who
compete in endurance sports in particular is there's just like
this desire to stay outside.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
And one of the things with that.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Obviously you have a very full calendar with your schedule
for training to try and compete for the Paralympics and
get that Paralympic medal that you know will be added
to your many others, but you also have an incredible
history in the workforce in sports in general that I
want to talk about. Because you started working for the
Jazz after college, You've had experience with the Pacers, the Colts,
(28:03):
So walk me through how your roles with those teams
have impacted the way that you are building cultured and
the way you're honestly building a brand for yourself on
social media and outside of your sport.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Because I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
The exact statistic, but it's an offensively high number of
Olympians and Paralympians who live below the poverty line.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Like it's there's a lot of them who.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Do not make enough money doing their sport to have
it be their full time job. So give me a
little bit of background of your of your experience and
professional you know, sort of mainstream sports, and how that's
played into what you're doing now.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
I always wanted to work in sports, and I went
to college, you know, not knowing anything about Paralympics, and
I was focused on getting my career started after college.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
It went also to run and it ended up leaving
the team midway through college, and I was very focused
on how I'm gonna get that job, and I just
wanted to be like the first female GM of an
NFL team and be a powerhouse business woman. And I
(29:14):
was very lucky that I was able to do some
internships with professional teams in town football and basketball, and
then was looking for my first job out of school, knowing,
you know, I'd probably have to start pretty ground zero
wherever I went and would just have to work my
way up and be willing to, you know, grind it out.
Like I think, working in professional sports and so many
(29:37):
different areas of business is a lot like sports. It's
a lot of time for often a little pay at
the beginning, in the know that you get somewhere else.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah, I know that.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Oh my gosh, it is not a dream life. Let's
just say for a bit there. You really have to
sacrifice a lot of time and a lot of like
financial opportunity that you probably, you know, if you were
working somewhere else. Like when I started in sales in
the NBA, and even while I was selling well, I
(30:11):
was like hearing about people who had gone into tech
sales or med device and I was like, damn, like
I could have been doing a lot more.
Speaker 6 (30:20):
Really true, my bank account is missing that, yeah, but
I get to watch basketball games instead and you know,
it taught me a lot, and I think at the
time my challenge at the job I was that was
trying to be a standout female in particular because I
think the culture still in a lot.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
Of professional sports orgs has been very male dominated. And
it was while I was working there that I started
to learn about the Paralympics, research it, and I was
kind of curious about, you know, how I could get
back into athletics, because I never ended my personal athletic
(31:04):
career on a great note, and that's what led me
to start training. And so I was training while I
was working and that in professional sports, and it was
really difficult and just the timelines and again like the
money stuff and trying to afford the sport with what
I was making. And so I ended up moving into
(31:26):
a part time role at the ORG and thought I'd
just do that for a year to see if I
could get to the Tokyo Trials at least to make
the team. And I then got introduced to Nordic during
that timeframe, and I still though very much set a
hard stop. You know, maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't,
(31:49):
but I'm hard stopping. After twenty twenty two, and I'm
going back to work because like, I'm not going to
allow my business career to slip. And ultimately the pandemic happens,
I get laid off of the job in the NBA,
and so desperate for money, I was trying to find something.
And I had always been curious about social media, but
(32:12):
like I was in college twenty fourteen to twenty eighteen,
so it's like, yeah, social media marketing was coming up,
but it wasn't really being taught in school quite yet.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
And I'll say because I was in college at the
same time, ish, and I'll say, also, it's it's not
just that it wasn't being taught, it was.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
That there was so much.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Question about how to use it, right, because you could
have you could have a public profile, and there was
still like, go, well wait a minute. You know, from
a journalism perspective, there was very much like, wait, you
don't want to you don't want to share your personal
life because you're not the story and that's going to
make you biased or come off biased in your coverage. Right.
(32:55):
So even though it's not even that it wasn't being taught,
it was that everybody was like, wait, at how is
this going to affect people's careers because if you post
something personally you it could follow you to a job
and like you could not you could get passed over
for what you posted.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
No that, So it was all such learning, so much learning.
