speaker-0: I can't control my you know, my vision, but what else can I control? I control my mindset, my attitude, making more people aware and educate more people.

speaker-1: Welcome to the Giving Game, the only show where professional athletes are banned from talking about their sport. That's right. No stats, no game recaps, no media trained answers. I'm your host, Sophie Weitzel, and every episode we find out who these athletes actually are when the cameras stop rolling and the jerseys come off. We're talking untold stories, questionable life decisions, dating disasters, money, family, fame, philanthropy, and all the stuff their PR teams would probably prefer stayed off the internet. But here's the twist every episode is tied to a charity or cause chosen by the athlete. So while we're exposing personalities, we're also raising real money and driving measurable impact for the organizations that mattered. There are only three rules on this show no sports talk, no filters, raise as much money as possible. So if you've ever wondered what athletes are really like off the field, welcome to the Giving Game. Let the game begin. Today's guest is living proof that vision has Absolutely nothing to do with eyesight. At a young age, Griffin Pink Cao was diagnosed with a rare degenerative eye condition that slowly causes central vision loss. Most people, when they hear something like that, immediately start thinking about all the things they may never get to do. But Griffin built a life around proving those assumptions wrong. He's an endurance athlete, marathon runner, tandem cyclist, public speaker, children's book author, advocate. And founder of the Foreseeable Future Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping blind and visually impaired individuals gain access to sports recreation and community. Because Griffin believes that losing your vision should not mean losing your freedom, confidence, or your identity. And honestly, that's what makes this conversation so important. Because this episode isn't about blindness, it's about mindset and adapting when life doesn't go according to plan. It's about resilience, independence, purpose, and refusing to let the hardest thing that ever happened to you become your entire story. Also, fair warning: this is a giving game, so there's a very high probability we're gonna make Griffin a little bit ⁓ embarrassed before the episode is over. No sports talk, no filters, just a real conversation and real impact. This is the giving game, and Griffin Pink Cow is officially in the building. So welcome, Griffin. Wow.

speaker-0: Thank you, Sophie. Wow. I got all this pressure now. I'm gonna be be on on my toes. But thank you for that introduction. I'm so happy to be here. I am so

speaker-1: So happy to have you, Griffin. So tell our fans a little bit more about ⁓ the foreseeable future and why you are brave enough to come on and chat with me.

speaker-0: Well, ⁓ the Foreseeable Future Foundation, I guess started a long time ago, but you know, I've only been doing it for about seven years now. Took my personal experiences dealing with visual impairments and blindness at a young age. I was diagnosed when I was eleven or twelve and we actually found out through sports. One day I was in the outfield and I couldn't track the ball off the bat. I was running way one way, the ball was going another, and that was at the first instance to there's something wrong. So I've always loved sports and throughout my life growing up and trying to adapt and have to figure everything out. I I continued to play sports and up and about college I had to stop playing with my able body peers. I had a head injury and ⁓ said, Okay, I probably shouldn't do that anymore. I was went out for the rugby team and didn't tell everyone what my vision actually was at the time and ⁓ started running marathons actually. A friend said we should do a marathon. I told them you're crazy. Why would I do that? We raised money for research. It opened me up to all these adaptive sports. And a couple of years after graduating from college, I ⁓ started Foreseeable Future Foundation and make sure that no young individual kid, we help veterans as well feel left out, alienated and feel like they can do anything with the avenue and pipeline through sports and recreation, because I always say it's my medicine. So that's what we do with foreseeable future, and that's kind of how the the journey started and what we're working towards.

speaker-1: And can you tell me what your eye disease is called?

speaker-0: Yeah, you did you did a pretty good job. You didn't butcher it. It it's it's ret not as pigmentosa, which is a retinal degenerate disease. Okay.

speaker-1: So we'll just call it RP because it's easier for me. I love it. ⁓ so is there currently no cure for RP or any advances in medic in medicine at this time?

speaker-0: R P there we go. Yeah. No, no, there's not. And that's the thing, Sophie, that there there's no there's nothing that can help or reverse the vision loss. So, you know, a long time ago I thought, well, I can't control my you know, my vision, but what else can I control? I control my mindset, my attitude, making more people aware and educate more people, and then starting the organization realizing I could help the community I'm part of through something I love, sports and rec. So there there's no cure. You know, at eleven or twelve started to lose vision. By 16 I was legally blind. By college I had a cane. Now I have my ⁓ my partner in crime, Lester, my black lab. I've had him for about seven years, my guy dog. So it it progressively is, you know, so the end result is you go, you know, you could go completely blind, but I'm not, you know, it might sound bad. I'm not, you know, I'm not concerned about it because of the attitude attitude mindset ⁓ that I have and that I've we you know we've set through p my my itself and then foreseeable. ⁓ I do crazy things that people with full vision would probably never want to do, whether it's jumping out of a plane or going bunsey jumping or running marathons. So ⁓ my God. There's no no no cure at the moment.

speaker-1: But so you've you're jumping out of planes right now.

speaker-0: Yes, ma'am. ⁓ yes, Sophie, I am. I two years ago. ⁓ So so I'll tell you this this story because, you know, once again, people have asked me what, you know, how do you do things? How do you do this, this, and this? I was in Australia with some buddies and they were doing their own thing in the morning. I actually decided to go to ⁓ skydiding. I wanted to go skyding. And they're like, all right, cool. You're not gonna do that. That's BS. And I woke up that morning, got myself from the hotel to like forty-five minutes to where I had to be. I rock up, I do it, I do the tandem skydive, and then I go back. And my friends are like, So what did you do this morning? Barely get on the bus to go to all the wineries that we were gonna go do that afternoon. ⁓ my god. And I'm like, guys, I told you I was going bun I was going skydiving. They're like, You got in a car by yourself in a country you've never been to really, like in that part of the world. You you trusted someone, you got there. You did that and then came back? Like, you sure you didn't go with someone? I'm like, no, I did it by myself. They're like, You're crazy. So Yeah. He's charging with their specter.

speaker-1: My gosh. And what what's something that you feel is like the biggest misconception about blindness or visually impaired people that you're like, okay, no, this is not true. Like let's let's it end that stigma.

speaker-0: Yeah. I mean, it it sounds silly, Sophie, but honestly that it's not like the poor blind person or how are they gonna do this or they can't do that or you know, i i it sounds silly, but I think that's a you know, people don't know what they don't know, right? And they're uncomfortable to maybe ask the question or ask, you know, I don't wanna ask the wrong thing. I don't know if I I wanna offend them. But, you know, it's like I think the misconception is that, you know, how can you adapt things for this community? How can they be an attorney? How can they go skydiving? How you know, I can do anything. How can you adapt sports? So I think that's the big misconception and stigma. You know, it's in a lot of different things, challenges and in general in the world. But ⁓ I've experienced that personally and and I know that's happened to a lot of others. Of they could potentially just see your visual impairment or blindness, and that's all they see. And they're like, How are you gonna do anything? Or it's like, no, ⁓ we're we're a person, we're like anyone else. ⁓ we might need tools and things to help us do it, but like. We can we can make it happen. So it it sounds silly, but I feel like that's that's a big one that is tough for people to kind of broach.

speaker-1: I think that's amazing. And, you know, to touch on that a little bit, like my sister, she is a pediatric oncologist and she is she works in Seattle and her big her big project or her big baby right now is her cancer research, you know, for children. But she does so much about like with mindfulness and ⁓ like healing and you know where that plays a part in in ⁓ you know healing people and ⁓ just what the power of a positive mindset or a power of visualizing like you know I and you know in some of it's like silly like but it's like if they're if you have a two year old it's like hey let's picture you know ⁓ like the Pac Man eating up your cancer and you know just positive visualization and like how your body actually does like really adapt to that in like a you know, molecular way. And so it's not just like, ⁓ mindset is just, ⁓ Griffin's happy. It's like, you know, his body is adapting because you choose to have this incredible mindset of not like, what can't I do, but how can I make this happen? And I think that's amazing. Yeah.

speaker-0: Well, and it's it's cool, Sophie, that that she's focusing on that as well and and helping because there's so many different things out there. And I you know, that is a big part of it is the is the mindset and being able to being open to doing it and and and I think kind of maybe I had the reverse effect when I lost kept losing more vision. I'm like, okay, I wanna do everything and I wanna try to do everything that I can and see what it's like and if I like it, great. If not, you know, okay, you move on. But that's the the piece of sports at least, my love of sports is that You know, I I I do say it's my medicine. So that that is the thing that grounds me, even if the attitude, you know, isn't isn't at a hundred percent you know that day or whatever the case may be, I'm gonna go box, I'm gonna go ride my bike, I'm gonna do X, Y, and Z. So ⁓ there's healthy ways of of dealing with it as as well, instead of, you know, finding that the the I guess opposite things that aren't healthy or don't help you ⁓ individually.

speaker-1: Right. And I mean, and I tell my kids this a lot too, you know, our our motto is like, you can have a bad day, but we're not gonna have two bad days in a row. We're gonna, you know, everybody's everybody's allowed to have a bad day, but like we're not gonna do that, ⁓ we're not gonna have a bad week or we're not, you know, we just it it's all about that shift and I think that that's so important. So, ⁓ I wish more people had that mindset, truly. ⁓ I think the world would be a much better place. ⁓ if if people saw an obstacle and didn't just ⁓ say, Okay, well I can't do this It's like, Okay, well let's find a way to make it happen. And there's that's a there's two very different schools of thought there.

speaker-0: Tot totally, Sophie. And it's it it it is interesting. So I I you know, we try to do that. I think that's a part of what's foreseeable is with the organization, you know, there's a lot of people that I've met are, you know, they come to me and they're like, Hey, can you talk to this person? They're going through X, Y, and Z. And it's like, Of course, you know, having those p people that have been through it helped too. But then, you know, being in that mindset to accept that and then to overcome with the challenges and have that attitude. So ⁓ it's it's a process and everyone's everyone's different. But sure. ⁓ you know, I'm lucky that I I I somehow somehow I don't know how or when or it, you know, it happened, but that that's that's how it's worked for me. So ⁓ when people are ready, always trying to be that that that support as well when if if they need it and they come in that that, you know, step of being diagnosed or, you know, working on overcoming something or they did now they don't know what to do. So yeah, that's I made it it's just it's a You know, a mission every day. So we keep trying to do more.

speaker-1: So I'm sure everybody always everybody's always like, ⁓ Griffin, how did you become, you know, how did you overcome this adversity? And you've probably been asked those things like a million times. And so I wanna know, was did you ever hit a point where you were like at rock bottom after you found out or like after you officially lost your vision completely? Were you like, did you have that period of depression or have anything like that at all? Or did you just kind of keep moving forward?

speaker-0: It it sounds so cheesy and and corny, ⁓ Sophie, but I I was asked I got interviewed years ago and they asked me that and point blank, we had to edit it out, but I was like F now. And they're like, W what? And I was like, No no, I never you know, okay, yeah, there's tough days and bad days here and there, but when I was younger, you know, it it was super challenging and and tough to deal with it. But, you know, I just you know, you don't have a choice. You just keep going and trying to figure it out. And ⁓ at a younger age, I don't think I fully understood what the what it meant. You know, I kind of did, but didn't realize, okay, it's gonna yeah, it's gonna change my life forever, but that's not gonna happen. Like I still had some vision because it's it's degenerative. It's not over time. You would slowly lose your vision. And, you know, there might have been, you know, some points here and there where it's like, you know, you have a little pity party here and there, but I never really spent that much time there. It was always I always had you know, I had one or two really good friends. So, you know, growing up with it, yeah, kids could be mean. It was challenging getting people to understand. But I had one which was I was very blessed. I had one or two really good friends that kind of looked out for me and helped. And then, you know, when it got to the point where it was getting worse, you know, once again I had one or two people, my guidance counselor that helped me and get helped me get through it. So I mean, everyone needs someone and needs a good support system to help them through anything. But I I think that's what got me through it. And then also the ⁓ the sports always being active and moving. So I I I didn't, which, you know, maybe a little bit here and there, but nothing where it was like, you know, bordering on really, really bad. Yeah. But that was just that's just how I dealt with it.

speaker-1: Not like debilitating and to where you couldn't function.

speaker-0: Yeah, cor correct, Sophie. Like, of course, yeah, it sucks. It's hard. It's challenging, all the things. Like you're trying to grow up as a kid, then deal with this and get everyone else to understand. And then you have to understand it as well and come to grips with it. So it wasn't debilitating, but I I was lucky that I had certain things and people to help me get through those points and then fully realize like, okay, I can't change it or control it. So why would I even focus on that? And what can I do positively? So I think that change kind of happened in high school, junior, senior of high school, and then really in college.

speaker-1: ⁓ my gosh. I need to I need to have a conversation with you every day, Griffin. I have like the worst anxiety about the dumb the dumbest shit too. I'm like, I stress about everything and I you know, so I need a I need you in my life just as like a morning pep talk every day.

speaker-0: There we go. We'll just do it every every morning. We'll have our nice ⁓ virtual coffee and and and touch base check in. We need you to get we need to start getting you boxing because hitting something always feels good and it's a good workout.

speaker-1: I have ne i fun fun fact is I have never been in a fight in my life ever. And ⁓ I mean, yeah, I think people are like surprised because I'm so like loud and kind of, you know, that person. But I was like, I never got in a fight. No, I didn't want somebody to punch me in the face. I I took it up to that point and then I was like, okay, all right, psycho, like, don't try to hit me, you know. But never been in a fight.

speaker-0: That's a good thing. I've been in there was one in high school and it was actually someone making fun of my vision. ⁓ and I No, no, I b I so so we got so he was making fun of my vision and we got in a fight and I hit him first, so then I was the one who got suspended. But it was a great week. It was a great week at home.

speaker-1: Somebody beat up a blind guy? I when I got suspended in school, I my dad got so pissed at me because I told him I was like, Yeah, it's like a paid vacation. He was like, Absolutely not. Like it's like a paid vacation. This is I mean, yeah. I could do this every week.

