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Tyler Bramlett was leading the ambitious life of being an entrepreneur while chasing dollars, cars, and prestige. Then he suffered a horrendous bicycling accident that shattered his femur and knee. He underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage and was confined to bed for a year. Out of this ordeal, and recognizing the toxic fitness culture that he’d been in that is all-too-prevalent, Tyler founded WeShape, which encourages breaking free from that environment and shifting toward movement that feels good for the mind, body, and soul. WeShape is grounded in building confidence and body trust and not focusing on aesthetics and shaming those who don’t fit those ideals. He found that developing an inner cheerleader instead of an inner harsh critic was far more productive. He discovered that real transformation comes from moving smarter, not pushing harder. He created an approach centered on alignment, and mindful and joyful movement. The bottom line is the ability to live without feeling trapped in a body that hurts. For WASP listeners, he is offering a free online body movement assessment, which I’ve taken, which produces routines with a list of exercises you can do in 10 minutes each at home. These are accessible at weshape.com/wearesuperman. I’m a big stiff, so I’m looking forward to incorporating these into my current exercise routine. I hope you enjoy this enlightening chat with Tyler as much as I did.

Tyler Bramlett

weshape.com

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Bill Stahl
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I was honored to be a guest on the Kintsugi Heroes Podcast!

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bill-stahl-twelve-surgeries-and-the-friend-who-taught/id1659386074?i=1000797125867

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For number 400, I’m excited to bring you another story of amazing triumph at the Leadville Trail 100. On his fourth attempt, Brian Reynolds became the first double amputee to finish the iconic Race Across the Sky, in a time of 28:55:43. Brian last appeared on episode #189 in February, 2022 before he had ever attempted an ultra, but had already accomplished a lot in shorter races, including running a 16:49 5K on blades and setting several world records. The 2:58 marathoner lost his legs at age 4 due to meningococcemia, a bacterial blood infection, but decided not to let that define him. His first Leadville attempt in 2023 ended at Winfield, the halfway mark. He made it to Outward Bound, mile 77, last year. From each attempt he learned more about how to adapt his prosthetic legs to the challenge. His blades don’t have heels to help him balance on the uneven terrain, so they have treads, which are not meant to be used over rocky surfaces. Thus, they tore off, and Brian and his crew had to get inventive with duct tape. This year, Brian made new adaptations, plus he had spare legs that could be swapped by pacers, who were allowed to accompany him over the entire course. He also adjusted his training to include a lot more cross-training to develop the specific strength he would need, as well as his hydration and nutrition, which included him ingesting 23,000 calories during the race. It’s absolutely amazing, so I hope you are inspired by Brian’s story of dedication to finish the Leadville Trail 100.

Brian Reynolds

Instagram @brianreynoldsrunner

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8

I was honored to be a guest on the Kintsugi Heroes Podcast!

Listen here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bill-stahl-twelve-surgeries-and-the-friend-who-taught/id1659386074?i=1000797125867

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https://youtu.be/ORruePBptGc?si=Ix8dHqw6cF30vPbl

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Melissa Strong moved to Estes Park, Colorado outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and found herself drawn to hospitality industry so common in a tourist town. Working in restaurants is notorious for working long, hard hours, and sometimes partying just as hard. After spending much of her 20s immersed in that fast-paced, yet sedentary, lifestyle, someone introduced her to the world of rock climbing, for which she had an abundance of opportunities right out her front door. Gaining proficiency and solving climbing problems immediately resonated with Melissa, and soon rock climbing became her social circle and eventually her passion, leading her and her husband Adam to take frequent trips to climbing meccas in Texas and France, and becoming a guide herself. Parallel to this, she and Adam embarked on a dream to open their own restaurant in Estes Park. She overcame many obstacles to achieve this goal, including getting turned down for bank financing because she is a woman. The couple found and eventually purchased a historic restaurant in town and set about building it out into the dining establishment of their dreams. Melissa wanted to keep some of the building’s rustic character in their new restaurant, and learned about a technique using electricity to etch random lines in wood to make them look more “antique.” Adam built a machine to do this out of an old microwave oven transformer. While using this makeshift etcher, Melissa electrocuted herself. No matter how much she wanted to let go, the current forced her grip to get stronger. She should have died, but only a circuit breaker tripping saved her life. However, the damage was extensive. Melissa lost pretty much all of her fingers and thumbs, which is crushing for anyone, much less a rock climber. What followed were years of surgeries, pain and anguish, angels in the form of family, friends, and caregivers, and one daring surgeon who performed miracles to restore much of Melissa’s digits using techniques that no one outside of burn unit medicine would guess exist. She and Adam did open the acclaimed restaurants Bird & Jim and the Bird’s Nest in Estes Park, and she has improbably returned to rock climbing. Her story of fortitude has been chronicled in her riveting memoir “Climbing Through,” in which she describes all of the formidable challenges she encountered to realize her restaurant dream and her inspiring return to the rock climbing world she loves. I had a hard time putting the book down. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on her web site, melissaistrong.com I think you’ll be impressed and amazed by how this dynamic woman persevered through such an incredible near-tragedy.

Melissa Strong

melissaistrong.com

Instagram and TikTok @melissaistrong

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Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8