Atlas Bamonte is a 42-year-old disability advocate and lifelong community builder. Known as a “zebra” in the medical community, he has lived experience with rare and complex conditions, which deeply informs his work.

For many years, Atlas worked as a birth and lactation professional, serving families in Alabama and Florida as a WIC peer counselor, lactation counselor, and doula. He co-founded a nonprofit in Alabama dedicated to ensuring that people living in poverty had access to doula care, and he created inclusive homeschooling groups while raising and homeschooling his four children, each with medical complexities and unique learning needs.

Now based in South Carolina, Atlas spends much of his time collaborating with medical professionals at MUSC, Duke, and Harvard, and participating in research with the Norris Lab on connective tissue disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). More recently, he was also diagnosed with dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease, making him a point of study and collaboration among specialists at MUSC.

Alongside his own medical journey, Atlas provides education and peer support for people living with rare diseases, chronic illness, and medical PTSD—helping others navigate systems that often feel overwhelming and isolating.

This episode is with my friend Rafael. He is an amazing guy who has been through so much, and even through everything he has been through he still has nothing but love in his heart. After having glaucoma as a child, he got a cornea transplant on his teenage years, but the cornea transplant didn't work, so he decided to have them take it out, knowing that he had at least the other eye as a back up. Years later, though he had a stroke, which would take almost the rest of his sight and the other eye. In the episode, we talk about his journey with his eyes, mental health, and a lot more

In this heartfelt episode, we sit down with Natalie West, a content creator and TikTok live host from the UK, who shares her personal journey with mental health. Natalie is known for her vibrant personality and infectious spirit, but behind the screen, like many of us, she faces her own struggles. Together, we explore the challenges she's encountered and dive deep into the realities of living with mental health struggles. Throughout the conversation, we focus on one powerful theme: hope. Natalie opens up about how holding onto hope, even during the toughest times, is what helps keep her going. If you're in need of some encouragement or just want to hear a raw and real conversation about mental Health and how we overcome it daily.

Her TikTok is @psychicvibes