Feb. 23, 2024
#9 After the Fall — Addiction, Recovery, and Finding the Ocean Again
“Surfing was always on my mind,” said the Cocoa Beach, Florida native. “I had a poster of Cory Lopez hanging up in my rehab room for inspiration. I never realized how much I loved surfing, until it was taken away from me.”
Thrilled to be joined by surfer, author, and motivational speaker Tyler Farnham. Originally from Cocoa Beach, Florida, Tyler has turned his lifelong passion for surfing into a way to inspire others. Reborn twice, after suffering a catastrophic skydiving accident over 10 years ago, Tyler managed to battle back from severe injuries, and then later, opioid addiction. Now living by the mantra of using outdoor adventure and nature as therapy, he shares his story of resilience with the hopes of uplifting people who may be struggling. Tyler's perseverance through extraordinary hardship can teach us the power of grit, community, and the healing force of Mother Nature.
🚑 On Easter Sunday 2009, at age 25, Tyler broke nearly every bone in his body during a skydiving accident. His road to recovery was long and painful.
💊 The heavy pain meds led Tyler down the path of opioid addiction, further complicating his recovery
📒 Journaling, community, and his love for the ocean aided Tyler's resilience and ability to get clean
🏄🏽♂️Tyler managed to get back to surfing form, reclaim work as a ocean guard and winning valor awards for his lifesaving work
🤙 Tyler advocates for surf therapy and speaks publicly to inspire people with stories of perseverance
🌊 "I'm a full advocate of just healing through Mother Nature, and I know that's why you and I have kept in touch...I think whether it be rock climbing or skiing or surfing, when you're just in tune with nature and you, you, you got, you get that mindset and that flow state and it's something that you become addicted to."
The full podcast shares a remarkable story of hope and the incredible power of the human spirit. Check out Tyler's website, books, and social media via the links provided to follow his journey.
References:
💻 Tyler's Website: www.tylerfarnham.com
📚 Tyler's Books: Reaching Cloud Nine
📱 Tyler's Instagram: @tylerfarnham
---
🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it
If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete
📰 Subscribe to the Ageless Athlete newsletter !
1-2x a month, no spam. We share behind-the-scenes reflections, longevity tips, and athlete wisdom you won’t find anywhere else. You can sign up at https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/ 📩
WEBVTT
00:01:12.972 --> 00:01:13.932
Hi friends.
00:01:14.712 --> 00:01:17.832
Today, bringing you a story from the other side of the country.
00:01:18.342 --> 00:01:21.282
And meeting a surfing athlete with roots in Florida.
00:01:21.942 --> 00:01:23.742
But with the story, like no other.
00:01:24.582 --> 00:01:25.722
A story of talent.
00:01:26.262 --> 00:01:27.072
Adventure.
00:01:27.792 --> 00:01:31.096
Followed by near death And drug addiction.
00:01:31.606 --> 00:01:35.738
But then resurrection To meet and exceed all expectations.
00:01:37.268 --> 00:01:39.968
This is the ageless athlete podcast.
00:01:40.179 --> 00:01:43.448
And I'm your host Kush canoed wall from San Francisco.
00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:45.459
If you have enjoyed the show.
00:01:45.608 --> 00:01:45.998
Great.
00:01:46.028 --> 00:01:47.948
If you could follow us and leave a review.
00:01:48.546 --> 00:01:50.560
On April 11th, 2009.
00:01:50.830 --> 00:01:53.825
Tyler Farnham a budding young surfer and lifeguard.
00:01:54.215 --> 00:01:57.395
Suffered a catastrophic skydiving accident.
00:01:57.868 --> 00:02:02.582
He almost died, broke all bones in his body and had his leg nearly amputated.
00:02:03.006 --> 00:02:13.050
In the months that followed, he reached an all time low with his mouth wide shut casts all over his body and needing assistance to perform the most basic functions.
00:02:14.100 --> 00:02:15.764
While recovering from the trauma.
00:02:16.185 --> 00:02:22.760
The pain post accident pushed Tyler into the seductive clutches of pain killing opioids.
00:02:23.197 --> 00:02:27.456
For the second time around, he almost went down with little hope of coming back.
00:02:27.930 --> 00:02:30.271
However with steely resolve.
00:02:30.901 --> 00:02:33.300
He battled back his demons.
00:02:33.634 --> 00:02:35.313
Found healing in the ocean.
00:02:35.343 --> 00:02:35.764
He loved.
00:02:36.173 --> 00:02:39.677
And today he's surfing tall as a coach and motivation speaker.
00:02:40.202 --> 00:02:43.577
Tyler's journey of broken bones, broken spirit.
00:02:44.252 --> 00:02:46.968
Perseverance is sure to leave you inspired.
00:02:47.358 --> 00:02:48.019
And believe.
00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:49.848
Anything is possible.
00:02:50.149 --> 00:02:51.322
So listen on for this.
00:02:51.562 --> 00:02:54.836
hell and back story of this ageless Waterman.
00:02:56.985 --> 00:02:58.641
Tyler, hi, how are you?
00:02:58.891 --> 00:02:59.481
where you?
00:02:59.885 --> 00:03:02.406
I'm in Cocoa Beach, Florida in the good old USA.
00:03:02.921 --> 00:03:07.796
It's been several years since we surfed together in Lombok in Indonesia.
00:03:08.260 --> 00:03:10.000
Yes, really good memories of that place.
00:03:10.510 --> 00:03:16.661
And funny enough, I actually lived in a small town by cocoa beach when I was in grad school in Florida.
00:03:17.350 --> 00:03:18.370
In Melbourne.
00:03:18.940 --> 00:03:19.570
Florida.
00:03:19.870 --> 00:03:20.980
Right next to you.
00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:24.091
And then I remember visiting Cocoa beach a couple of times.
00:03:24.380 --> 00:03:25.084
Lovely place.
00:03:25.305 --> 00:03:27.540
Tyler would love to get a quick bio of yourself.
00:03:28.081 --> 00:03:29.401
When I met you in Bali.
00:03:30.031 --> 00:03:31.680
You were helping run the surf school.
00:03:32.610 --> 00:03:34.440
And not you're in cocoa beach.
00:03:34.891 --> 00:03:39.000
Would love to hear a little bit about, uh, how old are you where you from?
00:03:40.440 --> 00:03:42.180
What are you doing these days?
00:03:42.588 --> 00:03:49.617
And then finally, what pulls you into your extraordinary life as a surfer and as a surfguard?
00:03:50.634 --> 00:03:58.043
I am literally at the moment sitting in my house where I was hometown, born and raised, Cocoa Beach, Florida.
00:03:58.543 --> 00:04:02.024
So across the street I've got the beach where I learned to surf when I was three.
00:04:02.524 --> 00:04:05.153
And yeah, my life started out here.
00:04:05.653 --> 00:04:13.473
Had a pretty I'd say picture perfect lifestyle with my sister growing up with our two dogs and surfing, going to school here.
00:04:13.933 --> 00:04:20.930
And, yeah, so I'd say my mid twenties, that's when my life started, I guess you could say becoming interesting.
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:27.930
I started lifeguarding when I was 24, and as you know, I told you about my accident.
00:04:27.930 --> 00:04:33.290
So when I was 25 years old, I had my skydiving accident that nearly took my life.
00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:42.480
And that was the big catalyst of change for me because before that I was going, okay, I'm a lifeguard captain out on the beach and life was going extremely smooth.
00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:48.510
Whereas at the same time I, yeah, I knew I was going to probably go into fire school and become a firefighter.
00:04:49.010 --> 00:04:58.570
And when I had my accident, that's when my whole attitude changed and it was more of, okay, well, I want to live my life to the absolute fullest.
00:04:59.070 --> 00:05:02.831
And I loved my job as an ocean rescue lifeguard, but I had an opportunity.
00:05:03.331 --> 00:05:05.911
To go out and lifeguard out in Australia.
00:05:06.411 --> 00:05:09.560
And I took that opportunity when I was 29 years old.
00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:20.540
So I left my hometown when I was 29, went to Australia, did a season lifeguarding out there, and that went into a season lifeguarding out in New Zealand.
00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:29.918
And from there I went to Indonesia and I spent about nine years out there, surf coaching, surf guiding, and that's where we met in beautiful Lombok.
00:05:30.326 --> 00:06:27.569
Cocoa Beach surfer, influenced by the movie Point Break at a young age, started jumping out of planes at 18, riding dirt bikes, skateboarding, surfing, and yeah, the accident slowed me down and took away a couple of my hobbies, but to be honest with you, I still say, even with pain in my legs right now, I still say it's the best thing that's ever happened to me because it gave me the, life that I feel like just Went by in the snap of the fingers all my 30s basically I get in the ocean still every single day at 40 years old, I'm a huge advocate of surfing therapy and ocean therapy, just in general, the healing powers of being out the salt water on our skin, I'm a full advocate of just healing through Mother Nature, whether it be rock climbing or skiing or surfing, when you're just in tune with nature and you got, you get that mindset and that flow state and it's something that you become addicted to.
00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:31.209
And it's still something I, yeah, I'm, I'm always doing.
00:06:31.228 --> 00:06:32.778
I'm still out in that ocean every single day.
00:06:33.295 --> 00:06:36.026
I think the key word you used it's therapy.
00:06:36.956 --> 00:06:41.456
It's outdoor therapy served to us by the biggest creator of the mall.
00:06:41.516 --> 00:06:42.206
Modern nature.
00:06:42.836 --> 00:06:44.636
And we are so lucky to have.
00:06:45.175 --> 00:06:46.436
To be able to partake in it.
00:06:47.485 --> 00:06:48.626
I want to take a step.
00:06:49.252 --> 00:06:51.442
And just talk about how you got into surfing.
00:06:52.283 --> 00:06:53.632
And then into skydiving.
00:06:54.173 --> 00:06:55.132
Believe it or not.
00:06:55.163 --> 00:06:57.802
I actually have battled out at cocoa beach.
00:06:58.283 --> 00:07:01.552
It was a few years ago, I think a couple of years.
00:07:01.793 --> 00:07:02.663
Pre COVID.
