Description

This week, Tony Jacobsen joins Brendan Aylward for an engaging conversation about his lived experiences with Osteogenesis Imperfecta and how fitness has allowed him to foster independence, confidence, and community. They also cover Tony's book, "Disable Your Disability", and discuss the creative process for sharing insightful information on the intricacies of accessibility. To learn more about Tony and his mission, visit his website here.

About Tony Jacobsen:

Tony Jacobsen, who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (O.I.), aka Brittle Bones Disease, is the author of “Disable Your Disability: Live the Healthy Life You Deserve!”, the first book to discuss the delicate yet important relationship between fitness and O.I. Tony is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and runs a successful online adaptive fitness club called #UNBREAKABLE Body.

In addition to providing powerful resources for his own disability community, Tony also gives motivational talks and hosts workshops and classes to promote and fuel an #UNBREAKABLE world!

Episode 19 Chapters:

00:42 - Tony’s Pathway to Adaptive Fitness Coaching

04:34 - Transitioning from Crutches to Independent Mobility with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI)

06:48 - Childhood and Finding Ways to Stay Active

07:52 - Reflecting on Tony’s Fitness Journey

09:36 - OI Literature- The Impact of Strength and Resistance Training

12:41 - Tony’s Inspiration for His Book

14:00 - The Writing Process: Sharing Lived Experiences through Targeted Work

16:26 - The Influence of COVID on Tony’s Content Dissemination

18:51 - Representation in the OI Community

21:33 - “Just Start” - Discovering New Opportunities for Inclusion

24:36 - Disability Language and How to Approach Semantics

27:16 - Normalizing Inclusion for Younger Populations

30:48 - Using Fitness as Catalyst for General Inclusion

32:25 - Accessibility Benefits Everyone33:43 - The Impact of Toxic Positivity on the Disability Community

38:49 - What Can the Fitness Industry Do to Be More Accessible?

41:11 - Looking Forward: Goals for 5+ years

Episode 19 Key Takeaways:

1. Embracing your own disability is the first step to making a difference in the lives of others: learning and understanding your own needs allows you to promote holistic accessibility and inclusion in the spaces you work, engage, and socialize in. By proving to yourself that it is possible to overcome the societal limitations that mitigate populations with disabilities, you can create environments that are conducive to the personal success of others.
2. The process of creating and sharing one’s lived experiences is not bound to a specific timeline: the dissemination of meaningful information about inclusivity is a cumulative process that does not adhere to a specific timeline. One's understanding of inclusion evolves over time, so it is important that the expansion of disability knowledge and empathy is not limited to a definitive timeframe.
3. Communicating about one’s disability is a 50/50 exchange: the sharing of lived experiences requires both the voices of impacted populations and the attention of those that want to listen. By listening to a diverse range of perspectives, inclusion becomes a more realistic concept that originates from the genuine, authentic needs of those that have a stake in accessibility.