The Unexpected Journey
Summiting and skiing an 11,000 foot volcano, completing a DIY adaptive sport decathlon in one day, harnessing a passion for art to help spinal cord injury survivors adapt and bond, flying in a wing suit as a double amputee, giving birth to and mothering twin girls as a quadriplegic...these are just a few of the powerful stories you will hear on The Unexpected Journey. Adaptive athlete and quadriplegic, Tim Brown, talks with other disabled folks to learn how they challenge preconceived beliefs, push boundaries, and get after it - ultimately leading to a life fulfilled. The Unexpected Journey gives you the experience of listening to two friends sitting at a kitchen table, around a campfire, or on a boat, letting you eavesdrop on an intimate conversation about their shared experience, their passions, and the challenging, rewarding and exhilarating elements of their life. The episode plays like an audio memoir of the guest with the host providing clarity and narrating the biographical details so you can enjoy and appreciate the real and raw moments of the conversation. You’ll hear a sonic backdrop of original music to add emotional richness and additional sound design to bring into the moment with the guest as they describe their most formative and powerful experiences. The host, Tim Brown, is quadriplegic from a ski accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury 11 years ago. He prefers to listen before speaking and shares his own experience along with the guest. Our mission is to elevate, educate, and empower our disabled and able-bodied listeners on the disabled experience through creative and powerful storytelling. Our vision is to be a leader in the creation and distribution of empowering disability-centric storytelling and to provide an accessible platform for participants in the disabled experience to share their stories with the world. The Unexpected Journey is a podcast about adaptive athletes, adventurers, and creators. Each episode features an individual with a disability sharing their powerful story of learning how to challenge preconceived beliefs, push boundaries, and get after it - ultimately leading to a life fulfilled. Listen to guests like Anna Soens talk about being the first paraplegic woman to summit and ski Mount Hood, Greg Durso share his love for adaptive sports and completing an adaptive decathlon, and Channing Cash on her childhood and Laos and becoming a Team USA ocean paddle racer. Hosted and produced by Tim Brown, a surfer, sailor, and skier who is quadriplegic from a skiing accident 10 years ago.Our goal is to Educate. Elevate. Encourage.
The Unexpected Journey
Roy Tuscany on Help, Healing, and High Fives
Roy Tuscany is the Founder and CEO of the High Fives Foundation. On April 26, 2016 Roy overshot a ski jump and was paralyzed with a spinal cord injury. Six years later, and a year and a half after I was paralyzed, Roy and I connected for the first time. I had read an article about High Fives in Powder, a ski magazine and was jolted by the energetic vibe of the organization - it felt like something different. One of my closest friends also met Roy at an industry event. He immediately called me up and said you need to talk to this guy. In our first conversation, Roy told me about Tony Schmeising, a man who has been living as a quadriplegic for 40 years, and his expedition to Alaska to go Heli skiing. Roy then said, "you're next". I laughed nervously and said OK, while thinking to myself that it was a ridiculous suggestion. How was I going to do that with my recently acquired disability? Fast forward 12 years and High Fives has awarded me with grants for adaptive sports equipment, covered adaptive surf competition fees, and supported some of my earliest adaptive ski lessons with Vermont Adaptive. High Fives has also grown tremendously in that time and is now a leading organization in the catastrophic injury and disability community. At least half of our previous guests have received support from High Fives and and of course High Fives is the presenting sponsor of The Unexpected Journey. In this conversation, we skip over Roy's story of his ski accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury, paralysis, and the founding of High Fives. A quick Google search will produce dozens of podcasts and articles on both of those topics. Instead, Roy and I explore healing, leadership, parenting, taking ownership of one’s life, and trauma, including sexual abuse.
If you or someone you know has experience sexual abuse or you suspect they are, please know that you are not alone and that safe confidential support from a professional is immediately available at the national sexual assault telephone hotline 1-800–565–HOPE or 4673. You can also find resources on the website for the national sexual violence resource Center, www.nsvrc.org
Guest info:
- @roytuscany
- @hi5sfoundation
Additional Resources:
- National Sexual Assault Hotline - 800-656-4673 - www.rainn.org
- National Sexual Violence Resource Center - www.nsvrc.org
- www.highfivesfoundation.org
Contact us:
- Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypod
- Email: tim@unexpectedjourneypod.com
- Hosted and produced by Tim Brown
- Editing and sound design by Louis Arevalo
- Original theme music by Jesse LaFountaine
- Episode cover art by Lewis Falconer
- Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer