Ryan Neiswender: Team USA Gold Medalist in Wheelchair Basketball

As we get started on this episode, I want you to take a second and think about the qualities that define you. What are the different things that make you… you? Do you love those qualities? Or are they something you feel like you need to battle?

For my guest Ryan Neiswender, it took time for him to learn to love the quality he hated most about himself. But when he did, he reached the loftiest heights an athlete can reach.

Ryan was born with Arthrogryposis, a rare condition that impacted the development of his legs. By the age of 8, he would need to use a wheelchair to get around. But rather than feel constrained by his chair, Ryan felt he could move effortlessly.

Then one day his parents took the sports obsessed Ryan to a nearby wheel chair basketball clinic, and the rest is history. Actual literal history, because Ryan went on to not only excel at the sport, he ended up winning a gold medal for Team USA at the 2020 Paralympic games in Tokyo.

In our conversation we talk at length about Ryan’s journey and what he’s learned about himself along the way. We go into the highs of winning a gold medal, and more recent lows associated with the sport. But most importantly, we talk about the mindset and strategies he’s developed that prepare him to deal with those emotional peaks and valleys.

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

The 1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports.

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YOUR HOST

Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners.