He Survived Paralysis Twice. What Matt Blanchard Reveals Next Will Change How You See Your Own Life

Most people fear one life-changing setback. Matt Blanchard has survived two. And today on Crackin’ Backs, we’re not just talking about recovery — we’re talking about life after paralysis. What happens when the crowds fade, the rehab ends, and an entirely new version of living begins?

Matt’s story is as raw and real as they come. In 2006, a rollover accident left him with a T-12 spinal cord injury, paralyzed from the waist down. After 15 years of relentless therapy he defied the odds and walked again. Then in 2021 a head-on collision with a drunk driver erased his progress — the jaws of life, an air-lift to a trauma center, paralysis again. Through it all, Matt founded St. George Adaptive Sports, became a nationally recognized motivational speaker, and rewrote what resilience, strength and real living mean.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How identity dies and is reborn when you rebuild life twice after paralysis — the truth behind “starting over.”
• The smallest, most overlooked daily habit that keeps Matt grounded, mentally resilient and strong — still to this day.
• What happens after the world stops watching: how do you create momentum when no one is cheering and your body still carries the load?
• What healthcare providers still get wrong about the long-term physical realities of paralysis — and the hidden mental load they often miss.
• A perspective every fully-mobile athlete would gain if they lived just one day in Matt’s body — about training, gratitude and physical mastery.

Connect & Support the Mission
If you feel inspired by Matt’s journey and want to join the cause:

• Visit St. George Adaptive Sports (Utah-based nonprofit) to donate, volunteer or learn how adaptive golf and inclusive recreation are rewriting strength HERE
• Follow Matt on Instagram: @mattyblanch3 & Facebook: Matt Blanchard 333 to stay updated, share his message and support his speaking mission.
• Book Matt as a speaker or connect for collaboration via BlanchardInspires.com

We are two sports chiropractors, seeking knowledge from some of the best resources in the world of health. From our perspective, health is more than just “Crackin Backs” but a deep dive into physical, mental, and nutritional well-being philosophies.

Join us as we talk to some of the greatest minds and discover some of the most incredible gems you can use to maintain a higher level of health. Crackin Backs Podcast

Transcript

Dr. Terry Weyman: 0:00

All right, well, I can't wait for this show. It's one of my, my favorite human beings. But you know what most people fear, one life changing setback. Matt Blanchard has survived too. Today, we're not talking about recovery. We're going to be talking about life after paralysis. Well, it looks like when the crowds fade, the rehab ends and real living actually begins, from Adaptive golf to redefining resilience, Matt is rewriting what strength really means. Matt, welcome to show

Matt Blanchard: 0:38

I appreciate that. I stand up and give you a standing ovation for that.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 0:45

Well, I got a motivational speaker on our guests, you know, I gotta motivate and come, you know, come right out of the blocks hitting.

Matt Blanchard: 0:51

So my new intro guy, you know, I was like coming out to the music. You just got him going, man.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 0:59

And I swear God, if you stand up, I will just fall over. So it's all it's all good. Hey, yeah, let's get going. You know, you rebuilt your life twice after paralysis. And for those who might hear that story, he's been on before, we love to have you listen to the past show. But what part of the identity had to die each time and what was reborn that surprised even you.

Matt Blanchard: 1:24

Oh, the ego, man, the ego death. Oh my gosh, that's probably the biggest thing. And I'm still, you know, I'm still battling the ego. I mean, the ego for me, a lot of the things, especially when I first got hurt, were negative, like, Hey, you're in a wheelchair now. Hey, you're supposed to, you're supposed to conform to this life that that society has built for you, you know, like front row chill parking and not waiting in line at Disneyland and those kind of things. But especially for new people who are newly injured, you get on this, well, it's offered to you the disability from the government and and it's not enough to live, but it's just enough to keep you in that rat hole in that race. So overcoming that, what am I going to do with my life? Lost my company, my electrical company, filed bankruptcy, decided, yeah, I'm going to go back to school and become a doctor, a physician, get accepted to med school after what it took me six years to get my undergrad done. And I'm sure there are other people listening right now that took six years as well. And I'm just that guy. You know? I'm relentless. If I fail, I see failures opportunity and the truth of it is this, so you're an able bodied individual, and I'm an athlete, and I'm running marathons, truly, I'm doing all anything that an athlete would do. Then I get in a car accident, and instantly I'm not, not slowly, but instantly, I am stripped from that community, like I still have my friends, and we can hang out and do our thing, but like when they go golfing, especially when I was newly injured, like nothing, I didn't fit with them anymore. And so you get, you get cut out of your truck and airlifted to the ICU, where you get new doctors, you got this new community of people, like minded individuals, and their goal is to get you independent and get you out of the rehab not knowing that that's what's happening to me. So I'm learning how to roll over and sit up and get dressed and go to the bathroom. Different with this new community of doctors, therapists, everybody, everything's at my height. Then the day comes where you're now, you're independent from a wheelchair, and you are stripped like you're discharged. You're stripped from that community again for the second time with for me, it was it within four months. So I'm stripped from one community, boom, I'm I'm put into another, and then I get independent in a chair, I'm stripped from that community, and I'm sent home to deal with paralysis with my wife and my kids, and to try to navigate this new Life of paralysis alone. And I'm a badass, you guys straight up. And I came home, and I didn't want to do it, and I caught my shower, and I had my gun, and the only thing that stopped me was my youngest son would have come home from elementary school, and he would have been the one that found me. And can you imagine a six year old, seven year old coming home and. Finding that because Mama's at work now, Mama never had to work before, but now I'm hurt. My wife gave anyway. So I've started Southern Utah adaptive sports. It's a nonprofit organization that as soon as you're discharged from the hospital, you are instantly you've got this new community of like minded individuals, and I do not care what your deficit is like, whether it's a spinal cord injury, like me, amputation, traumatic brain injury, anything like even if you were, if you were born and you have, you're on the spectrum. We have all these different sporting events that we that this, our nonprofit, provides. But not only are you just right, plugged into this community like this, the people who've suffered the deficit like all the loved ones they have now a community of other loved ones like it it changes lives. It saves lives. Is what it does. It saves lives because you're sent home, man and and you guys know you deal with the patients all day, every day, and you're trying to navigate this life alone. And, I mean, how do you go and speak to a therapist? Who's an able body, like, how do you do that? Like, how can they understand how foreign a body feels, how lifeless, how and I we did this on the first the first episode, but anybody who's listening, just make a fist and leave your ring finger out and put your your hand anywhere and try to lift your ring finger up. That is literally what it feels like to be paralyzed, literally you I am trying right now to crunch my toes, move my it feels like that. So with the understanding that I have that I'm on this planet for whatever you believe in, God, energy, the universe, to save lives, to for Southern Utah adaptive sports, where we help people all over the nation, all over the world. Hopefully one day come into St George and we'll if you don't play basketball, pickleball, if you want to ice skate, we'll provide that. So I'm building an 18 acre ranch down here in southern Utah, with the help of so many people like the state of Utah, Southern sorry, St George Intermountain Healthcare, National Ability Center, Wasatch, adaptive sports. I mean, I could go on and on and on, because this is a very noble thing that needs to happen, like there's such a need for it. 10% of St George's Community, just St George, 10% is disabled. So we've got, what, 180,000 people. So 18,000 people are disabled in St George and there is nothing, nothing created down here. Zero So, and we're in our infancy. I mean, we're, it's so I got hurt for the second time in 2021, and that's where God, universe, energy, made it very clear of what my purpose on this planet is, and that's to inspire and to motivate and create a safe place for any individual who suffered a deficit of any kind, and not only that, loved ones so that, I mean, I came home and tried to destroy my marriage because I didn't want my wife married to a cripple. You know, she I'm six foot two, 215 of a man, right? And when that was stripped, let that is freaking stripped from you in an instant, like, like that fast. You're everything below the waist is gone. You can't sit up, you can't roll over. Your abdominal muscles are gone. Everything's gone, and that's a scary, wonderful place to be, because you get to put yourself back together the way you want to be put back together, instead of the way mom and dad wanted it, or a religion wanted it, or whatever. You get to take all the pieces that you like and discard the other pieces. And that's what I did. I built what you're looking at right now. And I am powerful. I've been given gifts from God. So, yeah,

