August 18, 2025 • 9 mins
Paralympic athlete Roderick Sewell discusses #IronWill on Conversations LIVE with host Cyrus Webb.
Get your copy of the book on Amaon here.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cyrus-webb-s-tracks--1422267/support.
Get your copy of the book on Amaon here.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cyrus-webb-s-tracks--1422267/support.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to conversations with your host
Serrus webs A good you guys could join us once
again for a radio audience tuning in at max WYED
ninety four point one FM WYED online dot com. Are
good that you walkin be with us also to join
his online worldwide dra a podcast that I heard radio
on Amazon Music. We glad you all could be with
us as well, where I recently had a chance to
read and review the book by our next guest. I
(00:22):
think this conversation is going to really inspire you guys.
We're excited to welcome Roderik Stowel, the second to our
broadcast today. You celebrated the release of his book called
Ironwheel and Emput's Journey to Athletic Excellence. When talk to
Roger and only about the journey of sharing his story,
but also the reflection on how far he's come, the
people he's been able to inspire, and what he wants
you guys to get from the book. Roderick, thank you
(00:42):
again for stopping by. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, Sirius, and I just want to say thank
you for promoting the book on your page. I really
appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Hey man, the pleasure is deft be online. I love
being able to share great stories. And your story is
so inspiring in so many different ways. Roderick. Of course,
of course what you've been able to do when it
comes to athleticism. But what has it been like for you, Roger,
to see the way that your stories inspiring people just
in their day to day lives.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You know. It's it's interesting because I I didn't expect
this book. You know, you want to impact, you just
don't know how the impact is gonna look. Yeah, I've
had a lot of parents come back to me and
tell me about my mom's perspective and how they were
just struggling with that, the thought of sacrificing everything they
(01:26):
earned for their child and they're basically and how difficult
that would be. And seeing how people really lashed onto
my mom's story, you know, and and hearing how they
really connected with her, And then a lot of people
didn't know what I was really going through, and so
now they're kind of hitting me up with a deeper
(01:46):
context of while I knew you at this time, and
I had no clue, you know. So it's been it's
been very impactful in a way that my family close
to me is moved, and then people who don't know
me and then are reading this book, they're seeing it
from this new lens, this underdogless and it's I'm thankful
(02:08):
for it because it talks about what heartships who went through,
but it makes sure to ends with the victory.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Right. One of the most powerful things for me, Roger
can reading your book, and as someone who in my
own lane you know, has been able to see how
my parents have supported me even though they didn't always
understand what I was doing. Is what you wrote about
your father, And I want to read a bit of
that for an audience because I think it says so much,
and I want to talk to you about the reflection
(02:35):
of that you talk about at the At one point
in the story, you say it was great to see
how much respect he had for what I was doing.
You inspire me, he told me after the race. He said,
when he thinks about quitting or when things get tough,
he often thinks about me and all that I do,
and he pushes through. I think sometimes about what my
life would have been had my dad been around. Would
(02:57):
I be who I am or would he had been
crutch things work out the way they are supposed to.
Maybe if I didn't have to figure things out on
my own, I wouldn't be this strong today. Maybe I
wouldn't be so independent, Maybe I wouldn't have the confidence
that I have. I want to talk about that about
your dad being inspired by you. What was that like
for to hear Roderi but also to reflect on in
(03:19):
writing the book.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yeah, I you know, at that time, I was I
think sixteen, and my dad did have Iron Man Race
with me, and I was doing the swim, he did
the run, and after just coming to the event and
seeing everything, he was just like I. He was just
in shock of what I was doing, you know, and
(03:41):
how a lot of teenagers were not doing that. You know,
they weren't going to fundraisers for people with physical disabilities,
you know. And I told him that these are my people.
This is why I am active and a strong now.
And to see that he was moved. Just let me
know that, good or bad, I'm going in the right direction.
(04:03):
Whatever he might have done, whatever anyone might have done,
I know the path I'm on right now at at
that age, and it's not I'm not going down the
wrong path. I'm going down the right path. I knew
that much from interest spot and I said that quote
about not knowing if he would be a h a crutch.
