The Fortified Podcast

PART 2: Wes Campbell Faith, Fatherhood & Finding Purpose Through Adversity

• Dustin Haney

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Wes Campbell: Identity, Faith & Purpose After a Spinal Cord Injury | Part 2

Wes Campbell’s story didn’t end when he survived a devastating motorcycle accident and spinal cord injury. In many ways, that was only the beginning.

In Part 2 of The Fortified Podcast, Wes opens up about the battle that came after survival. The struggle with identity, faith, fatherhood, purpose, and what it means to lead when life no longer looks the way you imagined.

After being told he might never walk again, Wes had to rebuild more than his body. He had to discover who he was when so much of what once defined him had been stripped away.

Today, Wes is a father, mentor, humanitarian, advocate against human trafficking, and a man passionate about helping other men embrace biblical masculinity and build lives rooted in faith, gratitude, service, and purpose.

This conversation goes beyond overcoming adversity.

It’s about identity when circumstances change. Faith when answers are hard to find. Fatherhood when you cannot lead the way you once expected. And discovering that purpose can still exist on the other side of pain.

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Wes Campbell

Real quick, family, I wanted to mention that if you know someone who is in Poland who is impacted by human trafficking, specifically Ukrainian or anyone else, we're leaving notes below of different uh local centers that you can reach out to in Warsaw and different areas. Please reach out. Please don't hesitate and get uh these women and children help as they need it within the country of Poland. Thank you so much.

Dustin Haney

But that's the good fun old days.

Wes Campbell

Yeah, I mean, but that's the problem. You get to a certain age where you you win and the next day you wake up hurting, you know, I thought I won. Why do I hurt so bad?

Dustin Haney

Anyways. So you um let's walk through the uh introduction and how you met your wife. We know uh your good friends work out here. They worked out at that old gym as well. Yeah, absolutely. I remember those days telling them, hey, we're building a gym. They're like, okay, yeah, whatever, you know. And I walked back into that gym a couple years ago, and it's amazing how uh because I walked in and I was like, did they build walls? It looks so much smaller than it did. And then I remember, oh, I used to do these machines. No, they're all there, but ugh, you know, so I don't miss that gym much.

Wes Campbell

I do not miss that gym at all. Um, I have always chosen the crappiest gym I could, mostly because I'm cheap. Um, but uh I am very, very thankful. And this is the first time I am very, very thankful for where I work out, and I really appreciate, you know, I appreciate this gym a lot, actually. I really am very, very thankful that you built it and that you're leading it. And it's a community, it's a real community, you know. And um, there's good equipment, there's good people, it's got so many different things that, you know, we could get it, we could talk about that depending on what itch you want to scratch, you know, you can do it here. And I'm very thankful for that. And uh it's really it's a beautiful community. I'm really, really thankful. But yeah, at the old gym, um uh, you know, my my buddy David, I call him my brother from another mother, you know, and uh now we're I guess real kind of brothers, but uh by my marriage a brother-in-law, yeah, but I would um be kind of going through it. And I would go to the gym just to work out and be left alone, you know, and and he would always come up and talk to me, you know, and I'd be like, Is that where you met him? That's where I met him. Oh I literally met him at that gym. I thought you guys knew each other a long time before that. No, I met him at that gym, and he always came up and said hi to me. And uh so then we just started talking, and and then uh something happened where I had an opportunity to pray for him or pray with him or something, and then I shared some things, and then we started, you know, really um developing a friendship there. And then whenever he came over here, uh he said, Man, you not you need to come to the new gym, it's awesome, you know. And so I was all right, you know, came over here, and uh then for at least a solid year, he's been hounding me about, hey man, you need to you need to meet my sister, you need to date my sister, you know. I'm like, man, I am not doing that. Like, out of all the things I'm gonna do in my life, I'm not doing that. Like, I'm not crossing the streams. I consider you a good friend. Like, so many things could go wrong. Like, I have plenty of options, I'm not doing that, you know. And uh I even went to his house for Thanksgiving one year, and he invited her over, um, and I didn't know it. And I don't know if she knew I was there or what, but she didn't come. And and I didn't know that she was invited, right? Or I probably would not have come either. But so she tried to avoid me on purpose also because she was a widow, and so she's like, I'm not doing this, right? And then we uh met at a family event at uh I think her daughter's graduation or birthday, 18th birthday or something, his daughter's 18th birthday. And uh I was planning on doing the you know the customary hi, how are you? Nice to meet you, check the box and move on with my life, right? Sure. And then we started talking about some things that we both had interest in. I'm like, this is actually really interesting. And so I sat down and we sat and talked for a solid two hours, and of course, David came over there and says, You ain't talk to anybody, you've been here for two hours, go get some crawfish, you know. And he, you know, did the David thing, you know, and uh then I guess the rest is history, you know. We're uh very uh like-minded in our faith, and and we both have you know been through a lot, and so I think that uh that allows us to give each other some grace, and and we got married uh April of this year. And so how long were you engaged? So we we it was ex we got married exactly a year after to the day. Okay. No, actually 364 days technically. Um, but yeah, we went on a trip uh to Vienna, Austria. My son graduated high school, and it was like the big trip before they move out, my two boys.

Dustin Haney

Yeah.

Wes Campbell

And so I said, why don't you come along? Um and uh we got an Airbnb where we each had our own bedroom and own bathroom, and which is kind of hard to do, but we got one, and it was pretty awesome that we had our own space and you know we weren't whatever, and uh then I actually proposed to her in December, and she was not expecting it at all. Um, and uh so I guess the rest is history. So she said yes. So she said yes, uh begrudgingly, no, I'm just kidding. Um, and then here we are. And now we're trying to figure out how to manage four dogs that want to eat each other's faces off, but uh we'll we're it's going pretty well so far.

Dustin Haney

Yeah, we're talking about that now. You're saying that because it's the age you are, you're not a 20-year-old getting married for the first time. You both had previous spouses, previous families, previous lives.

Wes Campbell

Too much furniture, so much furniture, four couches, no, no, five couches, four tables, four dogs, so many TVs, multiple.

Dustin Haney

It's so how do you win the battles or lose the battles on which couch you're gonna keep?

Wes Campbell

It's a uh it's a tricky business, sir. It's a tricky business. Uh so we're working through it. Um so we have my tables, her bed. You know, though it's like you give the gates. It's like uh it's like the League of Nations, you know what I mean? And talking to Krucheflet, 1955. No, uh so what do you see next for you? Yeah, thank you for asking. You know, it's an interesting timing because um my son's recently moved out. I've recently gotten married. Um, and so I really okay with that.

Dustin Haney

It's like my son just moved out. He actually works with me now every day. Oh. And I hated it.

Wes Campbell

Yeah.

Dustin Haney

I don't want him to ever move out.

Wes Campbell

I'm okay with it.

Dustin Haney

Yeah.

Wes Campbell

Yeah, I'm okay with it. And I actually kind of, you know, I said, I'm getting married. Now's a really good time for y'all to get out of my house. Um, and so uh, you know, it all worked out. So they said, okay. I said, you both have jobs, you make good money, y'all move in with each other, get out. And they said, okay. And so that way I could bring my new bride home to a house devoid of stinky teenage boys, right?

Dustin Haney

Strictly adults. Yeah. Well, your boys get along and they are living together.

Wes Campbell

They have two-bedroom, two bath. That's the only thing. They have to have their own bathroom because one of them is a neat freak and the other one's an animal. Um, but uh, other than that, it's great. I'm very, very, very proud of my sons. I could not be more proud. And I take no credit. It's 100% the grace of God. I'm telling you what, because we've gone through some stuff and they are doing so well.

Dustin Haney

And I just like you said, you've always been there.