00:07:03.083 --> 00:07:04.973
I had got down to Florida for a wedding.
00:07:05.453 --> 00:07:08.302
May I have with my buddy, Chris who's from Florida.
00:07:08.603 --> 00:07:11.423
We rented a formboard from.
00:07:12.143 --> 00:07:15.293
Long Johns iconic soul shop.
00:07:16.163 --> 00:07:17.273
It for super-small.
00:07:18.382 --> 00:07:21.233
Battled out and got a few.
00:07:21.742 --> 00:07:26.543
And I can actually say that I have served in the sunshine state.
00:07:27.983 --> 00:07:29.543
On that note, a.
00:07:30.442 --> 00:07:36.023
Wondering if you ever had the occasion to surf with the most famous surfer.
00:07:36.622 --> 00:07:39.263
To have come out of Florida, maybe all.
00:07:40.192 --> 00:07:40.973
The U S.
00:07:42.485 --> 00:07:42.836
Mr.
00:07:42.836 --> 00:07:43.745
Kelly Slater.
00:07:44.245 --> 00:07:44.776
yep.
00:07:45.156 --> 00:07:46.936
I've never actually surfed with Mr.
00:07:46.936 --> 00:07:50.206
Slater, but I've lifeguarded a couple of his events.
00:07:50.225 --> 00:07:52.886
There's a Slater Invitational that happens here.
00:07:52.975 --> 00:07:57.286
I don't know if it still happens, but before I left to go to Australia, they had it.
00:07:57.295 --> 00:08:00.956
And I remember I was lifeguarding that event and I had him sign my lifeguard can.
00:08:01.466 --> 00:08:03.989
we have a statue of him right in downtown.
00:08:03.999 --> 00:08:04.609
There's a street.
00:08:05.098 --> 00:09:55.588
Named after him Slater Way he's got an incredible story growing up here reasons why he surfed for me my dad actually taught me when I was three I always thank him for basically I say my mom gave me birth and my dad gave me the gift of surfing because when he taught me to surf that's when I'd get to see people of all ages when I'd surf coach In Bali and Lombok, I'd see them get bit by that surfing bug and I'd see them change and I was like that happened to me when I was really young and there's been times where I've taken that for granted I think over the years but I'd say over the past five years I've just been back to a three year old just gung ho I have to get in the ocean every day if I don't get in the ocean I almost feel like a little bit grumpy Skateboarding actually took over from surfing for quite some time because it's funny You said you surfed out here in Florida and I say, okay, how are the waves?
00:09:56.064 --> 00:09:56.943
They were small, right?
00:09:57.443 --> 00:09:57.743
Yeah.
00:09:57.773 --> 00:10:07.993
they were small and actually, not to interject, but, Kelly learned how to surf at Cocoa beach and obviously we know, and then I saw you surf and you are such a good surfer.
00:10:08.344 --> 00:10:17.894
So I think there's another like proof point that one can learn surfing with tiny waves as long as you supplement with things such as skateboarding, right?
00:10:18.368 --> 00:10:19.229
Yeah, for sure.
00:10:19.239 --> 00:10:25.449
So skating was a way of going and it was funny cause I had groups of friends as we all do in high school.
00:10:25.449 --> 00:10:35.058
And I had my group of buddies that surfed and I had my group of buddies that skated, but especially summertime, the waves are extremely flat and we still wanted to have fun.
00:10:35.068 --> 00:10:43.759
And so we'd go, we'd have our, one of our moms would drive us to say Melbourne or Coco and we'd go out to the colleges out there and we'd skate.
00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:43.778
Yeah.
00:10:44.251 --> 00:10:53.932
Where there are staircases and handrails and so we got heavy into skateboarding a few of us And I think for me it was like between 12 and 16.
00:10:53.942 --> 00:11:12.406
All I really did was skate I gave up surfing and I got pretty good and so did one of my really good friends that kept skating With me and then I stopped skating when I was about 16 because I was getting hurt too much funny I didn't break any bones, but Between sprains and dings in my shin and, spraining my wrists.
00:11:12.828 --> 00:11:16.038
then when I turned 18, that's when I jumped out of an airplane for the first time.
00:11:16.538 --> 00:11:20.568
that's similar to being three years old and surfing for the first time and getting bit by the bug.
00:11:21.088 --> 00:11:23.159
This time around, it was jumping out of a plane.
00:11:23.288 --> 00:11:25.328
And I still remember on the ride.
00:11:25.868 --> 00:11:26.189
down.
00:11:26.189 --> 00:11:27.269
I was talking to my instructor.
00:11:27.269 --> 00:11:28.838
I was like, how do I do this on my own?
00:11:28.838 --> 00:11:30.078
I want to do this on my own.
00:11:30.638 --> 00:11:40.338
So then I ended up taking the accelerated free fall course when I was still 18 when I took it and yeah, I had about seven years in the sport of skydiving.
00:11:40.348 --> 00:11:43.979
I was not a, I can't even say I was a weekend warrior.
00:11:44.048 --> 00:11:47.189
I was more of like once a month I'd go down.
00:11:47.189 --> 00:11:51.952
I'd maybe do two or three jumps every now and then I'd do it a every couple of weeks, but.
