Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jacob Rainy, Hey, how are you, dude doing?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Absolutely, absolutely So listen, we were talking about you earlier
in the week as a refresher. You're an Arlington dude,
and you were gonna go climb Mount Kiliman Jarrow and
you you have one leg. Yep, that's that sums it
up very good, all right, Jacob, No, no, so we
(00:29):
were we were we were talking about your story and
I guess I can't remember how long ago it was,
but I had made some comment on the air about
climbing uh, Mount Kiliman Jarrow, and I probably did it
in a way that made it sound like it would
be much easier than I imagined it was. And then
we started hearing from people that were talking about like, dude,
you don't understand like the altitude, sickness and the what
(00:50):
goes into it. And then came the story that we
saw about you and you're going to do it obviously
as part of a charity thing, and we'll get into
that in a second.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
But you're doing it with one leg, dude.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's a good it's a good challenge.
I'm really excited about it. I'm a big believer in
a comfort being the enemy of growth. So making yourself
uncomfortable and challenging yourself as is kind of where you
can can grow as a person. So there's been people
that have done it with and above the knee amputation,
but I haven't found too many people have done it
(01:25):
so that it'll be a really really good challenge and
rewarding experience, I hope.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Hey, so, Jacob, let me ask you this like in
terms of and I understand what you're saying about being
motivated and finding things to do and then obviously being
able to take that and find a charitable angle to
it as well.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
What got you? What got you to kill him in Jarrow?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, So it's with the Chris Long Foundation's Waterboys initiative.
Chris Long. I'm sure some people are familiar with them,
but he he's from Charlottesville, went the EVA. I'm from Charlstville,
went to EVA. I've kind of known Chris since like
two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine. He went
on to play in the NFL for a while when
a couple couple of Super Bowls, and he's kind of
always kept a great perspective on life and getting back
(02:07):
and all that. So he was super supportive to me
during my injury years and years ago. So it's a
little bit of me trying to help support him and
his foundation and get back a little bit. And they
do this cockering and a killy trip every year. I've
been thinking about it for a few years, so finally
figured now or never, get on, get on the trip
and go with these guys, a group of NFL vets,
(02:29):
military vets, and some clean water advocates, which the group
that I fall into. But yeah, it's really I don't
know if I would be doing kilim Dar. I didn't
really think about it without seeing Chris and the Water
Boys Foundation do it for the past ten years or so.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Hey, so take me back, Jacob, take me back to
the injury. You're playing. You're playing football in high school.
What year were you in when the injury happened.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, it's my junior year, right before right before my year.
We were wrapping up our training camp and had had
a scrimmage up in northern Virginia actually at Flint Hill School,
I believe, And yeah, it was just kind of a
freak accident. I just kind of got tackled funny from
behind and I blacked out, hit the ground, and I
hear a bunch of moans and groans and nasty noises,
(03:19):
and I've kind of come to and I looked down
on my legs just kind of sticking out sideways, and
I'm like that those noises are a result of what's
going on with me. So ultimately, I just just located
my knee toward every single ligament, broke a portion of
the leg, and also come to find out sever the
populatial artery, which I didn't know at the time but
(03:39):
I do know now, is the main blood source for
your leg. And if you don't connect that artery in
a timely manner, the odds and saving the limb go
go down significantly. So had basket of surgery the same day.
Everyone thought it was successful, but just throughout the next
week or so, developed compartment syndrome, which there's a lot
of pressure within your your your leg and muscles aren't
(04:02):
really coming back to life. So after that first week,
my leg was essentially killing me and kind of trying
to take me with it. My leg was dying and
again trying to take me with it. How ultimately, the
decision was made to amputate the leg A week later.
Above the knee. So all right, so let yeah, that's
kind of how it went down.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Let's break that down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Like I understand that at the time you didn't know
what the poppeteal artery was. On Tuesdays this week, I
didn't know what the poppeteal artery was.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
But that's when we learned.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Isn't it the it's the bottom kind of the bottom
part of the people have heard of the femoral artery,
and it's the bottom part of that. And if that
thing goes like you, you risked dying from that.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, exactly, that's kind of what happened. They reconnected the artery,
but it just didn't didn't quite take and bring my
the blood flowers, didn't reconnect to the muscles and all that. So, yeah,
my leg was just dying and again trying to take
me with it. So they had to make the decision
to cut it off and go from there.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Hey, do you remember and maybe and listen, it sounds
as though, and based on what you're.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Doing, that you are very very comfortable in in in
in your.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Skin and in your life of just having one leg,
and that that's what you know, by and large, and
again you sound you sound very comfortable in it. Can
you go back to being a junior in high school?
And that was that's what I was going to ask you.
I didn't know that. You know that it had taken
a week after they initially tried to to save it,
(05:31):
and then over the course of the week, it's downhill.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And like you said, it doesn't sound like there was
much of a choice.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
But during the course of that week, when you're a
junior in high school, are you sitting there going like, holdly,
there's no like, I can't lose my leg.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, no, I that's exactly what I was feeling like.
I mean, I remember when I got to the hospital
for the vascular surgery, the doctor came in and said
he was going to try to save my leg, and
that was the first time I was like, excuse me,
I didn't know I could lose a leg playing football,
So I mean, it's extremely, extremely rare. So yeah, no,
I had no idea. And then that next week, I
(06:07):
kind of I mean, I try to stay optimistic, positive,
look at the brighter things in life, So the whole
week I kind of figured we're good, We're moving in
the right direction. The baster surgery connected the artery. I'm
sure these muscles will come back to life eventually, so
I just tried to maintain positivity. I mean from that
day forward really So yeah, No, I had no idea
that was even possible to lose the leg playing football,
(06:30):
but it's extremely rare, but it's definitely possible.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Hey, did you were you always positive or like I'm
trying to imagine my junior year of high school and
then waking up the day after the surgery and not
being listen. I was an angry kid anyway, Jacob, but
I can't imagine not being just pissed at the world.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, I mean I wasn't always as positive before the injury,
but I feel like I have a different perspective on
life once I got hurt, even from that time, and
it's kind of grown since then. But I the way
I saw it from the very beginning is I don't
see the point in being angry. It's not going to
change anything. I was just wasting time. It will ultimately
(07:13):
get me to where I want to go. I had
a bunch of goals from the time I got hurt,
and if I wasted even the second being angry or
asking why did this happen to me like, that's not
going to be productive to reaching my goals. So I
just shut all that down and just moved forward.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It must be nice to be you anyway. Let me
ask you this though.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
The other thing that I think is amazing, and you
pointed it out. It was a scrimmage game just prior
to your junior year. We're do I read this correctly?
Were you back playing football your senior year of high school?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
I was, Yeah. That was the main goal I set
for myself as soon as all this happened, as I
wanted to come back and play football again. And every
doctor I took talk to, every prosthetist, every physical therapist.
For the most part, we're just saying, no, that's not
going to happen. It's never been done before. Everything everyone
was saying no. It'side from two guys down in Richmond,
(08:05):
David Lawrence and and and Joe Sullivan that ended up
being my processess and physical therapists, and they had they
had a similar vision that I can pretty much step
my own standard for how I want to live my life.
And they helped me tremendously in terms of training and
building a leg for me to get back out there. Yeah.
I went back and play the following year, and uh yeah,
first person to do so. From what ESPN told me,
(08:28):
I haven't done too much research, but there's been some
other people I've seen get out there and play since
and it's it's great. Yeah. No, I came back and
play through some touchdowns, team captain stuff like that, and
went on to walk on at the EVA University of
Virginia football team.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So what's the coaching staff like were they I mean,
obviously you met with them, your parents met with them,
but as a as a as a coach, there's part
of me that would also be Listen, I give you
all the credit in the world, and you're looking at,
you know, a senior in high school going like, this
kid's got balls the size of the world, and you
also want to protect somebody where I would feel like
(09:02):
if I were a coach, I'd be like, oh my god,
I don't want to be the one that puts them
out there.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Next thing.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know, you know some and listen, high school football,
it's not like defensive linemen or like any bitty little kids.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
They're coming after you, Yeah, and they're big. I would
be I would.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Feel like I would almost want to protect you from yourself.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah, no, there was definitely some of that. I think
I think everyone around this situation was more scared than
I was. I think my parents finally got comfortable with it,
just knowing that what this was the main goal in
my life at the time, and it helped me get
out of bed in the morning. If I wasn't working
toward football, I mean, what would necessarily motivate me to
get back to life and living life. So I think
(09:41):
that's what helped my parents ease their stress about it. Yeah,
my coaches definitely were concerned and more scared than I was,
for sure, So yeah, you are, you're spot on there,
but I will stay in my offensive linemen and stuff.