Wes Campbell

They've just, and I think being real, right? Just absolutely being real um means a lot, you know. If they know, hey, dad's, it's not a facade, it's not obey or else. It's dad's trying to figure this out. We're all in this together, you know, and and if you screw up, just apologize. Being like, man, I don't know what the right answer is, but I missed it, guys. You know, and uh that's very important and it's hard to do.

Dustin Haney

That's something that I've always said to people is you don't break trust if you admit fault. Like if you make a mistake, just own it. Yeah. And there's no trust loss. But if you make a mistake and you try to cover it up or hide it, then people start losing trust in you and then it's over.

Wes Campbell

Yeah, I said the same thing whenever I ran a plasma center because there's a lot of charting, medical charting, you know, and I say, guys, we all make mistakes. If you overdraw that donor or to stick the wrong, whatever it is, come to me immediately, please, let me help you. But if you do a bunch of nonsense all by yourself, you know, you are on your own. You're out in the wind because I am not taken up for that. If you make a mistake, own it, please, let me help you, you know, sure. And we'll walk through it together. But if you write something that's not true, you are so on your own, you know.

Dustin Haney

Yeah, sure.

Wes Campbell

And so, and that's the same way in life, right? You know, is that you if people know, like, hey, I'm messed up, help me, you know, or whatever. Most of the time people will be like, okay, let's do it, you know. Um, anyways.

Dustin Haney

What would some uh encouragement or encouraging words that you can say to folks that you know, because like you said, one of my other theories is somebody always has it worse than you do. Sure. Yeah. And I hear you talking those kinds of comments and stuff all the time of it can always be worse.

Wes Campbell

You know, it definitely can. Um, there's a lot to be said about that. And I learned that early on while I was in in the hospital and in inpatient rehab and all those kind of things. I was right next to a guy who is 62, I think. Every morning he walked out and got his newspaper. That's when they still had newspapers, okay? Slipped on wet grass, broke his neck. Couldn't move anything, not his hands, nothing. Literally just trying to get the newspaper. Another guy that I was in the hospital with was sitting in his house, house, stray bullet neck, got him. Another guy bought a boat, very first day, took it out, hit a huge wave, heavy set guy came down, crushed his spine, completely paralyzed from the waist down. Young kid. And you see those kind of things, and I never like to say, well, I'm glad I'm not them, but you look at that stuff, and it does give you a sense of appreciation of been like, okay, well, it could be much worse. I have my own battle, um, but I have a lot to be thankful for. And no matter how hard the battle is, we still have it. So much to be thankful for. And I think that maintaining an attitude of gratitude is the most important thing that we can do. You know, um, Winston Churchill said that success is moving from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. Now, I don't like to admit failure, but I love the point of what he's trying to say is that having a good attitude is about so many people in life are looking for joy, and I think that having an attitude of gratitude is what brings joy. You don't have joy devoid of gratitude. Um, and so I even have a gratitude journal. You know, there's the old saying that count your blessings, name them one by one, you know, blah, blah, blah, see what God has done, whatever. And that is so true, you know. And sometimes I'll sit down and be like, okay, I need to write five things that I can be thankful for today because I feel like the whole world is wrong right now. And um it absolutely changes your perspective. And so I think that no matter the difficulties, if you can genuinely have gratitude, that your life will go off in a trajectory. Number one, you will attract people in your life that want to be around you. Nobody wants somebody who's a complainer. Nobody wants somebody who's talking negative all the time. And just simply having an attitude of gratitude will put you in the presence of other people who can lift you up and help you, even if you're struggling, you know. Um I could speak volumes about that, but I think that that is the single most thing, obviously, um besides you know, seeking the Lord, right? You know, I mean, honestly. Um yeah, what else? Let me let me look at my little notes here and see if there's anything else that might uh jump out at me.

