Be Where You Are Today
Fitness expert Amy Kiser Schemper, MS, CPT, interviews guests and helps you make sense of the latest in the fitness and nutrition world. Amy is known for her positive energy and no-nonsense approach while encouraging her clients to show up, keep moving & be where you are today.
Be Where You Are Today
Adaptive Sports & Beyond: Katherine Beattie’s journey to Team USA
In this episode of the 'Be Where You Are Today' podcast, Amy talks with TV writer and adaptive athlete Katherine Beattie. Katherine shares her inspiring journey in strength training, adaptive surfing, and WCMX (wheelchair motocross), discussing the challenges she faces with cerebral palsy and how she overcomes them. They explore the balance between intense athletic training and a demanding career in the TV industry. Katherine also offers valuable insights into how society can better understand and support the disabled community. Tune in for an enlightening and motivational conversation!
[00:00:00] Amy: Hey everybody. I'm Amy from Body Fit by Amy, and this is the Be Where You Are Today podcast where we connect with professionals in the fitness and nutrition space to help you wherever you are in your journey. We also like to connect and chat with many of our own community members here in the Body Fit community and other athletes.
[00:00:24] And I'm very excited that today I am talking with my good friend and training client, Katherine Beattie. Welcome to the podcast, Katherine.
[00:00:33] Katherine: Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
[00:00:35] Amy: So Katherine is a TV writer here in Los Angeles. She also is an adaptive athlete in surfing and WCMX, and she's super strong. So I always love training with her because she will do whatever I ask.
[00:00:50] She's always willing to try new things and that is like a trainer's dream. So thank you for that. You're welcome. I just wanna start with talking about like your strength training journey. When I met you many years ago, I think it was before both kids, right? Oh yeah. You started training in my old space.
[00:01:05] You had already been strength training for years and you were lifting super heavy in the gym, and we got to really expound upon that. But I would love to hear just more about your journey of getting into strength training.
[00:01:15] Katherine: Yeah. I think, so I, my twin sister is Sarah who you Yes. Who got you a lot of your original clients, I think.
[00:01:22] Yes. And. You were training Sarah and several of your friends? Several of my friends. Your mom, my, my mom, my friend's moms. Everyone I knew and I everybody was, you gotta work out with Amy. And I resisted for a long time. 'cause I was like I already go to the gym five days a week. Like, why don't and, at the time, like you said, I was really into strength training lifting pretty heavy. I tend to have like an obsessive personality. Yes. And I don't know why I I started following. These like vegan bodybuilders and I'm vegan.
[00:01:53] And so obviously when you're vegan working out and maintaining muscle mass and improper diet is really important. And so I started following these people and it wasn't like I wanted to be a bodybuilder, but I found with strength training. I got really into the , progression of it.
[00:02:09] Yeah. I would be hardly able to go to sleep the night before I went to the gym. 'cause they're like, oh, tomorrow I'm gonna do 30 fives or whatever, and so I got like really hooked on that progression. And then I've never been a cardio gal. Really? Which is Okay. Yeah. Really more strength training. I also have cerebral palsy, which makes cardio difficult just because I get fatigued a lot. And then also I tend to get a lot of overuse injuries, right? So I haven't found a cardio exercise that has allowed me to.
[00:02:39] Stay injury free. So anyway, I just really was like hooked on that strength training and so I was like, I don't need a trainer. I already know what I'm doing. Turns out everybody can benefit from a trainer. Everybody can. Yes. Yes. So we started working together and, yeah. That was a long time ago now. It was. Yeah. I
[00:02:55] Amy: know. It's so crazy. We I definitely called that time in my training, still six degrees of Sarah. Yeah. Because her twin sister Sarah did refer David and Jeanie. Who most of our community knows Jeanie's been on the podcast. They still train with me monthly.
[00:03:10] And then we. A lot of us did bootcamp together. And yeah, you came in, you were already lifting heavy, super strong, but you were also, I think at the time. Getting into your athlete journey. And we focused a lot on like core strength.
[00:03:23] Yeah. On core mobility. On things that maybe you weren't doing as much on your own in the gym. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. So I would love to hear more about like your journey as an athlete with WCMX and now you're doing a lot of surfing. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think also that world as a para athlete, a lot of us.
[00:03:39] Aren't as familiar and it's fascinating.
[00:03:41] Katherine: And don't know maybe what the kind of things you need to do to train. Yes. We're athletes, so you wanna train like an athlete. Yeah. But it's a little different. And WC M X's wheelchair and motocross which is like a play on BMX.