Dr. Terry Weyman: 9:35

I know you always probably get asked how you got up back from this emotionally, and you're getting emotional just you've been talking about it, but I want to know this, what is the smallest, most overlooked daily habit that keeps you actually grounded and mentally strong still to this day,

Matt Blanchard: 9:55

ah, my affirmations every day. I have a worth. That's why I have a we're. Big goal, and I have affirmations that I do every day, every morning, first thing I do when I wake up, my worthy goal and my affirmations. At night, I'll shut off the TV, and the last thing that goes through my head is my affirmations and my worthy goal, and then my subconscious goes to work on that all night long. So 95% of our day is controlled by our subconscious. There's only 5% of our day that we are actually making decisions like Think, think about jumping in the shower. I wash this armpit first, and then this one. Every single time I brush my teeth with my right hand, and I start in front I mean, all subconscious stuff, very few decisions are conscious decisions that we make. So I go to work on my subconscious and I tell myself things like things that I'm working on, but I talk about them as if I've already accomplished them. So for example, I am the best father on the planet. I am the best husband on the planet. I am powerful beyond measure. I am unstoppable. I am relentless. I am life, I am love, I am a light in a dark place. And I tell myself this stuff all day, and because I'm throwing positivity out into the universe, I am bombarded with part positivity every I mean, look at this. What we're having, what's happening today. I'm on a podcast with two of my boys. And I mean, how can I I can't lose. Like, how can I lose? I can't lose. So I tell myself this all day, every day. And here's another thing too. We talked about this on the last podcast. Is, is right now everybody listening is batting 1000 good job for real. Good job. All the bullshit that you had to deal with in the past. Today, you've taken care of it. So the bullshit you're worried about right now, your future self already taken care of it. So if you trust yourself, the bullshit that you're going through right now, whatever that is, because we all have, I'll have our wheelchairs, you've already taken care of it. And I take joy, and it brings me peace, and it keeps me present, knowing I'm a badass, I do hard things, and my future self has already taken care of what I'm worried about today. So let's start thinking positive. Let's do our affirmations, and if you tell yourself something enough you believe it.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 12:39

Boy did I lose touch with those affirmations, and you just resurrected some of the most powerful stuff I am. I am that, you know, and that is, that is great way to be. Let me ask you, maybe personal, but hey, we'll share how much of that experience in your day is fake it till you make it you know where you you can shift that consciousness. In other words, how often do you are you down? And then you have to snap to a higher, higher level.

Matt Blanchard: 13:16

Okay, so this, this, I'm very rarely down, very rarely, like I let me think of the last time like I was down, it would probably be 2021, where I spent the whole year in the hospital after that second accident. That was rough, that one was rough. But even in the hospital, like every night you guys, I tell I'm happy, I'm healthy, I'm whole. I taught my body and I am like, I'm not like. When you say, fake it till you make it Yes, until you realize. So me saying I'm I'm healthy, I'm whole. Well, I can't stand up and I can't walk out or do things, but I'm more whole today than I have ever been, ever been in my entire life.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 14:07

So what does that definition of whole to you mean?

