Life to the Max Podcast
Welcome to 'Life to the Max Podcast,' where resilience meets inspiration!
Join us on a transformative journey through the life stories of remarkable individuals, including Quadriplegic Army Veteran Maximilian Gross. In this empowering podcast, we dive into tales of triumph, courage, and the human spirit's unwavering ability to overcome obstacles.
Our show is a celebration of diverse narratives, from awe-inspiring achievements to the darkest of traumas. 'Life to the Max' is a testament to the power of living authentically, no matter the circumstances. We believe that everyone has a unique story worth sharing, and we invite individuals from all walks of life to join us.
Discover the profound meaning of living 'Life to the Max'—a concept that resonates differently with each storyteller. It's a journey of perspective, resilience, and finding joy amidst life's challenges. Tune in to be inspired, motivated, and reminded that there's strength in every story.
Ready to redefine what it means to live life to the fullest? Share your story with us and become a part of this uplifting community. Because, at 'Life to the Max,' every story matters.
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Life to the Max Podcast
Without Legs, Without Limitation: A Speedcast with Dave Stevens
Dave Stevens has defied expectations at every turn. Born without legs and immediately put up for adoption, the odds were stacked against him from day one. Yet during our chance meeting at the Chicago Abilities Expo, Dave shared how his adoptive parents instilled in him a powerful mindset: being without legs wasn't a disability—it was simply his normal.
Dave became a three-sport varsity athlete in high school, earning his positions by outperforming able-bodied teammates. His athletic journey continued through college football at Augsburg University and even included a stint in minor league baseball alongside Darryl Strawberry. Off the field, Dave built a 20-year career at ESPN, earning seven Emmy Awards and covering 30 Super Bowls along the way.
Our conversation highlights a critical reality about disability representation in media. As Dave poignantly states, "We're the biggest minority in the world and we have the smallest voice." Both of us share experiences of being underestimated, of having people judge the book by its cover rather than recognizing our capabilities. Dave describes us as "Chihuahuas who think they're St. Bernards"—refusing to be limited by society's narrow expectations of what disabled individuals can achieve.
This SpeedCast delivers a powerful message about redefining limitations, the importance of representation, and focusing on what truly matters in life. Join us for this raw, unfiltered conversation about taking the "dis" out of disability and amplifying voices that deserve to be heard.
What's up, guys? As you can see, we're not in the studio at home. We're actually at the Abilities Expo in Chicago and this podcast is going to be a little different. It's going to be like a speedcast. The sound is not going to be as great because of how wide open this space is, but I hope you guys enjoy it. Please enjoy this. Life to the Max speedcast. What is up, everybody? It is Life to the Max podcast and we are at the Abilities Expo in Schaumburg, illinois. It is June 22nd, so it's Saturday 2025. And today I'm here with Dave Stevens. He has an amazing story and I'm very excited to finally get him on for a little short podcast and hopefully get him on for a big one In the future. Dave, say hi to the people.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's great to be here. I know we've been trying to connect for three days and luckily we finally have. So it's great to spend a few minutes with you and I'm excited to expand this down the road and really talk about both of our lives and what we've overcome. But, man, I'm so proud to see someone else trying to do what I do, and there's not a lot of us with disabilities in media or television or production. We're the biggest minority in the world and we have the smallest voice, so it's great that you're giving your voice and letting other people tell their stories.
Speaker 1:I definitely agree with you because I was really worried at first, like about the podcast when I first started, because, like I, I didn't know how I was going to get it out there. I knew I had the material, I knew I had like the charisma to talk, but I didn't know how to get it out there. If you catch my drift, especially with being a C1 quadriplegic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sometimes I don't think the world is ready to see us, for us. You know, everybody sees the models and the people on TV and they think that's how life is. But, as I said, there are more people with disabilities out there than any other minority. And you know, you can be born Jewish, you can be born Hispanic, but you can become disabled at any time. Born Jewish, you can be born Hispanic, but you can become disabled at any time. And so we don't want you to join our world, but I want to see more and more people embrace our world and give us those opportunities to get that out there. So I hope more and more people see your growth. I'm going to do whatever I can to help you and we'll just, you know, take over what we need to do. I mean, why Sirius XM Radio doesn't have a channel dedicated to the disabled community where they could have doctors and therapists and motivational speakers and people like yourself? We need that opportunity. So if anybody's listening there, hey, let's start getting things going For real.
Speaker 1:Can we dive in a little bit on your story?
Speaker 2:I'm here for you, man All right man. So basically were you born like this? Yeah, For those listening and those watching, I was born without legs and strike one put up for adoption, strike two.
Speaker 2:But I had a loving couple, a World War II veteran and a housewife that adopted me. They were a lot older but they adopted me right from the hospital. And again, being born without legs is a tough challenge enough. But being adopted and trying to find somebody that is going to put up with all that, and you know, I just lived a normal life. They taught me that my normal was not having legs and so, you know, I took it to the next levels, playing sports.
Speaker 2:I became a three-sport athlete in high school, in wrestling, baseball and football. It wasn't one of those hey we hand off to the guy for one play. I was an athlete. I had to beat out players on all those sports and then ended up playing college football in Minnesota at Augsburg University. Had a chance to play minor league baseball for the St Paul Saints in 1996, teammates with Darryl Strawberry Again the only guy without legs ever to do that.
Speaker 2:And then, you know, try it with the Dallas Cowboys, worked at ESPN for 20 years, won seven Emmys and continue to have a talk show and go to the Super Bowl and World Series and things like that to. You know, I'm still living the dream. I'm Forrest Gimp. You know I've done things that people only can dream of. And you know I'm 59 and I'm still trying to go out there and show that, no matter what we've been given, we try to make the most of what we do and, just like yourself, I try to take that dis out of disability and let us realize that we have a brain. We can still contribute.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's beautiful. You have quite a record on you I did not know. You did seven Emmys and you were an ES Plus student. Seven Super Bowls.
Speaker 2:I've been to 30 Super Bowls and just was at the last one this year. I still can't believe I get to go to these cities and be around the players and enjoy hanging around World Series and things like that. I mean I pinch myself. But for me the stories are meeting people like yourself, the true heroes, the people that have overcome. You can get paid $20 million a year to hit a baseball, but are you really making a difference in life? And that's what you're doing with your show. You're making a difference and giving a voice, a platform.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's what I try to do. The show basically is people who face adversity and like persevering. So, whether it gets 30 views or 30,000 views or 30 million views, I know that one of those people that are listening in their ear. It's going to affect their life or it's going to help them or impact them, and that's the goal.
Speaker 2:And we live in a world that's a seven-second swipe world. If we have no interest, we're swiping left or right and not paying attention and not getting to the content. So they'll judge that book by the cover. They'll look at you and go, oh, he's in a wheelchair. I feel sorry for him, but they don't realize there's a human being trapped inside that has a voice and has a platform. And that's what I'm doing. I'm so proud to see what you're doing. It's been amazing to watch you here work and you've got to be exhausted, Dude 40 people, 40 people.
Speaker 1:I've never been more blessed in my life because of all like there really is true when you say it can always be worse, because I've talked to people with brain like brain surgeries 100 surgeries, Shout out to Chronically Creative. She was amazing, you know, and I find so much strength, like in these people and they gravitate towards me and then they're like well, you gravitate towards me, so it's like a beautiful thing, it's like the synchronization that you can't really explain unless you're a part of the disability world, you know.
Speaker 2:Right, and it's a it's. It's our job to to teach empathy and not sympathy, and to realize that we all have value. Do you need to carry a backpack and go through training camp in an army situation to be able to build our military defense systems? No, but you could have a brain and use those computers. Same for police. Can you be in a wheelchair and be a detective? Yes, you can go to places, you can do these kind of things, and we don't think outside the box about those gifts that we have. Again, judging that book by its cover, they're going to go. He's in a wheelchair. That guy has no legs. What future do they have? But again, our stories. And, as you said, there are people out there that have it way worse than us, and so I count my blessings every day and it's my job to be that advocate for us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah it's. I've never been around this many disabled people in my life. I've always like been more like hanging out with my friends that are like, that are able-bodied, like. So I've only had like two friends that were disabled, so that probably when I really like dove into the community and got a booth, really like dove into the community and got a booth, I'm like I was like you know, I'll do a podcast, live podcast or whatever for people, just so they can like get their voice out there and so other people could understand. Like hey, like if you're having a rough day, this person has been through like a hundred surgeries. This person, it's kind of like at a Boston Marathon. It's terrible stories, the horror stories I hear about the health industry.
Speaker 1:It's just insane from this whole experience and it's humbled me completely, and I love coming here because nobody's staring at us.
Speaker 2:You know we are the normal ones and it's all those leggies that are walking around. You know that I always see, and it's neat. My girlfriend couldn't even find me because there's too many wheelchairs. And where are you going to find that at you got a bright orange shirt.
Speaker 2:Yeah, today yeah, they can see it. But you know, just to your point, it's, I think you and I are a lot like those chihuahuas that think they're a St Bernard. So it's not like why do we have to hang out with other people with disabilities, why can't we just hang out with people? And it's the world that labels that. But you know, to your point, I don't really have a lot of disabled people in my life. Now I am mentoring and I'm at events and things like that. But again, we are just as normal as anybody else that is in this conference. And you know, it's been awesome to see the looks of people coming over here when you're hosting your show. He's doing that. How can he do that? And here you are, brother.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I've loved doing it. Man, I really woke up this morning like I've got to get up, I've got to go. I've got to get up, I got to go, I got to go talk to a bunch of people. Dave stiffed me, man.
Speaker 1:Dave's not doing the show, man, if it makes them happy, like even like children, man, like they just want to put the headphones on and like see what it's like, because they see it on YouTube, they see it on TV, you know, and I like I implore them to come on the show, like whether it's like a five-minute review, just just like, so get their toe in the water. I had this kid the other day that said he wanted to start his own podcast because of me and he was disabled and I was like that was a really beautiful thing. He was 17. And I'm really hoping I can get a GoFundMe for him or something.
Speaker 2:Because we're not mainstream, we aren't like the others, we don't get those opportunities. So it's great that for them to see role models like yourself or tammy duckworth, senator tammy duckworth, or jim abbott or shaquem griffin, or all these people that have overcome so much and I want to thank you for giving me a short little bit of time and, yeah, we'll go in depth down the road. We'll do a big part to uh and again, they're probably going how'd this guy without legs do all that?
Speaker 2:All the videos are on YouTube, just Google Dave Stevens. Or Dave Stevens Speaks and you can see all that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I actually did Google you.
Speaker 2:I took the porn down, so luckily.
Speaker 1:I did Google you. I was like no fucking way. I was like you know what? You ain't low center of gravity. You're probably just able to tackle him, mother it had its advantages again.
Speaker 2:Those guys uh, centers and linemen didn't know how to block a guy with no legs who's playing defense, and so I would shoot right through or free up the linebacker. You know. Same for wrestling. I had that advantage. You didn't know what to do against a guy with no legs, but I knew what to do against you leggies. So I would use that to that advantage and wrestling was probably my best sport because it was one-on-one. But I'm just blessed. I found out years later what that was like for the coaches to go to the parents of players that I beat out in football and baseball to be in the starting lineup. Can you imagine telling the parent of that kid that, like, hey, your kid sucks, he sucks so bad. A dude without legs beat him out. You know, think about that mentality. Like, wow, my kid is, he should go become a gynecologist or a doctor or a lawyer.
Speaker 1:Sports is not his thing. I have two questions for you before we get out of here. When it comes to the sports, was it like difficult to get into it right away, or were you just a natural?
Speaker 2:you know, I had a lot of friends starting in seventh and eighth grade and I got tired of sitting back and watch everybody in recess playing kickball and those kind of things and I slowly developed.
Speaker 2:I'd be in my buddy's backyard and at first it was a tennis ball instead of a baseball and at first it was a nerf football instead and a basketball and all these things. I started playing and then figured out how to the trajectory of where the ball would land and those kinds of things and how to hit and run on your arms and all those kinds of there were no coaches there. There isn't a how to play sports for dummies without legs book out there, so you just evolve. You had coaches that believed in you. My coaches would tie their legs behind their back to work on wrestling moves so they knew what they would teach me. I had a baseball coach who stuck me in right field, who sticks a guy without legs in right field and lets him in the starting lineup.
Speaker 2:So I'm blessed that I had coaches and teachers and everybody that believed in me, but also athletic skills and I'm not bragging, but I could hit a ball, I could run in those days and it's been neat to watch I have three sons that were born with legs and to live vicariously through them and see my middle one, who's an exact clone of me, going. Wow, that's what I might have been as a baseball player with legs and to see those successes it's been even bigger as a challenge. As a parent with a disability, it's even harder to try to give them a normal life as well. So that's my proudest thing. You asked me what the accomplishments would be. Would it be pinch hitting for Daryl Strawberries or going to Super Bowl or all these things? It's raising three sons to be amazing young men.
Speaker 1:That's the goal right, the circle of life, being a parent and raising some amazing kids. I was just about to ask the second question, which is what are you most grateful for? I'm guessing it's your family.
Speaker 2:There we go, my three boys, brady, tate and Luke. I love them and I hope I, as an older parent, I hope I get to live a long time to get grandkids and see what they become.
Speaker 1:They definitely have a great dad and I look forward to you mentoring me because, like I said, it lit my eyes open. I was like, yes, finally someone that's like me, that can help me get my foot in the door.
Speaker 2:We've got to get you bigger than me so people actually see you and hear you, because nobody sees my crap.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you. Thank you so much and for everybody who has watched this content, please like, comment and subscribe and, as always, take a breath for me. Cool, are you lames? Keep it bogus. I head on a swivel looking out for the locust. I'm on ten toes trying to top my opponents am I the next best thing?
Speaker 2:but I think I'm the closest.