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Yes, I feel like there wasn't the realization of how
powerful it would be for business and for yeah, brand,
I don't think like the concept of the influencer probably
still it was people just assumed, you know, maybe they're
making some money now, but that's not the last it's sustainable,
and it was.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Like so cringey.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
It was like that was the cringe. The cringe was like, oh,
you're using social media to get paid or to like
get product, and it was like, let's just grow, you know.
It's like there was a cringe.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
To it even one hundred percent. And yeah, I know,
it's being taught way more now in school and I'm
still like I'm actually in like a grad certificate program
right now even doing like trying to do more on it.
And it's funny even to see that it still hasn't
been now updated in like three issu years. So we're
(34:08):
talking about Twitter way more than I think we're talking
about now, Like threads is not even a concept on
their younger or anything. Okay, yeah, so a little behind there,
but yeah, I think it's you know, I I was
curious about it, Like I definitely felt like I had
somewhat of a creative eye. I'd liked photography, and I
(34:29):
ended up finding a remote role which works really well
when I'm now trying to pick up this training with
Kodiak Cakes, which is a protein pancake company, and I
started working on their social media team, and so I
was learning a lot from a brand, you know, and
that was twenty twenty that was rapidly growing actually in
(34:52):
the influencer marketing space and really seeing you know, like
the power of social media and spreading the word about
the company and the message and also the actual product.
And so I was very lucky that I found that.
And I was like, wow, this idea of working you know,
remote and you know, not full time more like a
(35:13):
freelancer worked pretty well with training. And I was spending
so much money on training, Like over these two years
of trying to qualify for Tokyo, I spent in coaching fees,
travel to the races because I wasn't on the team,
so none of that is provided, and so to get
(35:35):
to the point where I had to was able to
qualify for the games. Up until that point, I spent
almost thirty thousand dollars just on like direct training, but
I obviously wasn't making much and so it was very
much a hodgepodge. I decided, you know, maybe I could
go find some like freelance clients of small businesses and
do their social and ended up, you know, through some that,
(36:00):
landing a job for a bit in casting, and so
I worked in casting for Meta and I was it
was the first time where then you know, I started
being involved in this Paralympic community and meeting more folks
with disabilities and understanding a bit more about that, and
I focused on casting those people for these meta marketing projects,
(36:24):
and it was the first time I kind of got
to combine you know, that that interest in like the
media marketing space with now this like new understanding about disability,
and so I was able to kind of combine those
I was like, wow, this is really cool and the
idea that I can like give this person an opportunity,
a paid opportunity, UH to share a bit of their
(36:46):
story because they were it was real people casting. So
finding real stories that already existed was so cool, and
that's something I really took with me, was like seeing
the power of the storytelling, of the stories that existed
amongst the community. And you know, very fortunately, I, just
as I continued continued to find some more opportunities in
(37:10):
the space, ended up about three years ago landing a
job with the Olympic and Paralympic Committee on the digital
media team. And so it's been a really interesting experience,
you know, being an athlete competing for this organization, but
then also seeing the flip side of the digital media team.
But I feel very fortunate because then I can, you know,
(37:32):
help push a lot of our Paralympics but stories that
exist and help really try to connect the athletes to
Team USA at large. But I always said when I
when I started competing, because I obviously went back on
my word of saying I was going to stop after
twenty two.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Which, thank god, thank goodness, go back to the office.