They were phenomenal that those boys were extra motiv motivated
when I was then to help protect me and make
sure no one touched me. I got hit a couple
(10:02):
of times, which, honestly, if anyone's ever played football, it
it feels good to get hit and makes you warm
warm up into the game a little bit easier, easier,
easier nerves and all that. So yeah, the coaches were
definitely a little more concerned than I was, but I
totally understand it from their perspect as well.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And then uh, and then you end up like you said,
then you end up at UVA and you walked on.
You were preferred walk on at the team. Dude, that's
freaking awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I appreciate it. Yeah, it's great. I mean a lot
of the schools were recruiting me since they're well wishes
and and kind of moved on, which again totally gets
It's I can get it up all all the way,
but uh t schools stuck around and supported me and
still provided me an opportunity, honestly a scholarship that I
otherwise likely would have gotten but walk on spot and
(10:50):
all that. So, yeah, UVA was great. Coach London at
the time was the coach and phenomenal guy and helped
help stand by me and and still uh provide me
an opportunity to go to VA and be a part
of the team.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
It was it was it when you were at UVA
that you realized, Okay, like now I've got to figure out.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Now I got to figure out what I'm gonna do
with my life.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah, yeah, a little bit. I mean I think I
mean when I went I went to play, I had
the intent to play, and I trained as I was
going to play for the first couple of years, and
my body just started to give out and whatnot. And
I figured I'd rather walk comfortably in life than blow
my back out trying to get on the field, you know.
(11:33):
So that helped add a little more perspective the life.
And I originally, I mean, I ended up just transitioning
to like an undergraduate assistant coach and worked at the
quarterbacks and the office coordinator and all that and my
time there, and then I thought I wanted to coach
long term, so I ended up going out to UCLA
after I graduated at EVA and coached for a little while,
but decided, uh decided at the five am to midnight
(11:54):
days also were putting quite a stress on the body,
and thought I football had I ran its course in
my life. So I transitioned and moved back east and yeah,
and I was just living up in Arlington working.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Dude, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And so when is the so the hike or the
hike up Mount kiliman Jarro February.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Correct, Yeah, exactly, mid February.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
And in terms of training, like are you again, I
downplayed it like I could do this is there is
there a lot of training that goes into it.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, So, I mean it's generally being in good shape
has helped set you up for success. But if you
can't really train for the altitude, there's nothing really you
can do to prepare for it. And that's one reason
why the hike takes a while. You'd move pretty slowly
to acclimate to the altitude and all that. But I
mean from a training perspective, I'm a pretty active person
in general. So I instead of like doing the Olympical
(12:48):
before I lift weights, I've just been walking on a
treadmill for uphill ten percent or whatever it is for
an hour or so and getting a list in or
gone for long walks in my life and dog week
instead of walking around Arlington on the weekends, we'll head
out to the Appalacian Trail and get five or six
mile hike in on the weekend. So yeah, I mean
(13:09):
a lot of what I've been doing already, just staying
in shape, making sure the cardovascular is up to par,
and doing a lot more uphill walking and hiking.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Because when we were talking about Killman Drow, isn't that
last day?
Speaker 3 (13:21):
That last day is a bit, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, Yeah, that's that's the one that gets people. I
think the first several days it's pretty pretty normal uphill hike,
and in that last day, the summit day, it can
be upwards of like a sixteen to eighteen hour day
where you get up at like midnight hopefully summon around
seven am or so. I believe it kind of depends
on the weather and all everything that's going on, but yeah,
(13:45):
you get up late or I guess early morning, midnight,
one am, hike up and they come back down and
I think rest for a little bit when you get
back to camp and head down further. You guys, the
summit day, the fifth day is the one that really
really tests, uh, what.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
You're made of and the Waterboys group that you're that
you're doing it for and with, like you said, kind
of with with Chris Long. They've they've I can't remember
if you said how many years that they've they've been
doing this, but it is all about bringing water and
clean water and usable water to other parts of the world.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Fantastic organization.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
But they brought famous people along the way, haven't they.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah. Yeah, there's been a lot of big names that
have gone. I mean, probably the biggest thing that you
would recognize outside of Chris himself as Jason Kelsey. I
think joined five or six years ago. This is the
tenth year they're doing it. So yeah, it's been Uh,
there's been some big names that have come along with
with Chris. Yeah, it's a great positive. They provide water,
try to spry clean water to all over the world.
(14:47):
There's something in the US, but also a lot of
digging wells over in East Africa, New yor Killimanjaro and
providing water to those communities that don't necessarily have it.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Do you know everybody in your group? Is there anybody
else in your group that I would know.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
There might be. I don't think that they've publicly announced
everyone going yet. I don't know if I can necessarily share,
but there's definitely some NFL guys that most people would
know that they're going.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Oh come on, Jacob Jesus right, nobody's listening. Give me
give me one, give me give me one.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Well, Chris is going for sure, Okay, we already knew that.
Another guy that's actually pretty cool too, help co found
the trip with Chris is Nate Boyer. I don't know
if you're all familiar with Nate, but he's got a
pretty cool story. He was a ranger at Green Beret
for a while and walked on the Texas football team
(15:37):
as a long snapper and never played football before and
ended up being a long snapper of Texas. And then Chris.
He was in the NFL for a little bit with
the Seahawks and that's where Ris met him. And he's
going as well. So he's he's a big name too,
but more kind of he's an NFL guy but also
a military vet and really really cool story.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Well, listen, dude, Jacob, I'm glad we were I'm glad
we were able to track you down. Like I said,
we had just been talking about it and then your
story popped up earlier in the week. Hopefully when everything
gets done. Oh and I guess they're like if you
go through water Boys, there are ways for people to
kind of support the mission and kind of be a
(16:18):
part of it through online.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
I should point that out.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
But dude, hopefully when when you get back in February,
as soon as the march is done or the hike
is done, we'll catch up again.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, sounds good. Yeah, and ione anyone does want to
help contribute, it's a great cause and they can do
so at waterboys dot org slash Jacob Rainy and appreciate
any and all support to the cause and the mission here.
But yeah, we'd love to catch up once we hopefully
have a successful summon in February.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Good deal, Hey dude, best of luck. I'm glad we
were able to track you down. Thank you, Jacob
Jacob Rainy, Hey, how are you, dude doing?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Absolutely, absolutely So listen, we were talking about you earlier
in the week as a refresher. You're an Arlington dude,
and you were gonna go climb Mount Kiliman Jarrow and
you you have one leg. Yep, that's that sums it
up very good, all right, Jacob, No, no, so we
(00:29):
were we were we were talking about your story and
I guess I can't remember how long ago it was,
but I had made some comment on the air about
climbing uh, Mount Kiliman Jarrow, and I probably did it
in a way that made it sound like it would
be much easier than I imagined it was. And then
we started hearing from people that were talking about like, dude,
you don't understand like the altitude, sickness and the what
(00:50):
goes into it. And then came the story that we
saw about you and you're going to do it obviously
as part of a charity thing, and we'll get into
that in a second.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
But you're doing it with one leg, dude.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's a good it's a good challenge.
I'm really excited about it. I'm a big believer in
a comfort being the enemy of growth. So making yourself
uncomfortable and challenging yourself as is kind of where you
can can grow as a person. So there's been people
that have done it with and above the knee amputation,
but I haven't found too many people have done it
(01:25):
so that it'll be a really really good challenge and
rewarding experience, I hope.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Hey, so, Jacob, let me ask you this like in
terms of and I understand what you're saying about being
motivated and finding things to do and then obviously being
able to take that and find a charitable angle to
it as well.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
What got you? What got you to kill him in Jarrow?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, So it's with the Chris Long Foundation's Waterboys initiative.
Chris Long. I'm sure some people are familiar with them,
but he he's from Charlottesville, went the EVA. I'm from Charlstville,
went to EVA. I've kind of known Chris since like
two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine. He went
on to play in the NFL for a while when
a couple couple of Super Bowls, and he's kind of
always kept a great perspective on life and getting back
(02:07):
and all that. So he was super supportive to me
during my injury years and years ago. So it's a
little bit of me trying to help support him and
his foundation and get back a little bit. And they
do this cockering and a killy trip every year. I've
been thinking about it for a few years, so finally
figured now or never, get on, get on the trip
and go with these guys, a group of NFL vets,
(02:29):
military vets, and some clean water advocates, which the group
that I fall into. But yeah, it's really I don't
know if I would be doing kilim Dar. I didn't
really think about it without seeing Chris and the Water
Boys Foundation do it for the past ten years or so.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Hey, so take me back, Jacob, take me back to
the injury. You're playing. You're playing football in high school.