00:11:52.452 --> 00:11:55.712
I think I had under 200 jumps in seven years.
00:11:56.212 --> 00:11:57.472
Although that wasn't enough for me.
00:11:57.472 --> 00:12:01.252
It was just more of just going and getting that nice thrill, that buzz.
00:12:01.752 --> 00:12:02.913
And, yeah.
00:12:02.972 --> 00:12:08.303
Surfing was always number one for me, but we're not really getting that much swell here in Florida.
00:12:08.313 --> 00:12:09.303
We never really have.
00:12:09.303 --> 00:12:11.522
It's got that reputation in the surfing world.
00:12:12.022 --> 00:12:14.742
So I was like, okay, what else can I do to get my buzz here?
00:12:14.772 --> 00:12:18.363
sky diving was definitely, yeah, that was my go to for a while.
00:12:18.863 --> 00:12:21.732
So yeah, surfing, skating, skydiving.
00:12:22.053 --> 00:12:28.143
I tried my luck with riding dirt bikes, but I knew for me, I was like what I wanted to do was the stuff that would have killed me.
00:12:28.353 --> 00:12:37.853
It was like Brian Deegan watching the, I can't remember some of the names now, but the guys that were doing like the double backflips and just going huge.
00:12:37.853 --> 00:12:41.113
I thought that it looked so fun, but I was like, you got to pay your dues.
00:12:41.452 --> 00:12:55.695
In that kind of a sport now, it's if you don't grow up doing it, paying those dues, it's yeah, it catches up to you when you get a bit older, so I figured that probably wasn't a good endeavor, so I never really got on the dirt bike train, it was more just surfing and scout diving.
00:12:56.144 --> 00:12:59.503
Falling on or crashing on concrete or asphalt.
00:12:59.624 --> 00:13:03.044
It's just a little bit less forgiving than doubling in water.
00:13:03.854 --> 00:13:05.774
That was some good self-awareness.
00:13:06.733 --> 00:13:10.453
And moving on to other things earlier, you hinted at this.
00:13:10.963 --> 00:13:14.473
But you have had an extra ordinary bat.
00:13:14.894 --> 00:13:16.604
Overcoming a possibly.
00:13:17.384 --> 00:13:22.693
Career ending, or maybe even a life ending accident, plus a very serious drug addiction.
00:13:23.263 --> 00:13:27.193
Would love to just run through what happened, how did it happen?
00:13:27.854 --> 00:13:33.463
And then your journey back to resecting your former self and exceeding it.
00:13:34.394 --> 00:13:35.294
Would love to hear.
00:13:35.534 --> 00:13:36.463
A little bit more about it.
00:13:37.016 --> 00:13:44.006
Basically, 25 years old, I was a lifeguarding captain, planned to join the fire department.
00:13:44.506 --> 00:13:45.496
Life was going good.
00:13:45.496 --> 00:14:06.875
I had a girlfriend that I was in love with and I had planned a skydive with my mom and skydive Sebastian the place where I'd always go and do jumps and Yeah, it was April 11th 2009 Easter Sunday And I did one jump before my mom went up to go and do a jump with me.
00:14:07.036 --> 00:14:16.566
My jump went great And when I went back up on the second load of the day to do a jump, my mom was in the plane and her best friend was there with her as well.
00:14:16.846 --> 00:14:19.346
They were both doing their first ever tandem skydives.
00:14:19.846 --> 00:14:21.096
I jumped out of the plane.
00:14:21.685 --> 00:14:26.476
I had a malfunction at a, Relatively low altitude.
00:14:27.016 --> 00:14:31.955
So I went into an uncontrollable spin where I should have.
00:14:32.105 --> 00:14:38.726
I always say I should have cut away and use my reserve parachute, although I failed to do I thought too much.
00:14:39.306 --> 00:14:41.296
I broke a couple of rules.
00:14:41.296 --> 00:14:46.066
I was not altitude aware and I didn't use the rule of twos when it comes to malfunctions.
00:14:46.566 --> 00:14:51.955
And I definitely got a lot of backlash from that, from the skydiving community, but I own it.
00:14:52.006 --> 00:14:56.836
I own up to it and yeah, the accident was extremely severe.
00:14:56.976 --> 00:15:03.006
My mom was actually on the ground with me when the helicopter landed to transport me.
00:15:03.006 --> 00:15:09.016
So she had to see my mangled body right in the field, but I landed in the field.
00:15:09.016 --> 00:15:11.435
I landed in the grass and not on the paved runway.
00:15:11.935 --> 00:15:54.050
which 100 percent saved my life, I caused an indentation, this is wild, but yeah, an indentation in the earth from where I hit, because I landed on my right side, so even now, all the teeth on my right side are gone, so I lost 9 teeth, I shattered my jaw, the condyle here, I fractured my mandible, fractured, dislocated my left condyle, I broke my upper and lower arm, so My right arm, my humerus, I shattered my right femur, and my leg nearly was amputated because I, it looked like a puzzle piece, the x ray of my right femur, left femur broken in half, fractured my skull.
00:15:54.550 --> 00:15:55.651
So I was wrecked.
