We are wrapping up Season One of Off The Beaten Path with the amazing Justin Bishop. Justin shares about his life and journey with his condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Justin's condition advanced rapidly, leading to his blindness at the age of 25. He also talked about his work with children on the autism spectrum, teaching them social and motor skills through sports like skateboarding.

Justin also talked about his professional career as a skateboarder. He is expecting his first child and plans to make this his last year as a contracted skateboarder. He is excited to return to skateboarding for fun, without the pressures of making a living from it.

We had such a deeply inspirational dialogue, that moves from blindness to the rigors of balancing sport, life and family.

More about Justin

Justin Bishop is a Professional skateboarder and adaptive athlete passionate about accessibility. He is blind in his left eye, only has peripheral shadows in his right eye. Justin was eight when he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease that came with a warning that he would go blind in middle age.

Undeterred, he picked up skateboarding at the age of 10. But by the time he turned 25, he could only see shadows and blurs. After a four-year break from skating to remaster all of his essential life skills, he was finally ready to get back on the board.

In 2019, he partnered with Zappos and Not Impossible Labs to develop a sound-based technology that uses speakers to create audio markers visually impaired skaters can use to navigate a skatepark.

Now in his mid-thirties, Justin is a professional skater with sponsors, has starred in commercials and documentaries, and advocates for the inclusion of visually impaired skateboarding in the Paralympics.

Connect with Justin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinthebishop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justinthebishop

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@justinthebishop

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEi---3J7xAwm-tuMXg7Sqg

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

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Part two of my interview with Julius Mbura! We continue to dive deep into his life growing up in Kenya and his remarkable climb of all seven peaks of Kenya!

More about Julius

Julius Mbura is a lawyer, disability rights advocate, and motivational speaker making waves in Kenya and beyond. As a blind person, Julius is driven by his lived experience to bridge the gap between legal frameworks and the realities of persons with disabilities (PWDs), promoting their full and effective participation in society. He inspires younger generations of PWDs, demonstrating that their potential is limitless, and connects with thousands of followers across his social media platforms, where he is famously known as JSupercharge. Due to his ever-expanding influence, Julius is currently signed to RECA Talent Management to further extend his reach. Beyond his advocacy work, Julius is a mentor, spoken word artist, and even a car enthusiast, reviewing cars by touch and feel. A graduate of the University of Nairobi's LLB program, Julius is also a distinguished alumnus of both the Mandela Washington Fellowship (2024) and the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) (2024), further fueling his commitment to building a more inclusive society. He serves as the Advocacy Officer and Head of Programming at inABLE, where he champions disability inclusion and accessibility.

Connect with Julius

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliusmbura01/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsupercharge/?hl=en

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliusmbura/?originalSubdomain=ke

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jsupercharge

Website:

Official Julius Mbura site: https://www.jmbura.com/

Heights Unseen: https://heightsunseen.hustlesasa.shop/

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

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This is probably one of the most remarkable and inspiring interviews for me yet! I have been inspired by all of my guests so far as we meet life on life's terms and go beyond what our perceptions of our abilities as blind/low vision people tell is possible.

I am thrilled to share part one of my interview with Julius Mbura. Julius rang in the New Year with an incredible feat—summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro! This remarkable achievement is part of his Heights Unseen campaign, dedicated to raising funds for 4,000 white canes to support visually impaired children in Kenya. This is a conversation that will leave you awe-inspired and motivated to climb any mountain, especially the metaphorical ones we encounter in life!

Stay tuned for part two of my interview with Julius which airs on February 27, 2025.

More about Julius

Connect with Julius

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliusmbura01/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsupercharge/?hl=en

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliusmbura/?originalSubdomain=ke

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jsupercharge

Website:

Official Julius Mbura site: https://www.jmbura.com/

Heights Unseen: https://heightsunseen.hustlesasa.shop/

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

Join our community!
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from Sedona Dave and Awarewolf Gear: https://awarewolfgear.com/signup

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Awarewolfgear

In this episode of Off The Beaten Path I am interviewing Taryn dickens. Taryn, who has Cone-Rod Dystrophy, shared her experience of being diagnosed at the age of 35 and how it has led to a new life of sports and helping others. She is currently preparing for her first World Cup and is excited about the opportunities ahead. I really admire her resilience and adaptability in the face of change.

More about Taryn
Taryn is an 42 year old adventure seeker who is new to blindness. She was diagnosed with Cone-Rod Dystrophy at 36 years old and hasn't looked back (pun intended).

After taking time to grieve, she transitioned from track cycling as a non adaptive athlete to Para Nordic skiing and Para Biathlon as a Vision Impaired Athlete. She had never skied before her sight difficulties, so she has been training hard. Now two years since first getting on snow she is off to her first world cup events representing Australia this January in Europe.

She hopes to qualify for the 2026 Winter Paralympics and be the first Australian woman to compete as a Para Cross Country skier and Biathlete. She says, "My blindness has changed my life so much for the better and I am going to keep pressing forward to prove that not only women can do anything but so can everyone no matter their ability." She lives with vision which is different, not lost.

You can connect with Taryn

Insta @lowvisionathlete

Facebook Taryn Dickens - Low Vision Athlete

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

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In this weeks podcast I interview Shawn Cheshire. My new bestie to the north (she lives in Flagstaff) She is an amazing human being who shares her inspiring adventures with us. You're gonna love this interview with as much as I did!
More About Shawn
Shawn Cheshire is a 49 year old US Army Veteran who sustained a traumatic brain injury rendering her totally blind. She is a 13 time Paracycling US National Champion, both on the road and the track and represented the US at the inaugural Invictus Games in London in 2014 and the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Shawn is a member of the US Army Women’s Hall of Fame. Since Rio, Shawn has focused on breaking social norms for the blind.