Matt Blanchard: 14:11

What is that I am a better husband, I am a I am an amazing father. So when I say I'm I need to work on being a better husband. My wife has gone through everything I've gone through and more. I mean, she kept the family together. She paid the bills while I was focused. So when I say I am the best husband on the planet. I mean, especially with you two, you two, you could call me out on my bullshit and say, Come on now. And that would sting, right? Because it's true. So, so when people like, if I were to say something to you two, and you were to take offense, that's not an ish me, that's an issue. So that's something you all got to work on. You know? I'm saying, yeah. Not like that. So, so if I if like, like, right now, if I were to tell you, hey Spence, your look how your hand look, how green Your hand is, you know, it's forest green, you're gonna be like, what drugs are mad on it doesn't but if I knew you, you know, on a more personal level, and I said, Hey Spence, I saw you with your wife the other night, and you were in Walmart, and I didn't like the way you talk to her, I didn't like and what's close enough that I can say this to you, right? And I didn't like this, that and the other, and you take offense to that, well, that's an issue, not ish, me, so that,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 15:34

yeah, I've never heard that. That is, that's a great saying I really like that a lot. Man, thanks. Thanks. So So Matt and I appreciate you sharing, you know, raw personal stuff, you know, like that, because that's stuff that you get you are okay with talking about where most people don't. So we look at, we look at winning teams, and especially in Florida, we have so many professional teams, and when they're winning, there's the bandwagoners, the bandwagoners they get all up on, you know, whoever's winning. But when somebody's losing, they're the first to say shit to them, you know, oh, I don't want to associate with they don't even bother so when someone becomes paralyzed, you know, you the bandwagoners Well, you know, right? They support, they flood all that, that condolence in at first and help, and all that. What happens after that? Momentum dies and nobody's watching.

Matt Blanchard: 16:38

What do you feel? Yeah, it, that's when you got the gut check. Man, for real, like it, I was lucky enough that I figured out very, very quickly why I'm here, what I'm supposed to be doing, what my purpose is. And I think a lot of people struggle with purpose, like, What's their purpose? And they're lost because they don't know their purpose. And my purpose, very plainly, is to inspire and to motivate, and I do that by just telling my story. So but this, this is gonna, this is, this is something. I have a community around me. I have my friends. I have people that I still talk to from elementary school, that they show up without me calling. Like, that's what kind of people I'm like. Like, if I'm having a bad day or whatever, for whatever reason, Terry will text me, kid you not, and he doesn't even know this, Terry will text me even though he's just thinking about me, you know, I like and instantly I'm like, okay, okay, I've got one person that I that I've made, my guy, that I've made a difference In how many others, and you just you find purpose in pain. I have found joy on the other side of pain. And so when I got hurt, Joy was stripped like it's a laugh at jokes and things like that, but joy in life had been, have been stripped away. I didn't find joy in anything, I mean, anything, until I found my purpose, and I've been surrounded by I've been lucky enough that I've been surrounded by people who love me, man like through even all my bullshit, they still love me, and I have never felt alone like ever. I felt selfish, especially in that moment like, What a travesty if I had taken my life, you know, and we weren't having this conversation tonight, I didn't have the ability to speak to hundreds of 1000s of people and giving them a different perspective, or, yeah, our you can find purpose through pain, like, if you're going through pain right now, and whatever it is, maybe that's your purpose, man, maybe you can figure out, okay, I this is how I dealt with my pain, And now it's given me purpose to help others through their pain. And that's, that's, that's me, that's me. So whatever anybody, anybody's going you guys are doing a podcast for hell sakes. Look, look how many lives you touch through your podcast. I mean, hundreds of 1000s of people. It's pretty I almost dropped the up bomb right there. It's that's how passionate I am about it, like your guys purpose. Hell yeah, let's go. You're changing lives like and I just align with people who are in my same lane, and y'all are in my same lane, and I am honored to be here and call you guys friends. So how do I get through how do you get through that? That if you're utterly alone, first you roll over. That if that's all you can do today, then just roll over, get to the other side, then you sit up and then get outside and get some sun on your face. Stop making it about you like stop making your bullshit about you, because you're just you're then now you're tunneled alone, thinking about your bullshit and feeling more and more alone. Go talk to your neighbor. Go see what your neighbor's going through. We got Thanksgiving coming up. We got all the holidays coming up. There's so many people struggling, and they get the pride get in the way. But talk to somebody. It's not about you, it's not about even me. It's about this podcast. It's about being present, that that's how I get over my bullshit, and very quickly I can say, Okay, you're being you're in self pity. You're What the hell is this serving you, it's not serving you. So go out and find out what other people are going through. Just talk to them, and you'll feel so much better. Swear to God, you will feel better instantly. The other thing I do is three things I'm grateful for. So if I'm in my bullshit and I don't like it when I'm in my bullshit, and my wife will look right at me says, learn three things you're grateful for and instantly. So I'm great, obviously grateful for my wife, but I'm grateful for air in my lungs. I'm grateful that I can hug my kids, my granddaughter and I mean, I go on and on and on, but gratitude and resentment or what, they cannot reside in the same place. So if you're bitter, angry, upset, whatever. Well, then what are you grateful for? And that will literally try it right now. Anybody listening, if you're in a pissed off, bad mood, and I know you, that's a hard one to get out of three things you're grateful for and give your energy to it. I'm grateful for my life. Oh, my God, I've had the same girlfriend since I was 15 years old. She's the mother of my children. She takes care of me through paralysis. Feel it. Feel it. I'm grateful for the air in my lungs. I know so many people who are on ventilators. They're going to be on ventilators the rest of their life. I'm grateful that I can just I'm grateful for the sun, I mean, and feel it. Feel it. Feel it. So three things you're grateful for. It's going to pull you out of your bullshit. You might go right back into your bullshit, but you got to practice that and living gratitude.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 22:25

Growing up. Were you always a what appears to be a die hard optimist, or are you now a die hard optimist?