What year were you in when the injury happened.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah, it's my junior year, right before right before my year.
We were wrapping up our training camp and had had
a scrimmage up in northern Virginia actually at Flint Hill School,
I believe, And yeah, it was just kind of a
freak accident. I just kind of got tackled funny from
behind and I blacked out, hit the ground, and I
hear a bunch of moans and groans and nasty noises,
(03:19):
and I've kind of come to and I looked down
on my legs just kind of sticking out sideways, and
I'm like that those noises are a result of what's
going on with me. So ultimately, I just just located
my knee toward every single ligament, broke a portion of
the leg, and also come to find out sever the
populatial artery, which I didn't know at the time but
(03:39):
I do know now, is the main blood source for
your leg. And if you don't connect that artery in
a timely manner, the odds and saving the limb go
go down significantly. So had basket of surgery the same day.
Everyone thought it was successful, but just throughout the next
week or so, developed compartment syndrome, which there's a lot
of pressure within your your your leg and muscles aren't
(04:02):
really coming back to life. So after that first week,
my leg was essentially killing me and kind of trying
to take me with it. My leg was dying and
again trying to take me with it. How ultimately, the
decision was made to amputate the leg A week later.
Above the knee. So all right, so let yeah, that's
kind of how it went down.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Let's break that down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Like I understand that at the time you didn't know
what the poppeteal artery was. On Tuesdays this week, I
didn't know what the poppeteal artery was.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
But that's when we learned.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Isn't it the it's the bottom kind of the bottom
part of the people have heard of the femoral artery,
and it's the bottom part of that. And if that
thing goes like you, you risked dying from that.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, exactly, that's kind of what happened. They reconnected the artery,
but it just didn't didn't quite take and bring my
the blood flowers, didn't reconnect to the muscles and all that. So, yeah,
my leg was just dying and again trying to take
me with it. So they had to make the decision
to cut it off and go from there.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Hey, do you remember and maybe and listen, it sounds
as though, and based on what you're.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Doing, that you are very very comfortable in in in
in your.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Skin and in your life of just having one leg,
and that that's what you know, by and large, and
again you sound you sound very comfortable in it. Can
you go back to being a junior in high school?
And that was that's what I was going to ask you.
I didn't know that. You know that it had taken
a week after they initially tried to to save it,
(05:31):
and then over the course of the week, it's downhill.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And like you said, it doesn't sound like there was
much of a choice.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
But during the course of that week, when you're a
junior in high school, are you sitting there going like, holdly,
there's no like, I can't lose my leg.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, no, I that's exactly what I was feeling like.
I mean, I remember when I got to the hospital
for the vascular surgery, the doctor came in and said
he was going to try to save my leg, and
that was the first time I was like, excuse me,
I didn't know I could lose a leg playing football,
So I mean, it's extremely, extremely rare. So yeah, no,
I had no idea. And then that next week, I
(06:07):
kind of I mean, I try to stay optimistic, positive,
look at the brighter things in life, So the whole
week I kind of figured we're good, We're moving in
the right direction. The baster surgery connected the artery. I'm
sure these muscles will come back to life eventually, so
I just tried to maintain positivity. I mean from that
day forward really So yeah, No, I had no idea
that was even possible to lose the leg playing football,
(06:30):
but it's extremely rare, but it's definitely possible.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Hey, did you were you always positive or like I'm
trying to imagine my junior year of high school and
then waking up the day after the surgery and not
being listen. I was an angry kid anyway, Jacob, but
I can't imagine not being just pissed at the world.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, I mean I wasn't always as positive before the injury,
but I feel like I have a different perspective on
life once I got hurt, even from that time, and
it's kind of grown since then. But I the way
I saw it from the very beginning is I don't
see the point in being angry. It's not going to
change anything. I was just wasting time. It will ultimately
(07:13):
get me to where I want to go. I had
a bunch of goals from the time I got hurt,
and if I wasted even the second being angry or
asking why did this happen to me like, that's not
going to be productive to reaching my goals. So I
just shut all that down and just moved forward.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It must be nice to be you anyway. Let me
ask you this though.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
The other thing that I think is amazing, and you
pointed it out. It was a scrimmage game just prior
to your junior year. We're do I read this correctly?
