Green Light with Chris Long - Kirstie Ennis in the Fish Bowl

Episode Date: March 23, 2020

War Hero and Marine, Kirstie Ennis, is Chalk Media's most powerful and emotional show of the series. Kirstie and Chris talk about Pat Tillman, her ESPY speech, her foundation, her climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro to support Waterboys and how she overcame adversity to help inspire others. Kirstie also tells the full story of the helicopter crash in Afghanistan that almost took her life and lead to her leg being amputated. About Chalk Media: Following the unfiltered voice and vision of Chris Long, Chalk Media is the interactive online community for you, the intelligent and humorous sports fan. Driven by access, Chalk delivers a unique perspective that cuts through the canned talking points and provides a variety of content from your favorite sports and entertainment celebrities. Here at Chalk, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we are rooted in challenging the perception of professional athletes. We embrace the “real” with a unique combination of humor and intelligence. Chalk is a community with a voice beyond 240 characters that brings a perspective and vibe to a traditionally brash and boastful sports media space. Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more. Nothing is off limits at Chalk - hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. 🌍🏀🏈SUBSCRIBE NOW ⚾🏒⛰️ http://bit.ly/chalknetwork Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So a really, really special podcast this week. A good friend of mine, and somebody I'm proud to call a good friend. Somebody I really love, man. Kirstie Ennis, you know, she's the Pat Tillman Award winner. She's an athlete. She's an inspirational story. Somebody who empowers women and girls everywhere. She's an above-the-knee amputee.

She's the first above-the-knee amputee to something. I'm at Kilimanjaro, and she's a Marine. And, you know, she's definitely a Marine when you meet her. She's a badass. But she also has a really great, soft heart. And, you know, anybody she meets, she would definitely tell you that. And I got a chance to climb that mountain with her. She's done a lot for charity.

She's a philanthropist, kind of a renaissance woman. And, you know, again, Pat Tillman Award winner met, you know, talked to her in L.A. before she got the award. So, you know, interviews a little dated, but she was awesome. And obviously overcame a lot of, a lot of

struggles and tough times after she lost her leg. But I don't think there's anybody better to tell her story and to turn that tragedy and the triumph than Kirstianis. Enjoy the interview.

She's the best. Kirstie Ennis, one of my favorites and somebody I actually know very well. I've spent a lot of time on the side of a mountain with you and we sounded Killy together and most importantly I think an icon to a lot of young women out there and somebody who served our country and the winner of the Pat Tillman Award this year at the ESP's so we're celebrating early in the morning there's lipstick on my cup of vanilla vodka here not my choice Joyce, how are you, Kirstie?

Yeah, I'm doing well. It's just an honor to be out here in L.A. for the SVs. And, yeah, it's been a wild ride since the last time we climbed together. Yeah. Been busy. You've added some things to your resume. Just a few. You're here for the Pat Toman Award.

Everybody knows who Pat Toulman is, but what made him different? What made him deserving of recognition decades later and beyond? Well, for me, as an athlete, and then also as a service person, I know what it takes to be a part of a team like that and to be able to sacrifice for the greater good of what you guys are going through. You know, whether it's on the field or off the field, you know, as a family, it takes a lot.

You know, you have to have a lot of heart to be a part of a team like that and the ways that he was. But for him to take off the jersey and then go forth and join the military and not just join the military to, you know, do your typical nine to five sitting behind a desk job,

but he was going to the front lines and wholeheartedly, And obviously willing to lay his life down for the man or woman that stood to his left or right. And he did. He paid the ultimate sacrifice. To me, that's just somebody that we should all want to emulate. You know, I think all too often in our day and age, we get wrapped up of sitting behind a screen or going through the motions of our day-to-day.

But for somebody to truly want to get up every day and make a difference in the world, do something for the greater good. I mean, I just think Pat Tillman embodies that. And he's somebody that, he's a household name that people idolize him. You know, he is a true American hero on and off the field and on the battlefield. This is Coach Dave McGinnis. I've been asked by a very good friend of mine and a player I respect a lot, Chris Long, to talk a little bit about Pat Tillman.

I was fortunate enough in my career to not only be a defensive coordinator and a head coach during Pat Tillman's career. I was involved in drafting Pat Tillman, and I was very much involved in his football playing career. I coached the National Football League for 31 years. That entails thousands of players. There is no football player that has had more impact on my life as a human being than Pat Tillman. Pat Tillman embodied as a player exactly what you would want. He was fearless, he was loyal, he was honest, and he was always there. You always knew that when he stepped across the line for you as a coach, you could get everything that he had. An extremely brilliant, brilliant human being.

