Podcast Ep206 Julie and Kyle Taulman
Didrik Johnck: Before we get into this episode, just a quick announcement. Our host, Erik Weihenmayer, invites you, yeah you, to join him for the What's Your Everest event. What is it? once a year, a big group of us gather and hike up a mountain. What's the big deal you ask? this is for everyone, regardless of ability or background.
Some might call it an adaptive hike. Ever see a wheelchair? Climb a mountain at what's your Everest? You will. You'll join a team with a common purpose, inspire people to turn their challenges into changes, tackle obstacles, head on, and work together to get to the top. September 6th is the day Winter Park Colorado is the place. Learn more at nobarrierspodcast.com and click on events.
Alright then. Now onto the show. Erik's in the studio right now with Julie and Kyle Taulman, a powerhouse mother- son duo, whose story is full of courage, humor, and straight up innovation in the world of adaptive sports. Julie is the executive director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled and her son Kyle, a Paralympian musician and all around Barrier Breaker.
Together they open up about resilience, family, and the innovative world of adaptive sports. From NSCD's wild West beginnings on the slopes of Winter Park to the cutting edge of inclusive technology and advocacy. Today, this episode is packed with honest anecdotes, practical advice for families, navigating disability, and a celebration of what's possible when you approach life with a no barriers mindset.
Alright, let's get into it. I'm Producer Didrik Johnck, and this is The No Barriers podcast.
Erik Weihenmayer: It is easy to talk about the successes, but what doesn't get talked about enough is the struggle. My name is Erik Weihenmayer. I've gotten the chance to ascend Mount Everest, to climb the tallest mountain in every continent, to kayak the Grand Canyon, and I happen to be blind. It's been a struggle to live what I call a no barriers life, to define it, to push the parameters of what it means.
And part of the equation is diving into the learning process and trying to illuminate the universal elements that exist along the way. And that unexplored terrain between those dark places we find ourselves in in the summit exists a map. That map that way forward is what we call no barriers.
Hey everybody, this is Erik Weihenmayer. Welcome to the No Barriers podcast, and Julie Taulman, thank you so much for being a part of the podcast today. There's so much to talk about and, I'm such a big fanboy because, the work that you do is absolutely amazing. If you live in the front range of Colorado, especially like NSCD is everywhere.
National Sports Center for the Disabled. You guys do tremendous work. And I was just thinking maybe I'd start with this question, like in case you've been living under a rock for the last 20 years, and maybe somehow you've never heard of the NSCD, you wanna give us your elevator speech, like what you guys do and the breadth and scope of it.
Julie Taulman: Sure. So NSCD has been around for 55 years. This really the adaptive world. The explosion of what started as adaptive outdoor sports started in Winter Park, Colorado with the NSCD, with our founder Hal O’Leary and
Erik Weihenmayer: Famous guy in his own right. Oh my gosh.
Julie Taulman: He absolutely, and he had started with some kids at Children's Hospital and some of the doctors there that kids with amputations that they wanted to get up and go skiing. And Hal O’Leary at the time was a, he was a, ski instructor in Winter Park, didn't know anything. There was no world of adaptive sports back then. And, And he raised his hand and said, yeah, I'll take these kids skiing. And, and really started down the pathway of learning how to adapt and how to build different equipment and do different ways to get people out skiing, whether you're blind or whether you're an amputee or spinal cord injury.
So that's really where it started. We have grown so much more. We're year round, we're doing rafting and climbing and we just, um, opened a mountain bike program in the front range and up in Winter Park. And, we are doing school programs and camps and therapeutic horseback riding. Really anything that you all love to do in the great outdoors In the state of Colorado, we're doing it with people with disabilities.
Erik Weihenmayer: That is so cool. And I get a kick out of all the amazing ways that people ski or hike or raft. I'm, I'm not like an engineer or anything, but I, I just respect the innovation of, of us all utilizing different kinds of equipment and adaptive devices to get out there and, you know, live our full potential.
So go through some of the gamut of the cool, gizmos.
Julie Taulman: I mean if you really go back to the start, the concept of developing outriggers themselves, which are used by three trackers or four trackers and skiing and three trackers are people that are skiing with on one leg and four trackers are people that might have cerebral palsy that can stand or balance issues.
They have two skis on their arms and two on their legs. That was the first innovation out there. And years ago,once that was developed, they were using things like toboggans to be able to bring people down in sit skis, in a toboggan. But the world has just absolutely changed.
And, I think some of this, happened with our, um, veterans and a lot of our injured veterans coming back, that the government actually invested in a lot of, innovation and development of equipment, which thankfully helps all of us that, are in the adaptive world. So now we're at the point where we have power assist mountain bikes and, we can, you can go kayaking, obviously you have headsets that you can ski blind with and mm-hmm.
We have ways that someone's a paraplegic can go climbing, there's adaptations for that. I think that the world is just on the cusp of, really some very cool innovations. I mean, you're seeing people out on, on the, west coast that are spinal cord injury where severe disabilities that are surfing and that just wasn't imagined before.
And I, I think really as with No Barriers, if you think of that mindset of no barriers, really I think what happens, when you have a disability, I think your creative side really comes out because I think people realize they have to figure out new ways, to still do the things that they love.
And I think that's, that has produced a lot of innovation.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. And I hate to be cheesy and motivational, but in a way that's a gift, you know? Of disability is that you gotta figure out how to improvise and adapt and innovate and engineer your own destiny, uh, which is a wonderful piece of what you guys do.
And, I've been out on, a bunch of mountain bike rides with friends of mine who are paras and, like Quinn, Brett, and man, those e hand cycles are amazing. I mean, I can't keep up with her on the hill,
Julie Taulman: And you think about it before there, there just wasn't the opportunity for someone, um, that had a physical disability to really experience the mountains, unless you could drive up to the top of a mountain in a car, which is not the same. And simply because you have a disability doesn't mean it takes away your need for adventure or speed. If that's innate in you from the get go,that doesn't change when you have a disability.
This gives people the opportunity to ski down a mountain during the winter and now mountain bike down that same mountain during the summer.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. So it's, I it's safe to say that like no matter what your disability is, you can, you guys can figure something out.
Julie Taulman: Yeah. And I think that's the message for so many people is that just because you have a disability doesn't mean that you are no longer gonna be able to access the same things in life. I mean, I go back to I was a skier my entire life, Erik. And, when Kyle, my son, had cancer at age two, he had a spinal cord injury as a result of it. And the first thing I thought about is how are we gonna ski again? I didn't know anything about adaptive sports. I'm like, how are we gonna ski?
And when I finally got introduced to what was out there, I just hadn't seen it. I realized, this doesn't stop us as a family now from still going out and enjoying an activity together, whether it be biking or fishing or rafting or skiing. And I think that's really important because that's where a lot of connections are made within a family or with fam with friends.
Erik Weihenmayer: Of course. Yeah. one of your interviews you talked about, and we'll talk about this later, when Kyle comes on board, but you talked about, uh, the first time you guys went skiing when he was three. And I just have this amazing visual image of little Kyle. Three years old on like a bi ski, you know, and a tether just zipping down the mountain.
Tiny little human being. I mean, such a, I don't know. That image is gonna be locked in my brain for a while.
Julie Taulman: And Erik, that was during the Wild West when in the adaptive world, there weren't a lot of rules. And, um, you know, we didn't have a lot of risk liability concerns. And I mean, they were, we were taking 'em over jumps in the by ski and everything.
And, he's over there going, we, yeah. We don't quite do that anymore. Early on, you know, it, it just, it was an exciting moment for me. He doesn't remember it at this stage, but the reality was that, it started him on his journey of being outdoors and, and accessing all the adaptive, activities that the world has.
Erik Weihenmayer: So tell me then, because you mentioned Kyle. You've been in the world of adaptive, sports and nonprofit organizations, like you le led the Steamboat, Stars program and so forth. there's just no way I imagine to separate your personal life from your professional life, right?
So Kyle's, cancer, his neuroblastoma must have impacted your life massively as a mom and it sounds like it affected your career and the things that you're pursuing professionally.
Julie Taulman: Yeah, I mean, I think anytime there's a cancer diagnosis or um, a disability that happens as a result of an accident or a medical reason, it is life changing.
And even for a parent that might have a child that's born with Down syndrome or, that's visually impaired, any of that affects the entire family. So we had to make some serious life changes and really focus on, trying to raise our kids so that both had similar opportunities and, you know, I took a step back from work.
I used to run newspapers. Yeah. I was in the daily newspaper business and took a step back from my career for quite some time because I was, really dealing with a child that had to go through a lot of surgeries and was sick a lot and really needed a lot of care and there was not a lot of support for who was gonna come over and help me cath my kid.
There wasn't a lot of, um, opportunities for daycare and that sort of thing for him. So I took a step back in my career and really kind of started learning about, um, ways to get him involved in adaptive sports. I came over to NSCD when he was little, had him in a couple of camps. I met a lot of families with other kids with disabilities.
Many of which went on to go to No barriers as they got older. it was, it opened up my world to, Hey, look at all this stuff that's out there. And I think that kind of changed the trajectory for me is, you know, I wanted to make sure I could open up the world for, for Kyle. My older son Jacob, you know, already had the world open to him and I just didn't want Kyle to be on the sidelines only, but it really became a family affair for us in early years in Steamboat.
My husband would say he was the first intern at STARS because back then we didn't have a lot of staff and Right. Um, so he was moving trailers for me and a lot of the stuff was in our garage, a lot of the equipment. My oldest son became a junior mentor in our summer camp program, and he mentored a lot of the kids with some other high school kids.
So it really did become a family affair. And and I think we're all better for it, that we all got the opportunity to experience, working with different people that are facing different life challenges.
Erik Weihenmayer: But it just strikes me, to emphasize what you just said, you know, like it's such a deeply personal sort of foundational thing as a parent, whether your kid's got a disability or not.
But since Kyle has a disability, you don't want 'em to be on the sidelines, right? Like, no, as a parent, you hate watching your kid, being left out of things and Yeah. And you want 'em to live a happy, fulfilling, quote unquote, normal life, And so now you gotta become an advocate and you gotta become an expert on this whole situation and, educate yourself.
So you learned about adaptive sports and then, it one thing led to the next, right? Yeah.
Julie Taulman: Well, and I, I do have to credit my husband on this because he was really an early innovator.we traveled Europe when Kyle was younger and we'd always carry tethers with us.
And, um, so that if we were on a steep hill, we could tether him going down a hill in Italy or pull him up a hill if we needed to, with tethers. So we always had tricks in our bag. My husband carried Kyle when he was younger, up the three flights of stairs for the, um, the water slide in Steamboat, ah, for many years until we couldn't do it anymore.
But we had this mindset there was nothing he couldn't do. I remember when we first moved into our neighborhood and Steamboat, Kyle was on SLU a slight hill, and he was flying down the hill in his wheelchair, full speed. And the parents were looking out the window like, who is this mom that's letting her kid fly down the, down the road in a wheelchair?
And I thought, well, your kid's on a bike. What's the difference? And you know, what if he breaks an arm or a leg? I mean. We'll deal with that. Just like any kid, you would deal with that. And so I think we,we had chores for him when growing up. He didn't vacuum the stairs. I did not make him do that, but he cleaned toilets, you know, I mean, it was like we tried to live a normal life and, and raise our kids that they both, they both had responsibilities and expectations and, but we also wanted them, them both to have the opportunities.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Broken bones are part of being a kid, right? they,
Julie Taulman: yep.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. And I think that mindset of yours as a parent, really, obviously we're gonna meet Kyle in a minute, but,it, it obviously motivated and influenced him. Um, obviously he had that spark inside of him. Yeah. But you guys definitely seemed like you fleshed it out. You didn't overprotect him, you know? Yeah, no, and that's the way my dad was and my parents were, they did not overprotect me. There are a few things that they told me I shouldn't do. Like I used to ride around on a mini bike of a Yeah. Bar, a friend's mini bike, and I could barely see outta one eye.
Yeah. And I think my mom said, no, that's not happening. Yeah. But for the most part, my parents let me go out and explore and be free, you know?
Julie Taulman: Yeah. And I think, um, you know, it is tough as a child growing up with a disability because oftentimes you are the only person that maybe has a disability in your school or in your classroom.
Right. And other parents, I think the hardest thing is other parents are scared. They don't offer to pick them up after school or have 'em spend the night, and because they don't know what to do. And sometimes if they just ask, it would've been an easy conversation to say, he's fine. Let me just show you real quick.
And then he could have been included. But oftentimes they're not included. And I think that becomes a lonely place for a lot of people with disabilities, which causes lifetime issues for anyone that's feeling lonely.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, and so I'm, I wanna be careful about getting political here at all. Mm-hmm.
But I mean, like, the stuff we're talking about is like just inclusivity, right? Yep. And that's become like a weird, like dirty word I guess in, I know the last year, which is crazy. And I know you guys don't receive like any federal funding or anything, but like, how do you reframe the idea of diversity and inclusion in a way that everyone says, oh my God.
Like, how is, how could that be? And one iota of controversy around it. It's just simply breaking through barriers and helping people to live.
Julie Taulman: Yeah. And just so, um, we do get some federal funding. Oh, you do? Okay. through the VA to serve our, our military program with Got it. all of our military with injuries.
Um, it was on the line earlier this year. it did finally come out like four months later. So we are breathing a sigh of relief there. 'cause yeah, those programs would've gone away for our military. But with that, yeah, I, it's been a real issue. I kind of joked around about a year ago and said, I was joking with some of the people in the disability world and I said, you know, you guys need a better spokesperson.
You've you've kind of fallen off the DEI conversation because disability was almost not being included in that DEI conversation about a year ago. And then it started coming back around and when I look at now when we're talking about getting rid of DEI, I look and say I, I know that for a fact that even though Kyle is a very smart, intelligent, he was going to school for engineering and other things, he's a very smart, intelligent individual.
But the ability for him to be hired at a corporation versus someone that is able bodied that does not have health issues, is very different. And I think DEI helped to level that playing field a little bit so that he can share his talents with a company, and people at a company are not scared to hire him or someone with a disability.
So I do think that's taking away some of that opportunity. And I also think there's just basic things like, I actually posted on my social media page, um, not too long ago, you know, Target has done a really great job of, being very inclusive in their marketing within the store. And, you know, they have a picture of a child in a wheelchair.
And I remember when Kyle was very young that he used to roll up to something and he is like, mom, look, look, there's someone that looks just like me. And this, the, the video I showed was another little boy in a wheelchair that was probably five years old or four years old, saying the exact same thing to his mom.
Because everyone wants to see someone that looks like them, and that doesn't. Whether you have a disability or whether you're black or whether you're, from another country and living in the United States, whatever, you wanna see someone that looks like you 'cause um, that makes you feel more comfortable.
So I think we're in a sad state of affairs that we are not recognizing DEI and understanding that people with a disability are often excluded because of the disability. And I understand there's laws out there that say you shouldn't do that, but we all know it does happen. And I think, you know, even getting into schools and other things, people are nervous about people with a disability coming in because they look at it as an additional cost.
They're gonna need a special aide in school, or they're gonna need additional supports or a different type of desk or whatever. And I just, I think we just need to remember that there's generally all they need is a little extra assistance and they're gonna be able to give back to the world. Yeah.
Erik Weihenmayer: Hey everybody, this is Erik and I want to take a little break from our interview to tell you about No Barriers.
Obviously, we're interviewing these amazing No Barriers pioneers, but behind this podcast is an organization called No Barriers, predicated on the idea that what's within us is stronger than what's in our way. Our mission at No Barriers is to help people with disabilities, to break through barriers, to tap into the light of the human spirit, and to reclaim their lives, sometimes to reclaim their potential and the business of shifting mindsets.
And it's proud work, and I hope you'll get involved. Learn more about us. Check out our newsletter. No Barriers usa.org. No Barriers podcast.com.
And I mean, that ties into your mission as well because obviously Kyle became a Paralympian. But a lot of people who with disability aren't going to be a Paralympian, right?
And so I think your mission goes way beyond just sports. Like it's wonderful to get somebody out on the slope skiing or rafting or whatever, but it goes beyond that, right? There's like deeper effects throughout your life, right? Part of which is maybe just, now I know what's possible for me. I know how to think creatively.
I know how to be an advocate for myself. I know I can find like great support systems out there, et cetera. Like how would you express that?
Julie Taulman: I've now been in this world for almost 17 years in the adaptive world and,there are so many stories of different individuals that I've run across, um, through my career that just watching the effects that adaptive sports or the socialization of being able to get out and be active with their family and friends and how that changes not just the individual but the family.
There are a lot of people, especially if you're a 17 or 18-year-old, becoming blind or paraplegic or,at the height of your life that you know, you're talking about depression, a lot of them get into drugs and alcohol. There's suicide, higher suicide rate.
And when you're talking about families, oftentimes you need to have caregivers that are helping to take care of someone and that might reduce their ability to work or their ability to take a job that they're driving 45 minutes every single day, you know, to go to a job, they have to limit where they can work.
So it is affecting the whole family. And when I really go back and look through, through time, I mean, I've had situations where I've had, some injured military that were on the edge of suicide. They were on the edge of divorce and coming out and going kayaking in the woods or spending three days with people that are dealing with some of the other issues, they were PTSD or other disabilities. And watching that transformation and watching these people actually make it to the other side, I think that's really the most, to me, is the biggest payback that I get on this is really watching the journey of these families and these individuals that are now going on to be successful and contributing to our communities.
Erik Weihenmayer: Do you have any like, uh, specific anecdotes? I don't know if you're able to talk about people individually, you know, or not, but some of those success stories?
Julie Taulman: One is a friend of yours and mine is Lonnie Bedwell. Oh my gosh. Of course. Nie 'cause so
Erik Weihenmayer: Learned to kayak through you guys, I think.
Julie Taulman: Yeah, well, no, he didn't learn to kayak through us, but he started skiing with us, so, um, skiing with you. Oh, that's right. Yeah. So that, I met him on his very first. Ever experience being outdoors. I mean, and it was skiing with stars. Stars, steam. Yeah. And Lonnie, by the way, from
Erik Weihenmayer: Everyone is Blind and I kayaked the Grand Canyon with Lonnie.
He is, yeah. I call him crazy Lonnie.
Julie Taulman: Yeah, he's amazing. And I remember he was pretty reserved. He was a hayseed from Indiana.
Yeah.
Julie Taulman: he really had not experienced any outdoor sports. Maybe riding his tractor and fishing in Indiana was kind of it. And, um, he was scared. I mean, I remember him being scared to ski and at the end of that trip, I mean, he will tell you it was transformational for him and suddenly he wanted to come back.