Dustin Haney

Um one more thing I got is the the people that don't have a disability. Yeah, um, again, mine's so minute, little pointer finger missing, big deal, right? But but I was very um I cared about it after it happened, and I always thought what people would think about it. Whereas to me it was no big deal, but you're subconscious about it, or I was. And I always saw people looking at my hand. Sure. And I was finally I just started going, yeah, I lost it. I blew it off on a breaker box. You know, because like I felt they were uncomfortable looking, wondering, and then I got to the point where I felt comfortable asking other people that were missing fingers or hands or limbs. I almost felt like I have the right to ask them, what happened to your hand? Yeah. Where before I blew my finger, I did not feel that way at all. Sure. And so I personally always wanted people, if they had a question or wanted to know, to just ask. Sure, sure. It's factually gone. It's not a secret. Right. There's nothing I could do about it. So just ask. We'll talk about it. How do you feel about people approaching you and seeing you? Do you want them to ask you? You know, honestly, we had a guy coming in a wheelchair to the gym one day, and one of our guys just jokingly said, Did you have a hard leg day? You know, and he's that guy. He's a joking guy, didn't mean anything by it. He wanted to lighten it up for the guy. Sure, sure. And that guy took it very seriously. Sure. He got very angry and he wanted him fired and he left, you know. Um so what do you think about that and how do you like to be approached or not approached about your disability?

Wes Campbell

Yeah, that's that is really, really interesting. And I will say that people treat me completely different now. Completely different. And it's unbelievable how people will see me and they treat you almost as subhuman sometimes because you're in a wheelchair, you know, and um I mean I've even had people yell at me. I'm like, listen, my legs don't work, my ears are fine, you know what I mean? And like they do the craziest stuff. And I've had people like go to get into an elevator and grab their kid and like scoot out of the elevator, you know, looking at me. And I've had people just, you know, I have taken a date to a restaurant that I made reservations for, and the concierge refused to look at me, we're looking at my date, and like, what's the party under? I'm like, uh hello, she doesn't know. I made the reservation, you know. Um, and they uh there is a lot to be said about that. And um, I have also been targeted multiple times for people trying to rob me since my accident, which I had no idea that that was because before I was a big strong guy, you know, and I had no idea, I didn't even think about it. Um, but especially whenever I was weaker um and didn't exude, you know, as much of a uh whatever athletic presence, I suppose. Um I pulled a hammer on two guys in a parking lot one time. And I had a guy one time that was um, he told me as I was trying to climb in my truck, he said he grabbed my chair and pulled away from me and says, I'm gonna steal your truck unless you uh take me where I want to go. You know? And I said, Okay, okay, okay, just get in the and this is like I was very weak, like less than a year post-injury type thing. And so I said, Okay, okay, okay. You know, so just put the chair in the back of the truck and I'll take you wherever you want to go. And then as soon as he sat down in the truck, I locked the door and I beat the fire out of that guy. Because I'm like, now we're on the same level. And I just beat that guy and he ran screaming, because I saw that the only thing you're gonna you're gonna happen, I'm gonna be cleaning your blood off the inside of my truck. And I beat the absolute fire out of that guy. And he ran screaming like a girl from my truck. And afterwards I had to reevaluate, like, I can't believe that because it made me mad because like if they're doing it to me, what about the little old lady? What about the woman? You know, and that just went all over me. Because if they saw me as somebody who could be taken advantage of in a week, um then how what else are they doing? I had a I had a uh HVAC guy go up in my attic one time and cut PVC pipes because he didn't think I could get up in the attic and completely sabotage the thing. I actually had to call a friend from church and like, I'm driving to his house right now, you know, and he's like, no, you know, like, but I mean I've had some stuff that people purposely target me and take advantage of me just because of what they see.

Dustin Haney

Yeah.