Matt Blanchard: 22:35

I am now a die hard optimist, but growing up, my and we haven't talked about this. Growing up was rough. It was hard. I my parents got divorced when I was 10 years old, and then my dad had so many wives, truly, I never met them all. My mom in and out of marriages. I was very angry, bitter kid growing up like an angry kid, and so I got into wrestling because then I can inflict pain on somebody else and be it, be okay, and I wouldn't get in trouble for fighting. I was that kid, and then wrestling taught me so much about myself, because I had great coach, great mentor, and it kind of taught me that I can do hard things, like I can do really freaking hard things. Wrestling is hard, especially cutting weight and then getting your ass beat by whoever. There's no one to blame in wrestling. So that taught me a lot about myself. My parents, divorces taught me a lot, you know. And there were, I mean, there were times in high school where I didn't have a place to go. I went to bed hungry. I remember spending a couple nights in a hot tub in the wintertime. They had the covers on it, you know, and and it just my parents taught me how to be a parent, what not to do a lot of that. I mean, I love my parents that don't and I but they didn't show up, man, like they didn't show up. And so I always show up because I never want my kids to feel what that's like, and I don't know why my kids going to bed hungry, or my kids not knowing where to go, you know, like, I learned a lot growing up, so I don't know that it's positive, but I was in survival mode A lot, a lot growing up, and it taught me how to be Tough. And taught me how to survive. I mean, yeah, but after the after the accident, when I know the roughest thing was asking for help, like for everything to get showered, that's hard. That's hard for me. That was hard for me, especially, yeah, not being a man anymore, and I'm more of a man today than I've ever been, but back then, yeah, not being able to do anything like sitting up was like exhausting. Um, I just I just had people that would, didn't give up on me, and I did have one friend. His name's Larry sorton. He's my neighbor, actually, that came over one day, and I was in my shit. I was in my pity party. It was his life isn't fair. And he came into my room. He's like, Matt, I get it. I get it. I don't know what paralysis is, but I get it. I'm going to give you the rest of today, but tomorrow morning, 6am I'll be up here. We can get showered. We're going to get ready for the day so that it. When these people show up, you don't have the excuse, oh, I'm not ready. So and he came up every morning, and I knew I had to get up and get ready. He's that's what people I'm surrounded with, like, not people who, who, hey, what do you need? That's important too. But I more more than Hey, what do you need? Or a text I'm thinking about you that goes a lot further than what you need, because that opens the doors to for the conversation Yeah, but my people, they know me well enough that they're like, look, listen, you, let's go. We're not doing this bullshit, like we're not doing it. And they come and they show up. They literally just show up. The other one is Steve Showalter. I mean, I could go on and on and on about people who just show up. That's what I've got in my life.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 26:46

Let me ask you the Well, first of all, if the audience, the listening view and viewing audience, is curious about what happened to Matt, there is a prior podcast that we did that goes into detail, and I strongly urge anyone out there to listen to it, because, Boy, I'll tell you, he had me in tears, especially when you were rolling down the hallway and you heard your kids talk about you without you knowing, without them knowing that you were right around the corner, that that busted me up. And I will tell you, I tell your story to every patient that comes in bitching and moaning about their sprain or strain or low back shit that they come in with, because, as a doctor, Terry and I, we got to inspire our patients and so many doctors lose empathy, and that that is you know when it comes to your care, when that rehab, that rehab of the body, is over on paper. You know those demands in your your body and your mind, more importantly, are, are so important to continue on, and you obviously seem to have mastered it. Do you think that you're you're there is a generation that blames their parents for their failures. So I want, I love that you said what you said about your parents that have that fed who you are today. How do you do you agree that you were set up? What life is like now.

Matt Blanchard: 28:24

Oh yeah, oh yeah. And, and there is no one to blame, like, if you just look in the mirror, like, like, if you're going to try to blame, like, mustard on your shirt, you got mustard on your shirt, you're looking in the mirror and you're trying to get it off of your shirt, but like, cleaning the mirror. I mean, come on now, that's your parents. You're trying to clean the mirror's your parents. You gotta, you gotta clean your own damn shirt, bro. Like, like, you gotta work on you, man, you gotta work on you. Like, like, you're gonna allow somebody else to have control over your existence. Like, like, power over everything. So, so here it is, kids, if you're gonna blame your parents for your bullshit, well then when you're successful and all the other things, you better blame them for that shit too, for all the hard shit you went through. So I mean, there's there it is, right there. I'm in control of me. I'm in control of my outcomes. If I don't like my outcome, then I better tweak one what. Don't scrap the whole project, but I tweak one variable, I go again, and I'll fail. I call it failing forward. We talked about it on the last and I'll tweak one more variable. Go again, tweak one more variable until I get my desired outcome. So I think the one thing that I do have that a lot of people don't is I'm relentless, man, I am relentless, and because I'm relentless, I know I'm unstoppable. So look, here's my I ams again, and because I'm unstoppable, I am powerful beyond measure. And because I'm powerful, you know, I'm saying it just builds and builds. But this is who I am. I haven't always been this guy. I was broken, shattered into a billion pieces. Man, a billion and, yeah, I didn't, I didn't want to do paralysis. I didn't think I could do paralysis. So that's when I threw myself into drugs. And I you know, because you're 365, you're dealing with paralysis. 24/7 and when you wear other people out, like you get the novelty wears off, then it's just you with your bullshit. So I would take meds to get a break from paralysis. And no one likes being paralyzed. Like there's not a personal explanation. And so those bricks just got longer and longer and longer, with more oxies and more more meds, until it became a very big problem. So but then again, the people I surround myself with my family, my friends, my close friends, they're like, Nah, we're getting off this shit. And I did that twice. Oh yeah, you guys got to listen to the first episode. It's something else, yeah. But, yeah, I can't lose bro. Like, my mindset, I was such a powerful mindset that I built, that I built. And if you guys, let's just say my mindsets this. Now, if you guys were to point out an ish me, not an issue, but an ish me, and I'm like, and it stings, I love you too, enough to know that, okay, I need to look at that, that pain, this is not I can't get mad at y'all, you know I'm saying. All you're doing is pointing out my blind spot so that I can fix my damn blind spot. Or, or I can get mad at you guys. You guys are why? Why would you say something like that? You know what I mean. So, so I get to look at my ish means by my friends pointing out my blind spots so that it's no longer an issue. You know, I'm saying so when if somebody says something to you and it stings, that's an issue, and you need to look at it, and you need to and get through it, man, get over it. Get under it, around. I don't care what you do. Get over get on with it.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 32:24

Matt, you've you, you have so many like colloquialism, so many like sayings that I think are so I've never even heard them. And I think they're fantastic. I believe they're fantastic, absolutely. And I hear the mantra of issue ish, me, that is great. That's one of them. Let me ask you, though, when the emotional, proverbial shit is hitting the fan, how do you I want to know one other ingredient of how you mentally change. Do you think about, are you inspired by somebody who's doing something great, or are you motivated or moved by someone who's worse off than you?