In 2019, she smashed the blind record for the double crossing of the Grand Canyon (45 miles with 22,000 feet of elevation change in 24 hours and 15 minutes, breaking the blind man’s record by almost 4 hours).

In 2020, Shawn completed the 50-mile route of the Dirty Thirty gravel bike race in Michigan on a single bike following a speaker playing music on the back of her sighted guide’s bike. It was the first known time a blind person has completed a bike race on a single bike (as opposed to a tandem).

In 2021, Shawn raced her single bike from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean (3700 miles in 60 days).

In 2022, Shawn took on the Tour Divide, a 2700-mile mountain bike race from Banff Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide with over 400,000 feet of elevation change. It was the worst weather in the history of the race and more than half of the riders who started the race dropped out. Shawn finished the race in 50 days, cycling through snow, mud, hail, rain, freezing temperatures and triple digit temperatures.

Moving into 2023, Shawn decided to face Mt Everest in attempt to be the first blind woman to summit. Unfortunately due to extreme altitude while attempting to camp 1, Shawn suffered severe hearing loss and damage to her ears. She hopes to return one day.

Once again on May 23, 2024, Shawn set out to show the world that blind individuals are capable of so much more than we have been taught to believe. She became the first blind person to hike cross the Grand Canyon, North Kaibab Rim to South Kaibab Rim without a sighted guide. Shawn hiked completely on her own, navigating the massiveness of the Grand Canyon without assistance of a sighted person or navigation. Finishing in an unbelievable time of 10 hours and 58 minutes!

Shawn is typically the strongest woman in the gym and is known to run a marathon with no preparation. She is an avid cross country skier, downhill skier and biathlete and is known to play a round of golf occasionally.

TELL SHAWN A BLIND PERSON CANNOT DO SOMETHING AND SHE WILL PROVE YOU WRONG!

Connect with Shawn on Social
Instagram http://www.instagram.com/shawn_cheshire
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shawn.cheshire.9
@choosingtosee

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

Join our community!
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from Sedona Dave and Awarewolf Gear: https://awarewolfgear.com/signup

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We resume season one of Off The Beaten Path with my interview with Eric Hartman. Eric travels the world and vlogs his experiences as a blind/low-vision traveler and shares some of his adventures with us. We discuss the latest technology and accessibility tools for travel. Eric also shares his experience as a blind/low-vison artist and the time he spent painting sunflowers where Van Gough painted! Impressive to say the least.

Join us in this casual conversation that touches on the passion that Eric and I share for problem solving and innovation. You're going to love our humorous exchange about duct tape and zip ties for repairs!


A bit more about Eric
Eric is a global patient advocate for the Choroideremia Research Foundation. Though progressively losing his vision to CHM, he has pursued his passion as an artist, photographer, and sculptor. Eric has traveled on three continents as a solo traveler and Vlogs about his experiences as “The BLT (Blind Low-vision Traveler) “.

With his cane in hand, he overcomes his own fears to explore and experience this world and along the way developing a global network of amazing friends. some of his greatest experiences have come as a result of being resilient and overcoming travel obstacles. It’s a big world out there get out and enjoy it!

Eric's BLT Vlog on YouTube
https://youtube.com/@erichartman1202?si=xUEwbr81p9wJvQ4b

Experience Eric's art
https://www.art-man.com/

Follow Eric on Social
https://www.facebook.com/heric.hartman
https://www.instagram.com/herichartman/?hl=en

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

Join our community!
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from Sedona Dave and Awarewolf Gear: https://awarewolfgear.com/signup

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I am so excited to share this interview with Lonnie Bedwell with you!

Lonnie Bedwell is a blind veteran, and extreme sports athlete. He shares his empowering story of tragically losing his eyesight to gaining vision ultimately being named a National Geographic adventurer of the Year. From accident to recovery, his journey led him to the first blind kayaking descent through the Grand Canyon and to the summit of Mount Everest.

Lonnie shares his life journey, including his experiences as a blind builder and mountaineer. We talk about Lonnie's personal philosophy of focusing on his unique gifts, and the importance of collaboration and mutual support. Lonnie also shared his plans for future adventures and the importance of acknowledging adversity for personal growth.

Lonnie's inspiring story is sure to touch your heart and motivate you to seize life to its fullest!

Connect with Lonnie on Social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reallonniebedwell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lonnie.r.bedwell/?hl=en

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

Join our community!
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from Sedona Dave and Awarewolf Gear: https://awarewolfgear.com/signup

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Today we are talking to Dr. Kirk Adams. Kirk and I talk about his blindness journey which started at age five. We dove into what it was like for him growing up in a small town and discovering how there wasn't much available for blind kids to have developmentally appropriate experiences. This was the catalyst for the direction he took in life -to be an advocate for people with disabilities.
I know you will enjoy this episode of Off The Beaten Path!


Here's a bit more about Dr. Adams
Dr. Kirk Adams is a Professional Speaker and the founder of Innovative Impact LLC., focusing on groundbreaking, high-impact projects that accelerate the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce and supercharges a company’s bottom line.

Dr. Adams earned his PhD in leadership and change. He is known as a master connector of key decision-makers in government, corporate America, the nonprofit sector, and disability advocates guiding them to create collaborative solutions that have a real impact in increasing the employment of people with disabilities.


To connect with Dr. Adams On Social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirk.adams.56/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirkadamsphd/
X formerly Twitter: @KirkAdamsPhD

Thanks for listening! Off The Beaten Path is brought to you by Dave Epstein and Awarewolf Gear, makers of the All Terrain Cane and the Urban Xplorer. To purchase a cane or find out more visit https://awarewolfgear.com/awghome

Join our community!
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from Sedona Dave and Awarewolf Gear: https://awarewolfgear.com/signup

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Awarewolfgear