00:15:56.121 --> 00:16:07.330
And yeah, from that point, so April 11th, the accident, I was in the hospital for about, I want to say 10 days to two weeks before I was sent to a rehab center.
00:16:07.381 --> 00:16:10.891
But in the rehab center, it was, I'd say it was worse than the hospital.
00:16:11.391 --> 00:16:34.891
Because I was confined to a wheelchair, I had my mouth, at that point I had to go in for a surgery, they wired my mouth shut, so at my lowest, physically, and maybe even mentally, my lowest was confined to a wheelchair, with permanent metal rods in my legs, my arm, my mouth wired shut, and I needed assistance to use the bathroom, get in and out of bed.
00:16:35.391 --> 00:16:39.790
And that was a, yeah, that was a wild ride standing in rehab.
00:16:39.861 --> 00:16:44.461
I went from one rehab to the next once I was able to be a little bit more weight bearing on my leg.
00:16:44.961 --> 00:16:52.181
And, yeah, then I got transferred home, but, so I turned 26 years old when I woke up from the coma.
00:16:52.730 --> 00:16:59.201
the accident was April 11th, I was in a five day medical induced coma, woke up, I was 26 years old when I woke up.
00:16:59.596 --> 00:17:00.445
April 16th.
00:17:00.945 --> 00:17:05.695
And in 11 months, it was March of 2010.
00:17:06.195 --> 00:17:09.586
That was when I got the doctor to sign off that I could go skydiving again.
00:17:10.086 --> 00:17:18.016
And it was also the same month where I passed my requalification because I was a lifeguard captain at the time of the accident.
00:17:18.516 --> 00:17:21.885
And I wanted nothing more than to get my job back, my life back.
00:17:22.465 --> 00:17:34.476
I was able to pass my run, pass my swim, got my job back, got off light duty, and I also got back out in the water and surfed again, and I remember my first wave, I cried.
00:17:34.865 --> 00:17:40.905
I didn't really do much, but I stood up, I did a little turn, and my buddies that were out there with me, they were all pretty emotional as well.
00:17:41.405 --> 00:17:47.865
So in 11 months, it was a, yeah, like a complete turnaround, okay, cool, I might have my life back.
00:17:48.365 --> 00:18:04.685
And on the first day back, this is one of the wildest things that happened, in my opinion, was the first day back with my feet in the sand, March 27th of 2010, myself and, another lifeguard captain, I was with Johnny, Johnny McCarthy.
00:18:04.695 --> 00:18:07.915
Him and I responded to a surfer that had broken his neck surfing.
00:18:08.415 --> 00:18:11.455
And one of our lifeguards pulled him in from the water.
00:18:11.516 --> 00:18:15.145
Johnny and I arrived and we performed CPR on this man.
00:18:15.615 --> 00:18:17.806
And we brought him back and we saved him.
00:18:17.806 --> 00:18:19.205
he went to the hospital.
00:18:19.205 --> 00:18:21.086
He was in the hospital for about nine days.
00:18:21.096 --> 00:18:22.736
And they had to take him off life support.
00:18:23.236 --> 00:18:24.645
But his family thanked us.
00:18:24.746 --> 00:18:27.596
I received lifeguard of the year that year, a valor award.
00:18:28.096 --> 00:18:31.756
And I started working with surfers for autism that same summer.
00:18:32.115 --> 00:18:33.715
So summer of 2010.
00:18:34.215 --> 00:18:45.445
And between Surfers for Autism and having that life saving rescue, those were two big events that happened that my uncle was just like, maybe you should start writing this down.
00:18:45.445 --> 00:18:49.086
You should start writing down these events that are happening because they're pretty special.
00:18:49.586 --> 00:18:51.996
And I had already started journaling when I was in rehab.
00:18:52.145 --> 00:19:00.736
I started journaling about my progress because I was given some really good advice by another extreme athlete, extreme sports athlete, Karina Holicum.
00:19:00.736 --> 00:19:02.026
We got in a real serious accident.
00:19:02.036 --> 00:19:03.476
She's the one that told me to start.
00:19:03.961 --> 00:19:07.371
writing things down, following the progress of what I could do.
00:19:07.871 --> 00:19:15.391
And I started journaling when I was in the hospital, and then once those events occurred, like surfer's I wrote them all down.
00:19:15.891 --> 00:19:23.298
The following year, 2011, we had Hurricane Bonnie, and our lifeguard association, we had so many rescues that year.
00:19:23.349 --> 00:19:45.828
all those things just snowballed, just these great, big life events that occurred, and Yeah, and that's when my mind started going towards, what else could I do in life besides just Become a firefighter and yeah, an email fell into my hands from the lifeguarding service of Western Australia detailing what it would take to go out and work with them for the summer.
00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:54.431
Tyler, sorry to, to interrupt, but, that is an incredible story of having that accident and, surviving it just barely.
00:19:54.837 --> 00:20:05.548
and then going through all the modalities of, of recovery, right back to the point where you were able to get your, your, yourself back in the water to doing the rescues.
00:20:06.048 --> 00:20:08.508
The recovery story is, is incredible.