Matt Blanchard: 33:10

That's a great question,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 33:12

and while you're thinking of the answer, I'll give the audience an example to tap into. How one gets motivated. Do you you want, if you're not at the body weight that you want, do you put a picture of a fat person on the refrigerator door, or a picture of a someone you know, you know, with all the right curves and in a bikini on the refrigerator to keep you from eating? Okay?

Matt Blanchard: 33:36

I love it there. I would go back. So if you're so if you're overweight, which I was, by the way, like I was 230 pounds in a wheelchair, 230 and my legs are, I mean, they're teeny, so figure how heavy I was. So I am, that's where I am healthy. I am whole. I so when I tell myself this every morning, every night and during the day, at first, I'm not going to go mess up a Big Mac, large fry in a Coke, because I'm healthy and I'm whole, right? And from my I ams. So I don't I. I worry about this, truly. I worry that other people will compare themselves to me, or other people in chairs to me, or, Hey, you need to be like this guy, or whatever. And that's if you try to be like me, you'll fail. That that's just the truth. If I try to be like Terry, I'm going to fail if Terry tries to be like me, like he's going to fail. So I am the best version of myself today, like I am not I don't hold up pictures of anybody I want to be, or vehicles or houses or anything like that, that I will have everything's in my mind every. Everything is, in my mind, everything starts with a thought like this phone that I'm on right now in 93 when I graduated, that if you were to tell me, no buttons, it's just a solid last thing you can talk right into it to anybody on the planet, what? That's impossible. That's impossible, man. So if you've got an impossible goal, you're and let's just go back to the weight. And you're, you're, you're heavier than you've ever been in your life. And you think it's impossible, awesome, awesome. You're on to something. You're on doing impossible thing. I do impossible things, man. And I start with because I am, I am, I am, I am, I am, I am. So I will start telling yourself I am in the best shape of my life. And if you continue to tell yourself that you can't go to the refrigerator and eat shit, you can't because you just told yourself I am in the best shape of my life. I am in the best shape of my life. I am in the base. You tell yourself 1000s of times a day, guess what? You're going to stop eating shit. You're going to your subconscious is gonna say, wait a minute, time out. If I'm in the best shape of my life, then I can't have the fries, I can't have the coke I get. I need water. I need whatever put into this vessel. So, yeah, if you, if you're at your rock bottom, such an amazing place to be. It sucks to be there. And it's amazing. Start with your I ams. So it's the most powerful thing you can say on the planet, for real, I am. And then whatever comes next, and you'll and you'll believe it. So I and I am powerful. I am. I can tell you lots of I ams, so and you for you too. I would start seeing your IMS as well. Like I am a the most powerful podcaster on the planet. I, because of my podcast, I reach hundreds of million pieces. I am the light in the dark place i and because you guys are so I would challenge y'all to do, do your I ams as well. And I would love to share for you to share your I ams with me. I will share my items with you, and by doing that, and I'll share my worthy goal with y'all too. And by doing that, that just keeps me more accountable, because now Spence and Terry know what my worthy goal is. They know my I am statements, and what if they call me out on it? You know, not out of fear, but I better be on point. I better not be bullshitting people. I'm not. Better not be a fraud. You know, the most powerful emotion on the planet, the most powerful emotion on the planet, is authenticity, more power than love, more than and people. People try to be other people, or try to like if Terry tries being, he's gonna fail. If I try to be Terry, my goal is to be the best Matt Blanchard that I can be today, because I'm already perfect. I'm perfect in my failures. I'm perfect in my successes. I'm perfect man. So if I try to be anyone other than me, I will fail. So authenticity be the goofy, like Terry's goofy. Let's just say, let's call it like it is. And I'm drawn to him because of your authenticity, bro, you're not a fake. You're it's, it's a real thing. Like in his text message, like, what you guys hear? What? Terry, that's that guy is, man, he's a stud, he's weird, he's funny, he's goofy, he says inappropriate things, like, that's Terry, man and I am drunk. I'm drawn to his authenticity. I am so be you, just everybody. Be you. Be the goofy, weird, strange, funny, whatever you and let your energy, your authenticity, draw your people to you. And I'll tell you what, instead of trying to so if I try to be Terry, I'm going to draw Terry's people to me. And I might not align with Terry's people or Spencer's people, but if I just be me, I'm surrounded by people who dig me. Man, they dig me. So be you. Just be the authentic you. Everybody else is already taken. Just be you.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 39:13

It takes too much work to try and fake it. Yeah,

Dr. Spencer Baron: 39:17

Hey, Matt, there's, there's a point where I understand you've been to, you know, over the years, different health care providers that they still get it wrong about long term physical realities of paralysis, and you know, especially, you know, the mental load that it bears on you. What? What? What do? What can you say about those healthcare provider now I'm taking this conversation out of you and into people that should be inspiring you and helping you heal, and it always starts from the neck up. So what do they misunderstand about mental load? And if you can give some examples. Of people that are rock stars in the healthcare world in your life.

Matt Blanchard: 40:04

Well, let's just talk. Start with Jeff. Jeff Magna Hausen, right? I butchered that, but I had dinner with him two nights ago. Wow. And he's changing healthcare. That guy is a unique individual that that is a Navy SEAL who is relentless, who is powerful. I mean, we talked about I ams with him as well, and that guy is on point. So Jeff, thank you. And the best experience I've ever had in healthcare was at Montrose hospital.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 40:39

What Give me? Give me some some juice, man, there

Matt Blanchard: 40:42

you go. Different. Hey. So I saw all you physicians listening, all you guys, Jeff treated a human, not a patient. They treat a human. So, so instead of coming in and following protocol of what a patient needs in this situation, they come in and, hey, what's your favorite food, what's your favorite color, what's your favorite sport, which, you know, and they start asking these questions, because they're treating a human now, not and now, and they mix in all the medical questions as well. But then now, when they come in, oh yeah, my son loves the Chicago Bears, yeah, 85 bears. That's Matt Blanchard, you know, Walter Payton, best, you know. And now they now, you're treating a patient, I'm sorry, a human, not a patient. And Jeff gets it, like gets it, Dr Stephen Clark, here in Intermountain Healthcare, he is going to change, You mark my words, and we need to have him on your on your podcast, but he will change healthcare over the nation. So he's in charge of inner mountains, preventative care, so rather than being reactive, being proactive, and he's been my physician since day one, like, and I believe I was his first spinal cord injury. And in the beginning, I would not understand in health care, like, like, think of me coming in, you're my physician, and I'm your patient. I'm new, newly injured as a spinal cord injury. And I would go into his office and he would listen for over an hour, I had no idea that I was backing up a week of patients for him, because he he always made me feel like I and he does this still to this day, you're, if you're in front of Dr Stephen Clark, you are the most important thing in his life At that moment. That's the way all of his patients speak of him, that they they feel like they're the most important and his best friend, like, I'll call in for an appointment. No, I'm his best friend. I'm his best patient. Yeah, we get that with all of our patients, right? He's that guy. He just really is.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 42:56

So hey, Matt, I want to interrupt for something because, because you're saying something that I adapted a year and a half ago, and I would like to get the word out. I stopped seeing the I stopped seeing patients almost two years ago, and patients with people call up and are you taking new patients? I go, No. And I started calling my patients my village, and I will add people to my village. But I stopped. I stopped referring them as patients. I don't call them patients. I call them my village. I invite people to my village, and I'm trying to change the whole how a doctor view the people walking the door, and what you're saying, what the as a patient, who's a you're saying that resonate with you too. So I hope people start doctors out there start, stop looking at people's patients and refer them as patients, but we, firm as human beings, are part of their village,

Matt Blanchard: 43:50

100% and kudos to you, bro, because a patient has a has a problem. I mean, a patient is there, you know something. But a human, like a person, is navigating something with now you've created this, this community, this village, where I can go talk to my wife, other members of this community and this village, not my other patients or something. It's just Yeah. So that's the number one thing. Number two, and it goes hand in hand, is like, the CNAs, the nurses, everybody this, they've done this a billion times. Like, think about how long you guys have been practicing. You have done you have adjusted, you've done a billion times. But that person, that human, not the patient they're going through that for the first time ever, like when I had, when I was, when I was 3030, newly hurt and had an accident as a 30 year old man, that is demon. Realizing that is so shameful, that is unacceptable. And then the CNAs or the nurse will come in and they clean you up, and they do it notes so nonchalantly, you know, and they they're just carrying on with their conversation of what, this is, what happened with me, you know, of going to the club over that weekend, and it was two really cute CNAs man rolling me over and cleaning up my whole back because I had shit everywhere, let's just be honest. And they'd done that a million times. I've probably done a million times since, but that was my first time. That was my first time. So I would, I would counsel reverence, especially in something like that, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Yeah, you're a part of, especially in an acute rehab, you are a part of everybody's first again, like first time getting dressed by yourself, the first time going the bathroom by yourself, the first all these firsts, and you, you create this bond, because it's so intimate with with CNAs and and the whole, the whole team. So I would just say, look, BB breverent, and you're treating a human, not not a freaking patient, not not a patient.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 46:28

So, all right, we are going to shift into something way cool, adaptive golf.

Matt Blanchard: 46:38

Ah, I love adapted golf.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 46:42

How in the hell are you playing golf?

Matt Blanchard: 46:45

So the way it all happened is I was just traveling down the road. I was a golfer before I got hurt. In fact, we were on a golf trip. It was my my boys bachelor party, and literally, me and all of my friends, 30 of us went down to mesquite and anyway, good golfer, great golfer. Then I got in my accident. Didn't think I'd ever golf again, man. And I didn't golf for, gosh, 15 years, yeah. And then I'm driving down the road, and I just see this guy in this weird machine out on a golf course, just from the highway, and so I go get in the parking lot, and I just wheeled out dude. I mobbed out to this guy, and we talked, and he was so cool. He was from Canada. He's like, Look, I'll be done with my round in a minute. You're welcome to take this. I'm like, Are you kidding me? So he gave me some lessons in it. This is how it works, and I'm hooked. Like, I'm hooked. So these machines are called verti cats, and they'll take you to a stand. They'll they mob as fast as a golf cart does. Um, you're, you're and I, everywhere I go, people want to know what the hell is that? What's going on? And they it's just open more doors. People come and talk to me, and then I can provide or not, our foundation can provide this verti cat to anybody that has any type of deficit, like a cerebral palsy, MS, fibromyalgia, like you don't have to be paralyzed or an amputee or anything like that, to golf Again if you never thought you would ever golf, and it is. There's not money on the planet that would replace when you've got grandpa in the verdict, cat, grandma's crying, the sun's crying, everybody crying, because me and Grandpa are freaking golfing. Then they never thought they would ever do that again. That's what I get to experience daily, like I get people's first and tear Joy daily, man like daily. That's another reason why I can't lose but, but that's not focused on Matt Blanchard, that's focused on other people. And if you do that, I swear to God, your life will be amazing. People. What does this look like?

Dr. Terry Weyman: 49:12

You haven't seen him do this thing all grown. If you're

Matt Blanchard: 49:16

listening right now, please go to my social media. Maddie Blanche three on IG or even on Tiktok, just Matt Blanchard. You'll see me golfing in this verticat. You'll see me riding mountain bikes. So we had a bilateral amputee of the arms. She never thought she would ever mountain bike ever again. We got her a bowhead, bro. So a bowhead is a an adaptive mountain bike, and it's electric, so go on its own, 35 miles an hour, this thing cooks, and girlfriend is in this and the way she steered was with her hips, you know. So you go this way, to go that way, you go this way, kind of like skiing and to see her husband and her kid. It's just be like, what mom is riding a bike again, and then they go for a bike ride together. Are you kidding me, right now? How can I lose? You can't lose with that stuff. Man from water sports, getting people out surfing again. That thought they would never, ever surf it. Just showing people life is not over. You'll do anything you want to. Ever wanted to do might be a little different. A lot of time it's better. Get a hold of me. Man, I'm not kidding. Get a hold me. And if you'd like to donate to the foundation, if you help, you save lives. Man, yeah, get her done. So that's how I golf, I but I golf, I ski, I surf, I Cliff jump, I you name it. I do it, I do it. And I just wanted everybody on the planet to have the same opportunity that I do, and that's what our nonprofit provides. Is that opportunity?

Dr. Terry Weyman: 51:00

Hi, so every if every healthy, fully mobile athlete had to live one single day in your body, what perspective Do you think they finally understand about training, gratitude and physical mastery?

Matt Blanchard: 51:21

So on, on Avatar. When Sully gets into the avatar and he gets out and he just runs, and he runs and runs and runs, and then he kind of slides and he takes his toes and is in the dirt like this. If any athlete were to get in this vessel, I wouldn't even ask him to do it for a day. I wouldn't ask him to do it for an hour. I wouldn't ask anybody to do it. I wouldn't, yeah, my body's still broken, and my spirit is so whole. I don't It's hard to explain, man, it's hard to explain. But if you were to get my body the first thing, you'd be like, Holy shit, that this hurts because I look forward to pain because I can feel, because I can feel the pain, you know, and like narcotics or whatever, it masks the pain, but now I can feel the pain. And even though it's painful, I can feel it. Man, I can freaking feel it. Um, so that's the first thing. They'd go nuts. You go nuts. You'd go crazy. You would you would not know that. No athlete would know what to do. I don't care who they are. If you got into a paralyzed person's body, you'd be so confused, disoriented. I don't care. Michael Jordan, I don't not care who it is. Like they would want out immediately, like they no offense to anybody able bodied, and I would never wish it on anybody. You can't do this, no, unless it's forced upon you, like, like, like, anybody Michael Jordan comes in in my door, and I get a trade with Michael Jordan, and we put a timer on it, because he knows there's an end to it, and I know I got to go Back to that thing. Yeah, there's no way it sucks. It's the most it is the worst, most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me. Like, I hate paralysis, like, and I never use that word, I hate paralysis. And it has given me purpose. It's given me everything I need, and more open many doors, but anybody else we're trying to try to do this, just to do it? Hell no. Not happening, not happening. And let's just get real, real, real quick. Oh, I don't even have one. Oh, hold on, give me two seconds. Is right here, yeah. So I go to the bathroom with this thing. So this is a catheter, a straight calf, and I have to put that in my urethra and all the way up to my bladder, enable, no, you're not signing up for this. It sucks. It's horrible, and it's the most wonderful thing ever. I know it doesn't make sense. It, but it is what it is, and I've been given what I've been given, and it's a blessing, and it's a cliche, but true, you've given lemons. Make lemonade, damn it. Just freaking make lemonade. People like lemonade. People be drawn to your lemonade. Come on, let's go. Let's get over it and get along with it if you're paralyzed right now. So what like truly. So what, what are you gonna do about it? What are you going to do about it? You got it and you got in a car accident, got an amputation. So what, what are you gonna do about it? You got a child that has autism. So what, what are you gonna do about it? You're gonna plug them into southern Utah adaptive sports with other kids that are autistic so we can go out and ride horses. Are you shitting me right now? You're not alone. Let's freaking go, like, that's just me, man. Like, let's I just, Hey, I just want to change the world. You know, I'm a very small goal to change the world.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 55:59

I think you're doing it. And it's kind of funny that you're when I'm listening to you, and I asked you that question about the body, you know, because you're what's drawn to me. To you is your mind and your enthusiasm, which is not your body, it's your consciousness, your your which is out in the air, and there's all that kind of stuff. That's what's drawn to me, to you. And I always, I always think of Stephen Hawkins, here's a here's a body just sat there. It didn't even move. And yet, look how many people were drawn to his mind, his his his thought process, and his body was but and then we look at social media and people so drawn to what's really not important these bodies, when, in reality, it's the heart and the spirit. You know, looking at that golf when I saw that you play golf, and you're part of my friends, but you're fucking hitting it better than I do and and I'm like, Good God, you know, the guy's in the chair, and he still crushes it. And I hate this game. What in it, since you're kind of in with your and I hope people do donate to your cause. But if, since you're in that world and you surf and you do all your stuff, looking ahead, what do you see in the next 10 to 20 years, where you see this innovation going both medical, biomechanical, cultural, that you think that will completely transform the adaptive lifestyle?

Matt Blanchard: 57:20

Oh yeah, it's going to give hope to a hopeless situation. It already does so in 20 years. In 20 years, Southern Utah adaptive sports will be nationwide. It will be the largest adaptive nonprofit on the planet. We will St George will be the mecca for that Black Desert who already hosts the PGA Tour, and the LPGA Tour will host the adaptive tour, the US Open adaptive tour. And I'm telling you, we will have, like the Red Bull Rampage that we will be, we'll have an adaptive part of the Red Bull Rampage we will do. We're going to infect la millions of lives, millions of lives, and in 20 years, Let's hypothetically say in 20 years, this vessel is gone. Okay, they I've not me, but this vessel has done doing its thing. Well, Southern Utah adaptive sports will be I'll live forever, you guys. I will be helping people long after this vessel is gone. Like I will live forever, I will change lives forever. So that's my selfishness in it is that I will live forever. I will change lives forever through through our nonprofit so that that in 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, 150 years, will still be helping people golf for the first time ever man and all over the nation, they will know, okay, look, we've got like minded individuals where you're you're going to be discharged today. Here's Here you go. We're Plugging you into this, this community, this village, and boom, let's go, you know, because now you can, you can come talk to me, and I'll go back to the days of acute rehab, which you're lost, you don't know you're you're broken, you don't know anything, and you're scared of everything. And I you have people that will help you navigate paralysis. You don't have to do it on your own. You've got accountability partners that show up every day, hey, and so that the day that you want to get in the shower and not want to do it anymore, you've got Matt Blanchard, who doesn't doesn't wait for you're not sending a text, Hey Matt, I'm gonna get in the shower today because he actually shows up. Yo, did you do your IMS this morning? What has what's changed in your life? That how? Yeah, that changes shit immediately. So, yeah, that's where we're at in 2030, years, 40 years, 50 whatever it is, we're part of the PGA Tour. We're part of Red Bull Rampage where whatever it is, we will be the largest adaptive nonprofit on the planet.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:00:19

Terry, we're going into rapid fire questions. We have time. Yeah, let's do it. All right. Let's go. All right. You remember rapid fire questions? Five questions. Answer them brief, but I'll tell you, it's all about you, baby, ready? All right, I understand you have some Wheelchair Dance moves. What song guarantees you to rock and roll in that chair. And What? What? What? What does that groove sound like in your headspace?

Matt Blanchard: 1:00:47

Turn down for what, for sure. You know I'm saying, if you've never heard, Turn down for what. See, I can't even I just can't. That's just can't. And so there's that one. And then Neon Star by Morgan Wallen, like me and my kids, like you've probably seen my socials. Yeah, those two songs, come on. I'm dancing.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:01:12

Terry, you got me listening to burn burn it. Burn it down every morning now, before the gym. All right, so, all right, Matt, on the course, what single gear tweak to that, that thing you call a verdict cat that you set up? What? What? What makes, what unlocked the biggest game for you this year, and why?

Matt Blanchard: 1:01:33

Well, but here it is, when I got hurt the second Well, yeah, anyway, I get a golf with my wife. But here's the thing, she hits the ball further. Swear, swear, she hits the ball further than me, and it bugs me to no end like to know it and she knows, and she's that quiet one, you know, she's, oh, that's a pretty good shot, huh? Yeah, like 30 yards past my ball. And, you know, don't worry, I'm gonna I get hit twice before you get hit, babe, you know, but it's given me the time and the ability to golf with my boys, golf with my wife. And the thing that unlocked it all, bro for real, is what takes me to a stand and I can drive right on the grains. I'm at the same height as my boys, and I'm putting as an almost like an able bodied person, and especially the first for my family, my book my boys like, wow, Dad, you're tall. You are tall. I'm six foot two. You know I'm top. My My oldest boy is taller than me by an inch. My youngest boy, I'm taller than him by two, but to have my arms around them, and that's cool. That's a game changer. That's a game changer. The same height, just putting that, that verdict has changed my life.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:02:56

Question number three, let's talk about your accessibility vehicle. You know the different modifications. What's one feature you'd never give up?

Matt Blanchard: 1:03:04

Ooh, one feature that I would never give up on my accessible vehicle? Man, obviously, I'd have to keep the hand controls no matter what right, because the feet aren't going to work. But I would change the hand controls to be on, like the steering wheel or something. So I like to go fast. I do. I like to mob. I like to go fast. But if I could have, if I could have both hands on the steering wheel, this is my right now. My modification is on the right hand side, so I got brake and gas at the same time with the left and just steer at the left, like a bolt on the steering wheel. Oh, yeah, that'd be awesome. That's the one thing is my my hand controls. Gotta have them. Gotta have

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:03:49

question number four, ready? Matt, yes, hold on.

Matt Blanchard: 1:03:53

Let me sit down. Let me sit down. Okay, hit me.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:03:58

This will resonate real clear for you, since you're a motivational speaker, if you were an adjunct professor teaching life after impact 101, what's the one assignment you'd give a healthy, fully mobile student that would guarantee they leave the semester changed forever. Ooh.

Matt Blanchard: 1:04:16

Stay present. Stay present. Anxieties, worrying about the test to come or whatever, whatever you've got in the future you're going to cause anxiety. Don't worry about the past. It happened. That's where depression is. So leave the past where the past. Learn from it. Get on Get over it. Get on with it, but stay present. And we practice the 7p at my house. So 7p are this proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance and my kids, so my kids, if they did not perform well, or myself, if I didn't perform well at whatever, that's because I didn't properly plan. Can. I didn't. I didn't prepare. So the 70s in my house, proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. And if you perform poorly, that's on you. That's an ish. You not ish. Me love it.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:05:12

Terry, we got it. We really got to list all these cool things in our show notes. But all right, last, but never least, what's one belief you held five years ago that you now realize was completely wrong, not about adversity, but about people, relationships, or the way you show up in the world,

Matt Blanchard: 1:05:38

that it's not about you. That's the biggest one man. I used to think that everybody was there for me, everybody's in my therapies, in my life, whatever. And then the novelty wears off, and everybody has to go back to life, absolutely. I mean, they have to go back to doing their thing. And you realize, holy shit, I'm stuck here with paralysis, and they're golf. My friends are golfing again, and they're doing their thing that if you can get out of your own head and realize, okay, how can I help somebody else today in any way, shape or form, that will unlock things. So the number one thing that I have learned, the number one thing is it's not about me, it's about us. And if we can figure out how to help us, our village, our community, then we're on to something. But if you're internal and you're nugget, and you think it's all about you, and within the life is happening to you instead of life is happening for you. So get out of that mindset. It's not. Life is not happening to you. Life happens to victims. And I know there are people going through some hellacious shit they're saying, Well, you didn't just lose the sun. You didn't lose it, you know? And that would be something, and I'm not discounting that at all. But life is happening for you, not to you. So if you can flip those two words for you and to you, and then, instead of one day, day one today is day one, I'm not going to start one day. I'm starting today day one instead of one day. Flip those two and shit. Watch what happens.

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:07:26

Man, sorrageous, outrageous. Man, wow. All right, what a fantastic learning experience.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:07:34

Thank you buddy. Thank you guys. Thank you for your time and thank you for your energy. And I will tell you when I'm coming up there. I'm coming up there, I'm coming up in a couple weekends, and we'll hit for lunch.

Matt Blanchard: 1:07:43

Let's do at least lunch, bro, and then I will beat your ass for nine.

Dr. Terry Weyman: 1:07:47

Okay, all right, we'll do that. All right. We got to get ready for number two. So, all right, bro, you have a beautiful day.

Matt Blanchard: 1:07:55

You guys do thank you for the opportunity. You guys are amazing. Keep changing lives. Take care. You

Dr. Spencer Baron: 1:08:05

thank you for listening to today's episode of The Kraken backs podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Make sure you follow us on Instagram at Kraken backs podcast. Catch new episodes every Monday. See you next time you.