He was a true Renaissance man. But Pat Tillman, he was a man. But Pat Tillman, also embodied the traits of honesty, integrity, and dignity in every aspect of his life. You know, those three words sometimes are just words on a page, but Pat Tillman lived those words. I cannot tell you the many conversations that I've had with Pat Tillman as to where we would not talk about football, but we would talk about life and things that were very, very important. And I saw that in Pat Tillman when 9-11 happened and being involved with him and then being the one person that he came to when he made a decision to leave a very lucrative National Football League career on the table when he and Marie had just gotten married to go serve

his country because he felt a real sense of duty in doing that and sitting down with him and listening to him tell me his reasons and tell me what he was going to do and then being able to talk to him and just to feel the genuineness I mean you don't come across human beings in your life that are like Pat Tillman as I said, I've been involved with thousands and thousands of National Football League players. They're all very impressive, but none have ever had the impression on my life, and I think I can say this too, have never had the impression on the lives of so many people in America as Pat Tillman. I think with Pat, what's cool is that he just took action, right? And that doesn't mean that

everybody has to like take action and go join the military, but like do something to back your convictions, you know? And we aren't a society where people take action it feels like anymore. We talk a lot, but we don't back it up. I don't have the balls to go join the military, but Pat did, and he gave his career for that. And I think that can Pat's legacy affect not just military men and women or football players, but just regular people as well. No, I think history in what he's done, it should impact everyone. If you see a problem, do something about it. But if you see something wrong, say something. Like, I think for whatever reason, especially the younger generations, I think maybe we're

getting a little bit better about it. But instead of having a backbone, like, everybody wants to complain about something. But no one's actually putting one foot in front of the other and doing something about it. And I think we all need that inspiration in our lives, whether it's something as minor as making a change in your day-to-day or, you know, the bigger picture, finding something that you believe in and standing up for it. Because it could be easy to look at Pat and be like, well, he's just, he's better than me.

He's, you know, a regular guy like me or somebody at home, whether it's an NFL player or somebody watching on TV and be like, how do I apply that to my life? But but it's all relative, the actions you take, like the little things you do. Like it could be one active kindness or one community engagement. I mean, like, you know, your service of the country has just been part of who you are, you know, like you've done so much else. among your long list of amazing accomplishments is singing the national anthem in front of a whole bunch of fucking people what's scarier the speech you got to give tonight

are singing the national anthem in front of a bunch of people singing the national anthem in front of a bunch of people man I wasn't even worried about how I sounded I was more worried about like screwing up that one word skipping a word or something like that you skip a word they're not giving you any fucking slack

because you're supposed to know all of that I mean yeah if I sound like crap so be it like all right fine but yeah I I was so terrified of just forgetting the word you didn't want to furgy it no no I didn't you don't take your artistic liberties it's not something you take to where's the line on artistic liberties I want to ask you as somebody who's sung the national anthem and served our country what's the line on their artistic liberties well it really is the hardest song on the planet to sing like it just how much your voice

has to how how far your pitches have to vary basically But no, you sing that song, like, just like Francis Scott Key wrote it. Like, that's it. You know, but, you know, I went online and I watched everybody from Carrie Underwood to Reba. So you studied the tape. I, like, watched all of them. Like, okay, I didn't like what you did there. I did like what you did there.

So. Who sung it best? I think Riba. And Whitney Houston, but I am not a Whitney Houston. Yeah, you can't do it. It's kind of like in football when they tell you to, like, go study, like, you know, I've used this a bunch, but like Julius Peppers, I'm like. Well, that's great. It's fun to look at, but like, what can I take from that? That guy's just totally different.

Yeah. I mean, with some training, maybe you can become Whitney Houston. Yeah, a lot of training. The speech tonight. How long does it have to be? What are you worried about? Oh, man. The speech tonight, I wasn't too stressed about it. Like, I actually really enjoy public speaking. And again, the same thing. I went online and I watched everybody from, you know, the Jimmy V Award, the Pat Toulman Award, all sorts of recipients. And, you know, I wanted to leave an impact.

