Sports Saved My Life
The title is the premise - Clayton Frech, the CEO and founder of Angel City Sports talks to elite adaptive athletes about their journey in sport and beyond. The podcast will provide inspiration, useful information, and compelling entertainment to listeners around the globe. The stories will cover childhood, the disability journey, and the powerful impact of sport on each of our guests.
Episodes
44 episodes
Episode 44 - Steve Emt - Paralympian - Curling
Steve Emt was born in Manchester, Connecticut, and raised in Hebron, Connecticut. He grew up playing multiple sports, including three in High school – soccer, basketball, and baseball. He was recruited to play both soccer and basketball at West...
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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1:32:47
Episode 43 - Michael Spivey - Paralympian - Snowboarder
Michael Spivey is a Paralympian who was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina and grew up in Abilene, Texas. Michael is a third-generation marine. He survived an IED explosion without a scratch in 2008. However, in 2010 he was in the middle of a...
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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1:41:27
Episode 42 - Dani Aravich - Paralympian - Track & Field
Dani Aravich was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. She was born without her left forearm. Sports have been a constant in her life since she was a child. She competed in D-1 Track and Cross Country at Butler University. She struggled with knee is...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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1:20:56
Episode 41 - Isaac Jean Paul - Paralympian - Track & Field
Isaac Jean-Paul was born in Evanston, Illinois. He has a visual impairment called juvenile retinoschisis which affects his peripheral and central vision. He played able-bodied sports growing up, his favorite being basketball. After not making h...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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1:13:54
Episode 40 - Channing Cash - Adaptive Athlete
Channing Cash is an adaptive athlete from Laos and was injured by a runaway bull when she was three years old. When she was five years old, she relocated to the United States and grew up outside of Chicago in Rockford, Illinois. In 2015 she lef...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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1:04:21
Episode 39 - Darlene Hunter - Paralympian - Wheelchair Basketball
Darlene Hunter was born and raised in Walled Lake, Michigan. She acquired her spinal cord injury at the age of 4. She is an accomplished wheelchair racing athlete and attended the University of Arizona on a track scholarship. She graduated in 2...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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1:17:24
Episode 38 Chuck Aoki - Paralympian - Wheelchair Rugby
Chuck Aoki is a thirty-year-old rugby star for the US Paralympic team. He was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. Chuck has hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type 2. It’s a rare disease that affects the nerves that serve the lower leg...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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1:16:24
Episode 37 - Matt Scott Paralympian - Wheelchair Basketball
Matt Scott was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He was born with spina bifida. He began playing wheelchair basketball when he was 14 years old. He played through high school and at The University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, and was recruited...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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1:22:52
Episode 36 - Cameron Clapp - Adaptive Surfer
Cameron Clapp is an adaptive surfer and athlete. He was born in Coupeville, Washington, and raised in San Luis Obispo, California. Cameron grew up surfing and skateboarding on the central coast of California. At fifteen, he was in a train accid...
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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1:14:09
Episode 35 - A 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Recap
Join Sports Saved My Life host Clayton Frech as he welcomes back Paralympians and learns about their experiences at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games. His guests are Wheelchair basketball players Courtney Ryan and Josie Aslakson, Archer Lia Corye...
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Season 1
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1:21:19
Episode 34 - Sarah Kirwan - Wheelchair Basketball Athlete and Coach
Sarah Kirwan is a wheelchair basketball player, coach, and manager. She was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa. In her youth, she was an athlete and a musician. She played a variety of sports and played the saxophone. She attended the Un...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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1:15:30
Episode 33 Rob Balucas Para-triathlete
Rob Balucas is an elite para-triathlete who has qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona in the fall of 2022. He plans to compete in his first full-length at the Ironman California this October in Sacramento. Rob was born in Fresno...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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1:18:45
Episode 32 - Rich Dahl - Paragolfer and Entreprenuer
Rich Dahl is an adaptive athlete and entrepreneur. He was born and raised in Inglewood, CA. He graduated from Tuskegee University. In 2017 he was shot and paralyzed in an attempted robbery in Jacksonville, Fla. He enjoys cycling, boxing, and go...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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1:22:19
Episode 31 - Giovanna Dubuc - Paraclimber
Giovanna Dubuc was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is a congenital amputee, born without her left forearm and hand, and is a passionate paraclimber. She placed first in the youth adaptive division at the national championships...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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1:11:56
Episode 30 - Matt Brewer - Adaptive Multi-Sport Athlete
Matt Brewer is a bilateral above knee amputee and an adaptive multi-sport athlete. His immediate task is training to make the 2026 US Paralympic Team in alpine sit skiing. He was born in Linwood, CA, raised in Huntington Beach, CA, and li...
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1:12:39
Episode 29 - Oscar Loreto Jr. - Adaptive Skateboarder
Oscar Loreto is an adaptive skateboarder. He was born a congenital amputee missing his left foot, left hand, and fingers on his right hand. He’s been skateboarding since he was fifteen, and he travels the country to push the growth of adaptive ...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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1:12:15
Episode 28 - Cody Jones - Paralympian - Javelin
Cody Jones is a Paralympic javelin thrower, a public speaker, and a children’s book author. He grew up in Simi Valley, CA, and was born with cerebral palsy. Cody played baseball, primarily one-handed in high school, which led to a v...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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1:15:34
Episode 27 - John Kremer - Paralympian - Sitting Volleyball
John Kremer is a Paralympic Sitting Volleyball player. John was born in Middletown, Ohio, and currently lives in Buford, Georgia, with his wife and kids? He served nine years in the US Navy as an explosive ordinance disposal technician, f...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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1:15:35
Episode 26 - Nick Rogers - Paralympian - Track and Field
Nick Rogers is a congenital double amputee from Lisbon Falls, Maine. He’s competed in two World Championships, winning a bronze in the 400 and 100 meter. He is a two-time Paralympian. He is an ambassador for the Never Say Never Foundation and v...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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1:10:04
Episode 25 - Lex Gillette - Paralympian - Track and Field
Lex Gillette grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and lost his sight at the age of eight. He’s an elite track athlete, has competed in five Paralympic games, and is a four-time silver medalist. He has also competed in multiple world championship...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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1:19:16
Episode 24 - Rudy Garcia-Tolson - Paralympian - Swimming
Rudy Garcia-Tolson was born with multiple congenital disabilities and endured fifteen surgeries by the age of five before he told his parents he wanted a double leg amputation. At the age of eight, he had the goal of becoming a Paralympian, and...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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1:21:55
Episode 23 - Haven Shepherd - Paralympian - Swimmer
Haven Shepherd was born in Vietnam and raised by her adoptive parents in Carthage, Missouri. She is a double amputee losing her legs at 14 months when a bomb detonated that was set by her parents in an attempted murder/suicide. Haven qualified ...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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1:13:06
Episode 22 - Miles Krajewski - Para-badminton
Miles Krajewski was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and raised in Yankton, South Dakota. He started playing badminton at the age of eight by participating in the 2013 World Dwarf Games. He began playing in USAB junior tournaments against average hei...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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57:45
Episode 21 - AB Anwar - Team USA Boccia
AB Anwar – Born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and immigrated to the US at the age of 10. He was born with cerebral palsy and uses a power chair to navigate the world. He has been playing the sport of boccia at n elite level since 1998. He’s competed...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:04:45
Episode 20 - Beatrice DeLavalette - Paralympian - Equestrian
Beatrice DeLavalette – Born in France, Bea is an elite Para-Equestrian athlete and a double amputee. Her love of horses was handed down from her mother, and she started riding horses as soon as she was able to walk. In 2016 she was injured in t...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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1:03:14