#9 After the Fall — Addiction, Recovery, and Finding the Ocean Again

1:12 Hi friends. Today, bringing you a story from the other side of the country. And meeting a surfing athlete with roots in Florida. But with the story, like no other. A story of talent. Adventure. Followed by near death And drug addiction. But then resurrection To meet and exceed all expectations. This is the ageless athlete podcast. And I'm your host Kush canoed wall from San Francisco. If you have enjoyed the show. Great. If you could follow us and leave a review. On April 11th, 2009. Tyler Farnham a budding young surfer and lifeguard.

1:54 Suffered a catastrophic skydiving accident. He almost died, broke all bones in his body and had his leg nearly amputated. 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. While recovering from the trauma. The pain post accident pushed Tyler into the seductive clutches of pain killing opioids. For the second time around, he almost went down with little hope of coming back. However with steely resolve. He battled back his demons. Found healing in the ocean.

2:35 He loved. And today he's surfing tall as a coach and motivation speaker. Tyler's journey of broken bones, broken spirit. Perseverance is sure to leave you inspired. And believe. Anything is possible. So listen on for this. hell and back story of this ageless Waterman. Tyler, hi, how are you? where you? I'm in Cocoa Beach, Florida in the good old USA. It's been several years since we surfed together in Lombok in Indonesia. Yes, really good memories of that place. And funny enough, I actually lived in a small town by cocoa beach when I was in grad school in Florida.

3:17 In Melbourne. Florida. Right next to you. And then I remember visiting Cocoa beach a couple of times. Lovely place. Tyler would love to get a quick bio of yourself. When I met you in Bali. You were helping run the surf school. And not you're in cocoa beach. Would love to hear a little bit about, uh, how old are you where you from? What are you doing these days? And then finally, what pulls you into your extraordinary life as a surfer and as a surfguard? I am literally at the moment sitting in my house where I was hometown, born and raised, Cocoa Beach, Florida.

3:58 So across the street I've got the beach where I learned to surf when I was three. And yeah, my life started out here. Had a pretty I'd say picture perfect lifestyle with my sister growing up with our two dogs and surfing, going to school here. And, yeah, so I'd say my mid twenties, that's when my life started, I guess you could say becoming interesting. I started lifeguarding when I was 24, and as you know, I told you about my accident. So when I was 25 years old, I had my skydiving accident that nearly took my life. 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.

4:42 Whereas at the same time I, yeah, I knew I was going to probably go into fire school and become a firefighter. 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. And I loved my job as an ocean rescue lifeguard, but I had an opportunity. To go out and lifeguard out in Australia. And I took that opportunity when I was 29 years old. 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. 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.

5:30 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.

6:27 And it's still something I, yeah, I'm, I'm always doing. I'm still out in that ocean every single day. I think the key word you used it's therapy. It's outdoor therapy served to us by the biggest creator of the mall. Modern nature. And we are so lucky to have. To be able to partake in it. I want to take a step. And just talk about how you got into surfing. And then into skydiving. Believe it or not. I actually have battled out at cocoa beach. It was a few years ago, I think a couple of years. Pre COVID. I had got down to Florida for a wedding. May I have with my buddy, Chris who's from Florida.

7:08 We rented a formboard from. Long Johns iconic soul shop. It for super-small. Battled out and got a few. And I can actually say that I have served in the sunshine state. On that note, a. Wondering if you ever had the occasion to surf with the most famous surfer. To have come out of Florida, maybe all. The U S. Mr. Kelly Slater. yep. I've never actually surfed with Mr. Slater, but I've lifeguarded a couple of his events.

7:50 There's a Slater Invitational that happens here. I don't know if it still happens, but before I left to go to Australia, they had it. And I remember I was lifeguarding that event and I had him sign my lifeguard can. we have a statue of him right in downtown. There's a street. 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?

9:56 They were small, right? Yeah. 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. 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? Yeah, for sure. So skating was a way of going and it was funny cause I had groups of friends as we all do in high school. 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. 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.

10:43 Yeah. 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. 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. then when I turned 18, that's when I jumped out of an airplane for the first time. that's similar to being three years old and surfing for the first time and getting bit by the bug. This time around, it was jumping out of a plane. And I still remember on the ride.

11:25 down. I was talking to my instructor. I was like, how do I do this on my own? I want to do this on my own. 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. I was not a, I can't even say I was a weekend warrior. I was more of like once a month I'd go down. I'd maybe do two or three jumps every now and then I'd do it a every couple of weeks, but. I think I had under 200 jumps in seven years. Although that wasn't enough for me. It was just more of just going and getting that nice thrill, that buzz. And, yeah. Surfing was always number one for me, but we're not really getting that much swell here in Florida.

12:08 We never really have. It's got that reputation in the surfing world. So I was like, okay, what else can I do to get my buzz here? sky diving was definitely, yeah, that was my go to for a while. So yeah, surfing, skating, skydiving. 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. 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. I thought that it looked so fun, but I was like, you got to pay your dues. 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.

12:56 Falling on or crashing on concrete or asphalt. It's just a little bit less forgiving than doubling in water. That was some good self-awareness. And moving on to other things earlier, you hinted at this. But you have had an extra ordinary bat. Overcoming a possibly. Career ending, or maybe even a life ending accident, plus a very serious drug addiction. Would love to just run through what happened, how did it happen? And then your journey back to resecting your former self and exceeding it. Would love to hear. A little bit more about it.

13:37 Basically, 25 years old, I was a lifeguarding captain, planned to join the fire department. Life was going good. 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. 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. They were both doing their first ever tandem skydives.

14:19 I jumped out of the plane. I had a malfunction at a, Relatively low altitude. So I went into an uncontrollable spin where I should have. I always say I should have cut away and use my reserve parachute, although I failed to do I thought too much. I broke a couple of rules. I was not altitude aware and I didn't use the rule of twos when it comes to malfunctions. And I definitely got a lot of backlash from that, from the skydiving community, but I own it. I own up to it and yeah, the accident was extremely severe. My mom was actually on the ground with me when the helicopter landed to transport me.

15:03 So she had to see my mangled body right in the field, but I landed in the field. I landed in the grass and not on the paved runway. 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.

15:54 So I was wrecked. 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. But in the rehab center, it was, I'd say it was worse than the hospital. 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.

16:35 And that was a, yeah, that was a wild ride standing in rehab. I went from one rehab to the next once I was able to be a little bit more weight bearing on my leg. And, yeah, then I got transferred home, but, so I turned 26 years old when I woke up from the coma. 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. April 16th. And in 11 months, it was March of 2010. That was when I got the doctor to sign off that I could go skydiving again. And it was also the same month where I passed my requalification because I was a lifeguard captain at the time of the accident.

17:18 And I wanted nothing more than to get my job back, my life back. 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. 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. So in 11 months, it was a, yeah, like a complete turnaround, okay, cool, I might have my life back. 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.

18:04 Him and I responded to a surfer that had broken his neck surfing. And one of our lifeguards pulled him in from the water. Johnny and I arrived and we performed CPR on this man. And we brought him back and we saved him. he went to the hospital. He was in the hospital for about nine days. And they had to take him off life support. But his family thanked us. I received lifeguard of the year that year, a valor award. And I started working with surfers for autism that same summer. So summer of 2010. 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.

18:45 You should start writing down these events that are happening because they're pretty special. And I had already started journaling when I was in rehab. I started journaling about my progress because I was given some really good advice by another extreme athlete, extreme sports athlete, Karina Holicum. We got in a real serious accident. She's the one that told me to start. writing things down, following the progress of what I could do. And I started journaling when I was in the hospital, and then once those events occurred, like surfer's I wrote them all down. The following year, 2011, we had Hurricane Bonnie, and our lifeguard association, we had so many rescues that year. 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.

19:46 Tyler, sorry to, to interrupt, but, that is an incredible story of having that accident and, surviving it just barely. 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. The recovery story is, is incredible. Any specific things that you wish to highlight, behaviors, maybe habits, maybe tools that, were, were critical. I think you mentioned journaling. I journal a little bit myself and I find that to be quite therapeutic. 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.

20:34 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.

21:16 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. So when I found that I'd become dependent on them was around the same time that the girl left me. So something that I think all of us human beings can deal with or relate to, I should say, is heartbreak. 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.

22:02 If I put them in order, surfing, music, and art. For sure, those are my three passions that I make sure every single day I would do. 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. So all of a sudden, if I'm the kind of, I was the one that could get the medication, right? of course, I was the one people were reaching out to. but yeah, once I didn't have the medication anymore, I told the doctor I didn't want to take it. 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.

22:47 So for me, it was cutting off. 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. kudos and, gratitude to these habits and, skills that you had with art and the drawing that, helped you pull through. 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. I read that book, about the Sacklers. it's pretty devastating. What's. 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.

23:34 It's called PRP, whatever. And, I had this sort of anti, anti reaction instead of relief. I had this, crazy, like pain episode. To the point where I had to get a fentanyl patch. fentanyl again is one of those crazy drugs. 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. But anyway, it was a patch. It was not a pill. So slow timed release. That's quite something, and, journaling, being able to get back to, your, pursuits and then having the community around you.

24:15 And also the fact that you were able to take some hard decisions. With, cutting off people perhaps who were part of your circle to be able to wean yourself off, let's say, bad influences and only let in positivity. those are probably key to, your recovery. going back to your story. at this point, you've kicked off, the drugs you are getting some of your vitality back. You're surfing again. How close or how much time did it take you, Tyler, to get back to, let's say, your former self and to be able to surf again, to lifeguard again? And then how close to your former self do you think you are today?

25:00 How much do you think the accident and the addiction set you back? I got back to my former self in 2012 because the same day that I decided I was going to stop taking any of the medication that they're prescribing me this and I'm, it's crazy. Sometimes I say things. I'm like, it actually happened this way when it's really hard to believe, but the same day that I decided to stop taking the medication was the same day I got that offer to go out to Australia. Yeah. So that gave me a new goal or a reason to strive and getting myself in the peak physical condition that I could possibly and mental condition that I could possibly be in.

25:45 So I would say 2012 was a big year for me. But then for me, I'd say, and I still say this, I keep telling, I told my dad this the other day, I'm like, I'm in the best shape of my life right now because I have built these habits over the years to where if I don't do them, I don't feel complete. Like I was telling you earlier, as far as getting in the ocean every single day, it has to be done. Journaling. It has to be done. Stretching. It has to be done. Meditating. So I've built this stack of habits to where I can keep telling myself as the days go by, I go, okay, I'm still. Healthiest I've been in my entire life. Now, am I as healthy as I was when I was 20?

26:28 no, I think back to that time, but I, regardless, I just tell myself that as far as my former self and where I'm at now, I feel I've built the right habits to still be able to keep progressing for mentally and physically, even at 40, Yeah, Tyler, when we started this, chat, you said something interesting that I want to get us back to you said that you feel a sense of gratitude almost that you went through these, these life altering episodes, which is fascinating because most people, they would not want, accidents and addictions, but here you are, you went through hell and back you mind unpacking that for us.

27:08 I still say it is that was the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life was that accident because it would not have happened. Most likely I would have been living still and nothing wrong with it, but in my home county as a firefighter and I wouldn't have had the adventures. I never would have met you. I never would have met 90 percent of the people I call my closest friend, I even have, I have children in Australia that wouldn't have happened if I would have not had the accident, I have a dog still in Indonesia who I love very much. He's eight years old. And so it's almost like another, what is it's 11 years of another life that I would not experience if it weren't for that accident. Whereas now I say it every single day, like I miss the discomfort.

27:50 And I've got a couple of buddies. We have a WhatsApp group when it comes to it, I don't know if you've heard of Dave Goggins, but that kind of a mindset. It's okay, it's raining outside. It's windy. I still want to get those endorphins. So I'm going to ride my bike in that wind and that rain. And my buddies that, I lived in China for seven months with this, one of my friends who I'm talking about, him and I talked Talk every day, and we love the discomfort and the pain to a certain extent because of all the growth it's, So it's a mindset where I'm going, okay, the accident was tremendous, it was awful. Whereas at the same time, there was so much growth that came from that. I think that's why I started doing comedy because I wanted to be uncomfortable, but I also didn't want to get hurt.

28:31 So I think that's one of the best ways to be uncomfortable and look for growth But not get hurt is get up on a stage and try to make people laugh, so i'm living by that whole thing now It's okay want to push myself in those discomforts so I can get as much growth as I possibly can one seeks growth and one seeks avenues to be able to, to push ourselves and, growth doesn't really happen unless, one finds, challenges that, are not always the most comfortable sometimes. It also seems that you are able to take your experiences now, Tyler, and I think you have this, this side hustle. As a speaker and as an author and you're able to share your story with others.

29:15 so mind, sharing, a bit about, what do you talk about when you speak publicly and, also tell us, where we can find you either, talk live or, or, hear you virtually and also read about, some of the, I think some of the, I think you've written some books and where could we find those? Yeah. So I wrote early on, I wrote a book, reaching cloud nine and in 2020, I actually revised that book. So there's a second edition of reaching cloud nine and then a second book of journals from cloud nine, which is all about.

30:47 Mainly the recovery, the addiction, and then the travels mostly in Indonesia and the speeches are exactly on that. Everything we've been discussing, I, I gave a couple of talks last year to, one to Cross Hotels and another one to OVOLO Hotels. And they flew their GMs in from, from neighboring countries. And I gave a leadership presentation on overcoming adversity. And so now that's, I just spoke at a conference in Puerto Rico for surf therapy. And so all about the benefits like we were talking about is the healing powers of the ocean. So now I am pursuing that. I'm pursuing that more full time, whereas I'm still on the beach, working 9 to 5, lifeguarding, which is great.

31:34 Although my dreams are pretty big and I do know that I will accomplish them. It's been a long journey, but it's been good and it will continue to be good. And I'm used to reject rejection. I'm used to the frustration. I know it's all part of it. Whereas at the same time, when you do get that opportunity, I know how incredibly sweet it is. So that's my, that gives me that. that dying, that, that passion to keep moving forward. Cause I know that it's going to happen. Whereas right now it's, yeah, as I said in the beginning, it's a real struggle at this point in time, having all that time in Asia and now being back in the U S. Reverse culture shock that I don't know if it's ever going to change while at the same time I know this is where I need to be with family right now.

32:21 And also I think with the speaking career I'm gonna have a little bit more Luck here in the US versus Indonesia because it's pretty tricky out there to try to make Big things happen, whereas in the US, I feel like there's a lot more opportunity here for what I'm trying to do Changing tracks a little bit and asking you a few different types of maybe fun questions, Let's say in the last few years, what new belief, or habit, has most improved your life? yes to opportunities and doing things where, you're going to feel uncomfortable. And when you start questioning, maybe I don't want to do this. I'm a little scared or I'm a little nervous. No, just commit to it.

33:02 And again, that's where the growth is hiding. So for me, that's. 100 percent what's changed in my life over the past few years is just saying yes to opportunities that may seem a little bit scary or daunting, but knowing that it's the right decision to, to move forward and to grow, Absolutely. Yes. the power of saying yes, the power of, surrendering to, to opportunity. In the past, you overcame extraordinary odds. And, you were able to push past those things. What do you think you did differently that allowed you to succeed? Where, let's say, some of your contemporaries, who were falling prey to, to drug addictions or other things, they were not able to.

33:47 say for sure, working on my physical and mental strength every single day and. Not using substances and not falling victim to substances. I got to a point where funny enough in Lombok, it started with, and it was, I think it was a couple of years after I met you out there, but a couple of the guests who ended up staying for quite some time, the three of us decided we're going to go 30 days with no sugar because we're all addicts on sugar. I still love cookies. I can smell them. I think they're baking right now in the kitchen and I still treat myself every now and then, but.

34:28 Yeah, the sugar, the month with no sugar, I did that, but then I did, okay, I couldn't remember in my entire adult life when I went more than a week without a drink, so I decided I'm going to go a month without having a drink. Cookies. Well, send some over here. And then that turned to two months and three months and then my buddy his wife and I did this 75 day challenge, which was something else that when I did this challenge, it was obviously there was no drinking in this challenge and I've never had an issue with drinking, but I've seen a lot of people, friends, family struggled with alcoholism and So it's pushed me to go, okay, I look at that as something that's going to slow me down and I don't want to get, I don't want to slow down.

35:17 I want to speed up. I want to keep moving towards the goals that I have. So I'd say for me waking up early. And using my time extremely wisely has been how I've been able to get myself to where I want to be. not quite there yet, but at the same time, those habits I found, find to really help. And especially with getting older, it's a hangover when I was 20. I think I just Cruise right through it. Whereas a hangover at 40. I feel like I need to check into the hospital for a couple days it's not easy. So for me with any sort of substances stuff like that It just doesn't really doesn't contribute to where I want to go, you know, I've tried some of those fasts or, giving up certain things.