And then some, somewhere in between there he found kayaking. And then hiking. And I actually watched the video of you guys, um, kayaking the Grand Canyon, which is the most terrifying video ever to watch, by the way. But I mean, I look at someone like Lonnie, who is now a motivational speaker and is out there, um, really bringing joy to the world, and.
I think of a lot of the kids that I met early when I used to come to kids camp, at NSCD with Kyle, almost every one of this group. I remember meeting them in Park City, all of us at No Barriers. Um, we were all there as a big group.
I think one of, one of the kiddos went with you to Nepal. Um, yeah. Which I thought was so cool.
Erik Weihenmayer: I think it that, that was Michael.
Julie Taulman: Yeah, it was. Yeah. And then now it's quite a few of those kids have gone on to represent the United States in the Paralympics, both in sled hockey, uh, or in wheelchair basketball, and skiing.
And I'm like, how cool is that these kids, all who could have really, grown up and not had that mentorship or someone to guide their way. And really in these groups and through, um, through some of these programs, these kids have gone on to flourish.
Erik Weihenmayer: That's amazing. Talk a second about cost because like I imagine some people say you're like a family with a disability in Indiana or something, and you're like worried about, you know, a lot of disabled people are out of work, right?
Like yeah,
Almost 80% of working age blind people are unemployed, So that's the dilemma of running a nonprofit, serving people with disabilities, right? Like it's hard within the disability community to find funding and so, but, but I know working on like reducing costs. Is a big part of your enthusiasm and work around that, right?
Yeah.
Julie Taulman: Well, and, and let me tell you, we're not there. I wish that I could be in a place where a hundred percent of our programs were free.
Right? Of course. Um, and that they were funded and we didn't have a cost. It's, it is, it's a tough situation. But with that said, I will tell you that I do believe there's a lot of funding and opportunities out there, and sometimes people just need to ask the question, because I think back to, when we were first started on this journey, one of the things I did, because I really felt like Kyle needed, needed a reciprocating gait.
Like it was basically something that held him over a treadmill to help move his legs. 'cause I thought. he needed that for his body. Um, whether I was a crazed type a mom at the time or not, I don't know. But I wrote a grant for that and I didn't know anything about writing grants, but I wrote a grant for it and I actually, I got a piece of equipment, it was like a $10,000 piece of equipment.
I had it donated to the local hospital in Freeport, Illinois. And so we could go over and use it, but other kids could use it too. And some, sometimes you gotta look out there. we wrote a grant for a hand cycle when he was four and then our church paid for the other half. And yeah. And I wrote a grant and then we passed along that bike to someone else when Kyle outgrew it.
And you know, we've gone through Kelly Brush Foundation and we've gone through CAF Foundation and gotten equipment and I think people are scared 'cause they go, oh, I can't afford that. I think the other thing they need to recognize is even if they go to our website or if they go to any adaptive programs website and they see there's a.
Every single program has scholarships available. And in most cases they go to full scholarships based on need. And so sometimes they just need to reach out and say, do you have scholarships available? Because, you know, I, we don't ever want, I don't want someone to not be able to go out and participate in activities and because finances are a barrier.
So I think that's one of the things is they need to not be scared to ask. And my goal would be how can we get them included to try out an activity? 'cause I think that's what we really want, is we want people to be able to have the opportunity to try out different activities and find their lifelong pathway that they want to, they wanna stay engaged in. We were helped along the way and, you know, it is our goal to continue helping those that, that don't have the finances to be able to participate.
Erik Weihenmayer: That's great. Great advice for families. That is such terrific advice. Yeah.
Didrik Johnck: No barriers would like to recognize and thank CoBank for their support of no barriers. Since 2016, CoBank has provided access to our life-changing programs for veterans and family caregivers from rural communities. CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the US rural economy. The bank delivers loans, leases and other financial services to agribusiness, rural infrastructure and farm credit customers in all 50 states.
If you live in a rural community or work in agribusiness, we want you to know that CoBank supports this kind of holistic support for your community.
Erik Weihenmayer: Before we bring on Kyle, let's talk about the partnership. Yeah. So What's Your Everest is a really cool event that No Barriers does. It's September 6th up in Winter Park.
Envision a couple hundred people, every disability under the sun, all hiking together. We build people into rope teams, so you know, teams of like five to 10 people and they're all supporting each other to reach this collective goal together, which is to stand, on your summit, whatever that may look like that day.
And it's more than a hike. It's just, it's a real experience. You know, there's wonderful things and activities along the way that really express this No barriers, life and mindset and, we're partnering with you guys this year to, yeah, to do this event. You guys are tremendous partners. We couldn't do it without you.
With all the adaptive equipment that you guys are providing and with all the expertise, so. First of all, thank you for that. Yeah. Incredible partnership.
Julie Taulman: We have made it a real focus this last year to really reach out and partner with other organizations because, it's, it takes a village, as we all know.
And, NSCD is not the only one out there. There's a lot of great organizations supporting people with disabilities and families. I think this makes sense for us because, one, it's in our backyard, it's in Winter Park, but, but also we love what you guys do and, and a lot of times we're all working with the same families.
Yes. So, um, so I think it's, and I think it's great that we can partner on this.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, I think all our nonprofits in a way were kindred spirits, yeah. because we're all trying to do good in the world and bring people into the fold and, in different ways. It's like the way a blind guy climbs a mountain, not necessarily like a sighted person climbs a mountain, but you're all go into the same place in a way, right?
Julie Taulman: Yeah. and realistically, if you talk to an,a normal participant of ours, in a lot of ca cases, they've been to a lot of different places and programs. Um, and that's great. You know, we want them to have different opportunities too.
So our goal is sometimes is really not to keep participants forever, it's to get them to a point where they can go out and be as independent, or that their family can learn how to take them kayaking or skiing on their own. We think it's great when they graduate and go on and become independent on their own.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, we are exactly the same. We don't wanna have people coming back to for our programs. 'cause we want people to transform through those programs Yeah. And then move out and have the skills and the mindset now to take things on and maybe give back, yeah. To maybe some future person that needs that kind of support.
In coming up to Winterpark, it's an easy day drive for someone that wants to come up and just do for the day and head back to Denver or obviously stay up in Winterpark. You might have heard that Winterpark is transforming the base area. They're just getting started on a major transformation, which we're pretty excited will NSCD will be part of, with a new facility at the base.
Julie Taulman: So we're, we just keep growing and, um, transforming so that we will, we'll, you know, we'll be a really strong nonprofit to serve people for the next 55 years.
Erik Weihenmayer: Wonderful. Yeah. thank you Julie. I wanna hear some music, man. I'm ready. All right. Me, I wanna meet Kyle.
Kyle Taulman: Hello. How's it going?
Erik Weihenmayer: Hey, how are you?
Pretty good. Cool. How are you doing, man? It's awesome to hear your voice. I've been reading all about you and, uh, I'm excited to, to talk to you.
Awesome.
Julie Taulman: I think Erik, I think you met Kyle years ago in Steamboat. Were, yeah, we met at Red Rocks. You were there, but, at Red Rocks.
Red Rocks, but even in Steamboat when he was probably a peewee.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh yeah. Oh wow. Yeah. Yeah. 'cause we were talking, I was talking to your mom about like your first experience skiing at three years old, and I was telling her about, my vision in my head of like, tiny Kyle just zipping down the mountain on, his, for your first ski adventure.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah. No, it's been bit, you don't remember that though, huh? it's been a little bit,
Erik Weihenmayer: And man, so you, started skiing at that young age and. And I know you have a lot of other passions, you know, tennis and scuba diving and, uh, swimming. Uh, but focusing on skiing, man, you, you became an incredible skier and are a Paralympian.
You went to Beijing. How incredible.
Kyle Taulman: I loved skiing since a young age. And honestly there was a while there where I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it, but once I really started racing, I fell in love with it and I love going fast. And yeah, it took me to Beijing, which was awesome, and also to other countries and things. And I'm still hoping to go to the games this next year in Italy as well. So working on training for that. And
Erik Weihenmayer: Rad, where's it gonna be? In the Dolomites?
Kyle Taulman: Yeah, it's gonna be, uh, Milano. Corina.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, Cortina. I'm gonna be in Cortina in September climbing, so I'm Oh, awesome. I love that place. It's amazing. Yeah.
I've never been, don't you get cold in those skinny little. that's why I would be scared of, of downhill skiing because I'd be of racing because I, those seat, those suits look like you're just freezing to death.
Julie Taulman: it's not the 80 miles an hour going downhill that scares you.
Erik Weihenmayer: no. It's being freezing cold.
Kyle Taulman: Well, I tell people that I wear spandex suits and throw myself down a mountain for a living so that, but, I've always had good cold resistance, so I'm pretty good there. but every once in a while when you're doing an early morning training session, like before the sun comes up and you're wearing that speed suit, that's when it gets cold.
Erik Weihenmayer: I can imagine. I'm such a wimp. I, like in the mountains, I've climbed a lot of very cold mountains, but like, you know, you can put on down suits and giant boots and mittens and Yeah. So you guys don't have that luxury,
Julie Taulman: just recognize Erik. He doesn't feel half his body. so the reality is so only half of you can get cold.
Yeah, exactly.
Kyle Taulman: That is true. That is true. They're usually warm enough for a run or two. But if you're training, like training is when it gets bad. 'cause then you just have to be sitting there in your speed suit the whole time.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. What was Beijing like? Tell us like a cool story about Beijing. Did you have good snow conditions? What was that like? Were you jet lagged?
Kyle Taulman: So if you actually, and I was only there to race the slalom. Yeah. Which was on like one of the last days of the event. But if you actually watch the downhill from Beijing, you can look at the snow and be like, the race line is is white, but everything outside of the race line is like gray.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah.
Kyle Taulman: And that's because there was a sandstorm
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh no.
Kyle Taulman: Like the day before everyone got there. So like as you would just be skiing around, sometimes you would just hit a patch of kind of just grainy snow. It was just like, what is this? But the actual conditions itself, like overall were, were pretty great.
Once they got rid of that, they had some good injected surface. And honestly the biggest thing for me was I've am just a fan of the Olympics and Paralympics, like since I was a kid, I've always loved it. And so like, obviously competing was awesome, but. One of the biggest things was that it was the first city to ever host the winter games and summer games.
Right. So they obviously hosted the summer games in 2008 and their stadium was The Bird's Nest. And that is like the mo, one of the most iconic Olympic stadiums from the last couple decades. Right. And so getting to go into that stadium for the opening closing ceremonies was like as a fan of the games and now an athlete was amazing. It was incredible.
Julie Taulman: So one of the cool stories from Beijing, yeah. Was that Kyle's shock on his sit ski broke?
Oh no. And the US team course.
Kyle Taulman: I can tell that one.
Julie Taulman: Yeah, you tell it.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah. So one of the other cool things, and this is just a cool thing about adaptive sport in general, which I'm sure you already know, is that just everyone is there to help each other and be awesome. And so when I was there at the games, I brought two shocks with me for my rig.
'cause if anyone doesn't know a adaptive ski rig, it's basically a metal frame with a motocross shock in it that acts like your knees for compressions. And then you have basically a plastic bucket that you strap yourself into that you sit in on this rig and there's a ski on the bottom. And then you have these crutches on your arms that have miniature skis that are called outriggers.
So that's kind of an overview of the skiing setup. And when I was there on one of my first days of training, I actually broke my shock. So I just was skiing, and it might've been from the plane too, like it might've just been leaking some oil, but Right. It ended up breaking. And so that night I went and I went to change it to my secondary shock.
'cause I brought another, and I had checked it before I left that it was perfectly fine and both shocks ended up being broken. And so I went to my coaches and I was like, Hey, what can I do here? Like, I two broken shocks. And they were like, we can't help you. we can't do anything. Oh. And so
Erik Weihenmayer: I'm already panicking for you. It's like when I go climbing and I bring two left shoes, or like Right. My friend who went on his first big mountain and both stoves stopped working and so they had to go down, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Oh my God. I'm panicking. yeah. Yeah. I'm on a, I'm hanging on this story. Tell me,
Kyle Taulman: So it's this my, the biggest event of my life, the one that I've been dreaming of being at for my entire life. I'm halfway across the world with no way to order something. 'cause adaptive equipment if you order something takes forever to get to you anyways. So I'm like, okay, what do I do? So I start going around and being like, okay, what, who could I talk to?
Who could I talk to? And my rig was a Japanese rig, so I knew some of the people on the Japanese ski team because they had trained in Winter Park. And I also have like learned a bit of Japanese over the years. So I went to them and used my little bit of broken Japanese to be like, Hey, can you help me?