Speaker 4 (37:57):
The one thing I always said was like, no matter what,
no matter how much money I could make from sport,
because I really didn't think I was going to make
anything from sport, even when you know, when I got
my first sponsorship around Beijing, I was like, you know,
this probably won't have so like, gotta make sure you
know I'm still working. But I always said, my LinkedIn
(38:18):
resume better be a hell of a lot better than
my athletic resume by the time I finish. And I
know that, you know, not every athlete is as fortunate
as me in the sense that I had the business
experience prior I went to college to get my degree, Like,
not everyone has that opportunity. But something I want to
continue to see for for all these athletes is that
(38:41):
you know, they are starting to hone their skills outside
of sport, or take the skills they learn and see
how they can transform that into a career, because that's
a huge problem in our space, is employment post and
employment during because the money that comes in from Olympic
and Paralympic sports, unless you're part of this very select few,
(39:04):
is so minimal that you to be a human that
can pay rent and you know, have health insurance and
all these things that are required to exist, you might
need a job. And so I hope people in companies
and organizations can start to see, you know, how athletes
(39:25):
can transfer those skills. So I'm very lucky, but I
just love the space and it's so cool to see,
you know, starting out in those major sports. Now being
an Olympic and Paralympic marketer focused person, like the Olympic
and Paralympic space is just so special and so unique.
And I think working with the athletes is my favorite
(39:48):
thing because none of them that I really get to
experience or work with, even when I've been on the
other side working for Team USA or when I worked
in sports sponsorships, like these Olympians of Paralympians are so
grateful for opportunities and are just such a pleasure to
work with, and I can say I didn't always get
(40:09):
that experience.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
And then at the NFL, there's something very pure about
the vast majority of Olympic, Paralympic.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
And action sport athletes.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
As somebody who has covered I've covered the NFL, I've
covered the NBA, I cover college football, like there's something
epic about those sports and about those athletes. But as
somebody who's always drawn to the story, to the human story,
there is something there's something special about the athletes who
(40:42):
exist in these spaces, And maybe it goes back to
what you're talking about with like even the community that
you train in as people just want to be outside, right,
Like people are just doing this to be outside and
like training and don't mind the training because we're going
to spend five hours outside and that's a great day.
And so but there's something special about it and I
feel it too. So I'm so grateful that you're in
(41:02):
that spot with TSA, that you didn't go back to
the office job. However, fully support the idea of you
becoming a female GM, Like let's go after that after
we win a Paralympic medal or seven more So that
would be my personal.
Speaker 4 (41:16):
I don't think and you know, even after the sport
itself has done that I could ever leave the Olympic
and Paralympic space now it's it's yeah, it's just so
special and phenomenal. And with LA coming up and then
Salt Lake City that we're going to be hosting both
the Summer and Winter Games, Like, I think there's going
to be so many good opportunities for athletes in this
(41:36):
space to get jobs, to work, you know, whether it's
on the brand side, the media side, the organizing committee side.
So I hope to continue to exist in this space,
even when the sport itself has wrapped.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
A million person and the space is grateful to have
your experience in it because it matters a ton. So Okay,
we're going to trans position now because I could talk
to you forever about the Olympic and Olympic sports and
how we can how we can expand the spotlight so
much more than it is.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
But we're gonna switch gears. This is our something to
Sip On segment.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
It is brought to you by the Sports broad which
is the very first women's sports bar that we know
of in the entire world, started in Portland, Oregon.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
And I want to know, Danny, what do you sipping on?
Speaker 1 (42:22):
It can be a cocktail, a mocktail, a beverage, like
any kind of beverage. What do you sipping on after
a hard day playing outside.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
I am a beer snob. I worked in a brewy.
I love beer, but I also love cocktails. I also
love wine. I think this is one thing that's really
funny about endurance athletes is they either are like drinkers
or they don't drink at all. AND's like the spectrum. Yeah,
(42:55):
and I fall to the love side, and I am
you know, a big fan of an adult beverage. So
this summer I have been scaling back a bit, so
I have been NA bearing it quite a bit and nice.
I think there's a ton of great options out there.
(43:17):
But yeah, I'll say, I'll say NA beer, but occasionally
we might toss in an alcohol committer too.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
I like it.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
I love eight oh five just came out with an
NA and then I still think athletic bring is like
the goat of of NA beers. They've just they've been
so committed to it for so much longer that it
is so good.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
It's so good. Okay, I love that. Our next segment
is called powered Up.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
So this is where I ask you three semi off
the cuff random questions about what keeps you powered up
for your sport.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
So the first one is, what is the one thing
that you have to double triple quo droup will check
on your equipment before you can be confident that you
are ready.