Were you back playing football your senior year of high school?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
I was, Yeah. That was the main goal I set
for myself as soon as all this happened, as I
wanted to come back and play football again. And every
doctor I took talk to, every prosthetist, every physical therapist.
For the most part, we're just saying, no, that's not
going to happen. It's never been done before. Everything everyone
was saying no. It'side from two guys down in Richmond,
(08:05):
David Lawrence and and and Joe Sullivan that ended up
being my processess and physical therapists, and they had they
had a similar vision that I can pretty much step
my own standard for how I want to live my life.
And they helped me tremendously in terms of training and
building a leg for me to get back out there. Yeah.
I went back and play the following year, and uh yeah,
first person to do so. From what ESPN told me,
(08:28):
I haven't done too much research, but there's been some
other people I've seen get out there and play since
and it's it's great. Yeah. No, I came back and
play through some touchdowns, team captain stuff like that, and
went on to walk on at the EVA University of
Virginia football team.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So what's the coaching staff like were they I mean,
obviously you met with them, your parents met with them,
but as a as a as a coach, there's part
of me that would also be Listen, I give you
all the credit in the world, and you're looking at,
you know, a senior in high school going like, this
kid's got balls the size of the world, and you
also want to protect somebody where I would feel like
(09:02):
if I were a coach, I'd be like, oh my god,
I don't want to be the one that puts them
out there.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Next thing.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know, you know some and listen, high school football,
it's not like defensive linemen or like any bitty little kids.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
They're coming after you, Yeah, and they're big. I would
be I would.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Feel like I would almost want to protect you from yourself.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah, no, there was definitely some of that. I think
I think everyone around this situation was more scared than
I was. I think my parents finally got comfortable with it,
just knowing that what this was the main goal in
my life at the time, and it helped me get
out of bed in the morning. If I wasn't working
toward football, I mean, what would necessarily motivate me to
get back to life and living life. So I think
(09:41):
that's what helped my parents ease their stress about it. Yeah,
my coaches definitely were concerned and more scared than I was,
for sure, So yeah, you are, you're spot on there,
but I will stay in my offensive linemen and stuff.
They were phenomenal that those boys were extra motiv motivated
when I was then to help protect me and make
sure no one touched me. I got hit a couple
(10:02):
of times, which, honestly, if anyone's ever played football, it
it feels good to get hit and makes you warm
warm up into the game a little bit easier, easier,
easier nerves and all that. So yeah, the coaches were
definitely a little more concerned than I was, but I
totally understand it from their perspect as well.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And then uh, and then you end up like you said,
then you end up at UVA and you walked on.
You were preferred walk on at the team. Dude, that's
freaking awesome.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I appreciate it. Yeah, it's great. I mean a lot
of the schools were recruiting me since they're well wishes
and and kind of moved on, which again totally gets
It's I can get it up all all the way,
but uh t schools stuck around and supported me and
still provided me an opportunity, honestly a scholarship that I
otherwise likely would have gotten but walk on spot and
(10:50):
all that. So, yeah, UVA was great. Coach London at
the time was the coach and phenomenal guy and helped
help stand by me and and still uh provide me
an opportunity to go to VA and be a part
of the team.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
It was it was it when you were at UVA
that you realized, Okay, like now I've got to figure out.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Now I got to figure out what I'm gonna do
with my life.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Yeah, yeah, a little bit. I mean I think I
mean when I went I went to play, I had
the intent to play, and I trained as I was
going to play for the first couple of years, and
my body just started to give out and whatnot. And
I figured I'd rather walk comfortably in life than blow
my back out trying to get on the field, you know.
(11:33):
So that helped add a little more perspective the life.