Can you, can we do something? They got me to their coaches and we ended up talking and it turned out that they actually had a technician from the company that made my shock. Oh my gosh. With them. In Beijing. So literally I gave them two shocks and they Frankenstein the pieces together to get me one working shock and didn't ask for anything in return.
I gave them like a bit of my, my clothing and things like some pins and just other stuff to like thank them. But, but I have this awesome picture of me like holding this shock with the technician and their like head coach because out of everyone who was gonna fix my stuff, it wasn't my own team.
It was a team from across the world who, most of them didn't know me. I knew like two of their athletes, but that was it. And they were just like, oh yeah, we'll totally help you.
Erik Weihenmayer: Like, isn't isn't that beautiful though, that that's a beautiful thing? Like it wasn't like, Hey, screw you American dog. Yeah, It was like, it's a sense of community, right? and I know that you've talked about this idea of community. Obviously you're probably wildly competitive, but at the same time, I imagine the piece of that community of feeling included, of being a part of something, being great at something that's like a huge piece of motivation or no.
Kyle Taulman: I'm very competitive, but when you're on the mountain, like you are competing against the other people, but you're mostly competing against yourself. Like you, you know what you need to do to be faster. And like most of the time if I go down in the course and I smash the snow with my outrigger 'cause I'm pissed off.
Yeah. I'm not pissed at everyone else 'cause they did better than me. I'm pissed at myself. 'cause I'm like, I know I could have done that. I know I had that. But that's one thing that has been constant throughout my skiing journey is just everyone is there to help out. Like one of my favorite things is skiing in Winter Park.
There are so many people from around the world that I get to train with every day who are all incredible skiers. And the Chilean team, actually, they don't really come up as much anymore, but they used to train in Winter Park a ton. And I would go to races and know, I would know their coaches and things.
'cause we all trained together. And one of my favorite ones was in Mammoth, California, where you were sitting at the top and you could see like a good portion of the course from the start. So I'm watching people go down, watching people go down. And this one coach Carlos pulls me aside and he's like, he's like, Kyle, Kyle, come here, come here.
Pulls me aside so I can see the course. And his athlete goes outta the gate, Nico. And Nico and I were kind of rivals for a while, you know? Mm-hmm. So he goes outta the gate and Carlos goes, watch this. See that? Turn right there. See how I took it? Alright, bring your line a little up the hill and you'll be like two seconds faster. He's go beat him. Like literally told me like, go beat my athlete. That's amazing. Amazing. Like number one, like obviously everyone's there to help each other, but like he wanted me to be better. Yeah. So that Nico had someone to, to compete against so that Nico is looking and like, like, oh, he beat me by two seconds.
I wanna beat him by two seconds next time. so it's always just oh, I want to improve. I want to get better. I wanna keep pushing further and further.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. And in that pushing further and further, there's, some hardships, some struggle. Right. And I know your hashtag is seek discomfort. I like it.
Yeah.
Kyle Taulman: That well, and that, that's not even my hashtag actually. That's, it's not, it's I use it, but,I use it 'cause I love it. Yeah. But there's this YouTube channel actually called Yes theory. Yeah. And their whole thing is saying yes to things. And so a lot of their videos they've done is like, they go up to people on the street and go, Hey, do you want to go skydiving?
Like right now? Or and if they say yes, it's alright, let's go get in a car. And they're just strangers that they've just met or they're like, Hey, do you want to go fly to another country right now? And just go like, experience the trip of a lifetime in a week. Yeah.
Erik Weihenmayer: Not second guessing too much. Just spur of the moment. Say yes.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah, exactly. And it's literally just that like you're seeking discomfort. You're like, you're not staying comfortable where you are. You're like, oh, I want to be uncomfortable 'cause that's where I can really live. And so like I've done that. Yeah. And grow. And I've, I've done that as well of been like, yeah, why don't I go skydiving?
And a week later I called a bunch of places and gotten it booked and I was like, all right, I'm going. I didn't tell my parents or anything I told them afterwards, but,
Julie Taulman: which
Kyle Taulman: is the, so the way I
Julie Taulman: did it when I did it when you, I was your age.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah. I felt better about it because she had told me that she did that to her parents where she was skydiving and then told them after.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. I feel so connected to your stories because my family was so much like that, you know, when I was, had just gone blind, it was my mom who wanted me to get a guide dog. And then my dad had heard about this program for blind kids and it was up at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Boston. I lived in Connecticut.
My dad would drive me three hours once a month and we'd go on these adventures and one day it was rock climbing and that, and it was say, yes, my, you know, my family said, Hey, say yes to these things. And that became like a policy for me. Not say yes to like crazy things.
Like I'm gonna get in a car drunk or something. But say yes to every healthy opportunity that might help you grow. And that was a big piece of the equation I imagine for you guys too.
Julie Taulman: I do wanna mention that quite a few years there was a, there was a no theory coming from him.
Sure,
for sure. Yeah. Reluctance, and so I think some of it, even tennis, I laugh about it because years ago I put him in tennis, like able-bodied tennis 'cause there was no option. And he hated it. Absolutely hated it. And, I kept putting him in these lessons and it wasn't going anywhere. He hated it.
Well, we went to no barriers in Park City. And, he did a tennis clinic during No Barriers, and that was the first time he learned the Figure eight and what to do in a wheelchair to use the Figure eight. And that was, I, I'm standing there going, I wish someone had told me that was life changing. And suddenly then, um, he decided he liked tennis.
And during COVID I signed him up for a tennis program in Boulder. And now he plays, what, two days a week? Mm-hmm. Three days a week. He loves it. And it's just a lifelong sport that, he loves to go out and do. Oh my gosh. But, um, but sometimes it's like we had, you have to retry stuff. Um, yeah.
Over and over again.
Erik Weihenmayer: and it makes me so happy that No Barriers could be a little part of That about it. The catalyst for you, Kyle.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah. That's awesome. It was the first time
Julie Taulman: he scuba dived too there.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah, I was about to say it was a catalyst for multiple things. 'cause that was the first time I tried scuba diving as well. I like most kids, as I was growing up, my mom would put me in things and I would be like, oh, I don't like this because you put me in it. Of course, as it goes. But then over the years, there were things that like I wanted to do, but then I just fell out of, and it's again, similar things.
Tennis was one of them. Skiing was one of them, where like for a while I was kind of like, oh, I don't really want to be doing this all the time, blah, blah, blah. And then now I'm like, oh, I love skiing, tennis, same thing. Guitar, piano, same type of thing. Where it was like, I always loved music, but then I was like, tried to learn it as a kid, was in some lessons and was like, I don't like this 'cause I'm not playing the things that I want to.
Mm-hmm. Do whatever. Mm-hmm. And now finally I'm like teaching myself all of these things and I'm like, oh, I wish I had stayed in lessons when I was a kid. I should have done that.
Didrik Johnck: No Barriers would like to thank Maison Hennessy, a partner since 2023 for supporting our projects and closely collaborating with us to promote diversity and inclusion amongst their employees.
Fueled by team spirit and collaboration. Hennessy believes that its rope team is its greatest strength and its greatest responsibility. This year, the world's leading cognac will celebrate 260 years of successes and challenges overcome through the strength of its employees, partners, and consumers across more than 160 countries.
To mark this milestone, Hennessy has commissioned an art piece from John Bramblett, a longtime friend of No Barriers. Thank you Maison Hennessy, for leaning into this no barrier's life.
Erik Weihenmayer: Let's transition to music. Yeah. Because, um, I know I met you when you a little guy, but I also met you a couple years ago at a Michael Franti concert in at Red Rocks, and you were performing up there with Michael.
And that was rad. I was like, wow, I can't believe I just ran into you guys in the parking lot. And so tell how, tell us how you got started performing. And by the way, I've listened to your YouTube performances, your songs. Amazing dude. You're very talented. And thank you. I, and I was really blown away getting to hear you.
Kyle Taulman: Thank you so much. No, I've always loved music. my mom can attest that I have always been a singer, at least from a young age. Like just in the car, anything, I would just be singing along, uh, in the shower, singing a lot at ungodly hours. Um, nice. I try not to do that as much anymore, at least not the singing it ungodly hours.
And my parents always tried to push me into things, so it was getting into singing lessons and all these types of things that I did when I was a kid. And then I got into musical theater as well when I was in middle school. So I was in the high school theater program for pretty much like sixth grade until I graduated high school.
I was doing shows and in the choir and all that type of stuff. And I always loved it. Right? I always loved music and acting and performing and doing all that stuff. But then I also had this idea in the back of my mind that, I don't see anyone with a disability who is really a successful musician.
Or at least there's like only one or two that I could ever think of, right? So I got it in my head of like, it's a field that's already so hard to make it in. 'cause there's so many people trying to make it that with a disability, it makes it that much harder, right? Yeah. So that was the mindset that I got myself in and I decided when I was leaving high school that I would go to college and focus on school and skiing.
And that's what I would do. 'cause I was trying to do all three in high school and it wasn't fully working right. And then I can't do it all. Yeah, exactly. But then I went to college and it was COVID times and stuff, and I wanted connection and all that. And I saw a chalk drawing for an acapella group. And I knew that there were acapella groups at CU, but I saw this and I was like, okay, let's look 'em up.
And there were two groups that I was looking at, either the Buffoons or In The Buff. And I looked online and the Buffoons had videos from 11 years ago and one year ago, and they were singing the same exact songs. And then I looked at videos of this other group, and it was a bunch of guys in baseball jerseys singing a Taylor Swift medley with choreography.
And I said, that one looks a lot more fun. So I joined that group and that was really the catalyst for me, truly falling in love with music again, of saying, oh, like I want to be doing this because I would be meeting with these guys. Three times a week and singing and just hanging out and being around people who love music.
And as I was also in school and not really enjoying that as much, honestly, like I wasn't really enjoying my classes. I just wasn't in a good head space. I turned to music again. And now I've gotten to the point where I am trying to do something with music. And the other final little catalyst, the final little push to be like, oh, I need to do something with, this was Michael Franti.
And that was an interesting one because Red Rocks, the accessible seating Red Rocks is either front row or last row, right? And so when we go to a Red Rock show, we always try to get front row. And one thing about Michael Franti is he loves interacting with the crowd. And He loves to jump off stage, run around, and he saw me singing along in the front row.
Hugging people. Yep. Hug people, everything. But he saw me singing along in the front row and he was like, oh. Like, I'm gonna go put the mic in this guy's face. He came down, put the mic towards me, and I started singing and he realized I could sing. And you know, we jammed for a second and then he literally pointed to me and like kind of gestured like, Hey, follow me, follow me.
And literally I followed him like back to the stage. They had to lift me on stage. Like it was a scramble. Like everyone was like, oh, who We need to get people here to lift him on stage. But I got up there and he restarted the song actually. So they like vamped it while his, his guy ran and got a mic, his stage hand for me, and gave me my own mic.
And we did the entire song together. And it was like one of those incredible experiences, but it didn't end there. 'cause he, at the end, he, you know, did the whole thing of where are you from? All that, like you would do with anyone you brought on stage. Then the guy, the PA rushed me off stage. He's like, all right, you're done, you're done.
But then at the end of the show, Michael points to me again and was like, come on. Come back up. Come back up. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Like pulled me back up on that same show to like finish the show with them. So I did another full song with them that he didn't know if I knew, obviously it was one of their popular songs, but like he didn't know know if I knew it, knew
Erik Weihenmayer: it.
Yeah.
Kyle Taulman: Um, and I did. Yes. So lucky you knew it
Erik Weihenmayer: or so fortunate I guess.
Kyle Taulman: Yeah, exactly. And I'll tell a funny story about that in a second, but he pulled me back up and I finished the show with them and got to bow with them. And the whole thing about that experience is that in the years following that, I've gone back to his Red Rock show 'cause we love seeing him.
His music is just so positive and it's something that I think everyone needs right now while the world is a bit screwed. And he has continued to see me and bring me on stage with him. And you know, I've been able to build a connection with him and the band and the people around him and his crew and other bands and things.
And as a musician, that's been super cool to meet all these people. But it's also gotten me going Hey, I've performed in front of a sold out Red Rocks crowd. Yeah. Like, well, you know,
Julie Taulman: I believe five years in a row.
Kyle Taulman: Four years in a row? Yes. Like five years in a row now. Five years
Julie Taulman: in a row. I mean, last year, which is pretty crazy.