(04:26):
I've the older I've gotten. I've spoken to a lot
of people who have had parents who were present and
still very much not present there. They were kind of narcissistic,
they were selfish, they were not loving, you know, not nurturing.
So I I I noticed with my father that some
(04:49):
of those ways hadn't changed, and I at that time
I wondered, is it is just for the best? You know,
I still know my that is, I know he loves me.
I know he wants the best for me, But can
he give it? Can he do it? Can he show it?
You know? The best he knows how So that's where
(05:11):
I asked that question of I know a lot of
people that have probably did they love me? But are
they truly capable that?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
It's a good question, yeah, yeah, And it's a powerful thing.
And I think that's one of the reasons why this
book Roger will touch so many different people, because I
think there will be young people who will read that
and think about that, you know, their own parents, you know,
being proud of them, you know, and inspired by them,
and and I think about people who've inspired me in
(05:40):
my life and being able to pay it forward. You
mentioned your mother and a lot of us, you know,
we do get to know you through this book, but
also get to know her and the challenges that she
faced and also coming out on the other side. And
I want to talk about that, if you don't mind.
And in chapter seven of the book, Transition, you you
talk talk about how you found out exactly what your
(06:04):
mom had sacrificed and what it meant and why. And
I love the way that you said in one passage,
as you know, she kind of explained things to you.
You write this, it was all beginning to make sense
to me now her sacrifice had got me two sets
of legs already and eventually my running legs. And then
you go on to say this about your mother. She
(06:24):
was determined to make the prosthetics work. She was afraid
I would resent her for amputating my legs and wanted
to make sure I would never have to rely on
a wheelchair. I was going to walk. What was that
like for you to reflect on that, Roderick, not only
what she had done for you, the why, but also
the promise she'd made to you that she was able
to be good on about you all going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
You know, it's just a full circle situation of not
knowing that she made this sacrifice for me, the hardships
we went through, and be wondering why we're going through
this because I'm not knowing, and then now we get
to a stay a stable position, and now she can
express to me like, now that we're out of this,
(07:10):
this is this is why we were going through that,
and I could not get out of this hole. And
like you said, like she she made sure that we
would be okay, and she did. She had to do
the best she could. We moved from San Diego to Alabama,
where we were live with my father's family for a while,
or father's side of the family, and these people that
(07:32):
I've had relationships with since I was younger, my grandmother,
my uncle, my aunt, and my cousins. You know, so we, uh,
we had relied on that family to get us through
those times. And then once we got stable, just seeing
I remember seeing her just start balling one day, just
at the realization that we're moving into our place in
(07:54):
a few few days. Yeah, and I didn't I didn't understand.
I did not understand the full gravity of like what
was going on. But seeing that she stuck true to
it and that she did it as a single mother
and she didn't have a lot of help, is true
(08:17):
what they say when they say that your kids are watching,
you know, because her doing all of that just made
just got a good standard for me as a man.
You know, like this, this woman had no help, was
vulnerable with her son and still did everything she could
(08:37):
to get him what he needed. And now I'm thirty three,
I'm the same as my mom was that she had me,
And I know what kind of man I need to
be if I want to have if I want to
start a family, you know. And even and it started
with building myself up and getting myself up there because
(08:58):
there was those doubts being a person with disability. There
was those doubts if I could ever be listening her
and go through her hardships that she went through to
make sure we get everything we need there. And on
top of that, the boundaries I've been able to break
with being an adaptive athlete, there's no reason for me
to think I can't take this next step in life,
(09:20):
you know.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Exactly and everyone Rodericks who well the second has been
our guest. Iron Will is the book. It's out now
through our friends at Amazon dot com as well of
course to your favorite local books tour projer Really an
honor to speak with you man. Congratulations again on the
book and looking forward to our next chat together.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Man, Thank you Cyrus, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Heay more than welcome, and we think your audience for
tuning in to another great segment of Conversations Live. Until
next time you have service Web saying, as always, enjoy
your day, enjoy your life into your world. Thank you
all for choosing Conversations Live, but it's going to make
today amazing. Take care
Hello everyone, and welcome back to conversations with your host
Serrus webs A good you guys could join us once
again for a radio audience tuning in at max WYED
ninety four point one FM WYED online dot com. Are
good that you walkin be with us also to join
his online worldwide dra a podcast that I heard radio
on Amazon Music. We glad you all could be with
us as well, where I recently had a chance to
read and review the book by our next guest. I
(00:22):
think this conversation is going to really inspire you guys.