And I originally, I mean, I ended up just transitioning
to like an undergraduate assistant coach and worked at the
quarterbacks and the office coordinator and all that and my
time there, and then I thought I wanted to coach
long term, so I ended up going out to UCLA
after I graduated at EVA and coached for a little while,
but decided, uh decided at the five am to midnight
(11:54):
days also were putting quite a stress on the body,
and thought I football had I ran its course in
my life. So I transitioned and moved back east and yeah,
and I was just living up in Arlington working.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Dude, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And so when is the so the hike or the
hike up Mount kiliman Jarro February.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Correct, Yeah, exactly, mid February.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
And in terms of training, like are you again, I
downplayed it like I could do this is there is
there a lot of training that goes into it.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Yeah, So, I mean it's generally being in good shape
has helped set you up for success. But if you
can't really train for the altitude, there's nothing really you
can do to prepare for it. And that's one reason
why the hike takes a while. You'd move pretty slowly
to acclimate to the altitude and all that. But I
mean from a training perspective, I'm a pretty active person
in general. So I instead of like doing the Olympical
(12:48):
before I lift weights, I've just been walking on a
treadmill for uphill ten percent or whatever it is for
an hour or so and getting a list in or
gone for long walks in my life and dog week
instead of walking around Arlington on the weekends, we'll head
out to the Appalacian Trail and get five or six
mile hike in on the weekend. So yeah, I mean
(13:09):
a lot of what I've been doing already, just staying
in shape, making sure the cardovascular is up to par,
and doing a lot more uphill walking and hiking.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Because when we were talking about Killman Drow, isn't that
last day?
Speaker 3 (13:21):
That last day is a bit, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, Yeah, that's that's the one that gets people. I
think the first several days it's pretty pretty normal uphill hike,
and in that last day, the summit day, it can
be upwards of like a sixteen to eighteen hour day
where you get up at like midnight hopefully summon around
seven am or so. I believe it kind of depends
on the weather and all everything that's going on, but yeah,
(13:45):
you get up late or I guess early morning, midnight,
one am, hike up and they come back down and
I think rest for a little bit when you get
back to camp and head down further. You guys, the
summit day, the fifth day is the one that really
really tests, uh, what.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
You're made of and the Waterboys group that you're that
you're doing it for and with, like you said, kind
of with with Chris Long. They've they've I can't remember
if you said how many years that they've they've been
doing this, but it is all about bringing water and
clean water and usable water to other parts of the world.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Fantastic organization.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
But they brought famous people along the way, haven't they.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah. Yeah, there's been a lot of big names that
have gone. I mean, probably the biggest thing that you
would recognize outside of Chris himself as Jason Kelsey. I
think joined five or six years ago. This is the
tenth year they're doing it. So yeah, it's been Uh,
there's been some big names that have come along with
with Chris. Yeah, it's a great positive. They provide water,
try to spry clean water to all over the world.
(14:47):
There's something in the US, but also a lot of
digging wells over in East Africa, New yor Killimanjaro and
providing water to those communities that don't necessarily have it.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Do you know everybody in your group? Is there anybody
else in your group that I would know.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
There might be. I don't think that they've publicly announced
everyone going yet. I don't know if I can necessarily share,
but there's definitely some NFL guys that most people would
know that they're going.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Oh come on, Jacob Jesus right, nobody's listening. Give me
give me one, give me give me one.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Well, Chris is going for sure, Okay, we already knew that.
Another guy that's actually pretty cool too, help co found
the trip with Chris is Nate Boyer. I don't know
if you're all familiar with Nate, but he's got a
pretty cool story. He was a ranger at Green Beret
for a while and walked on the Texas football team
(15:37):
as a long snapper and never played football before and
ended up being a long snapper of Texas. And then Chris.
He was in the NFL for a little bit with
the Seahawks and that's where Ris met him. And he's
going as well. So he's he's a big name too,
but more kind of he's an NFL guy but also
a military vet and really really cool story.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Well, listen, dude, Jacob, I'm glad we were I'm glad
we were able to track you down. Like I said,
we had just been talking about it and then your
story popped up earlier in the week. Hopefully when everything
gets done. Oh and I guess they're like if you
go through water Boys, there are ways for people to
kind of support the mission and kind of be a
(16:18):
part of it through online.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
I should point that out.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
But dude, hopefully when when you get back in February,
as soon as the march is done or the hike
is done, we'll catch up again.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, sounds good. Yeah, and ione anyone does want to
help contribute, it's a great cause and they can do
so at waterboys dot org slash Jacob Rainy and appreciate
any and all support to the cause and the mission here.
But yeah, we'd love to catch up once we hopefully
have a successful summon in February.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Good deal, Hey dude, best of luck. I'm glad we
were able to track you down. Thank you, Jacob
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