Wes Campbell

And the reason I share that is because I want to tell those that are listening that your injury and your physical issues that you are dealing with is not your identity, right? And like I'm not wheelchairman92 at yahoo.com, right? Yeah. Uh that's not me. You're still West. I'm still West. I'm still the same person. I don't walk very well, but this is not my identity. It's just what I'm dealing with. And so I want to encourage everybody, whatever you're dealing with, it is not who you are, whether it be a cancer diagnosis or a learning disability or whatever issue you're dealing with, that is a challenge that you are to overcome. That is not your identity. You are who you are independent of that challenge. And so that's something that I want to really encourage the listeners with.

Dustin Haney

How do you want people to approach you? So, even for me, for example, um, I know how strong you are, I know all about that stuff. So I don't even have that mindset. But people want to be nice, sure. They want to be gentlemanlike, whatever, you know, and and would you rather people just to treat you like you're a normal person and get your own door, get your own this, get your own that?

Wes Campbell

Or do you appreciate when people are like, here, let me get the door for you? So so so two things. Number one, um, I think that people go one of two ways. They either overcompensate by being too attentive or they completely ignore me like I don't exist. You know, they're gonna be like, oh, there's a guy over there in a wheelchair, that's kind of weird, you know, or they're like, hey, how are you? What's going on? Blah, blah. I'm like, okay, calm down, car salesman, you know. Um, and what I would say is just be normal. But I also recognize that I represent a larger demographic than just myself, okay? So I represent wheelchair users as a whole. And so the reason I share that with you is if somebody offers to open a door for me, I tell them thank you. I can rip that door off the hinges if I want to, you know, but I don't say, oh, I got it. Because they don't know me, you know, and they see somebody in a wheelchair and they're trying to be helpful. And so, and I say that for everybody else as well. You may individually have the ability to do X, Y, Z, but if you're dealing with something, especially something that's visually easy for everybody to see, you represent a larger demographic than yourself. And so be kind to people. So if somebody wants to open a door, I say, thank you so much. I really appreciate the help, you know. And sometimes when I'm racking weights, I'll see a guy go over and then grab a weight. I'm like, hey man, thank you so much. I actually prefer to rack my weights because it keeps my heart rate up, you know, as I'm in between sets. But I don't tell them, hey man, I'm trying to keep my heart rate up, put that weight down. I tell them, thank you, you know, and so I appreciate any and all help I get, okay? And I think that in general, we should just give people the benefit of the doubt. You know, whether they're the car salesman or the person ignoring you, they don't know how to behave, and it's okay. They're not trying to be um ill-will, you know, not trying to help ill will, they're just trying to figure it out. You know, what I have found is that nurses, they treat me the most normal out of all of them, because they're used to seeing people in wheelchairs, so it's no big deal. They've already walked through all the stuff, and so out of everybody in the universe, I get along the easiest with nurses. And it's just because they understand that things. They understand, they understand I'm a person independent of the injury, they might even understand about the injury, you know, and all those kind of things. And so, um, I guess the bottom line is do whatever you're comfortable with and just assume people have good intent towards you, right? That's all I would say.

Dustin Haney

That's awesome. We uh really appreciate you being here today and being with us. Loved it. Love finding out about you more. And uh again, utmost respect for me and um thank you for all those times that my lazy butt was in there whining and looking at you, going, come on now. You know, because I think you're doing that to a lot of people. Thank you, sir. And thank you for being here.

Wes Campbell

Yeah, thank you so much. I really it's a privilege to have the opportunity. Um if I could just say one more thing, and that is uh look up human trafficking um and support the local organization, please, because there's children and women that their lives depend on it. So, you know, and keep fighting the fight, keep pushing forward and uh have an attitude of gratitude, right?

Dustin Haney

Yeah, we'll definitely post that. So yeah, you guys reach out if you can help, help. Uh anything is is we'll be grateful for anything.

Wes Campbell

Yes, sir. Knowledge is power, just like they taught us on the uh old school bus, right? Absolutely.

Contributor

Dustin Haney

Host