speaker-0: I I think everyone was like, Yeah, that's fine that you did that because of what what he was, you know, doing to you so it's like, Yeah, that's fine. Like we'll have a nice week.

speaker-1: I mean, you know, I'm sure he felt probably like two inches tall after that.

speaker-0: Yeah, it was all it was all good, you know, a after that was that was one of the things too. It's like, all right, yeah, that's probably not the best way to deal with it. So you know, what can what could I do that's more productive and better? So there's probably been other instances along the way that kind of got me to the point of like, okay, those those aren't good things to do, so let's, you know, make everyone else feel more comfortable. Let's bring education and awareness to it. Let's, you know, do events on campus and all all those sorts of things. But it was a great week at home.

speaker-1: love that. I ⁓ so ⁓ just a question about the foreseeable future and something I didn't ask you earlier. What are the what are some of the things that you do for these visually impaired folks that you help? Is it you help them find like adaptive equipment? You're there for support. Are you you know is it like you hold events where you guys can all, you know, do sporting events together? What what all do you guys do in the foundation?

speaker-0: So there's a lot of different things. Sophie, one we that that has been really good is we have a grant and scholarship program. So that kind of goes along with, you know, one, if you're visually compared or blind, that's that's a challenge. Then two, you want to be, you know, a an ad you know an athlete and trying to figure out, you know, how do I get the coaches, how do I get the equipment, you know, all those sorts of things. So we have a grant scholarship program for indo individuals and organizations to submit for funding. ⁓ for you know equipment cost for travel to get some of the coaches and specialists that we help we help bring in ⁓ to some of the camps and clubs and clinics that we we partner with or that we support. ⁓ you know if a individual wants to just start to learn how to skate and they're a young kid to try to get into blind hockey or just to do it recre right as a recreational sport, we'll pay for their lessons. ⁓ we send kids to from different schools, ⁓ you know, visually impaired and blind schools. out to Colorado and they get to go skiing. So we do that. So all different types of excursions as well. We have ranch programs where we send kids to different ranches around the country where they get to be with their peers. And you know, something as simple as, hey, did you fall like walk into a wall last week? How did you deal with it? And what's your vision like? ⁓ me too. So they're in a safe community with their peers and they get to interact with them. They get to do incredible activities like Horseback riding, fly fishing, rock climbing, any activity you can think about outside roping, archery, and it gives them the recreational experience, but it also gives them the independence of what they can do. A lot of these kids, you know, have never traveled before. They've been on a bus, never been on a plane, would never have these opportunities. So we'll help fund all of those and then also help facilitate the programs, bring in the volunteers, do the training. And we actually just started a B curriculum for students that can ⁓ potentially learn it as a hobby or realize that they actually can do it as a career and just also the mobility and and skills that they can get navigating on the ranches themselves. We have different events that we do with local partners in different communities around the US, awareness and education events. So we bring everyone together around, you know, it could be a CrossFit workout or ⁓ you know, a dinner or you know, whatever the case may be. So we we do those as well and then ⁓ have an advocacy curriculum that we started and we're building out where we have free resources for individuals who are visually impaired and blind on how they can advocate for themselves. Because that was such a ch I mean it's a challenge for anyone, but especially someone like you go to you go to your class in college or high school and you tell the teacher, I need extra time on my tests and they go, Well we can't do that. We don't have to do that. Well then you're like, okay, that's it.

speaker-1: Were you like fuck off, I'm blind, Jesus. Fuck off, man.

speaker-0: Yeah, but the what? But you have to navigate like you have to navigate those situations, Sophie, and those could be challenging for anyone. So what that's another thing we did is we created these mock interviews, a manual and tip sheets on how you can positively and actively advocate for yourselves. Whether it's on, you know, someone who says, ⁓ you can't run on the track and field team, how are you gonna do this? You're visually impaired. These these these ⁓ educational tools that we've created and working till continuing to build out will give them ways how to do it and and and do it properly and productively. So ⁓ we're working through those as well. So ⁓ we we do that and then also have clubs, clinics and camps all over the country that we support and work with in different capacities. So there's that. And then of course, you know, I always try to help anyone and support, you know, personally in any way I can with advice or, you know, yeah, if if, you know, it's a maybe a different fit for, you know, they're looking for, you know, something outside the sports and rec and health and wellness space. Try to help them any way I can. So we're small, a small team, but we do a lot and we we help, you know, we help thousands of people each year. So that's kind of what we do in the in the organization, how we help this this community and we're always doing more and seeing how we can grow.

speaker-1: that's I mean, that's awesome. No, yeah, yeah. Just hanging around. I mean, you know, thank God you have the temperament that you do because I mean, I think if I was handicapped, no one would help me because I would not be a very inspiring handicapped person. If that teacher told me I c I if that teacher told me I couldn't finish my test, I'd be like, fuck off, man. Like what? You know?

speaker-0: I think

speaker-1: I would be like ⁓ yeah, and people would be like to yeah, nobody wants to help you. So yeah.

speaker-0: See and that and and and and then we get you to the advocacy curriculum and be ⁓ shit, this is I can advocate for myself and then boom, you're rocking and rolling. So

speaker-1: I know, but that's how I would advocate for myself. I'd be like, Look, I love it. Screw you. I'm gonna send my friend to beat you up. And you know, ⁓ no, I I would not be an inspiring handicapped person. So I'm yeah. Pl let's pray to the good Lord that he doesn't ⁓ I I don't have that.

speaker-0: Exactly. Are are you an athlete, Sophie? You run, cycle, do y what do you do? Yoga? I

speaker-1: I no Griffin, I can't even touch my toes. But yeah, I no yeah, I'm like ⁓ I mean I'm a tall girl. I don't know. I've never been like super flexible, but I did play college volleyball. And so I didn't do that. at s in t in ⁓ like it's kind of it was a smaller Christian school, ⁓ kind of by Mizzou.

speaker-0: That's sick.

speaker-1: You know, my dad sent me we, you know, I went to this private Christian college and it was a smaller school. And I was like a wild, wild kid. And I was and I think he thought like, okay, well, you know, she won't get in trouble here. And I'm like, these kids party way more than like the kids at Mizzou do. ⁓ those like small Christian college kids are wild. And, you know, there's nothing else to do there. So we had a good time. For sure. But yeah.

speaker-0: Well, I wasn't that flexible either and being an athlete that's not good. And I had my buddy, his his wife was a Pala yoga instructor and she's we did one session and she's like, ⁓ Griffin, we really have to work on you. Like you you yeah, this is not good. And over the years I got better with it. I did Pilates and now I still try to keep up with all of it because it's ⁓ it it all helps. Well

speaker-1: Okay. Do you remember did you have to do the presidential fitness test in high school?

speaker-0: Okay. I I remember when I was a kid and they had you do that. They just brought that back actually.

speaker-1: That fucking sit and reach is my worst nightmare. I w it like gives me nightmares when I s I'm like, you know, it's like, come on, Sophie, at least get zero, you know, 'cause they had like the negative, you know, you and it was like, ⁓ my gosh, that sit and reach was the worst. I would do anything besides that.

speaker-0: The they made us do pull-ups and I was like I was a fat little kid when I was younger and I'm like I can't I'm like shit I can't do one fucking pull-up like ⁓

speaker-1: Did they let you just hang there on like with the bar for

speaker-0: They did, but like none of us wanted to do that because then everyone made fun of you of like haha, you're just standing you're just you know you're just hanging. So it was better to just not even try to attempt it and take just

speaker-1: Yeah. I'll I'll take the fail. It's fine. It's fine. I'll try next year. Yeah, no. I heard that they're bringing that back.

speaker-0: They are. It's like I don't need the certificate. It's okay. I'll get it next year. So they give you a certificate, like if you actually did it.

speaker-1: Right. Yeah. What? I never got one.

speaker-0: Yeah, neither did I. You you had to successfully get through it. That's why we didn't get one.

speaker-1: ⁓ yeah, that man, that sit and reach. ⁓ I could go on for days about that thing. We should probably get off that subject. ⁓ the worst. No, ⁓ but yeah, I think that is why like genuinely I connect with athletes a little bit more in the sense that I do think that athletes have a different mindset. And you know, and whenever I was like overseeing a lot of people. in you know in the hospital setting and you know I was doing a lot of hiring. Right. It was always like something really notable to have on their resume when they said, you know, that they were a you know a college athlete or what because it's like I feel like the coachability or, you know, those things are kind of getting lost in the shuffle anymore where it's like, ⁓ you know, there's no there's no like constructive feedback that you can give back anymore or else it's like they just like run off and are crying and are, you know, Sophie was being mean to me and was like, no, I'm I'm just, you know, this is what coaching is. Like I'm I'm trying to help you improve, you know? And ⁓ so when somebody is coachable in life, like it I mean, gosh, it just makes your whole world so much easier, you know? And so

speaker-0: Yeah, that's I think that's a big piece of it is like if someone like I forgot what ⁓ there was someone that I saw from ⁓ a company and they were like I I'd rather have an athlete than so like not rather but like it was along the lines of someone saying like if I have an athlete that comes to me and is trying to get me trying to get a job that has been you know in some respect to your point, they're like we'd like them because they're coachable. They know how to, you know, work with a team. They might have leadership skills. So like that that's the one thing that I've learned with with foreseeable, just probably in general, is, you know, it it helps in a lot of other ways. Yeah, you know, you have the physical aspect, but that's just one piece of it. Like it could help you with work, help you with life, help you with right. You know, anything really.

speaker-1: And I will say, I'm gonna give you a chance to kind of like address this stigma, if you will, because nobody else is gonna ask you about it, but I'm gonna have the balls too. Is like ⁓ here we go. No, everybody I think gets a little bit uncomfortable around handicapped people. In a sense, okay, like just because it's like you're you kind of walk on eggshells and you don't wanna offend, you don't want to Yeah. ⁓ say something that could be taken the wrong way, or you know what I mean? Become like come off insensitive to what they're going through. But it's like, hey, I'm a jokey person and I like to give people shit. I give all my friends shit. So me giving you shit is like me treating you normally, you know? And so it's like, do you want to be treated normally or do you want me to treat you differently? And so I think there is this sense of like, can I joke with this person? Even if it's like, You know, it it lighthearted about what they have going on, just like laughing about things and you know, do you feel like there is a stigma around that where it's like, ⁓ Griffin's here, so we gotta kinda like be on our best behavior or

speaker-0: Yeah, I I think maybe with new people, Sophie, like yeah, but people that know me, they're like, Okay, like Griffin doesn't care. Like for example, I I can only go off of like some examples at at of both ends. So, ⁓ I had like one I was working in this this job and you know, always see this this person and you go, ⁓ Griffin, it's great to see you. Like, great to see you too, John, whatever his you know, the person's name was and at one point weeks go by and he comes up to he's like, Griffin, I'm so sorry. And it's like, what's wrong? Are you okay? Like what happened? Like, are you your wife okay? He goes, I didn't realize that when I was s you know, talking to you in the morning, the first thing I'd say is, Good to see you. And you can't see me. And I'm like, I don't care. Like, do you know what my response has been every morning? And he's like, Yeah. It's like, yeah, you say good to see you too. You know.

speaker-1: But it's also yeah, it's like but if people but if you have a mindset, right? If you have a mindset that you want to be offended, you can find almost any reason to be offended. But

speaker-0: Yeah, that's that that is true. Well well, and that's that's the thing. ⁓ I think some people are are maybe a little bit too not not willing, but just not ⁓ are uncomfortable, right? They don't wanna be uncomfortable and they they don't wanna do that. So, you know, coming up to someone who has a cane or a dog and you go, Do you mind if I ask? like you know immediately they're gonna say, Do you mind I ask you about your visual impairment, your blindness, what you're going through? Compared to them coming up to you and saying, like, hey, you know you know, what kind of dog do you have? And yeah, this, that and the other. So I I think that's kind of the s the stigma and trying to break that down a bit of the approach and not wanting to offend and realizing, I mean, it's different person to person and mindset, but you know, what they can do and what they can't. Because when I I go somewhere, at first someone might be a little uncomfortable, they don't know what to say, they don't know how to say it. And then they realize, okay, Griffin's fine with it. He doesn't care. So like why should we why should it, you know, matter to us? So I think that's a part of it. But in general, you know, there has been a lot of times where, you know, nothing's gonna offend me, honestly, but that's just me. You know, it's different person to person. ⁓ compared to, you know, someone that maybe just got diagnosed, that's still trying to, you know, come to grips with overcoming it. They don't realize that if they're more comfortable with it and they're joking around, not joking around, but just, you know, they don't they're they're cool with it. Everyone, it's gonna make everyone else comfortable in the room. And then that's gonna open you up maybe to

speaker-1: Right.

speaker-0: meeting someone that can help you with business, making a new friend. Like what I I met one of my best friends on the planet at a gym in New York City because he wasn't afraid to come up to me and ask me if I needed help. So I was I was in a gym training for a marathon on a treadmill, which was just god awful doing five miles. And I couldn't start the treadmill. Well Nick, this massive Australian comes up to me, hey mate, do you need help with the treadmill? Yes, thank you. You know, have a good day. Six months later he stops when coming out of the gym. And he's like, Hi, my name's Nick. I help you with the treadmill. I see you training in here harder than anyone else. I see you have the cane, you're navigating fine. He's like, I'm not doing crap. I'm just sitting over here on my phone. Can we train together? And I was like, sure, what are you doing tomorrow at 6 a.m.? And that was that. Yeah. And that was it. It wasn't, you know, ⁓ my goodness, I see Griff, you know, after I got off the treadmill and Nick saw my cane. He's like, ⁓ my goodness, you know. He just saw just was like, Okay, he needs help with the treadmill. And then didn't even realize until after the fact, like ⁓ shit, Griffin's visually impaired. But ⁓ you know, that was kind of that. It's interesting how it works out.

speaker-1: Well, and it's like it is. And you know, you are it I see it differently, but I've also worked in the medical field for so long that I do see it a little bit differently. And I see it's like there's no woe is Griffin. There really isn't. Like, yeah, that sucks that you have this, but you live a fucking awesome life. Like, you know, you have famous friends. You get to like throw galas every, you know, every year, and you get to like you know, live this pretty incredible life, truly. And so it's like, don't don't treat Griffin like you feel sorry for him. Like I don't I hate that personally. Like when you're going through something and people like pity you and you're like, ⁓ my God, stop, you know. ⁓ but I that's just my mentality.

speaker-0: Yeah. East. No, I get I totally I I agree with that, Sophie, because there is a lot of that of like someone sees someone in a chair or blind or visually impaired, whatever. And that's where they most of the time, unfortunately, that's where they might go. ⁓ and you know, it's how do you get them out of that and get them more comfortable with it and try to change their perspective, which isn't easy.

speaker-1: So you said that like you feel if somebody is like sitting in a chair or something. It's like, but that's not your whole identity. Your whole identity is not being blind.

speaker-0: And and and that's the whole p that like that's the whole piece of kind of one of the reasons I started the organization, Sophie, is like I don't like I don't see my like when someone says like, okay, Griffin, like how would you define yourself? I don't go, ⁓ I'm a visually impaired and blind person. And it's trying to get people to see past that. Like, okay, my friend Martha, she was a Paralympic swimmer, she's a badass. Like I wouldn't go up to Martha and say, Hey Martha, like ⁓ you're visually impaired. It's like, no, you're a paralympic athlete, you're this, you're that, you're everything else. So yeah, i i it's it's hard to get people to understand that to l n no no pun intended to look past it. So

speaker-1: I see what you did there, buddy. All right. Yeah. ⁓ my gosh. We could come up with so many great blind puns and

speaker-0: ⁓ y you wanna hear a blind joke? You wanna hear a blind joke quick, Sophie?

speaker-1: Obviously, yes.

speaker-0: All right. So a blind man walks into a bar and a chair.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: It's a stupid corny joke, but there you go.

speaker-1: I I got to thinking, you know what, Griffin? I think I have the best possible fundraising idea for you. Are you ready for this? You since you're all about athletics and all about, you know, training and all of those things, I think this may be the only 5k I would ever participate in if you had a 5K called the blind leading the blind.

speaker-0: I am. Okay. I love it.

speaker-1: That would be the best That would be the best merch ever. That merch would fly like hot kicks.

speaker-0: W what well I'm gonna add another layer layer to it, Sophie. What we could do is ask people, we could get sided guides there and say, We because there's goggles that simulate different visual impairments and blindness, and say, Would you be comfortable not doing the whole thing, but maybe just doing a little bit like, All right, Sophie meet Jeannie. Jeannie's an you a specialist who works with visually impaired and blind people. You're she's gonna show you how to guide run or walk, and you get to do it with her for a bit. Like With the education piece as well. I think that'd be cool.

speaker-1: That would be cool. ⁓ Griffin, running a five K would be fucking hard enough. I don't need goggles. Me

speaker-0: Okay, so you don't want to do the mar you don't want to do a marathon then?

speaker-1: No, but I will do a five K. I mean, for God's sakes, I think I can you know.

speaker-0: We'll start with the five K and build up to the full marathon.

speaker-1: But I mean, that would be hilarious. Like the blind leading the blind marathon. Or the five K.

speaker-0: Five K. I think it'd be fun. I'd be I I told you I did marathons, right?

speaker-1: You did, yeah. But I mean I would definitely ha own all of that merchandise.

speaker-0: We'll we'll we'll figure out how we can make it happen.

speaker-1: ⁓ my gosh, my producers are gonna be so mad at me for this. They're gonna be like, Sophie, we've gotta cut all this out. That's so offensive.

speaker-0: No we no we don't. It's a five K. It's helping the organization. We're gonna raise education, awareness, and money. And if we put a f a funny, silly, cool name on it, like wha what what's the difference?

speaker-1: The blind leading the blind five K

speaker-0: I think I think that would hit. I think it'd hit because

speaker-1: I mean, really? Yeah. Right? I mean I would definitely do it. So

speaker-0: I think we could get a good crew out there. I think it I think it would go well. I mean, I o I always use that line with people and everyone thinks it's hilarious. So

speaker-1: Yeah, I love it. And then I I mean obviously the other question, you've probably been asked this, but I think everybody wants to know what it's like dating when you're blind.

speaker-0: ⁓ that's funny. Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, most people have been cool about it, honestly. Like he just talked

speaker-1: Hey, is love truly blind? Hey.

speaker-0: You go, it is. We just cracked the code. That is an interesting show. But but yeah, no, I mean, once again, it sounds silly. It's like anything else. Like, you know, you you know, you figure, you know, you chat for a bit and then, you know, you tell them about it. And if they're cool about it, which most people are, then that's great. If they're not, well then, you know, they're loss. You just figure it out. Find out. You just, you know, it's it's been okay. It's been fine with just like being up front with people and telling them, like, hey, this is my vision, but you know, it doesn't, you know, all the things. Like, is that a is that an issue? And Everyone else has been pretty much like, No, like we're cool with it. I'm like, ⁓ that's easier than I thought it was gonna be. So that usually pretty it's pretty funny because they they've never guided a vigilant blind person or, you know, in different normal sit not normal, but like regular situations and figuring out how to adapt it ⁓ for me. So like, yeah, it's it's it's been fun. It's honestly like

speaker-1: I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about like I mean, is it weird to be like, I don't know if this person looks like an absolute troll and I'm walking around with them? I mean that's Okay, so your friends would be like Griffin, come on, dude. No, dude, no. Okay, okay.

speaker-0: That's what friends are for. Yeah, yeah. ⁓ So you y you know, you phone a friend, but honestly, like I think it's cool that way too, because you're not going off of that all the time. It's more of, you know, do you vibe? You know, do you have the same interests? Do you, you know, get along? Like, so you know, i if if they don't look like a troll, that's a plus. If they do, like it doesn't matter because you know, it d doesn't really make a difference. Like you get to go off the other things. Yeah. Well well that's

speaker-1: It's not like it affects

speaker-0: That's the thing. It's like it's actually probably better that way because you're not going off of like, you know, preconceived you know notions or anything else. You're just like, All right, is this f like do we have like is it fun? Having a good time? Wanna do fun things? Yep, okay, cool. And then you know, so

speaker-1: That's I mean, yeah, I think but everybody deep down wants to know what it if it's like if it's weird to be like, I don't know if I'm attracted to this person, but I'm so attracted to their personality that it like translates.

speaker-0: Yeah, like every and like everything else, I think it does in some in some way. But but most people don't look at it that way. So I I'm I mean I could be wrong, but

speaker-1: Well yeah. Yeah. I mean you don't like go up to a girl at a bar because you she looks like she has a great personality, you know? So it is different. Right? Like you know. ⁓ but

speaker-0: Yeah. Well that's I I th I think it's cool too because then if I'm in that setting, it's not like, you know, you're just having fun just being yourself and authentic and then if s you know, you meet someone like it's it's natural. So ⁓ it's not, you know, it's just it's different I guess, yeah. But it's ⁓ it's been good.

speaker-1: So are you are you single? Are you dating are you with

speaker-0: I am, I am. Are you gonna find me someone, Sophie? Are we gonna find find someone from this this balcony?

speaker-1: I'll I'll put it out there, man. I'll be like, you know, don't just think that you can be a troll and go out with Griffin because his friends will tell you or tell him.

speaker-0: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. He do there are standards from the friends.

speaker-1: I mean, yeah, but like we I think we could find Griffin Love. I think that this could be a really good reality show.

speaker-0: I think so. I d I I I ⁓ the new I have the idea for for ⁓ yeah. We'll do the blind the blind blind love, the blind bachelor. There you go.

speaker-1: Yeah. I I mean really. There's so much potential here with, you know, the franchising the foreseeable future.

speaker-0: There's so much we could do to help help the visually impaired and blind and help one ⁓ visually impaired and blind person such as me, so

speaker-1: As yeah, s ⁓ like getting me a date. So hand hand

speaker-0: Exactly, exactly. So we could yeah, so we'll do that and then I'll continue helping thousands of other visually impaired blind people.

speaker-1: Well, I said I did make a joke that, you know, when you invited me to your gala coming up in June in New York, I was like, I cannot wait to go to a blind person gala. I will clean up there. I have the best personality.

speaker-0: Well that's why I want you there, Sophie. You're gonna have a blast. It's a it's a good time. We don't do ⁓ it's called a gala, but it's not really a gala.

speaker-1: Would be great for my self esteem.

speaker-0: We're we have a good mix of people there. So it's it's a good time. And we have a we have an awesome spot and we have great speakers and it's ⁓ yeah, it's gonna it's gonna be a good time. So we're we're looking forward to it and it's beautiful around that time and we have like I said, we do things a little bit differently. Like it's even business casual, but you know, if you come in in a tank top and a snapback, like we don't care, we welcome everyone and it's whatever their interpretation is and

speaker-1: Nine.

speaker-0: It's good food, good drinks, great great people. ⁓ you know, we have a program but it's not that long and it's just ⁓ it's impactful and we have fun. We like we like to party to celebrate for a good cause. So it's yeah, it's fun.

speaker-1: So I do have, you know, I do have a beef now that I I looked up your last year gala 'cause I wanted to see if it was at the Tribeca, right? In New York.

speaker-0: Yeah, Treadbaka Rooftop. It's where we do it every year now.

speaker-1: Yeah, and I saw the is it the CEO of Ralph Loren? Was your keynotes like one of your speakers? Yeah.

speaker-0: ⁓ last year? Yeah, it was ⁓ Tim who was from he he was one of the head people at Amazon Fashion and now is at a different company, but that was last year. Tim's a really good guy.

speaker-1: Okay. I thought it said something about Ralph Loren, but

speaker-0: We have probably one of the sponsors that support the event because we get a lot of different people from apparel and, you know, of course a lot of different industries. But last year, like we had Nikki Hilton come and some people from ⁓ a couple Bravo shows and this year we're working on getting some ⁓ you know, present

speaker-1: Which one? You have my attention. You have my attention

speaker-0: Lexi Wood and I think she might come again this year. She was on what is it, Boathouse or something? I don't know the show's on Bravo, but ⁓ Boathouse. It was ⁓ I think Boathouse or something I don't remember, but

speaker-1: Finally my life gets interesting. Gosh, yeah. Finally this podcast gets interesting.

speaker-0: But but we're gonna have we're working on getting some ⁓ no it's not confirmed yet, but we're getting on some ⁓ past and previous ⁓ athletes and ⁓ some some really just cool I mean, everyone there is gonna be awesome, but that and then Kevin's coming, so that's great. And we're just working on trying to impress the media around it and really

speaker-1: You gotta tell Tell everybody who Kevin is. Kevin is

speaker-0: Is. So Kevin Harrington, he was ⁓ on the first three seasons of Shark Tank. Just incredible human being, person, and just just he has a huge heart. ⁓ incredible, you know entrepreneur with business, everything.

speaker-1: He really is. And honestly, I mean, you know, just so you just to tell the audience here, that's on that's how Griffin and I came to get in contact with one another. And you know, cause Bobby and Kevin are huge supporters of Griffin and they were like, Sophie, you gotta put them put him on the podcast and ⁓ you know, let him tell his story because I just know that if he tells his story, like people are gonna be captivated, people are gonna love this and

speaker-0: Bobby

speaker-1: You know, and luckily, you know, you have friends that are willing to help you out and do all these awesome things. And, you know, Bobby actually texted me this morning's like, ⁓ I'm gonna donate products to, you know, launch his campaign and help him. And, you know, I mean, you just have a lot of people's respect and ⁓ so many people just like you, like genuinely like you and Yeah, I mean yeah, you're an aw you're awesome, dude, Griffin. You're like har I don't know how I don't know how anybody couldn't couldn't like you.

speaker-0: Well well I I mean I I love it, Sophie, because I was talking with someone. ⁓ he was a I think he was a past Marine or in the Navy and he was funny. ⁓ he he he is funny because he said he used to jump out of planes and do like, you know, ⁓ that as his profession because we were talking about skydiving, me and my buddy and we both were were chatting about, you know, he he has a book and he speaks and podcasts and I'm I'm working on all this this stuff too. And We were both like, we don't think our story is like extraordinary. We just think it's ordinary because you don't focus on those things when you're in it. You're just doing it and you're doing the things that you are blessed to do, that you wanna do and that you you can do. And then you have people like like you just say what you did, Sophie, and you're like, ⁓ like it's just a check of like, wow, you know, this is awesome and it's it's incredible. And ⁓ yeah, I have a lot of really good people in my corner that wanna help, but ⁓ also, you know, it's it's I always look to see what I can do to I guess in my nature, you know, from the organization in general, what I could do to t to help others as as well. So it comes from that that place and people just I don't know, they just seem seem to ⁓ to like what what I'm working on and what I'm trying to do. So I really do appreciate what you what what you said.

speaker-1: Swear to God, Griffin, if Anna Wintor ever contacts you and you don't let me know, our friendship is over.

speaker-0: ⁓ o okay okay. We'll we'll we'll table that conversation 'cause I I I I might have have have a connection there for you.

speaker-1: Shut the fuck up, really? With Vogue and with

speaker-0: No, I'm serious. I'm dead serious. So they can they can keep this in the podcast or they can okay they can take this out if they want Sophia out of the podcast, but I'll tell you quickly. ⁓ my very good friend, she ⁓ she was running the US Open of Tennis, ⁓ like celebrity, you know, people, and she started this blue carpet and a huge thing. And you know, Anna Whiptor ⁓ loves tennis, and Amanda is this beautiful, just inside and out, five.

speaker-1: No.

speaker-0: you know, five three, five, four, Australian blonde, just just an awesome, incredible person, hard worker, grinder. And ⁓ you know, she was doing the celebrity stuff for the open. And of course Anna would always come. So so her and Anna's Anna and her team are are very close. And, you know, ⁓ my God. My my mom actually got to go to a a show with Amanda and they ⁓ on Broadway and they had ⁓ they had, you know, Anna gif you know Gifted her seats to Amanda for my for her and my mom. So ⁓ yeah, I mean, we she might show up to the fundraiser. I could find out.

speaker-1: would pass out, Griffin. I would literally pass out. I don't I I said that in my like in my like first episode or like my question like my Q and A, somebody asked me like if I could have dinner with like three people, who would it be? And I think I said Michael Jordan and Anna Wintour and I can't I don't know who I said but Michael Jordan and Anna Winter were like my two and yeah she is she is my absolute I'm not question though.

speaker-0: I'm serious, Sophie.

speaker-1: Yeah, if you could have dinner with three people, who would it be?

speaker-0: ⁓ jeez, don't do that to me. I don't know. I don't know. I'd have to think about it more, I have no idea.

speaker-1: Me me, Amanda Harrington and Bobby Mann, great lunch. That was a wonderful lunch.

speaker-0: That that would be, but we'd have to do it on a boat somewhere. We'd have to do like a seafood like lunch on a boat somewhere. I feel like that would be appropriate.

speaker-1: Well, what's really funny is I just told my kids because you know, Bobby's obviously like this huge connector and he's like, Hey, I'm gonna I'm gonna get you on with ⁓ the f wicked tuna guys and I don't know

speaker-0: ⁓ yeah, but bum

speaker-1: And my kids are like, Mom, I don't think you know what you signed up for. Like, I don't you I don't think you you know, they're like, That's like intense. And I was like, okay. So I'm a little scared now, but excited.

speaker-0: So Sophie, I I I agree with you because I like, you know, we're gonna try to Bobby and I are working on getting some blind veterans or visually impaired and blind people, you know, fishing and doing some fishing events for them and maybe doing an event like that ⁓ in Florida or somewhere. And, you know, Bobby Bobby and I are definitely gonna go fishing, but similar, he's like, Griff, I'll take you up to Massachusetts and we'll go out with the wicked tuna guys and we'll do that and have some fun and get you in the chair, like sit in the chair and have to catch a fish. And I was like, I'm like, all right, like that's cool. And he's like, Yeah, but Griffin, you know, we're going out catching like five, six hundred, seven pound, seven hundred pound tuna. And I'm like, Bobby, they're like the thing would kill me. Like, I'm not gonna go do that. Like, what did I sign up for?

speaker-1: Right. And like wha who knew tuna w were that fucking big? I was like, ⁓ my God. Who knew?

speaker-0: It i it he but he told me that when you you sink in one of those it feels like it could it could pull the boat and then it feels like it's just like a plug at the bottom of the ocean. He it's i I was like, ⁓ my god, what did I sign up for?

speaker-1: I know. No, Griffin, you'll ha let's do it together so that we can both be, again, the blind leading the blind and I am the blind one. I am also blind.

speaker-0: Well well that's the problem because like when I hear that I'm like, Yeah, let's do it and I actually hear what it is and I'm like, ⁓ shit, okay, well I committed to it, so I guess we're gonna go do it. So we could do it together.

speaker-1: I love this. I love ⁓ our commitment to like potentially dying for the for the cause. I am serious. I don't think you understand if it like if I met that person, I would probably faint. And I'm like not a person that I'm not a person that gets like celebrity crazy, you know? And I just you know pe people are people. and I mean I interview like pretty big athletes and ⁓ I you know, I don't get like intimidated by them at all, but I I'm like, ⁓ my God, if there I yeah, I would pass out for sure. Pass out if I met that person. You have to tell me who is your hero.

speaker-0: shit, that's even a harder question. Do I have a hero?

speaker-1: I mean you can have you can have like two.

speaker-0: Okay. How about Lester, my guide dog?

speaker-1: If it wasn't for Leicester. Yeah, if it wasn't for Leicester, a lot ⁓ a lot of shit would go down for you.

speaker-0: For navigating New York City. Yeah, exac exactly. No, I guess my pair I I'll I'll say my parents, totally.

speaker-1: ⁓ my what a safe ass answer, Griffin. Come on. Give me a real one.

speaker-0: I don't it it's bad. I don't really I mean, yeah, there's people I like and they're cool and like

speaker-1: No athletes or anything like that that you like that you're like that not that you idolize, but that you think a lot of.

speaker-0: So well, I guess I'd call ⁓ an athlete because they are. So ever since I was younger, I love pro wrestling. I still do, and we're actually doing a partnership with them at some point soon, which is gonna be cool. Like WWE. And I always will love it. It's just violent theater and I don't care. ⁓ and and I got to meet John Cena once. I got to meet John Cena once and I always loved pro wrestling and and like John was one of You know, like all the little kids and stuff, but when I was younger, when he started doing some of his stuff, I really enjoyed his wrestling and just I don't know, it was always really cool. And I heard he was a really good guy. So I got to meet him at an event and everyone was swarming him. He was the last person to come out before the show. ⁓ it was a private event before this show. And my dad went up to him, he's like, Hey John, you know, my my son and his his friend would love to say hi to you. And John goes, Well, where's your son? Sure, of course, because John's just a good guy. And my dad points to me and John sees my cane and immediately breaks away from everyone, is hanging out with me and my buddy Matt for like 30 minutes. Everyone was, he was literally Sophie like shooing them away. They're like, John, we have to go. And he just like shooing that like, no. And just had the most coolest, awesome experience. ⁓ and then my dad was like, Hey, John, can the boys take a picture with you? And I'll probably never forget this because it just kind of showed me I I guess yeah, John John seemed probably hero because of his the way he carried himself and his personality and just everything and the way he interacted with people, including myself, he turned to me, Sophie, and he's like, Griffin, is it okay if we take a picture? I'm only gonna do it if you're cool with it. And I was like, What the f like you just asked me if it was okay if you take a picture?

speaker-1: Yeah, take a thousand, Dad. Let's go. Get this thing.

speaker-0: I would say that because because I I've ⁓ yeah, that's that's how I try to interact with people.

speaker-1: that's like the sweetest story ever. So we'll definitely have to ta tag John Cena and be like Thanks for being a awesome, you know awesome to your fans. And I think that that goes a long way.

speaker-0: Yeah, so I think that Yeah, we sh we should tag him because I think that was part of it. He should like, you know, just how he carried himself, how he, you know, interacted with people, fans, whoever, just in general. So yeah, it was a it was a really cool one. So I guess if I if you you you you made me have to think a bit, I think that would be it.

speaker-1: Well, I think that like, you know, talking or like just meeting a lot of different athletes in a lot of different arenas, you know, I I genuinely do feel sorry for a lot of them that, you know, they just get swarmed consistently and they just don't have any sense of normalcy, privacy, any of those things. And ⁓ and I'm not saying that anybody like deserves that, but I do think it's if you just wanted to be very good at your craft and mastered your craft and you know you got into the NBA because you were good at what you do. Like, I don't think you necessarily owe fans anything. You know, I don't think you owe it to anybody to be like, okay, I'm gonna stop eating dinner with my family to do it's like, damn, dude, he just wanted to like be good at basketball and play basketball. But, you know, I think it's like if you make up your your life out of like being an influencer or a ⁓ you know, being famous for being famous, I think it's a little bit different. Like it's like, you know I'm not saying you don't deserve privacy, but I'm saying, you know, you you wanted attention and then you get attention and then people are like, ⁓ I don't want attention anymore. You know what I mean? Does that make sense?

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. No, totally, Sophie. Like 'cause 'cause I've you know, I'm an athlete as well and I've met a lot of really through personal stuff and work and just in general, I've met a lot of really cool athletes and just people. And you know, there's some that, you know, it's there you know, it's not a given, but you know, you'd think there's maybe a little bit of responsibility of like, you know, people look up to you, people, you know, they wanna, you know, talk to you. Like there's different situations, but I I was able I got to meet Kobe a couple of times. And he was the coolest, nicest guy and and was like, you know, for everyone and anyone, yeah. He's like, I'll meet with you, I'll talk to you, I'll sign some, we'll take a picture. He just he just such a laid back, cool guy and kind of got that that piece of it ⁓ and made everyone feel really special. So that was I mean, that that was really cool to experience as well.

speaker-1: Yeah. Like when you see the other side of it where they're like really sweet to their fans, obviously that's super endearing. But I think it's also important to say, hey, fans, maybe know your limitations and just respect like respect people as people. And just because you're you're at the same restaurant, it doesn't mean that like you just are owed an autograph from, you know, LeBron James or whatever. Because because you're in proximity and he's just trying to eat dinner with his family. And you know, I don't think have boundaries, please.

speaker-0: Yeah, there's definitely l Yeah, there's exactly bad there's boundaries and stuff. Like for example, like Kobe was waiting outside a store for for something and you know, ever he was having his coffee, everyone was like, Okay, but yeah, like you know, dinner with they're having dinner with family or something. So yeah, it's they you know, there there's boundaries, but they kind of get it so you know, get it too. So Yeah. It it's ⁓ finding that balance. And I'm not like that at I'm not at that level at all, but you know, at least when it comes to if I'm at something, a speech or meeting with kids or whatever, I I I don't know. I try to take the experiences of I had with with people that are way bigger than me and kind of, you know, use that as well and and ⁓ just make sure everyone feels, you know, that that way as well and give everyone the the attention so that they that they that they should have. So interesting how that works.

speaker-1: And emulate emulate like who made you feel a type of way for so long. Like you still have such a strong feeling about John Cena because of how he made you feel.

speaker-0: Yeah, totally. And he didn't have to do that. He didn't have to do any of that. So yeah. You know, try to try to try to use that totally. I but yeah, Lester's an OG two.

speaker-1: Lester's an OG. I think so okay, if we let's leave it on ⁓ on a high note and just say, okay, if there was one thing that you could ⁓ embark on the world and what wisdom you can say, you know, that you've learned and and give that to to the audience here, what would it be like the one piece of like I'm gonna leave this behind?

speaker-0: Yeah. I well, I'd say kind of embrace like don't be afraid to embrace things, I guess, in a way. Because once again, so if I can only do it from like come back to my experiences and I wish, you know, everyone said, Well, what you know, what did you wish if you were younger? Like what could you tell the younger you now or in general or something that you would want people to know? And it's just embracing everything earlier or being open to learning about the adaptive technology or adaptive sports that I could do, or, you know, talking to other people and trying to find the resources and and places where I could do certain things. So and I think that's that's kind of helped now with embracing everything and fully committing to something. So like when I went skydiving, I wasn't I wasn't nervous. I wasn't scared. I'm just like, all right, I'm gonna do it. I got to fully commit. And when you're put in those sorts of positions and you fully commit to whatever you're doing, whether skydiving, whether playing basketball, whether working on a, you know, a project for school, college, or whatever, you know, I think I think that helps you embrace whatever you're doing even more and might change the way you, you know, you perceive something or the way you approach something. So I think that would be it. I don't know if it helps the audience or any

speaker-1: And just so you're I think what what I get especially from you is embracing adversity and not trying to hide it and just go straight through it because the person you become isn't isn't like, you know, who you are, like it doesn't the ad like the the adversity isn't like okay, you're gonna be this person when you come out of the adversity. It's It's the journey and all the things that you learn through the adversity that are kind of beautiful, really. And it changes you in a lot of different ways. And I think that people try so hard to just like skip through going through it. It's like I'm not gonna talk about it. I'm gonna just dance around it. I don't wanna feel this. And I get that too. It's it's hard. It's fucking hard to go through hard shit. It is. But When you go through it, it's like the only way to get out of it. And like enjoying or embracing that journey of like all the things that you're gonna gain from that, I think are huge. And like all the things that you've gained through just like going through your adversity and being like, Okay, this is what it is, and I'm gonna just embrace where I'm at and like learn from you know, all of these things. And I think that that's kind of what I learned from you is just how to embrace the adversity and just kind of welcome it in a sense.

speaker-0: Yeah, I th I I agree, Sophie. That that is a good way of of of putting it. But that's what I I would I would leave on because yeah, you you you just don't know where you're gonna end up, who you're gonna meet, how you're gonna help them, how they're gonna help. Because if you embrace that, when you're going through it, like I don't know if I would have met, you know, half of the people that I know now or had these cool experiences or been able to help people going through different experiences as well in those challenging times. So it's it's all a journey.

speaker-1: Well, I am so so grateful that you came on today and I am just beyond excited to help with foreseeable future. And ⁓ just so you know, some of your celebrity friends have definitely ⁓ called in and are gonna hook you up in promoting this episode and are gonna do a lot of like giveaways and ⁓ I'm so excited for you to ⁓ get to see what we have in store.

speaker-0: Yeah, I'm just so excited that we got to meet Sophie, that we connected, that ⁓ you let me come on the podcast and we got to hang out for a bit and get to chat and you know, share kind of everything and have you at the fundraiser, which is gonna be sick. And ⁓ just continue to see how we can help each other and and g and go from here. So I just, you know, thanks again.

speaker-1: Yeah, we'll we'll talk soon, Griff. Thank you so

speaker-0: Sounds good, Sophie. We'll get we'll get you in t thanks. We'll get we'll get you running cyclone doing all the crazy stuff.

speaker-1: ⁓ I'll see you in New York, baby. Here's the blind leading the blind. 5K. I'm I'm coming for ya.

speaker-0: There you there you go. Thanks, Obi.

speaker-1: Alright, we'll talk soon. And that's the giving game. If today's episode hits close to home for you, the donation link for this athlete's charity will be in the description below. And if you can't donate right now, hey, that's okay too. Just do something kind for somebody today. The world needs more of that. See you next time.