One of my biggest concerns was like looking around an audience and people not being moved. Like I want to say something that's impactful and tomorrow morning people wake up and say, hey, you know, I listen to Kirstie and I want to, you know, follow through with what she said. First off, you joined the military at 17, which to me to have the wherewithal to make that decision at 17 is you're either more mature or more convicted than somebody else or you just want out of your fucking house. Which one was it? Was it a combination? And what drove that? It was a combination for sure.

So I will be like transparent in all of this. I was a terrible child, just mischievous, like total asshole to my parents. But, you know, I was raised by two Marines. You know, my mom, dad got married at 18. Dad joined the Marine Corps right off the bat. You know, I came along a few years down the road. And actually at 27 years old, my mom came home and told my dad, you know, I think these female Marines are pretty badass.

And Dad looked to my mom and said, I will never be married to a female Marine. So my mom said, watched this, turned her on left, got an age waiver, and joined the Marine Corps. Your family is the ultimate one-up family. Like, it's just like, oh, I can't do that. Fuck you.

I'm going to do it. That's insane. Pretty much. And so, like, my earliest memory is watching my mom graduate boot camp. Yeah. And I just idolized him for it. I thought it was just the coolest thing that, you know, my parents were the superheroes

that got up at 4 o'clock in the morning to go essentially protect people that couldn't protect themselves. And so I knew early on that I wanted to, you know, to fall on their footsteps, so to speak. And I just joined a lot sooner than I was anticipating. I was done with high school by 15, did two years of college, and four months after my 17th birthday, I just kept getting into trouble. And so at the time, I just put the pieces together. It's like, you want to join the Marines, so time to go now.

What's getting grounded like in your house with two, like, you know, because most people have to deal with one Marine parent or, you know, or somebody with a military background, that's bad enough. My dad played 13 years in the NFL, big imposing guy, he's got a flat top. He looks like he could be in the military. And it sucks. Like, what was getting disciplined in your house like? So, I mean, I don't even wrong. I did get grounded, like the tip of all you're going to get your phone or your TV or whatever taken away. But my mom was good.

Like, if I snuck out and came home and she could tell I was hungover, she just wouldn't let me sleep. And she made me do the, like, the worst things. Which is good for your hangover. Absolutely. So it's kind of backwards because by noon you feel better. I'm like, I've been raking leaves. I sweated.

Yeah. No, she just, like, she put me through hell, like every little thing. And it was just always, like, obscure things. Or, like, if she knew I was drunk when I came home, she'd make me drink more. I'm like, that's the last thing I want to do. That's rude. Like, like a cart and a cigarette. You know, we're gonna smoke this whole carton.

Yeah. I didn't get caught a lot. When I did, I was once grounded for six months. Yeah. But I got out on parole. It's tough when you got hard-ass parents. And I feel like it makes you better. Like one day when you have kids, like,

are you going to be the hard-ass parent? Are you going to be like the chill parent? Because you seem pretty chill, but you have that background where you could be a badass. Yeah. Oh, no. I go, yeah, zero to 100 real quick. So I like to think if I ever had kids.

I'm definitely going to be hard on them. Oh, I would call child services on your ass. I would blow up your spot. Noted. Did you miss anything, like, you know, like joining that early? Like, you went to college early, but, like, do you feel like you missed out on things like spring break or, like, prom or? Yeah, I mean, I, I mean, so even like in relation to whether it's the NFL or NBA, NHL, like, it's hard for me to fathom that some of these kids are, like, doing college and going straight. into, you know, being a pro athlete.

Like, I can't fathom that because when I was 21, 22, sitting in Afghanistan. You know, I, like, I've done a lot with, you know, a bunch of different sports teams at this point, and I just, I cannot put myself in their shoes. Like, two totally different walks of life. And I do, like, I don't regret anything about military service or how I went about it.

You know, the things that I did, accomplished, failed that even. But I do. Like, sometimes I wonder, like, what it would have been, like, if, you know, if I said, all right, well, let's finish the last two years of college and then go in as an officer or something like that. Yeah. You can't recreate Beach Week in Afghanistan. No. That would suck. There's no water, is there?

