We Are Superman

Tim Kaufman fell victim to all of the classic American poor lifestyle choices. He ate primarily processed food – and large quantities of it.  After surgery related to a crippling disease called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, doctors prescribed painkillers and soon he was hooked on them. Like most addicts, he connived ways to get more of them and even more powerful narcotics, like fentanyl. He smoked, he chewed, and he drank staggering amounts of vodka. Tim was raised in a strait-laced Christian family in a quiet, rural town, demonstrating how his pitfalls don’t discriminate based on social standing. Realizing he would soon be in a coffin, 400-pound Tim decided it was time to get bariatric surgery, only for his doctor to tell him that his body’s catastrophically poor health wouldn’t allow for him to have it, which sunk him into further despair. Four simple words from his terminally-ill mother-in-law shook Tim into deciding that he needed to find a way to live. Tim knew David and like the latter’s book, Out There, Tim has just released his book, Escape: Breaking Free From a Self-Made Prison, in which he similarly has a remarkable transformation. Tim also adopts a plant-based diet and becomes a clean and sober Ironman triathlete who discovers that gratitude could change his outlook in life and help him become the husband and father his family deserves, and an inspirational and motivational human. Like many in his shoes, Tim’s tribulations have helped him learn some fantastic perspectives, which he shares in his book, which is now available on Amazon. Please enjoy this entertaining chat with an amazing man.

Tim Kaufman
Escape: Breaking Free From a Self-Made Prison available on Amazon
Watch his story on www.hope-theproject.com/#plant-power-stories
www.fatmanrants.com
Facebook Tim Kaufman
Instagram and Threads @fatmanrants

Bill Stahl
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Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor and @coachstahl
Threads @stahlor
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Jack Rubalcave, my 24-year old traveling companion, with whom I’ve previously traveled to Portugal, the Azores, and Ecuador, took an amazing 3½-week long trip to Asia this fall, and we want to share with you some of our adventures and inspire you to seek your own. We carried nothing but a backpack, took 13 flights, visited seven incredibly interesting countries, and probably spent less than $1000 each for the entire trip. We have been sharing some of our formula as well as the exotic sights, food, and fun we had.  In the previous two episodes we covered Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and in this one we talk about the crazy times we had in Thailand and Bali, Indonesia, including a surprise encounter with really big, venomous water monitor lizards in a Bangkok park, an enchanting elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and attempting to rent and drive scooters on the very chaotic streets of Bali. I think these travels have given me a much deeper understanding about other people and cultures, which we in the U.S. are often insulated from. In the next episode, we’ll chat about beautiful Singapore and our tips for pulling off such a trip yourself, as well as where we hope to head next.

Jack Rubalcave
Instagram @jubalcave
Snapchat jackrubalcave

Bill Stahl
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If you think you can’t accomplish a lot of change and challenge yourself to achieve new goals in a short amount of time, then you’ll benefit from listening to this chat with Diarra Cropper. I’ve gotten to know the ever-enthusiastic Diarra through the Black Men Run community.  Black Men Run is a dynamic nationwide organization that is a movement that encourages Black men to be active to reverse health risks like hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and mental depression that disproportionally affect this population. The organization conducts meetups to bring local chapters together and organizes to connect at races throughout the country. I began running with the Denver chapter three years ago and have developed many great friendships. With awesome leadership, the Denver chapter has been one of the fastest-growing in the country. Diarra, like many African-American male track athletes, gravitated toward the power events like sprints. And why not? If you turned on a marathon on TV, the only Black runners you saw were Kenyans and Ethiopians, almost no Americans. Black runners were virtually absent from ultramarathons. When Diarra moved to Colorado Springs, it opened up a whole new world of trail running to him. Within a couple of short years, Diarra is now crushing trail ultras and through an almost-random encounter at the Leadville Trail 100, has recently gotten sponsored by Speedland. He's become a leader as well of the BMR sub-chapter in Colorado Springs. What’s been super cool is that there are others in Black Men Run running ultras, and during our group runs it’s exciting hearing the chatter about ultrarunning. The tide is definitely turning, too, as you see more Black runners at marathons and ultramarathons, and you are beginning to see lots more women and runners of other colors out there as well. I have no doubt that Diarra, with his passion and drive, is headed toward becoming a major force in the ultrarunning scene. Before we jump in, I’d encourage you to go to blackmenrun.com to find a local chapter. I got involved after the insane killing of Ahmaud Arberry, which woke me up to the fact that it is markedly less safe for a Black man to simply go for a run anywhere he wants unlike a white guy like me can. I’ve never regretted finding this really positive group to run with.

Diarra Cropper
Instagram and Threads @co_trilete25

Bill Stahl
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Keenan Haga is who you might call a serial marathoner. In fact, he has run 311 of them so far. On every continent, including Antarctica. He has run one in every state – three times. Keenan’s goal for 2024 is to run 100 marathons, including 13 in 15 days, plus a 100-miler. You’ll undoubtedly enjoy hearing about his cool experiences running among polar bears, sea lions, on the race track at Churchill Downs, at Crater Lake, Oregon, and the not-so-great ones like getting a parasite from water at an aid station in Brazil. In the midst of all of this marathoning, Keenan also beat stomach cancer, chemotherapy, the whole works. He credits running with helping him develop the attitude that he could dig in to battle it. But he kept his diagnosis to himself, even to his family, until he met another runner, Karen Kay-Timonier, at the American Heroes Run to whom he opened up and began to share his cancer journey. Keenan had already discovered how much he cherished the running community he’s met throughout the world, but now he has also been absorbed into the cancer survivor community in which he can share his experiences. The first things I noticed in our chat is how down-to-Earth Keenan is about his life’s extraordinary journey, his positivity, humility, warmth, and his gratitude that he gets to do the things he does. For you distance junkies, Keenan also shares a lot of helpful little tips from a guy who covers an awful lot of miles. I think you’ll enjoy this chat a lot.

Keenan Haga
Strava
mycoloradolife.net

Bill Stahl
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Helping and honoring our military veterans was deeply meaningful to David, and he helped support them with his American Heroes Run. As you may know, I now direct the event to continue his important legacy. Proceeds support Warriors’ Ascent, an organization that provides holistic programs to veterans and first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress. Treating veterans with this not-as-visible type of battlefield injury has often gotten overlooked by the Veteran’s Administration and organizations that support veterans. I became aware of Iraq War veteran Gene Bennett’s story and received a copy of his chilling book, “We Did Not Deserve the Crapper: The prison we entered but never fully left.” Gene served two tours in Iraq. At first, the Army used him as a truck tire mechanic, but as sometimes happens, they assigned him where needed, and with just a smattering of training, he ended up a prison guard. Gene, whose callsign was Spazmasterflex, termed this job “the worst babysitting job ever.” In 130o heat, often walking on metal grating during all-day or all-night shifts, he was tasked with guarding a violent population where Sunnis and Shia often clashed, and often meted out their own versions of justice, which could be death. Of course, they all wanted to kill the Americans. To make it worse, the prison comprised both adult and juvenile sections. At one point, an eight-year-old was detained and a riot broke out until this child was released. On his watch, an Iraqi teen was murdered, something which continues to haunt Gene. He also witnessed several incidents of horrible atrocities and jaw-dropping leadership ineptitude committed by U.S. military officers. His PTSD and depression no doubt were exacerbated by a difficult childhood in a dysfunctional family. Gene has been fighting back by working to get his fellow veterans improved treatment from the VA, as well as write a cookbook to help them take better care of themselves. He is also creating an innovative line of meat smokers. Gene and I had a very engaging conversation that I think will keep you on the edge of your seat. I’d highly recommend you read his book to get a bird’s eye look at one veteran’s deployment that will leave you shaking your head, but also rooting for this hero to emerge on the other side in a better place.

Gene Bennett
Book on Amazon: "We Did Not Deserve the Crapper: The prison we left but never fully left"
Instagram and X @mickeyseverson

Bill Stahl
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Facebook Bill Stahl
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