00:20:08.824 --> 00:20:18.304
Any specific things that you wish to highlight, behaviors, maybe habits, maybe tools that, were, were critical.
00:20:18.344 --> 00:20:20.004
I think you mentioned journaling.
00:20:20.181 --> 00:20:23.750
I journal a little bit myself and I find that to be quite therapeutic.
00:20:24.250 --> 00:20:33.971
Any things that, maybe journaling, maybe other things that, you was talking about, which I think some of us who are also dealing with maybe things that are not as, as severe could, learn from.
00:20:34.520 --> 00:21:16.701
The couple things I didn't mention when that accident occurred was the girl I was seeing, who I used her for my motivation to get back for quite some time during those 11 months, because at that time in my life, I was still deeply in love with her, and I wanted to be able to surf with her again, I wanted to be able to go and spend quality time with her, so a woman, of course, was a big part of my motivation, and yeah, the other thing I didn't mention either, which was a big part of it, was the drugs I was prescribed, the Oxycontin, So now in the beginning, I always say in the beginning, they helped me tremendously to be able to push through the pain because I'd want to ride my bike, I'd want to swim, eventually I'd want to run, but with those permanent metal rods, it was painful.
00:21:16.711 --> 00:21:24.641
So I used them as a crutch, but then of course what happens is you start out using them as a crutch and then you become dependent.
00:21:25.141 --> 00:21:30.051
So when I found that I'd become dependent on them was around the same time that the girl left me.
00:21:30.551 --> 00:21:36.270
So something that I think all of us human beings can deal with or relate to, I should say, is heartbreak.
00:21:36.821 --> 00:22:02.076
and I always say, this girl, her and I are great friends now, great friends, but then to go through it during that time, I was devastated, I was shattered, so I had a heartbreak to deal with, and I had this opioid addiction to deal with, and journaling really was number one for me, journaling and staying focused on a passion, which for me, I say music, art, and surfing.
00:22:02.576 --> 00:22:04.556
If I put them in order, surfing, music, and art.
00:22:04.576 --> 00:22:09.346
For sure, those are my three passions that I make sure every single day I would do.
00:22:09.346 --> 00:22:26.826
I would draw, I would write, I would surf, and I would listen to my music, and I would just push through the hard days, and eventually when I stopped taking the medication, I basically had to cut ties with A large percentage of people that were in my life because they were all people that were using the medication too.
00:22:27.326 --> 00:22:33.875
So all of a sudden, if I'm the kind of, I was the one that could get the medication, right?
00:22:33.956 --> 00:22:36.406
of course, I was the one people were reaching out to.
00:22:36.456 --> 00:22:40.536
but yeah, once I didn't have the medication anymore, I told the doctor I didn't want to take it.
00:22:40.536 --> 00:22:47.266
that's when all of a sudden, I didn't really have to worry about those people anymore because I wasn't accessed to the drug.
00:22:47.266 --> 00:22:49.026
So for me, it was cutting off.
00:22:49.526 --> 00:22:58.806
Everybody in my life, for the most part, and then just one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, along with the journaling, and and that was the way I was able to heal.
00:22:59.346 --> 00:23:07.331
kudos and, gratitude to these habits and, skills that you had with art and the drawing that, helped you pull through.
00:23:07.331 --> 00:23:17.547
I I think one falls back on some of these, Fundamentals that give us joy and it's so nice when we have those things and the, the oxycontin, scourge is real.
00:23:17.737 --> 00:23:19.757
I read that book, about the Sacklers.
00:23:19.777 --> 00:23:20.707
it's pretty devastating.
00:23:20.707 --> 00:23:21.047
What's.
00:23:21.547 --> 00:23:34.707
What's that done to much of the country as a small side story a few months ago, I had a small trauma to my shoulder and, I undertook this therapy.
00:23:34.907 --> 00:23:36.336
It's called PRP, whatever.
00:23:36.336 --> 00:23:40.524
And, I had this sort of anti, anti reaction instead of relief.
00:23:40.604 --> 00:23:42.544
I had this, crazy, like pain episode.
00:23:43.044 --> 00:23:48.237
To the point where I had to get a fentanyl patch.
00:23:48.237 --> 00:23:50.147
fentanyl again is one of those crazy drugs.
00:23:50.477 --> 00:24:01.397
And I was so paranoid, I was like, on one side I was being wracked by this, this mind numbing pain, and on this other side I was like, oh goodness, I don't really want to get, this, drug that's killing people.
