Episode 76 Part 2: Against All Odds — Jeff Fowler, Eric Lazar at the 1st Wheelchair Pickleball World Championship

[00:00:00] Thank you for joining in. I'm Mike. I'm Christana. We're the Pickleballers Next Door. Denver! Feel that energy? Professional Pickleball is here. Your hometown heroes, the Denver Iconics, are serving up non-stop thrilling action. We're more than a team, we're a community. Be part of the movement sweeping the Mile High City. Get the latest news, grab your gear and join the Iconics family.

[00:00:26] The action starts at denvericonics.com. That's denvericonics.com. Hey, we're here with Jeffrey Fowler. Yeah, he is, you know guys, when you think you have a bad day, this gentleman's had a bad day, but his attitude and his walk back to life is incredible. And this is going to be just a short because we're going to bring him back on and we're going to give you the whole story. How are you doing today?

[00:00:54] Doing great. Having an amazing time out here playing with different adaptive athletes. You're smiling, you're hitting the ball, chasing it around. Said you were getting a little heavy on the ball. Oh yeah. I know. Everybody does it. It doesn't matter who you are. That little ball makes you crazy. Oh yeah. You want to hit it. And the big thing with this game is that slowness. You've got to actually slow down. So are you slowing down? Oh yeah. Now that you've been. Well, he's won. He was the last game. The last two games that we played, I actually realized, you know, okay, I've got two bounces.

[00:01:25] You know, slow down a little bit. Let it come in. Patience. Nice. And we actually, we won one of the five games today. Good. Good. Well, we came in and we met you and your story. I mean, it almost put some tears in my eye. I did. I mean, really, I, it, it's, you know, I hate to say this, but you know, I get out in traffic or the rain or, you know, the life isn't perfect, but you know, those aren't bad days. When you go to work and you're just a normal person, you're just doing your job.

[00:01:54] That's a bad day. What you have, you know, and, and, and I, uh, I appreciate your energy and it's only been two years since your accident. Right. Yes, sir. And you're, you're 20, you're 24 now. And so this injury happened, uh, the accident happened, uh, when you were 22, 22. Yep. 22. And you should see, you can't see, I know it's like the smell of vision, but you have to see his attitude, his energy. And he wants it. He wants to give back. I need, and as you've said, go ahead, you can tell a little bit of your story. Uh, yeah. Uh, my name is Jeff.

[00:02:23] My name is Jeffrey Fowler. Uh, I'm from, uh, South Carolina. Uh, I used to be a heavy duty diesel mechanic and, uh, was, uh, had a, uh, semi truck, uh, come down on top of me and, uh, and crushed me, uh, leaving me, uh, paralyzed from the waist down. And this was, you know, like they said, uh, just not, not even, not even a whole two years ago.

[00:02:42] Uh, and already, you know, just because like the shirt, the sheer will, you know, of, you know, getting, getting active, you know, after, after something happens, just getting back out there and, you know, actually just making something, making something happen with your life. And instead of just, you know, laying back and, you know, letting, you know, my family take care of me, you know, like I'm, you know, just striving, you know, for that independence and then, you know, coming out here and, you know, playing already in a, you know, the first, you know, national, uh, level wheelchair, uh, pickleball game, you know, it was just amazing.

[00:03:12] And this is amazing facility. I mean, you, I mean, oh my gosh, 24 courts. Yeah. Yeah. You couldn't have, couldn't have had a better place for it. Like, uh, peak, peak, peak is amazing. It's amazing here. Yeah. So when you guys think you have a bad day and you're going to work and, uh, a 50, is it 50,000 pounds? It was 50,000 pounds. 50,000 pounds falls on you. And again, you guys got to hear the whole story. We're going to call him. Um, but amazing man here. I mean, his energy.

[00:03:39] And again, what I love is it's not about him. He wants to give it back to other people that like, don't give up. Don't stop. Cause you know, they, they told him and he, and we'll get into this deeper. They said, you're not going to move. You're not going to ever walk at all. And he is proven that he's trying to prove them wrong. He's here playing pickleball. What is it? One in 4 million or something? Yeah. Yeah. Uh, they, the, the surgeon had, uh, told me that, uh, there's a, uh, one in 4 million, uh, chance that, uh, I'll, I'll walk again.

[00:04:06] And I, I just, I immediately told him to go find his closest 4 million friends. Cause I am the one. And he's already proven it. I mean, he's shown me some videos. Um, he's got some movement. I mean, this is incredible. That is encouraging, you know? Yeah. So, but at the end of the day, he's here with a community of pickleball players. Yep. And we, as Pickleballers Next Door, want to bring together to help everybody with the community of pickleball. And, and we want to help people, whatever.

[00:04:31] And I think this is going to be a big deal to work with you to see what we can do to bring that, that family together to help other people. Oh yeah, sir. And, and I mean, and your story, I'm telling you it's, it's something and, and you, and you talk as, as easy as can be. I mean, like, Hey, this happened, but I'm here. I don't, that's, that's yesterday. This is today. Yeah. I mean, there is, I, because I am lucky to have a today today and I am lucky to hopefully have a tomorrow. Yeah.

[00:04:59] And, you know, and like, just because, because of, you know, this, you know, injury, you know, what, what I thought, you know, for, for a little bit of time, you know, I thought, you know, that's just the end of my world, you know, I, you know, I'll never be able to, you know, I, I was, you know, upset cause I couldn't be, I wouldn't be, you know, able to continue doing my job and, you know, and stuff like that. But then, you know, like all these different doors of, you know, just amazing opportunities have, have opened up. And then, you know, just the, the opportunity of just coming out here to Colorado Springs, you

[00:05:28] know, to play it, play in the championship and then, you know, just talk to everybody, you know, around, you know, and you're just seeing, you know, the different resources and just how, how loving everyone and accepting everyone is. It's just amazing. You're not alone. You don't feel, it really gives you, when you come to this type of tournament, you don't feel alone. Yep. And, and, and there's gotta be the days that are like, Hey gosh, what's why me? It's gotta be that. And I just don't see that in you. I mean, you are, you are ready to go forward. Oh, I mean, of course, you know, there's the, there's the moments, you know, where I'm down and I'm,

[00:05:58] like, you know, and, you know, and just, you know, kind of upset about everything. Like the other day I was going on a, I was going on a hike throughout Garden of the Gods and I was watching some people doing some rock climbing and I, and I looked up and, you know, and I just, I kind of started tearing up a little bit because, you know, and I was like, dang, I was like that, if this was two years ago, that'd be me, that'd be me climbing that rock right there. And then, you know, I immediately thought, I was like, well, if this was two years ago, I wouldn't be in Colorado. I wouldn't have the chance.

[00:06:26] It's, it's, it's, you know, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't have the chance to come out here and just meet, meet everyone. Right. Yeah. And like you said, that to know that you're here is, is just, the odds were not for you for the situation. And when you hear, you guys hear the story of this, you will understand. So, and I, I, I, I really want to come up and I'm just, you know, shooting this out there, but I really want to come up with the, some kind of phrase, like, you know,

[00:06:54] when a 50,000, 50,000 pounds falls on you, that's a bad day. That is a bad day. But, but on the backside of it, like, because like from front, because being, being from South Carolina, you know, I was right there, you know, it, my injury happened not long after hurricane Helene and, you know, in, in part, you know, in, in a lot of me, you know, what kept me going was, you know, just the thought of, well, I've still got a home. So whenever I can finally get out the hospital to go to it, it's still there. Yeah.

[00:07:23] Whereas, you know, these people, you know, 30 minutes up the mountain behind me, they don't have their family anymore, nor their home. Gone. So that's a bad day. That's a bad day. And then, you know, and then a lot of them, you know, lost their family, their homes, and they got injured. So, I mean, you know, they, they got hit, you know, with everything, you know, bad. Whereas, you know, I looked around and I thought, you know, saw, you know, my, my support system. I'm like, you know, I ain't got nothing. I had nothing to complain about. Yeah. And again, that's the neat thing is you're passing it forward.

[00:07:52] Look at this tragedy that happened with the storm. It's just almost forgotten, right? Yep. What I like, what you're trying to do is I'm not going to forget. I don't want to live it every day, but I'm going to tell people how to get to keep moving forward. Oh, definitely. And I think in, in your energy, I mean, just, I wish people, I wish we had our videos on because there's a C that your, your eyes are bright. You're ready to have fun. You're ready to move. And this isn't the end of the day. Oh yeah. I did get some good video of you playing. Oh, awesome. I did. Yeah. I did. So we'll, we'll be doing some social media with that.

[00:08:22] Yeah. Oh, definitely. Definitely. Now, do you have an Instagram or anything that anybody can follow you? Oh, I do. Uh, Instagram is, uh, I know we're all, there's always too many dots and slices and Oh yeah. I can't remember my own name. I can't remember my name half the time. All right. Well, uh, my Instagram name is, uh, Jeffrey, the Gimp G E O F F R E Y T H A G I M P. Nice. Nice. You want to see this gentleman. This is the gentleman.

[00:08:52] And, and, and I think there's a lot to come from him. He's just getting started to like tell a scream out at the world and we need it. We need somebody that has this energy. And, uh, I've, I've also started, uh, posting some videos on my, uh, tick tock of like showing some of my, uh, like recovery. Oh, I would love to see that. Uh, let me see. Uh, and that one is just, uh, at, uh, Jeffrey Fowler G E O F F R E Y F O W L E R. Yeah. Guys go there. You're going to see this man.

[00:09:21] What a great guy. And I mean, we, we, it'll be shortly here. We're going to do a call with them and we'll give you the whole story. And we need you to understand that next time you think things are bad, that's not bad. There's always someone out there that has a word that has a worse off than you. They do. And even more, you are more worried about the storm. And in this story, there's a friend that he was more worried about somebody else getting hurt. And when you hear this story, it's like he was, he was so, he was hurt. He was still looking out for other people. So that's, that's just a great, big heart. Yep.

[00:09:51] I mean, that's just, I mean, you can't, can't, can't hide a personality. That's for sure. I like it. Well, thank you for being on. You're going to hear, you're going to hear this soon. We'll call you and, uh, I would love to get the story. Oh, definitely. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Campbell chiropractic, your path to wellness. Your path to wellness starts here.

[00:10:18] Our services include chiropractic care, laser therapy, and custom orthotics. We also provide personalized nutrition plans, rehabilitation, and sports physicals. Visit us at castlerockchiro.com or call 303-663-8365. And we're here, Mike and Chris Anna.

[00:10:47] We're here with, um, Eric Lazar. And you're from Kauai, correct? Yes. And we're at, here at the adapt, apted, I can't even talk, adaptability. Um, it's the, uh, championship. Let me say it to you. Can you say it for me? This is the first inaugural USA wheelchair pickleball championships. Thank you. Yeah, that sounded a lot better. See, that's how I would have said it. Gosh. What is wrong with her? He always leaves me with the name. Have you been sneaking over there to the bar and getting a few drinks?

[00:11:15] Yeah, I may need one to calm me down. I'm sitting by you. So how'd you do today? Uh, so far, won all matches. Wow. How long have you been playing? Uh, for three years now. So you're on, you're ready, huh? You're ready. I, this is, um, yesterday, my, my, my partner, Steven Pasquitz, was the first time we played in three tournaments, lost every match. Yesterday, we won our first match right off the bat, 15-2. Woo, nice.

[00:11:43] So started this, uh, weekend great. Wow. I love it. Now you're noticing here when you hit that ball, it flies. Oh my God. Yeah, it doesn't stop. No, you gotta just nice off the bat. Yeah, you, you gotta just really loose hit. If not, it's gone. Yep. It's gone. So, well, what, how did you, how did you hear about this and find out about all this? Well, I came here last year. Um, I've been trying for years to, I've been playing for three years. I live on Kauai. I'm the only one in a wheelchair playing. So I always want to play. I'm an adaptive surfer. That's awesome.

[00:12:13] I ran, um, go-karts. I was a 2007 champion go-kart, you know, racer, but I was the only one in a wheelchair. So I like to play with, you know, people in wheelchairs. I want to be with my peers. Yeah, absolutely. There's 24 of us. And that's how I met up my partner, Steven Pasquitz. And he's like, how come we don't do this tournament? How come we don't do that tournament? I'm like, I thought you had to qualify for things. And I'm like, no, we're in the wheelchair. We can go do these things. Go do this. Yeah. But you know what?

[00:12:43] It's good you're starting now because there will be, you know, it's going to be go where it's the qualification. It's heading there. But it sounds like you'll probably qualify. You're a good player. Yeah, yeah. So, um, how long have you been in a wheelchair? 23 years now. And do you have a story behind that? Uh, it's a too long. Too long? Motorcycle, dirt bike riding. Having fun. Oh, having fun. Dirt bike, yeah. Yeah, a lot of, a lot of accidents with dirt bikes and stuff, huh? Doing what I love. Yeah. I'm an adrenaline junkie.

[00:13:10] It's in my blood and, uh, once an adrenaline junkie, always one. Yes. And where you said that, where you live, there's, there's not, is it pickleball getting big there or? Oh no, I'm, I'm actually part of the pickleball association on Kauai. I'm a board member and, uh, it's, um, we get like a hundred people every tournament. Nice. Yeah. I was just at the big Island, but they had that storm that came. Yep. It was horrible. Like the worst storm they've ever had. And you were there. I was there for it. Actually, he's the one that brought that storm. No, I bet you. I bet you.

[00:13:40] Trees flying. I mean, there was, there were the, the, the, uh, volcano was going off. It was like the, like if I could have. The mana was powerful. It was really powerful, but it's still beautiful there. I mean, you, it is. Every Island has their own unique beauty and their own special. I've been to Kauai. Nice. Beautiful. Where were you and where'd you like? Okay. This is going to be, I can't even say the name. Uh, Hanalei, Princeville, Poipu. Yes. That's where I live by Kaloa. Okay. Yes. Sunny Southside. I went for a wedding.

[00:14:11] There was a wedding. It was when my kids were a lot younger. Nice. So I can't remember, but it was beautiful. Awesome. Yes. Good pickleball there though? Oh, excellent. And, and, uh, I've been practicing with the senior champions over there and they've been getting me ready. Nice. Well, look at where you're at now. You're at, you're at the top gold medals right here for you. Yeah. You're a senior, right? Yeah. I love it. But, uh, yeah. And Maui, I love Maui. That's my, for a quiet really. I mean, I heard Kauai is the same way, like really the same thing.

[00:14:40] Really close to that. I've never been there. Um, I think we're heading back out in November, but, uh, I might, that's my, where we might go. I might have to get your number to say, Hey, where's the pickleball? Oh, there's every day. There's a place to go play. I love it. And the weather too. Isn't it beautiful? Yep. If not, don't worry. Cloud rain 10 minutes later. You're playing pickleball. Yep. I love it. So how long are you here for? I'm here till Tuesday. I go home. Nice. Nice. After, uh, I want to celebrate on Sunday. Exactly.

[00:15:10] After you have all your medals up. And then recuperate on Monday for the flights. I love it. Because you said you were on how many flights? Four flights to get here. Wow. Oh my gosh. So how long is that? I mean, that's like. Well, I broke it up into two days. Two days. It's too much. Yeah, it is. Kauai to Honolulu. Honolulu to Long Beach. Stayed at my mom's house. And she lives in Seal Beach. And then. And it's four, four hours difference. Yeah. But then Long Beach to Phoenix.

[00:15:39] And then Phoenix. Phoenix to Colorado. Oh my gosh. Same thing. Yes. Going back. Yeah. But I'm actually. When I go back. So when I leave here, I go to Phoenix. Lay over. To my mom's. Hang out with her for 10 days. And then. Oh. Go travel up by Tahoe to my dad's house for 10 days. And then go home. That's awesome. Mid July, I go back home. And then you can brag about how you took all the medals here in Colorado. It's all good. It's all good. It's all good. All fun though, right? How many.

[00:16:08] I have more fun than, you know, the winner. Oh yeah. If I'm not winning, I'm still having more fun than them. Exactly. And in this community, isn't it fun? This is the greatest. These guys are amazing super humans. Well, just putting this together. I mean, you know, and it's coming. You know. This place, Pete Pickleball. I fell in love when I rolled through the doors. I'm like, wow. 24 courts. This place is amazing. And what they're doing for the wheelchair community is beyond unreal. This is the only. This is the beginning. You know.

[00:16:37] I call this. This is my Olympics right here. Yeah. We love it. Let's go. We love to see you and love to get, you know, we're going to maybe get your information because I'd love to come see you out there in Hawaii. Come on and play. Let's do it. Come in August, we had our pack inaugural, like, annual tournament. Hey, write that down. August. August 14th, 15th, 16th. I love it. Come to Kauai and play for the Pickleball Association on Kauai. Then I can bring a medal back. Let's go. There's good players, though. Oh, they're excellent.

[00:17:07] Yeah. They're top-notch players. Yeah. They travel and go play. I know, and I wanted to play so bad there at the Big Island, but it rained so there was just no play. You didn't get a chance. Yeah. There's no indoor play. No. There's no indoor. Not yet. Maybe one day. Yeah. It's ready, though. At least a covered. Yeah. A covered would even be nice. That would have been good. Yeah. But, I mean, when trees are blowing by and goats are blowing by, it's not a good time to play pickleball. Like, I've literally seen goat. Like, that's the crazy part there is all those goats.

[00:17:35] Like, they just pop up and there's a dozen goats, like, just on the middle of the highway. You fit right in. Yeah, gay. Well, I know you've got to go play. He gets me, believe me. Oh, good. Oh, good. I know you've got to go play, but thank you for coming on. I appreciate you having me on. And I got your information. Did you get his number? Well, we're not getting busy enough. Oh, yeah. I don't want to get a bunch of crank calls after we get off. What is that called? Colorado. Hey, call me. I will. Pickleball. Just ask for the guy in the wheelchair on the south side. Everybody knows me. He knows you. Yes. Let's go to Kauai.

[00:18:09] Good luck. Thank you. Hi, Mike. Hey. It's Christana Elliott. Let's go. Hi. Hey, we got Scott Moore with us. So, Scott, talk to us and tell us how it's going. It is amazing. This is one of my favorite events in all of pickleball to play with wheelchair guys. As a matter of fact, one of my career highlights was the day after I won two gold medals, actually, back-to-back days at the U.S. Open in 2021.

[00:18:39] Thought I was on top of the world. I was 59, beating all the senior pros. Next day, I walk out on the pickleball court, and they say, hey, come on, Scott, get in a chair. I got to play with the guys in the wheelchair. And they wheeled me ragged. I couldn't keep up, whatever. I went up to touch paddles afterwards. They go, nice game, turtle. Wow. Abusing me. Abusing me out there. And I was cracking up. Then I got out of my chair, walked off, and I realized, these guys will never walk off. Never. Yeah. It just gave me a new perspective.

[00:19:07] You know, those medals now are sitting in my basement gathering dust. But the memories and the lessons I learned from these wheelchair guys is going to last a lifetime for me. So that's why I'm here, just to give back a little bit to such an honor to play with these guys. That's amazing. Last night, we raised money for two chairs. We got a charity clinic that we did, me and five other pros. And it was absolutely phenomenal. That's awesome. Yeah. And, I mean, this is what you're doing. I mean, you're always doing great things.

[00:19:35] Well, I mean, I've just been so blessed by this game is to give back a little bit. Yeah. Well, it makes you appreciate life. No complaining, right? No complaining. When you have to do all the... Nothing to complain about. You have nothing to complain about. No. Some of the stories we hear today, I would talk to my wife at lunch. I said, I have nothing. Don't... Yeah. Smack me when I say something that I have to worry about. I just sat at lunch with a guy who had a 50,000-pound... That's the guy. We're putting him on. Jeffrey. Jeffrey. I love him. Oh, my gosh. He gave up, and God brought him back for a reason.

[00:20:04] I was like, he told me his whole story. I was blown away. Oh, it almost brings you to tears. And when you have a 50,000-pound trailer on you, then you have a bad day. That's a bad day. That's a real bad day. I've never had one. I have not either, and I don't want to try it. Now I know I've never had a bad day. Yeah, exactly. Well, give us a little bit... Tell about who you are and why. So I'm Scott Moore. I've been playing for 15 years. Was elected to the Pickleball Hall of Fame in 2023. That's awesome. Have had a great run. Very fortunate to have some amazing partners.

[00:20:34] Health along the way. God's blessed me with athletic ability and the ability to play this game. And so I'm just having the time of my life. I keep thinking I'm going to grow out of it, but I don't think I ever will. I don't think you will. You can't. I don't think there's a way out. Once you're in, you're in. I'm in. I'm in. I'm in whatever it is. Some people call it a cult. I don't know. Whatever. But we have a pickleball trips business. We have a family business. We've done 25 different countries, well over 100 trips. So I get to lead pickleball trips all over the world and meet people from Europe.

[00:21:04] And Japan is kind of our flagship. But we do every country you can imagine. So checking off a lot of bucket lists with people doing what I love, which is travel, teaching pickleball, eating great food, meeting people from different cultures, and introducing this great game all over the world. And so where would people find you? Pickleballtrips.com is our website. Super simple. Yeah. Guys, this is the trip. I mean, these guys know what they're doing. They know where to go. They know what to eat. They have this put together. Yeah. This is what we do and how we live. This is not just a business.

[00:21:34] This is who we are. We've traveled personally to 70 countries. And Mike's coming with us. I'm coming. Not Chris. Chris Anna can't come. I'm walking. Actually, yeah. Can we leave him and just take me? Yeah. Actually, that's not a bad idea. I think so. I can be noisy. Yeah. You can be loud. But he has to get back on the court. We just wanted to say hi. We love this guy. Yeah. Thanks so much. And we'll be doing, hopefully we'll be doing some shout outs here in November about, we'll be on a trip actually doing this live. Yeah. Let's do this from Japan. I love it.

[00:22:04] That would be awesome. Here we go. Thank you. Thanks guys. Good luck. Bye. Bye. Bye. Tired of the same old, same old? Discover a sweet sip nano CBD sparkling sodas. We're the delicious, low anxiety, non-alcoholic alternative you've been searching for. When you're on the pickleball court and you need a calm, this is your drink. Experience delightful flavor and a gentle calm.

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