Last year, Franti called him and said, what do you wanna sing this? Kyle and he is okay, so yeah, standard fair for
Erik Weihenmayer: Michael FTE concerts at Red Rocks now that you're gonna be there. and which, and to be is funny, to be honest with
Julie Taulman: you. For as a person that goes with Kyle, we are like minions because the crowd is they'll, we, as soon as we pull in and we park our car, everyone's like, Hey, it's Kyle, hey, it's Kyle.
And they're like, Kyle, you gonna sing this year? So we're kind of like, yeah, forget Mike Franti. It's Kyle. Yeah. So it's very funny.
Kyle Taulman: But that, and that's the funny thing. 'cause every time we go,except for last year, that last year was the only year I knew that I was gonna sing every year besides that one, it's always, he sees me in the crowd, recognizes me and he gives me a little nod and it's like, okay, at some point he's gonna point to me and just say, come up and like that again. That's what happened this year is he saw me and pointed at me and told me to come up. a couple years ago,
Julie Taulman: the little funny one. Oh, you say that one? Yeah. That's funny.
Kyle Taulman: I was gonna say the funny one was that from what you said, he actually pulled me up for a song and handed me the microphone and I was like looking around for a second.
'cause I didn't know the song. Oh no. I was like, uh, what? What's going on? And so I literally was like listening to him and just like figuring it out while I was on stage. And I learned after I got off stage, 'cause I was like, I was like, I've never heard that song before. He hadn't released it yet.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh, well that was a little unfair.
Couldn't, so he pulled me up for a song that released
Julie Taulman: You Couldn't tell that Kyle didn't know it. He has a good ear to be able to follow along, but, nice. But yeah, so it's built a relationship even with his son Capy. They've done some stuff together and so it's a cool, it's a cool relationship, which I think hopefully is gonna launch Kyle's opportunities in the music world.
Erik Weihenmayer: Ah, so cool. Hey, can I put you on the spot? Want to perform something? Yeah, I definitely, as we go out here, no,
Kyle Taulman: I definitely can. I, the last thing I'll say before I do that though, is just, yeah, tell me. Is just that all of that really changed my perspective of, of I've been able to do this and I love doing it.
Like a lot of people, I feel when they, if they got pulled up on stage for a song they don't know, at Red Rocks in front of a sold out crowd would not really be able to hold that together. And the fact that I was able to do that and actually perform like I was meant to be there the whole time, and the fact that I've been able to do that has given me that thing of, oh.
This is, feels like something I was meant to do. Like it feels like I was meant to do music and be performing for crowds and doing all these different things. And so I've been working on writing and finding my own musical expression and all that kind of stuff while also, I love going to concerts now and seeing other musicians and meeting other musicians and finding connections through that.
And it's just been one of those incredible things that I hope to keep going with. So, yeah, I, I'd love to,
Erik Weihenmayer: it's so powerful. It speaks to like this idea of door openers, you know, like these people, like Michael Franti just opened doors for people and beautiful ways and changes our lives, doesn't it? Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
Erik Weihenmayer: No,
Kyle Taulman: exactly.
Erik Weihenmayer: So cool. So everyone come out to September 6th. What's your Everest with No Barriers and the National Sports Center for the Disabled. And, Kyle, what are you gonna, what are you gonna sing for us? Well,
Kyle Taulman: I can get two quick songs for you if you want. Go
Erik Weihenmayer: for it. Yes.
Kyle Taulman: So the first one I'll do is actually an original one that I wrote that I'm hoping to release at some point here this summer.
Um, can you guys hear that guitar? Yeah, that sounds beautiful. Awesome. Perfect. So, yeah, I'm, this was actually a song that I wrote, so the, when I got back into guitar, it was actually from a breakup, you know, as it goes. Of course, always. I had a breakup right before the summer, and so I spent the entire summer sitting on my couch playing guitar, and now I am performing on the street and doing all that kind of stuff and playing gigs.
But this was a song that I wrote kind of about that whole experience of that relationship coming to an end. So, yeah. Yeah. What would, what would art, what would
Erik Weihenmayer: happen to art without breakups?
Yeah.
Kyle Taulman: I know, right? I think the best way to deal with it is to write a song that has a lot of, uh, meaning and maybe a lot of people listen to it.
Who knows? I. But here we go.
Empty words, cancel plans. Darling are we just play and pretend you say it's fine, it out. But you can't even look at me now.
To.
Just you don't, you don't have to force yourself to.
It's woo-hoo.
Erik Weihenmayer: Maybe that's not as cool as a Red Rocks concert. I just want two of us clapping. Yeah.
But imagine,
uh, you know, a thousand people clapping who are listening. Yeah. Right now. Yeah. Amazing Kyle. Beautiful. Well, I don't know if
Kyle Taulman: you have time for other one, but I could do one more just a cover song if you would like.
Erik Weihenmayer: Why not do it? Yeah, let's do it. We'll end on this cool last song here and, awesome. Hopefully we'll see you both at What's Your Everest.
Yeah,
yeah.
Kyle Taulman: this one, like I said, is a cover song. one of my favorite artists is Noah Khan. yeah. So, you know, I kind of relate to, obviously he grew up in, a different area than me, but that kind of small town vibe is very similar.
growing up in Steamboat. So another song that I love, great.
Line, I'm counting down mailboxes until my house. This place had a heartbeat. Did it stay the mountains and nothing was the same? Yes, the boy's drunk. Sun is high. The license plates live. But it just ain't that simple.
When they, who I'm say loud
for the crew, out for the way too proud, and I.
When they ask me who I'm I'll just pretend
I,
when they ask, who
say I'm not,
but I'm in my car and I see the yard, the patch. Grass where we buried the dog and the world makes sense behind a chain
and
the world.
Woo.
Erik Weihenmayer: Thank you. Yeah, of course. Sweet. Kyle and Julie. Thank you so much guys. We'll see everyone. September 6th and, no barriers to everyone.
Julie Taulman: We're looking forward
Kyle Taulman: to it. Thanks
Julie Taulman: so
Kyle Taulman: much. Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. Bye.
Didrik Johnck: The production team behind this podcast includes producer Didrik Johnck Junk. That's me, an audio engineer, Tyler Kottman. Special thanks to the Dan Ryan Band for our intro song guidance, and thanks to all of you for listening. If you enjoyed this show, please subscribe, share it, and hey, we'd be thrilled for a review.
Show notes can be found at nobarrierspodcast.com. There's also a link there to shoot me an email with any suggestions or guest ideas for the show. Thanks so much and have a great day.