No. Absolutely not. You know, fast forwarding to, you know, what's kind of, to me made you so impressive is the obstacle you had to overcome when 2012 the crash, you know, take me through what happened and what do you remember about it. Yeah. So just my deployments, I'm single, not married, loved going over overseas. I was doing back-to-back deployment. So I was only home for like four months in between going to Afghanistan, coming home, and then going back in 2012. That deployment was night and day compared to my first one. The things that I was doing as a helicopter doorgun, I was a little more intense. A lot, my missions were far more hands-on than they were, you know, my first time

going over there. And, yeah, June 23rd, 2012, it just, it was any other day in any other mission, really. It's weird to talk about it because I knew something bad was going to happen that day. Like, you just, you just, you feel it. And on January 19th, we had a helicopter go down that actually killed all six crew members. And their call sign that night was Iron TEL Zero. In their memory, in their honor, we painted a helicopter that said, you know, we will never forget irontel zero six in the nose landing gear door. All the 50 cows were painted for them. You know, everybody's names were just everywhere all over this bird, and it was our memorial helicopter. And so on June 23rd, I'm obviously on the flight schedule, and then my chief warrant officer comes up and he says, hey, you're going out, like go ahead and start turning up the bird.

Well, I go to run out to my aircraft, which was 01, and he's going. snatches me up and says, no, you're going out on 06. And there's just this weird pitting feeling. It just wasn't right. We turned up the birds in the middle of the day, which is pretty rare. Normally I like to fly, obviously late at night, early morning hours, so the enemy can't see you,

and at least track here, figure out what you have going on. And then they come to me and they tell me that my call signs Legacy 07. And, again, treated like any other day, gun run. You know, we go out and do our first little segment, of the mission, come back to the fuel pits, fuel up, and then we go outbound to a forward operating base called Nowzad. And from there, we were meant to be going to another base called Musa Kalah, which we were going to do an extraction of some Marines that needed some help.

And we made it right outside of, there's an A&P post, and then the fob that we were trying to get to. And unfortunately, we just never landed safely. The last thing I remember is the pilot coming over, calling. and saying, you know, we're making inputs on the aircraft and we're not getting the desired outputs. And the nose of the aircraft's ready to go down. And my tailgunner called for power, which basically means pull the fucking stick up. He said it wasn't getting the outputs.

And then next thing, you know, we lost what we call a hover bubble. So we went so far nose up that we rolled left. I mean, I was on left gun. So the things that I remember, I mean, obviously I, being on my MBGs, I remember seeing, you know, different little flares. But the last thing I remember is watching the ground come towards me. And people ask me all the time, I'm like, oh, did you pray? Like, what happened? Put on time, do you?

You do, and you don't. But, like, I don't know if it was a defense mechanism or what it was, but I just counted like I normally would if the helicopter were landing safely. So normally it would be five, four, three, two, one mains on deck so that the pilots knew where we were in relation to the ground. And that's all I did. And the last I remember was smashed into the ground. And I woke up and came too just because everybody, of course, is screaming and trying to figure out who's where.

And I didn't feel anything. I just, I could feel, I lost the entirety of, I could fit my fist through this side of my face. So I lost the entirety of my jaw, my teeth. And I couldn't breathe out of my nose. Like, it was just, everything was a struggle. And I was just trying to make sense of everything. Do you have a first thought? you like, man, am I fucked up?

Or is it, you know, what hurts? So they started, they couldn't get a response from my tail gunner. And my tailgunner was like my idol. He was a gunnery sergeant. I was just a corporal at the time. And this dude, like, he was just everything

that I wanted, you know, to be as a Marine. And I don't know why I did it, but he came off of his gunner's belt. Some say it so that he could get to one of the empty seats. But he ended up going out the back of the helicopter. And he hit the river rocks before a helicopter even hit the river rocks. So they were trying to call for him and get a reaction from him.

And the moment I realized that he wasn't responding, I was just started screaming. Right. And that's all I cared about. Yeah. Like I knew my leg was destroyed and I knew my arms were messed up and I knew there was obviously something wrong from here up. But I just wanted to know where he was. But conveniently, we were carrying three space-available Army medics. Basically, they were just there to get a quick ride over to where we were headed to.

So, I mean, they were quick. They got out of their seats. Obviously, we called for security and reinforcements. So we called up to 2nd Battalion Fifth Marines. They came out from the FOB that we were supposed to be going to. Came out in the MRAPs, helped us strip the casualties, strip all the weapons. And they threw me into another helicopter and alongside my tailgunner.

And we flew out. Where do you go? We went from Nauzad straight to Camp Bashan, which is a British air base out in Afghanistan. And I was there very briefly. I had two doctors pass me up. They looked at me and said, there's not a chance, and they kept walking.