00:01:12.972 --> 00:01:13.932
00:01:14.712 --> 00:01:17.832
00:01:18.342 --> 00:01:21.282
00:01:21.942 --> 00:01:23.742
00:01:24.582 --> 00:01:25.722
00:01:26.262 --> 00:01:27.072
00:01:27.792 --> 00:01:31.096
00:01:31.606 --> 00:01:35.738
00:01:37.268 --> 00:01:39.968
00:01:40.179 --> 00:01:43.448
00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:45.459
00:01:45.608 --> 00:01:45.998
00:01:46.028 --> 00:01:47.948
00:01:48.546 --> 00:01:50.560
00:01:50.830 --> 00:01:53.825
00:01:54.215 --> 00:01:57.395
00:01:57.868 --> 00:02:02.582
00:02:03.006 --> 00:02:13.050
00:02:14.100 --> 00:02:15.764
00:02:16.185 --> 00:02:22.760
00:02:23.197 --> 00:02:27.456
00:02:27.930 --> 00:02:30.271
00:02:30.901 --> 00:02:33.300
00:02:33.634 --> 00:02:35.313
00:02:35.343 --> 00:02:35.764
00:02:36.173 --> 00:02:39.677
00:02:40.202 --> 00:02:43.577
00:02:44.252 --> 00:02:46.968
00:02:47.358 --> 00:02:48.019
00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:49.848
00:02:50.149 --> 00:02:51.322
00:02:51.562 --> 00:02:54.836
00:02:56.985 --> 00:02:58.641
00:02:58.891 --> 00:02:59.481
00:02:59.885 --> 00:03:02.406
00:03:02.921 --> 00:03:07.796
00:03:08.260 --> 00:03:10.000
00:03:10.510 --> 00:03:16.661
00:03:17.350 --> 00:03:18.370
00:03:18.940 --> 00:03:19.570
00:03:19.870 --> 00:03:20.980
00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:24.091
00:03:24.380 --> 00:03:25.084
00:03:25.305 --> 00:03:27.540
00:03:28.081 --> 00:03:29.401
00:03:30.031 --> 00:03:31.680
00:03:32.610 --> 00:03:34.440
00:03:34.891 --> 00:03:39.000
00:03:40.440 --> 00:03:42.180
00:03:42.588 --> 00:03:49.617
00:03:50.634 --> 00:03:58.043
00:03:58.543 --> 00:04:02.024
00:04:02.524 --> 00:04:05.153
00:04:05.653 --> 00:04:13.473
00:04:13.933 --> 00:04:20.930
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:27.930
00:04:27.930 --> 00:04:33.290
00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:42.480
00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:48.510
00:04:49.010 --> 00:04:58.570
00:04:59.070 --> 00:05:02.831
00:05:03.331 --> 00:05:05.911
00:05:06.411 --> 00:05:09.560
00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:20.540
00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:29.918
00:05:30.326 --> 00:06:27.569
00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:31.209
00:06:31.228 --> 00:06:32.778
00:06:33.295 --> 00:06:36.026
00:06:36.956 --> 00:06:41.456
00:06:41.516 --> 00:06:42.206
00:06:42.836 --> 00:06:44.636
00:06:45.175 --> 00:06:46.436
00:06:47.485 --> 00:06:48.626
00:06:49.252 --> 00:06:51.442
00:06:52.283 --> 00:06:53.632
00:06:54.173 --> 00:06:55.132
00:06:55.163 --> 00:06:57.802
00:06:58.283 --> 00:07:01.552
00:07:01.793 --> 00:07:02.663
00:07:03.083 --> 00:07:04.973
00:07:05.453 --> 00:07:08.302
00:07:08.603 --> 00:07:11.423
00:07:12.143 --> 00:07:15.293
00:07:16.163 --> 00:07:17.273
00:07:18.382 --> 00:07:21.233
00:07:21.742 --> 00:07:26.543
00:07:27.983 --> 00:07:29.543
00:07:30.442 --> 00:07:36.023
00:07:36.622 --> 00:07:39.263
00:07:40.192 --> 00:07:40.973
00:07:42.485 --> 00:07:42.836
00:07:42.836 --> 00:07:43.745
00:07:44.245 --> 00:07:44.776
00:07:45.156 --> 00:07:46.936
00:07:46.936 --> 00:07:50.206
00:07:50.225 --> 00:07:52.886
00:07:52.975 --> 00:07:57.286
00:07:57.295 --> 00:08:00.956
00:08:01.466 --> 00:08:03.989
00:08:03.999 --> 00:08:04.609
00:08:05.098 --> 00:09:55.588
00:09:56.064 --> 00:09:56.943
00:09:57.443 --> 00:09:57.743
00:09:57.773 --> 00:10:07.993
00:10:08.344 --> 00:10:17.894
00:10:18.368 --> 00:10:19.229
00:10:19.239 --> 00:10:25.449
00:10:25.449 --> 00:10:35.058
00:10:35.068 --> 00:10:43.759
00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:43.778
00:10:44.251 --> 00:10:53.932
00:10:53.942 --> 00:11:12.406
00:11:12.828 --> 00:11:16.038
