David Vobora encourages Vanessa Cantu at ATF Our top five stories from October: 5. First Female Above The Knee Amputee Surfer Danielle Burt Catches Waves, Dishes Hope An ocean wave can cause two entirely different reactions. To a new swimmer, the wave can be a problem, but to a surfer, the wave can be pure pleasure. In our [...]
Photo by Shannon Boffeli By Kim Constantinesco One day you're screaming down a trail, leaving tread marks and sweat in the red dirt. The next, you're in a recliner chair being pumped full of toxins. For pro mountain biker Jen Hanks, that was life over two years ago. The 39-year-old athlete and two-time breast cancer survivor from Salt [...]
Photo courtesy of James Lawrence By Alison Ryan When endurance athlete and family man, James Lawrence of Orem, Utah, set out to accomplish his most recent physical feat, he was told it couldn’t be done. Already a two-time Guinness World record holder, Lawrence, also known as, “The Iron Cowboy,” felt that he needed to do something more to [...]
Photo: UDaily By Steve Coulter Kye Allums is still adjusting to the spotlight. The transgender pioneer who broke the barrier in 2010 to become the first openly transgender athlete in NCAA history says he learns something new every day on what it means to be a leader — an activist through art, athletics, and public speaking around the [...]
By Kim Constantinesco An ocean wave can cause two entirely different reactions. To a new swimmer, the wave can be a problem, but to a surfer, the wave can be pure pleasure. In our daily lives, we can either splash and panic, or we can stand up and surf. We can resist life's problems, or we can use them to [...]
Vanessa Cantu working hard with ATF trainer Madi Jacob By Kim Constantinesco Millions of people every day sluggishly drag themselves to the gym just to "get through" a 30 or 60-minute workout. Reasons for stepping inside the mirror-clad, iron-filled space vary as much as iPod playlists do. However, at the root of losing weight, feeling better, gaining [...]
Photo: Christy Gardner By Lilly Kashishian Adversity. There isn’t a champion in the world who hasn’t been through it in some regard. Army veteran and U.S. Women's National Team sled hockey player Christy Gardner, 33, has been through enough challenges to fill an entire stadium. After suffering devastating injuries while overseas and returning home to more health problems, [...]
Photo: ATF founder David Vobora provides Vanessa Cantu with some motivation as volunteers assist. By Patti Putnicki It happens in an instant. The accident, the injury, the IED explosion—the unthinkable event that changes life as someone knows it forever. After the hospital stays and surgeries, amputations and “we did everything we could do’s,” comes rehab; the place where [...]
Photo: Surfers Healing By Anne Delaney One day can mean so much. Giancarlo Calderoni saw what the day could be, and he felt it. And Calderoni didn’t have a child in the water off the coast of North Carolina during those August days. Calderoni, a 25-year-old in the U.S. Navy, was volunteering, helping out when he realized [...]
We caught up with USWNT and FC Kansas City star Heather O'Reilly at her old high school in New Jersey to find out what advice she passes on to young female athletes to empower them, and what qualities make her a successful woman. EXCLUSIVE: USWNT's Heather O'Reilly Dishes On Her Recipe For Being a Successful Female Athlete from Purpose2Play on [...]