Advertise on podcast: The Unexpected Journey

Rating

★★★★★

4.9

from

107 reviews

Description

Summiting and skiing an 11,000 foot volcano, completing a DIY adaptive sport decathlon in one day, harnessing a passion for art to help spinal cord injury survivors adapt and bond, flying in a wing suit as a double amputee, giving birth to and mothering twin girls as a quadriplegic...these are just a few of the powerful stories you will hear on The Unexpected Journey. Adaptive athlete and quadriplegic, Tim Brown, talks with other disabled folks to learn how they challenge preconceived beliefs, push boundaries, and get after it - ultimately leading to a life fulfilled. The Unexpected Journey gives you the experience of listening to two friends sitting at a kitchen table, around a campfire, or on a boat, letting you eavesdrop on an intimate conversation about their shared experience, their passions, and the challenging, rewarding and exhilarating elements of their life. The episode plays like an audio memoir of the guest with the host providing clarity and narrating the biographical details so you can enjoy and appreciate the real and raw moments of the conversation. You’ll hear a sonic backdrop of original music to add emotional richness and additional sound design to bring into the moment with the guest as they describe their most formative and powerful experiences. The host, Tim Brown, is quadriplegic from a ski accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury 11 years ago. He prefers to listen before speaking and shares his own experience along with the guest. Our mission is to elevate, educate, and empower our disabled and able-bodied listeners on the disabled experience through creative and powerful storytelling. Our vision is to be a leader in the creation and distribution of empowering disability-centric storytelling and to provide an accessible platform for participants in the disabled experience to share their stories with the world. The Unexpected Journey is a podcast about adaptive athletes, adventurers, and creators. Each episode features an individual with a disability sharing their powerful story of learning how to challenge preconceived beliefs, push boundaries, and get after it - ultimately leading to a life fulfilled. Listen to guests like Anna Soens talk about being the first paraplegic woman to summit and ski Mount Hood, Greg Durso share his love for adaptive sports and completing an adaptive decathlon, and Channing Cash on her childhood and Laos and becoming a Team USA ocean paddle racer. Hosted and produced by Tim Brown, a surfer, sailor, and skier who is quadriplegic from a skiing accident 10 years ago.Our goal is to Educate. Elevate. Encourage.

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Check latest episodes from The Unexpected Journey podcast

Miley Rhoad on Quad Rugby and the Power of Peer Mentors

2026/09/17

Miley Rhoad is a 19-year-old wheelchair or "quad rugby" player from South Carolina. I've gotten to know Miley over the past few summers when she has attended the Empower SCI teen summer program and emerged as a confident, encouraging, and fearless leader amongst her peers. She has a bright future and found time between rugby tournaments for a conversation about her life and future aspirations. Guest info: @miley.rhoadAdditional Resources: https://www.empowersci.org/https://highfivesfoundation.org/Contact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Carlie Cook on Climbing, College, and Cultivating Positivity

2026/09/03

Carlie Cook has lived nearly her entire life with her disability after she was paralyzed in a car accident at three years old. Now, as an adult, she has a full life in Western Massachusetts where she is a a professional adaptive climber, Child Life Specialist in a pediatric ER, and partner to her fiancé. Louis Arevalo knows her through adaptive skiing together in Vermont in recent years, and he has been pushing to share her story, describing Carlie as a warrior of optimism – a description that is spot on! Guest info: @c_cook20Additional Resources: https://www.paradoxsports.org/https://highfivesfoundation.org/Contact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Cole Bernier on Adaptive Mountain Biking and Mental Health

2026/08/20

Cole Bernier and I initially connected on a work call. After discussing collaborative opportunities between Bowhead, where he works on the sales team, and EmpowerSCI, my workplace, we chatted generally about our experiences with spinal cord injury. Cole was very open about his struggles with mental health and belief in how important mental health interventions are, especially for men with spinal cord injuries. I was a bit caught off guard. Cole is a burly paraplegic dude from British Columbia with a background in motocross and crossfit. Not the first person I would expect to be an evangelist for mental health. We've connected multiple times since and had a longer conversation this spring. Guest info: @cbreezyridesAdditional Resources: https://www.bowheadcorp.com/https://highfivesfoundation.org/Contact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Dianne Vitkus on Grief and Growth

2026/08/07

Dianne Vitkus and I met five and a half years ago in Spaulding Hospital while she was in inpatient rehab after her spinal cord injury and I was there for a PT appointment. Over the years we've become friends through our mutual enthusiasm for adaptive sports, the organizations that we are both involved with, as well as being members of the Boston spinal cord injury community. She is currently the resource program manager at the Travis Roy Center in Spaulding Hospital, where she helps newly injured patients find the resources that will prepare them for returning home. She leads the SCI consortium, a group of several New England-based spinal cord injuries coming together to tackle larger issues. I visited Dianne in her apartment in the Charlestown Navy Yard, across the water from where I live in East Boston. After catching up, we began exploring grief, an emotional state that I have come to understand advances and recedes often unpredictably and not in a linear way, like we are often led to believe. Dianne and I both have experienced a resurgence of grief in the past year or so. We also have many wonderful things in our lives. This conversation exemplifies the ability for grief, sadness, and loss to coexist with joy, connection, and love in a person's life. Guest info: @vittysvoyage@impossibledreamcataramAdditional Resources: https://www.theimpossibledream.org/Contact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Sean and Jill Leary on North of North

2026/07/23

A couple years ago we started hearing about a wheelchair accessible resort in Northern Minnesota call North of North. Several Unexpected Journey guests and listeners visited and raved about it. I reached out to Sean Leary who, together with his wife Jill built and owns North of North, a micro-resort with three fully wheelchair accessible cabins on a beautiful lake a few miles outside of town in Ely, Minnesota. They have also started AWWR, which stands for Adaptive Wilderness Within Reach, to support outdoor adventure opportunities for folks with disabilities in Ely. After an initial conversation with Sean, I decided I needed to check out North of North. This past February I made the trip along with a couple good friends. We met in Minneapolis and drove up for a a magical three days that included frigid dark starry nights, sauna time, ice fishing, dogsledding, wolves, and the wintry beauty of the Boundary Waters Wilderness area. Sean was paralyzed and became paraplegic from a car accident when he was 18 years old. He went on to college and in his early 20s met Jill while working in a summer camp. Jill asked Sean out and the rest of his history. They are now married, have two beautiful daughters, two dogs, and careers in environmental consulting and education. They live in a suburb of Minneapolis and have spent the past several years building their resort and program up in Ely, where their hearts lie. Guest info: @northofnorthresortnorthofnorthresort.com Additional Resources: https://www.awwr.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Landon McGauley on Biking and Rebuilding

2026/07/09

Landon McGauley grew up in British Columbia. Like many of our other guests from BC, he spent his formative years in the outdoors exploring the mountains and at an early age fell in love with biking, riding around his neighborhood with a shovel to build dirt jumps. In 2011, at the age of 15, he was in a biking crash resulting in a T5 spinal cord injury and paraplegia. Landon and I initially connected for an interview in 2022 when he had fully adapted to life as a paraplegic. In the years after his accident, Landon found his way to adaptive mountain biking and was amongst a crew of hard charging pioneering riders. He was working as the High Fives athlete manager, and notably, in the planning stage for an ambitious mountain biking and rafting trip with his brother. As we were assembling that episode and before Landon had a chance to embark on his big adventure, he was in another biking accident. This time breaking his neck resulting in quadriplegia. Landon now has the very unique life experience of living as a non-disabled or able-bodied person, a paraplegic, and now a quadriplegic. He is a thoughtful, well-read individual, and and openly shared his wisdom in this conversation. Guest info: @landonmcgauleyAdditional Resources: www.highfivesfoundation.orghttps://mhanational.org/resources/suicide-prevention/https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/suicide-prevention.htmlContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

World Inclusive Sailing Championships

2026/06/18

Last fall, I traveled to Oman for the World Inclusive Sailing Championships. It was an incredible experience. The inaugural event brought together many of the best adaptive sailors in the world, all competing to be world champion in one of three different classes – the RS venture connect - a two person boat, the Hansa 303 - a one person boat, and the Far East with three visually impaired sailors and three sighted sailors per boat. Beyond the racing and crowning world champions, the event had a larger mission: to showcase the skill, passion, and level of competition of the international parasailing community, in an effort to get sailing back into the Paralympics after it was dropped following the 2016 Rio Games. Over 100 sailors from 36 different countries competed. In addition to enjoying the wonderful warmth of the Omani people, culture, landscape and weather, and mixing it up on the racecourse, my highlight was meeting the other sailors from around the world. In the quiet moments in between racing and exploring, I spoke with three of them to hear their stories. Guest info: @pintobp05Additional Resources: https://www.sailing.org/world-sailing-inclusion-championships/Contact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Becca Farewell and the Tetra Ski Revolution

2026/01/08

After talking with Tanja Kari in Episode 57 we were super excited to learn more about the TetraSki, an emerging technology for the adaptive alpine skiing community. If you haven't already, I recommend giving episode 57 a listen before continuing this episode. We wanted to hear from several voices, so I reached out to athlete Becca Farewell who is now in her fourth season skiing and racing in the tetra ski. Becca lives in Salt Lake City with her family and is highly involved in the adaptive sports and TetraSki communities. We also reached out to three individuals who are highly involved in the design, adoption, and usage of the TetraSki. Dr. Jeff Rosenbluth is the Medical Director of TRAILS adaptive program which he founded in 2003 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and has been a leader of the TetraSki revolution from the start. Cullen Robinson formerly worked as an adaptive ski instructor at New England Disabled Sports in New Hampshire and is now a Program Coordinator at TRAILS where he works with Jeff and Tanja and continues to be highly involved in adaptive skiing. Allie Peterson, is a leading adaptive ski instructor in New England who has extensive experience working with a wide range of adaptive ski equipment and adaptive athletes who also works as an inpatient acute care occupational therapist for her day job. Guest info: @avibexAdditional Resources: https://www.tetraski.us/https://www.utrails.us/www.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Tanja Kari on Nordic and Tetra Sports

2025/12/25

Tanja Kari is a Paralympic gold medalist in cross country skiing from Finland. In 2010 she was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame, she has been nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sports Person of the Year with a Disability, and in 1998 and 2002 she was voted Finland's best disabled athlete. Since retiring from competitive sport she has become a strong and passionate advocate for the expansion of para sport opportunities and now works at TRAILS Adaptive in Utah on efforts to make adaptive sports both competitive and recreational accessible to more people with complex disabilities. Guest info: @karitanjaAdditional Resources: https://www.tetraski.us/https://www.utrails.us/www.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Geoff Krill on Acceptance and the Adaptive Outdoors

2025/11/27

Geoff Krill is a self-described adventure athlete, competitor, innovator, and motivator. He is also a national team member of PSIA, the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Since acquiring a spinal cord injury in his 20s he has competed in downhill mountain biking and skiing races both nationally and internationally, and continues to push boundaries as a wheelchair user. He is passionate about the impact of outdoor recreation and has dedicated his life to teaching others how to ski both disabled and non-disabled and creating greater access to the outdoors for everyone. He lives an outdoors life with his wife and two kids in New Hampshire. Guest info: @geoffkrillAdditional Resources: https://nedisabledsports.org/www.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Anna Soens Returns to Talk About Skiing and Pursuit of the Paralympics

2025/11/13

Anna Soens was the first guest on The Unexpected Journey. In episode one she shared the story of her pioneering para-mountaineering ascents of Mount Hood and Mount Baker in the Pacific Northwest. If you haven't listened yet, go check it out. In this conversation, the first in a short series of episodes on adaptive skiing, Anna returns to talk about her freeskiing career, her rapid rise as an adaptive downhill ski racer and her current pursuit of a spot on Team USA for the 2026 Winter Paralympics, and her major life updates in the past five years since she came on the podcast. Guest info: @timjobrownAdditional Resources: www.empowersci.orgwww.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Tim Brown on Creating The Unexpected Journey Podcast

2025/10/30

For this episode, we decided to switch things up. Louis Arevalo, Unexpected Journey editor and sound designer, gets behind the mic to interview Tim Brown, Unexpected Journey founder and host. We talk about Tim's Journey, the origins of the The Unexpected Journey, what goes into creating the podcast, connecting with listeners, and the future of the pod!! Guest info: @timjobrownAdditional Resources: www.empowersci.orgwww.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Nate Bibaud on Creating Art and Choosing Compassion

2025/10/16

Nate Bibaud was born in 1984 in Amesbury, Massachusetts, where he grew up skateboarding and playing goalie in hockey. After studying architecture, he moved to St. Croix to work in print and graphic design. In 2010, a car accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, with limited arm movement and no hand function. During rehab at MGH and Spaulding, he began drawing with the help of a recreational therapist. Over time, Nate gained enough shoulder strength to paint independently, experimenting with watercolor, acrylic, and oil. Since then, he has battled through paralysis, infections, a blood clot, and cancer—and now works full time as an artist. Not too bad for someone who once had no idea what to do with his life. Guest info: @natebibaudAdditional Resources: www.natebibaud.comwww.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Joel Brown on Dance and Determination

2025/09/18

Joel Brown is a paraplegic dancer, choreographer, and musician. He grew up in Salt Lake City in a large creative family and was paralyzed as a boy. Not one to slow down, he pursued many sports living an active life, and eventually found his way to dance. His professional dance career took him to California, then London, and around the world. Now in his 30s and back in California working as a choreographer, Joel has extensive experience with dance, and is reflective about living and aging as a wheelchair user with a spinal cord injury. Guest info: @joelbrowndancerAdditional Resources: https://axisdance.org/team-member/joel-brown/https://candoco.co.uk/www.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Alex Cano Gonzalez on Forgiveness and Photography

2025/09/04

Alex Cano Gonzalez is a photographer, videographer, and artist living in Denver Colorado. He was paralyzed at a young age as a result of gun violence. He's currently rebuilding his life with a commitment to physical rehab and exercise, exploring adaptive sports, and hustling to grow his freelance career as an artist. In our conversation, I was struck by Alex's profound gratitude, inner peace, and level of maturity and wisdom at such a young age. Alex is always looking to collaborate with other creators – rappers, artists, musicians. If you're interested in working with him or following his story, you can find him on Instagram @iamalexcano Guest info: @iamalexcanoAdditional Resources: www.highfivesfoundation.orgContact us: Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypodEmail: [email protected] Hosted and produced by Tim BrownEditing and sound design by Louis ArevaloOriginal theme music by Jesse LaFountaineEpisode cover art by Lewis Falconer Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer

Podcast reviews

Read The Unexpected Journey podcast reviews

4.9 out of 5

107 reviews

★★★★★

Tyler.on.time 2026/08/24

Pretty awesome!

While I do not have an SCI, (cerebral palsy) there’s a lot to be gleaned here for ALL of us with disabilities. It’s a great listen!

★★★★★

man-❤️ 2026/07/10

Polished and impactful

These podcasts are wonderful insights into the spinal cord injury Community. Tim asks very insightful questions and his guests are very vulnerable and...

★★★★★

List h 2025/11/29

I love ittt

★★★★★

Dr. Inz 2025/09/30

The unexpected journey

The unexpected journey continues to bring quality conversation to an important subject manner. What it is like to have one’s physical world challenged...

★★★★★

yorkbeachrunner 2025/08/22

Neven Hart⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love💗the episode with Neven Hart & his fiancé Amber.

★★★★★

F_~_~_~_~ 2025/07/27

Great interviewer, human stories

Tim does such a great job hosting these conversations and asking questions about both joyful and hard topics in an insightful and truly kind way. It’s...

★★★★★

Grouse Ridge 2025/01/24

Great interviews and incredible resource for the community

The quality and depth of the interviews is top notch. Tim asks insightful questions and his guests share with depth. As Dad of a relatively new membe...

★★★★★

ericsilberstein 2025/01/23

Engaging and meaningful

Listened to the Billy Price episode on a car ride and was planning to catch up on a different podcast for the rest of the trip, but instead kept going...

★★★★★

Jess Goodine 2024/10/17

Incredible podcast

This podcast is not just amazing in content but also in production. The sound quality, editing, timing of narration and music is just so thoughtful. ...

★★★★★

JKHenson 2024/09/01

The Unexpected Journey

Tim’s a thoughtful, empathetic host, conducting interviews that are relaxed and engaging with some of the coolest people out there. Each episode is a ...

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