00:11:16.538 --> 00:11:20.568
00:11:21.088 --> 00:11:23.159
00:11:23.288 --> 00:11:25.328
00:11:25.868 --> 00:11:26.189
00:11:26.189 --> 00:11:27.269
00:11:27.269 --> 00:11:28.838
00:11:28.838 --> 00:11:30.078
00:11:30.638 --> 00:11:40.338
00:11:40.348 --> 00:11:43.979
00:11:44.048 --> 00:11:47.189
00:11:47.189 --> 00:11:51.952
00:11:52.452 --> 00:11:55.712
00:11:56.212 --> 00:11:57.472
00:11:57.472 --> 00:12:01.252
00:12:01.752 --> 00:12:02.913
00:12:02.972 --> 00:12:08.303
00:12:08.313 --> 00:12:09.303
00:12:09.303 --> 00:12:11.522
00:12:12.022 --> 00:12:14.742
00:12:14.772 --> 00:12:18.363
00:12:18.863 --> 00:12:21.732
00:12:22.053 --> 00:12:28.143
00:12:28.353 --> 00:12:37.853
00:12:37.853 --> 00:12:41.113
00:12:41.452 --> 00:12:55.695
00:12:56.144 --> 00:12:59.503
00:12:59.624 --> 00:13:03.044
00:13:03.854 --> 00:13:05.774
00:13:06.733 --> 00:13:10.453
00:13:10.963 --> 00:13:14.473
00:13:14.894 --> 00:13:16.604
00:13:17.384 --> 00:13:22.693
00:13:23.263 --> 00:13:27.193
00:13:27.854 --> 00:13:33.463
00:13:34.394 --> 00:13:35.294
00:13:35.534 --> 00:13:36.463
00:13:37.016 --> 00:13:44.006
00:13:44.506 --> 00:13:45.496
00:13:45.496 --> 00:14:06.875
00:14:07.036 --> 00:14:16.566
00:14:16.846 --> 00:14:19.346
00:14:19.846 --> 00:14:21.096
00:14:21.685 --> 00:14:26.476
00:14:27.016 --> 00:14:31.955
00:14:32.105 --> 00:14:38.726
00:14:39.306 --> 00:14:41.296
00:14:41.296 --> 00:14:46.066
00:14:46.566 --> 00:14:51.955
00:14:52.006 --> 00:14:56.836
00:14:56.976 --> 00:15:03.006
00:15:03.006 --> 00:15:09.016
00:15:09.016 --> 00:15:11.435
00:15:11.935 --> 00:15:54.050
00:15:54.550 --> 00:15:55.651
00:15:56.121 --> 00:16:07.330
00:16:07.381 --> 00:16:10.891
00:16:11.391 --> 00:16:34.891
00:16:35.391 --> 00:16:39.790
00:16:39.861 --> 00:16:44.461
00:16:44.961 --> 00:16:52.181
00:16:52.730 --> 00:16:59.201
00:16:59.596 --> 00:17:00.445
00:17:00.945 --> 00:17:05.695
00:17:06.195 --> 00:17:09.586
00:17:10.086 --> 00:17:18.016
00:17:18.516 --> 00:17:21.885
00:17:22.465 --> 00:17:34.476
00:17:34.865 --> 00:17:40.905
00:17:41.405 --> 00:17:47.865
00:17:48.365 --> 00:18:04.685
00:18:04.695 --> 00:18:07.915
00:18:08.415 --> 00:18:11.455
00:18:11.516 --> 00:18:15.145
00:18:15.615 --> 00:18:17.806
00:18:17.806 --> 00:18:19.205
00:18:19.205 --> 00:18:21.086
00:18:21.096 --> 00:18:22.736
00:18:23.236 --> 00:18:24.645
00:18:24.746 --> 00:18:27.596
00:18:28.096 --> 00:18:31.756
00:18:32.115 --> 00:18:33.715
00:18:34.215 --> 00:18:45.445
00:18:45.445 --> 00:18:49.086
00:18:49.586 --> 00:18:51.996
00:18:52.145 --> 00:19:00.736
00:19:00.736 --> 00:19:02.026
00:19:02.036 --> 00:19:03.476
00:19:03.961 --> 00:19:07.371
00:19:07.871 --> 00:19:15.391
00:19:15.891 --> 00:19:23.298
00:19:23.349 --> 00:19:45.828
00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:54.431
00:19:54.837 --> 00:20:05.548
00:20:06.048 --> 00:20:08.508
00:20:08.824 --> 00:20:18.304
00:20:18.344 --> 00:20:20.004
00:20:20.181 --> 00:20:23.750
00:20:24.250 --> 00:20:33.971
00:20:34.520 --> 00:21:16.701
00:21:16.711 --> 00:21:24.641
00:21:25.141 --> 00:21:30.051
00:21:30.551 --> 00:21:36.270
00:21:36.821 --> 00:22:02.076
00:22:02.576 --> 00:22:04.556
00:22:04.576 --> 00:22:09.346
00:22:09.346 --> 00:22:26.826
00:22:27.326 --> 00:22:33.875
00:22:33.956 --> 00:22:36.406
00:22:36.456 --> 00:22:40.536
00:22:40.536 --> 00:22:47.266
00:22:47.266 --> 00:22:49.026
00:22:49.526 --> 00:22:58.806
00:22:59.346 --> 00:23:07.331
00:23:07.331 --> 00:23:17.547
00:23:17.737 --> 00:23:19.757
00:23:19.777 --> 00:23:20.707
00:23:20.707 --> 00:23:21.047
00:23:21.547 --> 00:23:34.707
00:23:34.907 --> 00:23:36.336
00:23:36.336 --> 00:23:40.524
00:23:40.604 --> 00:23:42.544
00:23:43.044 --> 00:23:48.237
00:23:48.237 --> 00:23:50.147
00:23:50.477 --> 00:24:01.397