36:01 And yes, the results have been, interesting. it's obvious that you have become good at many things with a lifetime of, hard work and practice. What is perhaps one thing that you are not good at and, you wish you were? I'm very well I was right away when he said what am I not good at that? I'm not good in math at all That's always hindered me from pursuing Educate a higher education when it comes to college math has always been a huge struggle for me But I think with what I wish I could be a little what I'm not great at but I wish I could be better at I guess When it comes to management and authority to have that, I've found some of the best leaders that they're almost, you're fearful of them at times when you see them coming and not in a way, not in a way where you're going to get hurt, but in a way where you want to make sure you're doing everything exactly how you should be doing.

36:58 And I've met some very successful people, some extremely successful CEOs that have that mentality, and I wish I could have that, whereas I'm often. I just want to be very friendly. I want to make sure everyone's comfortable. And so I'm trying to learn how to be that person. Although at the same time, keep the qualities that I have, that make me a likable person, So that's what I'd really like to continue to work. makes sense. Yes. And some of those things, they don't come naturally. It takes, it takes a long time. anecdotally, I, one of the people I admire, for being a really polished public speaker Is Barack Obama but if you go back and you look on YouTube and you look at some of his speeches before he became president, when he was younger, maybe in, in law school or a young hotshot lawyer, and yes, two different people.

37:47 it's obvious that he put the time into, into his, public elocution, last question here, if there could be a gigantic billboard and you could print any message you want to say out to others, what would that be? honestly, it would probably be the Nike slogan. Just do it. Cause it's, it is far as just, I love that slogan because there's so many times where, like today, for example, I haven't done my bike ride yet. I'm going to do my bike ride as soon as we get off the phone and I'm actually pumped up to do it. because I haven't had, I know I did one yesterday too, but regardless, what I'm getting at is some days I might not want to do it. And I know everybody struggles with that. Oh, maybe one day you're too tired or whatever it is.

38:29 And it's no, you just do it. Do the movements. Maybe it's not going to be your fastest, but just make it happen and you're going to feel better. So I'd say just. Just do it on that billboard. Steal them from the Nike slogan. So I'd say just. Just do it on that billboard. Steal them from the Nike slogan. it's it's funny. I talked to another, overachieving athlete, and all around, Rockstar yesterday and he had the same, same message out then I wish that you were able to do, put that slogan out there and maybe use like different words because you don't want the, the Nike lawyers coming after you. No, I don't have big enough lawyers to fight the Nike board. Before we go, I think you mentioned, We can look you up, look up the speeches you've given and the books you've written.

39:12 Any other places you want, to point out where people can, can get in touch with you or learn more about the things you're doing? Yeah, for sure. You could just go, my website is tylerfarnham. com and that gives a good rundown of what I'm doing and with the speaking and that's a great way to reach out and contact me as well. Do you have an Instagram presence as well Yeah. Oh yeah. Yep. Instagram, just be Tyler Farnham is my handle there. So yeah, Instagram and Facebook are the on LinkedIn. LinkedIn's a big one too. Tyler Farnham on LinkedIn and what I'm quite active on. I'd say Instagram and LinkedIn for sure. we will be sure to put those, links out in the show notes so people can, can go find you.

39:55 It's been, it's been a great conversation, Tyler. Thank you for coming on and, sharing your, story. Same to you, bro. Thank you. Thank you. Talk to you soon. That's the amazing story of Tyler. Find him. A surfer and lifeguard who persevered through a catastrophic accident and addiction to find healing and purpose in the ocean. His journey demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit and the power of overcoming adversity. I hope God has experience. Has inspired you. To keep fighting.

40:37 And given you hope. To achieve your dreams. To connect for the checkout, the website. His book. And his social media for more details on his speaking and advocacy around self-therapy. This concludes today's episode of the Eastland Alibaba. The podcast. I'm a grateful host Kush. If you enjoyed the show and Tyler's uplifting message, please follow us. I shared with others who may find inspiration. And leave us a review. That helps new listeners discover the podcast talk soon. And until next time, stay ageless