Not a chance you're going to make it. Yeah. They decided that my head trauma. They just didn't think that. Did they explain to you what happened up here, you know, with your brain movement? Were they able to give you some progress? on that like relatively quickly or no it was their downtime no it was more like so I've

actually I'm actually good friends with one of them now and it took a lot for him to walk up to me and say I'm sorry basically but he just looked at me and was like okay I had these other people here I can treat a blown up leg you know I can cauterize that and clean it up and but I can't treat what she has going on and I had fractures in my C2 C3 and C4 so they couldn't like turn my head to do a bunch of stuff with and these are makeshift hospitals, you know, they're tents in the middle of Afghanistan. But I got really lucky. There was a British plastic surgeon that was actually volunteering her time out there.

Wow. And she then came up and looked at everybody and was like, you know what? You can sew up everything else, but don't touch her face. Like, I'm fixing that. Yeah. She did a nice job. Thank you. I mean, if a corman did it, it would definitely be like being out of here.

As much as you love Corman, it's just like, that's just not their thing. No. Um, was there a moment when they're passing you up that you're like, am I going to die? I mean, is this it or? Well, I honestly thought I was going to die because, like, going through my head and the whole helicopter ride back over, I just thought, like, I'm not dying without saying my little sister. Like, the moment I say goodbye to her, I'm out. Like, I'm fine. It's okay.

But then when I got it. I was, I was okay with it. Like, there was never a moment of, like, crying or fear or anything. that it was I just want to say bye like if this is this is how this is going to end like I want to say bye to my my sister is that how you thought it would go I mean because I'm sure when you enlist and when you're out doing this dangerous shit you're like am I ready for death yeah but it's weird I mean that obviously like I had a will you know I flew with a picture across and a picture of my family in my in my pocket every single day I would not go out without it like but in my mind

like if I had them with me like things would be okay um but I think think in the moment when you're in the middle of like popping off a 50 caliber machine gun and things are hitting the fan like you don't really think about it you're just that you're running off adrenaline and you're doing what you need to do and so in the moments where maybe you should have those you know those thoughts and those fears it's never even comes to mind you get too much mountain dew yeah pretty much uh 38 surgeries i mean like you know shit football players we complain about a couple of them at least we get the hospital socks i hope you've collected hospital socks. I have ample now. Yeah, yeah. So with all the surgeries, I mean,

there's got to be a lot of low points, but we've talked about this before, like the psychology of when somebody walks in the room and tells you you're losing a limb. It's got to be a heavy, you're just like, no fucking way. Like, I'm sure you knew it pretty quickly, but when they tell you in a semi-sober state, because you couldn't take pain meds, right? Because of the head trauma. you know you're dealing with pain you're probably I don't know where you are mentally but they come in and they ask you you know they tell you you're not gonna you're gonna lose your leg what's that like well I think for me it was very I don't know superficial is the right word but as a young woman I have a hole in my face my back's

broken my leg's destroyed you know at 21 years old I'm not worried about am I going to be able to walk again I'm worried about can I wear a dress again am I going to be able to wear heels, who's going to look at me differently? Can I be a parent if I want to be? Those were the things that scared me the most. Like I didn't even, the physical side of things didn't even cross my mind initially. But then of course, obviously this evolution happens whether you're ready for it or not. And the physical side is like being a freaking toddler all over again. And I had to learn how to balance. When I stood for the first time, like it was just total waterworks because I didn't know what I was doing. It's not like you pop this leg back on

and you just go. Like, there was so much, like, so much thought that has to go in to all of it. You retrain your entire body. And you're retraining your nervous system probably, and your per perception are all these terms that I loosely know from stupid fucking rehab. But you're going through a real rehab process and coupled with probably the psychological stuff that you're afraid of. And I guess, you know, now, like, I've got a teammate who lost a leg in a car accident,

Isaiah P. And we talked about him. I mean, there was a guy, a practice school. guy for the for the dolphins a week ago that he was in a bad rollover accident they amputated his arm on the scene and you're somebody who's you know a fighter and somebody who's an athlete and you've got all this stuff ahead of you what advice would you give to somebody whether it's an athlete or just somebody regular when they're getting that diagnosis that their life's going to change forever the thing that I have lived by and it took me a long time to figure this out was it's the

six inches between your ears and what's behind your rib cage that dictate what you're capable of. And the moment that I put my head and my heart in the right place, it was totally fine. Like, I was able to own, you know, the things that maybe I was insecure about, or I was able to own the things that were challenging for me. But until you get this and this in the right place, it's not, you know, it's not going to happen for you. And so that's really what it comes down to. The invisible side of things can overcome any of the visible stuff. I mean, I get fucking negative over the smallest, stupidest things,

and you're losing a limb. You know, how do you, is there a process to that? I have always said that the right actions follow the right perspectives. And the moment you can figure out how to shift your perspective just a little bit, again, like everything will come so easy for you. Like, the moment I realize that I came home

and there's a lot of other people that never did and never will, the light bulb went off. You know, like if I can't live this life, and be happy and grateful for the life that I have, then I need to do it for the people upstairs and never came home. And not only that, but it's as cheesy as it sounds, like I could be really pissed off that I'm missing one leg.

Or I can look at all of the things that I've gained because of it. Sure, I've lost the leg, I've lost my military career, hell I lost a lot of my memory, you know, I've lost a lot. Or I can say, because I've lost these things I've gained, and all of the opportunities, the people, you know, just the experiences, it's worth it. And talking to a lot of the vets of work with water boys, which is how I met you. And they've served in the third world.

And they know that perspective is probably easier to come by for y'all with losing somebody you went to war with seeing that family that didn't have clean water, that was dirt poor and not just America dirt poor, like dirt poor. And does that help a lot? I mean, just encountering those things? Absolutely. I mean, I think the more that you're exposed to... third world countries or people who are truly struggling day in and day out I think it's easy

for me to look at my life and say you know oh this isn't that bad or for me to go over to other countries that I you know go climb in now and see what those people are dealing with for prosthetic limbs or wheelchairs or wooden crutches like I think because I've seen how bad it really can get yeah it's not as bad to me like the things that I'm doing why is that that everywhere you climb I mean like the seven summits like a lot of these peaks surrounding these places are really economically depressed areas or areas where you can learn a lot culturally. And like that's a big part of mountaineering, which full full disclosure for everybody at home like it's obvious to us. We met in 2016 climbing Kilimanjaro for our water

boys conquering Killi initiative, which is players and vets getting together. You do a lot of work with MVP, merging vets and players. It's a nice fit. And it's a lot of fun. But the side of it that I think most athletes take for granted and maybe not the military folks is that we're When you go there, you're going to see things that blow you away. What did you see in Tanzania and what did you see when you were getting ready to give Everest to go? You're talking about doing Akinkagua, right? Did Akinkagua? You did Akinkagua?

What do you see in those places? I see gratitude for nothing. And I think that's what makes it so powerful. I mean, you're watching these kids that are two years old chasing a rapper down the street, a piece of trash down the street. and they're happy with that. Like, they are so grateful for anything that comes their way. Like, we saw it when we were bringing, you know, water to some of these villages and stuff.

And just something as simple that we have every day, have plenty of access to, like, these, that changes people's lives. And so, yeah, gratitude for the littlest things. I wish I woke up every day and say, you know what, hey, I'm thankful for these shoes and this dress, or, you know, just everything that I have at my fingertips. and I don't, I should. It's tough because, like, you leave, like, when I go to Tanzania

and I know the same thing, it's like kids the same age as Waylon, who you know my three-year-old, like, are walking around, like, hurting cattle and shit. Like, that's, like, their job. Like, they grow up fast, and you see these water sources. You wouldn't go jump and go swimming in these places. You know, animals are defecating in these water sources. There's algae.

There's God knows what else in there's film. There's gasoline film at one of the schools we worked at. even though you see it, you leave two weeks later, you're like, you're back to being a complaining, whining little fucking American. And I do it too. How do you make that perspective last? I don't know. I pick a handful of stories. I just people that I just sat down and was able to talk to. And I try to carry those home with me. Like when I did Akkenkawa, for example, became the first woman amputee to ever make it to the top. You know, pout on my back felt great about it. But when I got to the bottom, there was a, you know, a young, woman that was an amputee and she came up to me later and said you know you've inspired me to

attempt to summit next week so take my necklace off and I give it to her and so to me like obviously giving this gold necklace to you know this young woman you know she thought it was the greatest thing in the world because she's never going to have something like that um so it's like I try to pull those little memories and hang on to them you know I try to write about them and um you know it's hard for me not to to look at little kids and like going in the stores and stuff and they're kicking and screaming and crying because they're not getting what they want and And I, oh, God. Oh, yeah, I'm tough on my, I'm tough on my boys.