We're excited to welcome Roderik Stowel, the second to our
broadcast today. You celebrated the release of his book called
Ironwheel and Emput's Journey to Athletic Excellence. When talk to
Roger and only about the journey of sharing his story,
but also the reflection on how far he's come, the
people he's been able to inspire, and what he wants
you guys to get from the book. Roderick, thank you
(00:42):
again for stopping by. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, Sirius, and I just want to say thank
you for promoting the book on your page. I really
appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Hey man, the pleasure is deft be online. I love
being able to share great stories. And your story is
so inspiring in so many different ways. Roderick. Of course,
of course what you've been able to do when it
comes to athleticism. But what has it been like for you, Roger,
to see the way that your stories inspiring people just
in their day to day lives.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You know. It's it's interesting because I I didn't expect
this book. You know, you want to impact, you just
don't know how the impact is gonna look. Yeah, I've
had a lot of parents come back to me and
tell me about my mom's perspective and how they were
just struggling with that, the thought of sacrificing everything they
(01:26):
earned for their child and they're basically and how difficult
that would be. And seeing how people really lashed onto
my mom's story, you know, and and hearing how they
really connected with her, And then a lot of people
didn't know what I was really going through, and so
now they're kind of hitting me up with a deeper
(01:46):
context of while I knew you at this time, and
I had no clue, you know. So it's been it's
been very impactful in a way that my family close
to me is moved, and then people who don't know
me and then are reading this book, they're seeing it
from this new lens, this underdogless and it's I'm thankful
(02:08):
for it because it talks about what heartships who went through,
but it makes sure to ends with the victory.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Right. One of the most powerful things for me, Roger
can reading your book, and as someone who in my
own lane you know, has been able to see how
my parents have supported me even though they didn't always
understand what I was doing. Is what you wrote about
your father, And I want to read a bit of
that for an audience because I think it says so much,
and I want to talk to you about the reflection
(02:35):
of that you talk about at the At one point
in the story, you say it was great to see
how much respect he had for what I was doing.
You inspire me, he told me after the race. He said,
when he thinks about quitting or when things get tough,
he often thinks about me and all that I do,
and he pushes through. I think sometimes about what my
life would have been had my dad been around. Would
(02:57):
I be who I am or would he had been
crutch things work out the way they are supposed to.
Maybe if I didn't have to figure things out on
my own, I wouldn't be this strong today. Maybe I
wouldn't be so independent, Maybe I wouldn't have the confidence
that I have. I want to talk about that about
your dad being inspired by you. What was that like
for to hear Roderi but also to reflect on in
(03:19):
writing the book.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yeah, I you know, at that time, I was I
think sixteen, and my dad did have Iron Man Race
with me, and I was doing the swim, he did
the run, and after just coming to the event and
seeing everything, he was just like I. He was just
in shock of what I was doing, you know, and
(03:41):
how a lot of teenagers were not doing that. You know,
they weren't going to fundraisers for people with physical disabilities,
you know. And I told him that these are my people.
This is why I am active and a strong now.
And to see that he was moved. Just let me
know that, good or bad, I'm going in the right direction.
(04:03):
Whatever he might have done, whatever anyone might have done,
I know the path I'm on right now at at
that age, and it's not I'm not going down the
wrong path. I'm going down the right path. I knew
that much from interest spot and I said that quote
about not knowing if he would be a h a crutch.
(04:26):
I've the older I've gotten. I've spoken to a lot
of people who have had parents who were present and
still very much not present there. They were kind of narcissistic,
they were selfish, they were not loving, you know, not nurturing.
So I I I noticed with my father that some
(04:49):
of those ways hadn't changed, and I at that time
I wondered, is it is just for the best? You know,
I still know my that is, I know he loves me.
I know he wants the best for me, But can
he give it? Can he do it? Can he show it?
You know? The best he knows how So that's where
(05:11):
I asked that question of I know a lot of
people that have probably did they love me? But are
they truly capable that?
Speaker 1 (05:18):
It's a good question, yeah, yeah, And it's a powerful thing.
And I think that's one of the reasons why this
book Roger will touch so many different people, because I
think there will be young people who will read that
and think about that, you know, their own parents, you know,
being proud of them, you know, and inspired by them,
and and I think about people who've inspired me in
(05:40):
my life and being able to pay it forward. You
mentioned your mother and a lot of us, you know,
we do get to know you through this book, but
also get to know her and the challenges that she
faced and also coming out on the other side. And
I want to talk about that, if you don't mind.
And in chapter seven of the book, Transition, you you
talk talk about how you found out exactly what your
(06:04):
mom had sacrificed and what it meant and why. And
I love the way that you said in one passage,
as you know, she kind of explained things to you.
You write this, it was all beginning to make sense
to me now her sacrifice had got me two sets
of legs already and eventually my running legs. And then
you go on to say this about your mother. She
(06:24):
was determined to make the prosthetics work. She was afraid
I would resent her for amputating my legs and wanted
to make sure I would never have to rely on
a wheelchair. I was going to walk. What was that
like for you to reflect on that, Roderick, not only
what she had done for you, the why, but also
the promise she'd made to you that she was able
to be good on about you all going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
You know, it's just a full circle situation of not
knowing that she made this sacrifice for me, the hardships
we went through, and be wondering why we're going through
this because I'm not knowing, and then now we get
to a stay a stable position, and now she can
express to me like, now that we're out of this,
(07:10):
this is this is why we were going through that,
and I could not get out of this hole. And
like you said, like she she made sure that we
would be okay, and she did. She had to do
the best she could. We moved from San Diego to Alabama,
where we were live with my father's family for a while,
or father's side of the family, and these people that
(07:32):
I've had relationships with since I was younger, my grandmother,
my uncle, my aunt, and my cousins. You know, so we, uh,
we had relied on that family to get us through
those times. And then once we got stable, just seeing
I remember seeing her just start balling one day, just
at the realization that we're moving into our place in
(07:54):
a few few days. Yeah, and I didn't I didn't understand.
I did not understand the full gravity of like what
was going on. But seeing that she stuck true to
it and that she did it as a single mother
and she didn't have a lot of help, is true
(08:17):
what they say when they say that your kids are watching,
you know, because her doing all of that just made
just got a good standard for me as a man.
You know, like this, this woman had no help, was
vulnerable with her son and still did everything she could
(08:37):
to get him what he needed. And now I'm thirty three,
I'm the same as my mom was that she had me,
And I know what kind of man I need to
be if I want to have if I want to
start a family, you know. And even and it started
with building myself up and getting myself up there because
(08:58):
there was those doubts being a person with disability. There
was those doubts if I could ever be listening her
and go through her hardships that she went through to
make sure we get everything we need there. And on
top of that, the boundaries I've been able to break
with being an adaptive athlete, there's no reason for me
to think I can't take this next step in life,
(09:20):
you know.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Exactly and everyone Rodericks who well the second has been
our guest. Iron Will is the book. It's out now
through our friends at Amazon dot com as well of
course to your favorite local books tour projer Really an
honor to speak with you man. Congratulations again on the
book and looking forward to our next chat together.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Man, Thank you Cyrus, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Heay more than welcome, and we think your audience for
tuning in to another great segment of Conversations Live. Until
next time you have service Web saying, as always, enjoy
your day, enjoy your life into your world. Thank you
all for choosing Conversations Live, but it's going to make
today amazing. Take care
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