Speaker 4 (44:04):
For the race, That my boots are tied a certain way?
And what is the bummer is with missing my hand.
I can tie shoes, but I can't tie them very tight,
and I have to have my boot tied really tight,
like almost to the point where people assume I'm losing circulation.
(44:24):
And so we basically like designate a staff member, whether
it's a wax tech or a coach, on the day
of a race to be my boot tire, and we
like make a plan of where we'll meet, you know,
amidst the chaos of a race day for them to
tie my boot and like get my cuff aall tight,
and that like has to be done how I like it,
(44:45):
or I feel like I can't ski correctly, even though
I probably could, but it like has to be a
certain amount of tight on my get it on my ankle.
Speaker 1 (44:54):
You're like, I need to feel the indentation of the
tie through the shoe onto I love that, and I
love that you have somebody who's your designated tire on
the day of the race.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
That is that is a well oiled machine of a team.
I'll tell you that, okay.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
And then you are competing on the Nordic course, you
are in a moment where you go, oh, man, I
don't know if I can do this any longer. What
is the thing that you tell yourself or whose voice
comes into your head that gets you through the worst moment.
Speaker 4 (45:24):
So it's usually my own voice, and it's always you know,
like a conversation. It's so cliche, but like a double
and an angel on your shoulder of someone telling you
that you can and someone who's like it be okay
if you stopped. But I try. I try to tell
myself to think about just what I'm doing in that moment,
(45:45):
because something I've been working on in sports psychology is
we as humans have a tendency to paint ourselves narratives
or stories and tell ourselves that is the truth and
that is reality when it's probably not true, like the
thoughts you know that can creep in during a race,
like everyone's going to be mad at me if I
(46:05):
don't do well, or like my career's over, or you know,
like why did I even like bother doing this? Or
I shouldn't have come or whatever it is, like those
are not reality, and we tell ourselves these to like
hope with the discomfort. But if you can draw your
(46:26):
attention to something in the present that will help you,
like release that narrative that's not serving you. And so
the way I do this, and I often do this
when I like lay down on the map to shoot
my rifle. Is I actually speak out loud to myself
and some people are like, you shouldn't be able to
speak if you're going that hard. I'm like, if I'm
going really hard, I can speak because I am in control,
(46:49):
and I like literally will say something to myself out loud,
like all right, Danny, you're doing this right now. Or
I might say the technique thing I'm focused on to
try to stay in that moment. Or sometimes I talk
to the coaches on the side of the course or
my competitors. I've even have like if they're passing me
or I'm passing them, I'll literally like say something like
(47:10):
you crushed that last till like damn or something, and
that helps me hear audibly something that's in that moment
and present.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Oh, that is so good.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Do you have a quote from a sports movie or
a sports movie in general that is like a go
to if you need inspiration, a go to if you
need to feel like a total badass, Like what pop
culture thing are you relating to?
Speaker 2 (47:37):
I listen?
Speaker 4 (47:38):
So I was very anti like music when I trained
or pre race, because I was like, I don't get
to listen to it when I'm out there. Alone in
the woods, so I should do it with that. But
I do struggle transparently, you know, with motivation sometimes. I
think that's something that doesn't get talked about, is that
people who literally get paid or expected to do exercise
(47:59):
struggle some times to do the same task.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
I mean, just like everybody else.
Speaker 4 (48:03):
Yeah, like it can be hard to get through some
especially you know if you're training by yourself or you know,
the workouts really boring and you just need to like
get through it. And so I, you know, decided, okay,
I'll start listening to stuff to see if that helps
get me through it. And I found these Spotify compilations
(48:24):
of motivational speeches. It's called Motiversity, and it's a lot
of speeches. I mean, they do Kobe Bryant, they do
like old Arnold schwartzeneg or like just all these people
who do these motivational speeches. And there is one called
dog mentality, and it's basically just like men screaming at
you about like how to release hear their dog. I
(48:49):
like love that low key and uh, I just think
about that sometimes. But one of my favorite quotes when
I when I get overwhelmed, since you know, this balance
of work in business and training and training sometimes for
a different sport, and like life get overwhelming and I
(49:09):
feel like I'm not doing enough for one of the
pieces of the puzzle. My agent, Ian Beck, who was
an elite level speed skater, he told me once when
I was telling him, I'm like, how am I supposed
to do this all? And like be great at all
these different things? And that's part of you know, my
brand and who I am is that I do all
(49:30):
these different things, like I'm not siloed into one thing.