[00:03:52] So it's anything you would do on a skateboard or a bike, but on a wheelchair. Yeah. And I just, being from Los Angeles Yeah. I like. Grew up in the mid nineties, just obsessed with skateboarding like everyone was here. And have always loved action sports but was obviously no good at them.
[00:04:10] Even though I thought I was going to go to the X Games when I was a kid, I was so delusional. But anyway so I got older and wanted to transition into using a wheelchair just in everyday life. And then I realized like people were actually like taking wheelchairs into skate parks. And it's a, it makes sense.
[00:04:26] You've got four wheels of you. Yeah. So why not? So I got a wheelchair and the first thing I did was go to a skate park. And at the time there was, I was maybe 10 or 12 people, like around the country that we're doing this. The sport has grown a lot since then, but yeah. Back then it was and it was, this was before you could post videos on Instagram even?
[00:04:46] Yeah. It was, so we would post like YouTube videos Yeah. Of us just I would just pick post videos of me like falling and be like, help I like, I don't know oh gosh, you had to like crowdsource like how to do it. 'cause I didn't know anyone out here who did that sport and stuff. So yeah, just taught myself, and it was a lot of going to the skate park and falling and getting back up. Oh my gosh. And it's the same thing on a skateboard, when you're doing a trick, you're gonna fall. And that's a big part of the sport and just learning that. And then as the sport grew, became a little easier just to train and figure things out with other people, but , it's so different from a lot of sports because when you're doing wheelchair sports, you're just pushing all the time. So yeah, really strong like chest and like triceps and stuff, but it was like, oh, it started working with you and it's like you have all these other muscles, right?
[00:05:29] You could be activating and you're not. Yeah. So yeah, so that when we started working together. Yeah, we really did focus a lot on core and those muscles that maybe I'm not using when I'm doing that sport, but because I am using the other ones. Like they were underdeveloped. Exactly.
[00:05:44] Because I was so focused on what I needed for my sport. So it's let's. Make you a better athlete, but let's also balance out your routines so you're just like a healthier Yes. Yeah. Getting
[00:05:54] Amy: a lot more pull. Since you're not doing that as much . And just, man, I remember watching a lot of your videos at the skate park and they were hard to watch.
[00:06:02] And I remember training your mom at the time being like, can you watch those? 'cause she's just falling and falling, but yeah. So tough. And you're right, like it's the same on the skateboard. Yeah. And I have to brag on you a little bit, Katherine is. Was the first woman to do a wheelchair back flip on a ramp. And there's a video and it's. Amazing. Yeah. It's so fun to watch. You
[00:06:22] Katherine: know what, I my friend Joe who you actually know, texted me he was there when I did the first back flip and he texted me this morning, and that was 10 years ago today. Oh my gosh. Happy anniversary.
[00:06:33] I know. I really rested on that laurel. Yeah. Yeah. No, but , my mom has always been like super down and I would post videos and. She would then text me and be like, oh, that was so that video, that was so cool. And then my dad would text me like, you're gonna break your neck.
[00:06:46] Stop doing this. So yeah, I think I love that. Yeah.
[00:06:50] Amy: That was so fun. 'cause I remember that was the goal. You posted a lot of videos, I think, of training for that. Yeah. And it was like, you're gonna get this. But that was a lot of what we talked about with working core of Yeah.
[00:07:00] When you're in the air, you only have your core Yeah. To for landings and things like that. And , I think that's the part that, the rest of us do. Obviously I'm not gonna do a back flip of any kind. Yeah,
[00:07:12] Katherine: no. It's, if you watch the videos so for me, with my particular disability, I have no idea.
[00:07:19] Where my body is in space, especially if I'm upside down. Yeah. So it's basically like land landing blind. I don't know what's happening. And then there's a lot of videos where you'll see my face hit my knees because my like, like that's, you really do need to engage that core. Yes. So yeah, it's so important.
[00:07:36] And it's you wouldn't think, you would think all you need to be good at wheelchair sports is strong arms, but it's like everything is connected. Yes. And that's like something. Now I've transitioned more into surfing for various reasons. But like with surfing, I'm so now aware of how connected everything in your body is.
[00:07:56] Like it's like you're doing something with your left hand, but that could be affecting what's happening with your right knee. Yes. Just 'cause it's all like a chain. Yeah. So yeah, so it's really important to, look at your body, like holistically. Yeah. And okay, maybe I'm not using this muscle for this task, but it's still important.
[00:08:13] 'cause that's gonna, it's gonna have a domino effect on the rest of your body. Yeah,
[00:08:16] Amy: Yeah. Totally. I feel like that's a mistake that a lot of athletes make. I often have trained runners who are, only running for a marathon. Or only running and doing like lunches, but not doing any lateral work or things that, you're not using in your sport, but you certainly need for overall health.
[00:08:31] And to keep your joints safe and to prevent injuries and things like that. So That's such a good point. But yeah, it's been so fun to watch. So tell us more about surfing because you competed for the USA team. Yeah. And yeah.
[00:08:43] Katherine: Yeah, so surfing is another , sport that I've loved since I was southern California in kindergarten, I think.
[00:08:50] And our friend Viv, who you trained she and I went to surf camp when we were like 12. Oh, fun. And it was like, it was my dream come true and. And then the next summer I had a surgery on my legs and my parents were very much okay, if she has this surgery is she gonna be able to go to surf camp and skateboard and that's all that's very important to her. And my doctor said, oh, no. Yes, no problem. It'll, it's real easy. The recovery is,
[00:09:15] Amy: yeah.
[00:09:16] Katherine: Not hard. And I. Was never able to get on a board again. Oh, actually that's a lie. I did get on, I did snowboard like twice Okay. After that. But I got stuck in three inches of powder and was like I'm done with board sports.
[00:09:29] So yeah. So I that was an abrupt end to Yeah. My action sports career and then actually through. Adaptive skateboarding in WC MX. I found this organization called Life Rolls on, which their main thing is they take people with various disabilities, but mostly like spinal cord injury and mobility disabilities, surfing.
[00:09:47] Yeah. Three times a year just to like experience. Getting out into the water. Yeah. Because for a lot of disabled people, like even getting to the beach is like such a huge barrier right to experience these sports. So having that experience was just amazing. And so I did life rolls on for many years.
[00:10:03] First just surfing on my stomach with someone else on the back of the board and then progressing to. People would push me in and I was surfing by myself and eventually got my own board and was really into it. And then Covid hit which kind of derailed my progress. But I had been training with another group in Oceanside called Waves For All.
[00:10:23] And so this was 2021 I guess, and it was November and the guy, John , who runs Wave for All he is a spotter for one of the blind surfers on team USA oh wow. On for the blind surfers, they obviously can't see. So they're out there with a sighted person and the sighted person will tell them like, okay, there's a wave coming paddle, paddle to your left, that kind of thing.
[00:10:46] So John worked with the team and he called me up and said. Hey, we need like another woman on team USAI think you can do it. There's no pressure to win a medal. You're just gonna go out there and it's in three weeks and no pressure knows. I'm just I'll just do things.
[00:11:00] Yeah, just do it. Yeah. I just say yes to things. Yeah. And at the time it was covid, so we were working remotely. And so I was able to not really tell my job that I was going to Pismo Beach for a week. So I joined Team USA went up to Pismo Beach and surfed, unassisted and this is really, I would say the first time I like seriously surfed by myself.
[00:11:22] I had, I was out there alone. I had to catch the waves on my own. Yeah. I had no idea what I was doing. None. Oh my gosh. Zero, zero business being out there. But by some miracle I managed to sneak into the finals and I got a copper medal. There's four medals in surfing, so that's fourth place. Oh my gosh.
[00:11:37] And amazing. Yeah. And so then after that I was just hooked on not only surfing, but the. Comradery of being on team USA and just the whole like kind of adaptive surfing community. And so it then became really important for me to earn my spot on the team after that. 'cause I was just a late addition.
[00:11:54] Yes. So then yeah, started really training and saying okay, if I'm gonna make this team next year, like I want it to be because I'm a. Decent to good surfer. Yeah. And not just because I'm a woman, and they need more points. Yeah. So yeah. So then, and that was in 2021 and I've been on team USA ever since.
[00:12:11] Yeah. And we've had a lot of success. My second year I got a silver medal actually. Awesome. Far surpassing anyone's expectations, including my own. The following two years have not gone well. I've surfed terribly. But yeah, we have some team gold medals and silver medals. That's amazing.
[00:12:28] Yeah, it's just you kinda like dream of, as a kid, like representing your country and like the Olympics or whatever sporting events you're watching, but you never think it's gonna. Actually happened. Yeah. So yeah, so just to have the opportunity to be on team USA has been super, super cool.
[00:12:42] I bet. And
[00:12:42] Amy: it's been really fun to watch Yeah. Because I've watched you a few different times. We are able to watch online or on tv, and it. It. I'm not a surfer. I love to swim and I love the ocean. But these waves are intense and I like to look at it from a trainer perspective of just yeah, the amount of total body strength you have to be fighting against the water.
[00:13:02] You're not just moving your body through space. Yeah. You're moving your body against an external force. Yeah. And what has changed with your training in terms of surfing do, would you say?
[00:13:12] Katherine: Yeah, so I started working with our coach for team from Team USA, we're working one-on-one now, and she's a professional server herself.
[00:13:19] Awesome. She she like really knows the surf specific Yeah. Things that you need to do. And so for me it's been a lot of focus on, the smaller muscles and not exactly like lifting the heaviest thing I can lift. Because I am the kind of person who's let me lift the heaviest weight, or let me go on the steepest wave.
[00:13:38] And sometimes that's not, what you need to do. So it's a lot of it, cable work and just again, trying to figure out like what we are working on with WCMX even is that core connection.
[00:13:49] Amy: Yeah.
[00:13:49] Katherine: Because it's so important. And then with having cp, I actually don't have a lot of core control because my legs are so tight that they, yeah.
[00:13:59] Anytime I like, try to do anything, my legs will just take over. We'll do crunches and I'll be like, I need to hold a weight. I need to, I need some counterbalance and stuff. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So it's been, still a focus on on weight training, but more to develop those like paddle muscles and your back and stuff.
[00:14:14] Yeah. 'cause like for me, and for any surfer it's about being a strong paddler. Yeah. 'cause not only do you have to paddle into waves, but like you said, you have to fight currents. And Yes. Even just getting out to where the waves are breaking can sometimes be a massive challenge. Yeah. So yeah.
[00:14:28] So it's working on those muscles, it's working on your breathing. And it's much more of an endurance sport than I've ever done before. 'cause even though it's a 25 minute heat and you're not surfing for 25 minutes, you're constantly moving and you're you're constantly having to remain calm.
[00:14:45] Yes. Not panicked. Yes. You not panic. The ocean can kill you. So yeah, it's it's. It's been like a slight shift, I think, but just little modifications here and there. And of course, like what, we work on with you a lot is always good form. Yes. I think that's paramount.
[00:15:01] Yeah. Yeah. So really focusing on those movements and not just powering through them to get to, to get to the end of your exercise. Yeah, and that's
[00:15:08] Amy: the thing, like we, we talk about this a lot, right? Of you could hold a plank and your legs might take over your quads. Your hip flexors your low back because they're stronger muscles. And that's true for everybody. But again, I think with your legs having more tightness in general of like, how do we really make sure that you're engaging your core. Yeah. You're not just holding the plank, you're not just doing the, the situp or whatever it is.
[00:15:28] Yeah. We're making sure that you're using , the muscles that we wanna be working in that moment. Yeah.
[00:15:32] Katherine: And that's why I think it's like a trainer is so beneficial. Yes. Because even you're watching me do a plank and I could think I'm engaged in my core, but you could like then just tap me and be like, oh, over here.
[00:15:42] Yes. Let's lift here. Just remind like you're actually not. You're actually not doing what you think you're doing. Yeah. Like I'm here to make sure that that, you're staying on point and on task. Yeah. So that's been, it's been huge for my whole fitness journey, just having support.
[00:15:55] Amy: That's great. And that's such a good reminder for all of us, myself, trainers included. But I love it. I'm not surprised that you're so successful in these high intensity like. Dangerous sports because you have the right personality. You're like willing and determined, and you are gonna listen to your body, but you're gonna go for it.
[00:16:13] And I think that's something we all can learn from. Yeah. But I always love that about you as a client too. 'cause I can be like, Nope, let's do this and you'll do it. Yeah. Yeah. It's, yeah. It's also a matter of just trusting, you're the athlete, but we all need help.
[00:16:27] I'm always telling my kids this, when they get frustrated, they're just getting into some sports. Yeah. Of like even professional athletes. They all train, they all have coaches. Yeah. They all are constantly learning and improving and it just, it never stops. So you're also a TV writer.
[00:16:41] You've worked on many different shows. N-C-N-C-I-S, the New Orleans Uhhuh did work on one of the other ones
[00:16:48] Katherine: I did. Just NCIS, new Orleans and the mothership as we call it. The regular Yes, the regular one. Yeah. The og. Yes. So those written on a kids' animated show for PBS and, those are, as a professional writer, I started my career as an assistant, as so many of us so often do.
[00:17:05] Yeah. Did a lot of work for like Showtime and kind of cable shows and stuff. Yeah. But yeah, I've been writing now, I think I've joined the Writer's Guild in 2017. Oh yeah. So yeah. So almost a decade. It's,
[00:17:16] Amy: I feel like I've been along for a lot of that journey of just like it is.
[00:17:20] And I think a lot of people outside of Hollywood don't know, like the intensity of just working your way up. And and you've totally done that. It's, and it's an intense schedule, right? Yeah. So I remember being like. Maybe something social was happening and Sarah and I were like, Katherine come.
[00:17:33] And you were like, I, it's Friday night, I have to finish this. I have to finish
[00:17:37] Katherine: this. Or even when I was an assistant, I'd be like I can come, but I have to bring my computer. Yes, exactly. Work might strike at 11:00 PM on a Friday night. Yeah. So it is, it can be a real grind.
[00:17:48] Yeah. So
[00:17:49] Amy: that's the question then. How do you balance that intense schedule with an equally intense schedule of being an athlete?
[00:17:56] Katherine: Yeah. Not very well. I think, and as just, with your career in Kurt's and stuff in this business, you're like. Expected to live your life when you're not working.
[00:18:05] Exactly, yes. , luckily for the, from the beginning of my surfing career it was covid, so we were working remotely, so it snuck away from that. And then that was a kind of a special case where we didn't meet every day, which is very unusual for television.
[00:18:17] In the beginning, even like when I was an assistant, it was a lot of hitting the road at. At five in the morning so I could get to be a skate park at 6:00 AM and then skate until eight and then go to work and that kind of stuff. Yeah. It's harder to do that with surfing because I surf mostly in Orange County, which is not close to where we live.
[00:18:34] Yes. And even further from where I work, so when I'm working, I'm more of a weekend warrior. I haven't been working for quite some time now. I quit my job at NCIS last spring, so about a year ago. Okay. And had a great job in the summer, but it was a, a short gig. I think people don't
[00:18:49] realize that, that a lot of these industry gigs are temporary, that's most of them. And it may be a. It may be a long, several months or a few years, or it may be like a couple months.
[00:18:58] That ended in September and. I keep thinking I'm gonna get a job, we, there was a strike and there was a construc.
[00:19:04] Katherine: Yeah, there's a lot
[00:19:05] Amy: going on here in Los Angeles. Yeah.
[00:19:07] Katherine: So I I while I'm not working, I'm just really focused on using this opportunity to surf and do my sports and stuff. I, was actually living at the beach for six weeks in Orange County. And because my house burned down and the fires that we had here.
[00:19:20] Yes. But, this opportunity to live in Orange County presented itself and to live 15 minutes from where I surf. But while I have this time, yeah. I'm leaning into that and enjoying it as much as I can.
[00:19:31] In general, if I can get out like three days a week, it's really, it's nice.
[00:19:34] Amy: Yeah. That's awesome.
[00:19:35] Katherine: But I think for anyone in our business it's very difficult to find that work life balance. Your work has to be something you're very passionate about. Yes.
[00:19:42] Amy: To make that many sacrifices for it.
[00:19:44] We certainly know enough people living here in LA who have sacrificed their health for the job, right? Yeah. And you have to find some sort of balance. And it might be. When you're, in the writer's room and you have a really intense schedule, it might be just really increasing on the weekends.
[00:19:59] Amy: And getting something in during the week, and then when you have hiatus Yeah. You are getting more I think you've always been really good at prioritizing that, even if it means just adjusting your schedule, yeah. Or we used, when we used to work out in my, here too, we worked out at 6:00 AM Yeah.
[00:20:12] It was always early. Yeah. Because then you would go to work or then you would be off to the beach and Yeah. I think you've done a really good job of managing that, but we, living in this town and knowing lots of people in the industry it's, I think this is most people who have jobs.
[00:20:26] High pressure. Yeah. Most people have jobs and lives and children, families and like all of this responsibilities,
[00:20:31] Katherine: yes, it's hard to fit in exercise, but it's so important. So important for. For everyone's overall health. Yes. Especially for me, like being disabled and it's really easy for me to not wanna move.
[00:20:43] Yeah. And my favorite activity is laying on the couch. I do that most of my Instagram makes it seem like I'm very active, but I'm pretty sedentary. But because of that, I I really try to be intentional about exercise. Yes. So for me it's really important, for everyone, like in creative, we're in this creative job and we're like using our brains so much, but we're also just sitting Yeah.
[00:21:02] All day long. And it's funny, like at the start of a room in the summer, everybody's like fit and Yeah. And we're have like having a good time and then it can be a grind. And and there's also a lot of constant access to free food and all this stuff yes, exactly.
[00:21:14] We're just sitting there like racking our brains and eating free food. And so then by the end of the gig, everybody's I need to get back into the gym.
[00:21:21] So it's really important to kinda keep that up the whole time. Yes. 'cause you don't wanna dig yourself.
[00:21:24] Into a hole. Exactly. It becomes really difficult to get out. Yes. Yeah.
[00:21:27] Amy: And I think a key part for you two is enjoying exercise uhhuh. Finding like surfing or things that you really, this is what I tell people all the time, whether it's hiking. Pickleball or whatever. Like also finding ways that are more enjoyable to you. To get active. Yeah. And more social like you said, like getting to be surf around other people and being at the skate park.
[00:21:48] Yeah. That is a big part of it too, I think. Yeah. I think it's
[00:21:50] Katherine: about finding that motivator for you. I love picking up new things 'cause I'm really bad at them. And then I can get to see that improvement and then. For me, like competition is a big driver.
[00:21:59] And so I think it's if you don't like running on a treadmill, which I don't it like, it's find that thing that you're gonna be able to stick with, even if it's not a conventional method of exercise.
[00:22:09] Amy: Yeah. And I think it's just also a good example of I would never want you to run on a treadmill, but but I also would say to someone without CP to be like.
[00:22:18] If you hate running on a treadmill, let's not do it. Let's find something else. But even like when
[00:22:22] Katherine: I was like working at the Ellen De DeGeneres show in my twenties . Everybody was running. So I used to go on runs because I would have to run across the lot to oh kind stuff.
[00:22:30] And so I was, and I was like, everybody's running so I should be a runner. And like I, it's very clear that I'm not a runner, but I just felt and not everybody is, yes, that's what I had to do. So I think it's just, you gotta. Don't really pay attention about what other people are doing. Yeah. And find what it is that works for you.
[00:22:46] Yeah. And whatever you're, whatever that is that you're gonna be like consistent with.
[00:22:50] Amy: Yes. Because you
[00:22:51] Katherine: know
[00:22:51] Amy: That's what we want. Consistency. For the long term. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:22:54] Okay, so we've talked about your disability. And I will say personally. I one, I've loved training you 'cause it's been fun.
[00:23:02] Amy: I have had one other client with cerebral palsy before when I lived in Chicago. And his limitations were very different than yours. Like it's, I think everybody is. Is different, right? Two people are the same. But I al so I've loved from a training perspective, looking at like the tightnesses and the weaknesses and the overcompensation and the underdeveloped.
[00:23:19] But I also will say on a personal level, I have learned so much for you about how we talk about the disabled community. Yeah. Of even things I've asked you before, like how do I talk to my kids about it? 'cause they're, they had these great. Books and TV shows and things with disabled characters.
[00:23:33] Or this little girl has crutches. This one's in a wheelchair and they very much normalize it, which I think is great. Yeah. But then my kids have questions and so we're like how do we talk about it? If, yeah. My daughter says Katherine's coming. Why is she using her crutches and not her wheelchair?
[00:23:46] Katherine: Yeah.
[00:23:46] Amy: So I would love for you to enlighten our community. 'cause I know it's been really helpful for me on just coming from the community. Like what. What should we not say? Yeah. What would you, what do you
[00:23:57] Katherine: wish more people knew? Yeah, just like how much time? How much time. I know, right? You have this is a whole nother podcast episode.
[00:24:03] Yes. I would say for, I've always been disabled and and, but it wasn't until I was in my twenties probably that I really started to accept that because there is a real stigma against becoming or being disabled. And especially like using mobility devices and that kind of thing.
[00:24:19] So I would say one thing that I really learned, and I wish that more people would. Realize is that it's disability is a natural part of human diversity. Yeah. And everyone will become disabled if they live long enough. Yeah. So it's just, it's part of life. And so it's not. It's not sad.
[00:24:37] . Being disabled, having a disability itself is not sad. The thing that is possibly sad is the fact that we have to live in this world that doesn't accommodate us. And so it's like when you see a disabled athlete, a disabled person, we don't need your pity, everybody says, oh, I'm so sorry. But what good does you being sorry, do for me at all? Yeah. Don't be sorry. Be active in contributing to like change, right? Yeah. Oh, I'm so sorry that this building is not accessible. Do you maybe you wanna call that business and ask them why they're not, like that kind of thing.
[00:25:08] Yeah. Like we can all make those like little changes. But I think especially coming from the athlete's perspective, and this is not something that I really keyed into until I started doing sports, but there's, this idea of what we call like inspiration porn. Which is that's basically like those the, those posters that'll have a disabled person.
[00:25:29] It'll be like the only disability is a bad attitude. Yeah. And it's that's actually not true. And and the whole idea of seeing disabled people as an inspiration kind of boils down to oh, they're so inspiring because. Wow. They're disabled and they left the house.
[00:25:43] So I see that person as an athlete, as a writer, as a person, and not just like somebody to inspire you because Yes. You don't have their challenges. And 'cause we all have challenges, whether they're physical, mental, and yeah, so I think it's just taking a step back and realizing like disability, that just, it is part of our world and our experience as humans.
[00:26:04] So get comfortable with it. Yeah. 'cause if it's not gonna happen to you, it's gonna happen to somebody, and unfortunately, I think a lot of people don't think about these things until it happens to them. And then that's a really difficult adjustment,
[00:26:16] Amy: thank you. That's really helpful because I think people think, oh, we're. We're lifting them up. Or we're praising people, but it's like I can be inspired by you as an athlete. Yeah. As I would any athlete. Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't have to be. About your disability? Yeah. So
[00:26:31] Katherine: often, like I'd, I'll be at a skate park and somebody will come up and be like, so good to see you out here.
[00:26:37] I'm like I haven't done anything. I'm like, I'm just sitting here. So you know, it's like that kind of thing. And and yeah, and I am. Constantly inspired by the athletes on my team. And it's not that like we don't do inspirational things, but we're not there to inspire people.
[00:26:51] We're there to be athletes and yeah. And that, yeah.
[00:26:54] Amy: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's helpful. I think that is just something that, a lot of it is just, we've grown up in this society Sure. They did stigmatize it and make it very different. Yeah. And I think we can. Acknowledge it as a thing.
[00:27:06] And I know you grew up with that of trying to be normal without acknowledging oh this is just who I am. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:27:13] Katherine: And it is challenging, I had to quit my job because of a lack of accessibility Yeah. At my office, which was awful.
[00:27:19] So frustrating. Yeah. And but there's and so obviously we shouldn't have that experience, but. Right now, that's part of life. Yeah. So it's it's how do we change people's perspectives and attitudes towards disabilities so that doesn't happen to more people in the future.
[00:27:33] And it
[00:27:33] Amy: shouldn't be all on the disabled Yes. Community to be the ones making the calls, being like this is not accessible, or this is we all can get involved in that. Yeah. 'cause yeah, I think this happens to a lot of moms where all of a sudden we're pushing strollers and we're like, wow.
[00:27:47] Yes. So much of the world is hard to get around with wheels. Yeah. And you're like, oh my
[00:27:52] Katherine: gosh, I'm at the mall, but the elevator is on the other side of the mall and I don't wanna walk back there. It's that's the other thing about accessibility is that it benefits everyone. Yes. I'm not just disabled people.
[00:28:01] Exactly. Moms with strollers. Yeah. People who can't
[00:28:05] Amy: climb stairs. Yeah. For another reason. Like it. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Good call to action for all of us, and I will of course be, tagging you and listing your socials and stuff. Katherine is a really good follow for, just learning about all of this.
[00:28:19] Which has been a good place for me, and especially as a parent, again, trying to talk to my kids where we. Don't ignore it. Yeah. We don't make it a bigger thing than it is that it's just a part of life and Yeah. In the same way that, we have other differences. Yeah. I'm
[00:28:33] Katherine: sure.
[00:28:33] And I'm, this is, I don't wanna get off topic, but I'm sure you have a lot of moms that follow you and dads. Yes. 'cause that's such a huge part of your platform and I think like when you're talking to kids about disability, like kids are curious and that's fine. Yeah. But especially for adults.
[00:28:48] You don't need to go up to a person and ask them what happened to them or why they're disabled. Not only is it not your business, but it doesn't matter. Yeah. And so it's not it's not that you can be curious about somebody's disability, but it, the more like, appropriate question is oh, how does this impact you?
[00:29:04] And how can I keep that in mind so I can make Yes. Your life easier? My life easier. And the specifics of. Of why they're in that condition or situation aren't important. Doesn't matter. Yeah. 'cause you never know. I don't mind talking about my disability now. But you never know if you might see somebody in a wheelchair and they're in a wheelchair because they had.
[00:29:25] A horrific car accident. And if you go and ask them what happened, now you're forcing them to relive that experience. Yeah. To satisfy your own curiosity. So again, that's the actual like disability is not important. It just boils down to the accessibility and making everybody feel included.
[00:29:42] Which is we've made. Strides in, in, in my lifetime. Sure. But we have a long way to go. A long way to go. Yeah.
[00:29:48] Amy: Yeah. Thank you for that. We always close the podcast with a segment we called. Where are you today? 'cause be where you are today. I do it with everybody and essentially it's just, we would love to hear from you.
[00:29:59] Where are you today? You did mention that you lost your house in the Altadena fire and you're in the process of rebuilding. So with all of that going on where are you with your workouts and I guess just with life in general?
[00:30:12] Katherine: Yeah. I won't lie, it's been a challenge. When my house first burned down, the day of, I was talking to my uncle and I'm like. Ugh. It's just gonna be such a hassle to rebuild it. And I was like, and let me tell you, it's way more than a hassle. Oof. And yeah, so that's been difficult.
[00:30:27] I have been consistent and working out. Obviously I was not consistent right after it happened and we were, even that week we were trying to get in together and work out. Yes. Because I was like, I know I need to, I just can't. And yeah, I've lost about 15 pounds since then, which is it's such a bummer because.
[00:30:42] Work so hard to put on that muscle mass. Yeah. And especially as women and as we age, we know that's important. It's harder and it's
[00:30:47] Amy: harder to do. Yeah. And you can
[00:30:48] Katherine: lose it like that. So I'm really trying now to get to focus more on working out and strength training and building back up.
[00:30:54] I did just move into an apartment with a gym. In the complex. Great. Which is great. So yeah, so just working out, working with my surf coach as much as possible. Have some surf competitions coming up. Actually quite a few. I just got back from Australia. We had a competition there. Amazing. I have a West Coast Championships next Sunday, and then a competition in Hawaii.
[00:31:14] And US nationals in June. Oh, so fun. All of these are contingent upon me not having a job, which considering the state of the industry, it seems like they'll, I'll probably be attending these contests. Yeah. But yeah, just just trying to establish like some kind of normal Yeah. And and for me anytime I'm going through something, like when we met right around then was when my dad died. Very unexpectedly. Unexpectedly. Yeah. And I really dove into skateboarding then. I skateboarded almost every day just because it was like something I could do where my mind was like clear and stuff.
[00:31:47] Yeah. And like surfing for me is that now I have so many things to do, just administratively Yeah. And all this stuff with everything. But I can go out in the ocean for two hours and think about nothing else other than trying to stay alive in the ocean. Which which, yeah. So just, just trying to, and now that I have this time and this flexibility, use that to my advantage and.
[00:32:07] And stay as active as possible. Amazing.
[00:32:10] Amy: Good luck with that. Thank you. I love that you get to go to all these fun places. Yeah. And and they're clearly, they're all beaches, which is, like my happy place, yeah.
[00:32:18] Katherine: It's funny, I am not a beach person. I hate the beach. Sand is my nemesis.
[00:32:24] It's very difficult to walk on or to roll. Yes. I'm wearing a sweatshirt, but I'm very pale. So the sun doesn't like me either. But I have just fallen in love with surfing. I love it. You gotta sacrifice to do what you want. It's true. It's
[00:32:36] Amy: true. And you wear a wetsuit, right?
[00:32:38] I do, yes. So that is good. Sun protection. Sun protection
[00:32:40] Katherine: is important. Yes. As please.
[00:32:42] Amy: Yes. Can't stress that enough, but especially when you're like on the water. Yeah. And you're there for, a lot of time. Thank you so much for joining me, Katherine. After this, we're gonna work out.
[00:32:51] So get excited.
[00:32:53] Katherine: Can't wait.
[00:32:54] Amy: I know. And hopefully we can have you back and there's, I'm sure we'll have lots more to talk about. Oh,
[00:32:59] Katherine: absolutely. I love to talk, so I know. Me too. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. It was
[00:33:03] Amy: super fun. Yeah. Thanks for being here. And thank you all so much for joining us today for the Be Where You Are Today podcast.
[00:33:09] As a reminder, you can find clips of this podcast and any other podcast that we have done on my YouTube channel, as well as anywhere else that you get your podcast. I'm Amy just reminding you to show up, keep moving, and be where you are today.