And he said, you know, why does it have to
be all or nothing? And I think about that pretty
regularly because it's like, if we are wanting to do
more than one thing, yes, you're not going to be
all in on one of those things, but it doesn't
(49:52):
have to be all or nothing, Like you can do
a lot and do it well and you don't necessary
they have to decide, And that's you know, for other athletes,
I know, that's probably not what their mindset would be
because they are one hundred percent all in on their
sport all the time, and that's how they become the best.
(50:12):
But there's also other ways that people can achieve success,
and it might be by doing it in quite a
different lifestyle or quite a different way, and it might
take longer or it might not happen, But you know,
that's the decision I've made, is that I'm going to
do different things and be involved in different things. And
(50:32):
I just really think about that a lot. Like everyone says,
you know, be all in or like one hundred and
ten percent, and it's like, that's not realistic time, So
it's more so about giving enough to get the result
you would like, Yeah, oh, should I think about that line?
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (50:54):
Why does it have to be all or nothing?
Speaker 2 (50:57):
My brain is getting rewired as you're talking. I'm gonna
have to think about that one. But I love it.
Speaker 1 (51:05):
And then the last question that I have for you is,
obviously this is the Powerful podcast. We're all about celebrating
powerful women like yourself. What does powerful mean to you?
Speaker 4 (51:15):
Powerful means showing up in whatever way that might exist
and doing the relevant task at a high level with confidence,
because so often I think we do get wrapped up
in the results and what happens from doing the task,
whether it is winning a medal or like achieving a
(51:36):
certain thing at work. But you don't get to that
point without doing said task really well. And I think
that is where like power comes from, is having the
ability and the preparations and all of that to show
up and do the task really well and be confident
(51:56):
in your ability to do it, because that is something
I think a lot of women, I think a lot
of Paris athletes sometimes like, because the world is putting
limitations on you, like you have to own what you
do and feel a lot of confidence in the way
(52:17):
you do it and how you do it. And sometimes
the confidence might not be real and you have to
fake it for a moment, but that will lead to
real confidence. I like that.
Speaker 1 (52:27):
Well, Damie, thank you so much for being on the
Powerful podcast.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
This has been awesome.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
I'm so grateful for you showing up as yourself day
in and day out, both as an athlete and as
somebody who.
Speaker 2 (52:38):
Lifts up other athletes.
Speaker 1 (52:40):
The team USA and Paralympic and Olympic world is better
because you're so invested in it.
Speaker 2 (52:45):
So thanks for being here.
Speaker 4 (52:47):
Thank you for having me, and thank you. That's a
very very kind statement and it means a lot because
I do hope that the space is a little better
than how I found it.
Speaker 2 (52:58):
It absolutely is, and if you guys want to follow along.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
You've got to shout out your Instagram handle because it's
actually one of my favorites.
Speaker 4 (53:06):
Thank you. My Instagram handle is the one Armed Dance
spelled out so t A T O N E A
R M D A N and Brenna and I founded Cultured,
which is a Paralympic media company. If you want to
learn more about Paralympic sports, and that is c U
l X t U R E D. Don't ask about
(53:29):
the X. It was a trademark issue.
Speaker 1 (53:34):
As somebody who's dealt with trademarks, that is the most
that is that is real.
Speaker 2 (53:38):
The spelling is oftentimes simply to get the trademark.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
Anyway, On that note, thanks for joining us on the
Papa Podcast.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
We'll see y'all next week.
Speaker 1 (53:47):
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
everywhere you get your podcasts, And if you really enjoy
this and don't want to miss an episode, be sure
to hit that subscribe itton
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