And because it's just like, man, like, you don't know how fucking good you have it. Like, don't throw your shoes. Like, some fucking kids don't have shoes. Like, what are you doing, dude? Yeah. But I've seen you because you're a total hard ass. Like, you're not somebody you want to, you want to be on the wrong side of going up a mountain. Like, you are super, you can be a hard ass on the mountain.

And then we get down and you're dealing with kids and you just like, you just melt. And that's the cool duality of, like, really. redefining what it is to be a tough person. Like you can have that more vulnerable side and you can have that sensitivity, which I think is really cool. And, you know, I've called you a Renaissance woman, but you're a lot more.

You're really into women's empowerment. I mean, like you, the first story you talk about at Akamagua has to do with inspiring a young girl. I mean, Tanzania, sub-Saharan Africa, most of the burden falls on women and girls to go fetch this water, dangerous treks. You know, it's a gender issue.

Do you look at yourself as an icon that can inspire young women? And who do you look up to? I want to be an icon for young women. When I was in the hospital, part of my issue was I didn't feel like I had that role model. You know, I want to be that for somebody else. I want young girls to look at me and say, hey, you know what? She's owning those scars because she loves the stories that they, you know, that they roll or that they represent. Or, you know what?

She's gone out and got three master's degrees and a doctorate. And she sits there and I push forward in a man's world every single day. out in the outdoors. And you've own, I mean, you were in the body issue. You're the first vet in the body issue, which is scary as fuck to me. If they called me, not that they ever would to be in the body issue, I'd have to, like, eat nothing for like six months. But you go out there and you kill it and you're awesome. And I'm sure, you know, people who have gone through struggles you have, you inspire them, and young girls in general. I was part of the good old boys Club for years. And the Marine Corps, I talked just as bad as they didn't probably act at

worse. But I think, like, being able to embrace those differences, that's going to be a game changer moving forward in society. Like, I don't think, you know, everything has to be accessible, or I do think people have to truly make an effort to hold themselves to a higher standard, but I think inclusion is going to be, I think inclusion is the direction that we need to go down, go towards. And you've worked to include, um, you know, women in your fight for fighting for the people who can't fight for themselves. You've worked to include, you know, people with disabilities. Everything you do is very intentional and purposeful.

Like you climb, you've tried Denali, you've tried Everest, you've done Kili, you've done Akinkagua. It seems like every time you're doing a really intentional cause to go with it. Can you talk about those causes and what you do with your foundation? Yeah. Well, it definitely started with Waterboys. And, you know, I absolutely loved what you were doing with, you know, Kili and the, and the Tanzanians and I honestly kind of emulated what you had going on and so all of my climbs Well now I'm going to get all mushy. No, but it's true like I loved you know obviously I love athletics and

endurance and adventure but you know I don't want to go anywhere and beat on my chest and say look at what I can do on my cool one leg it's like I want there to be purpose and passion and heart behind what I'm doing so behind all of my climbs I've dedicated nonprofits back here stateside and then also helped nonprofits in whatever country that I'm climbing in. I created my 501c3 and it's real original. It's the Kirste-Ns Foundation. I like the name. It's going to bring to it.

But that's really what it is. You know, it's a means for me to be able to, you know, support deserving nonprofits and provide education, opportunity and healing in the outdoors. It's all volunteer base. No one takes a dime or a salary from it. It just goes back to improving lives. Would you rather be up at Everest Base Camp

or somewhere like at sea level, chilling with a beer at a campsite. Base camp. That's why you're fucking crazy. I was scared for you when you were up at Everest because I would be scared for just anybody. Like, I used to want to do Everest. And Meg, who you know, my wife, she was like,

you're fucking kidding me. Like, do you want to die? Like, what was Everest like? What's the scariest thing that people don't expect? Were there times on the mountain where you were terrified? Yeah. And honestly, those moments had nothing to do with mountain. The terrifying part of Everest is the people that show up there. You know, they're not

like checking someone's resume. You know, I worked really hard to get to Everest. Like every, everything was very strategic, how I trained, the prosthetics that I created for myself, the prosthetics that I made for crying out loud, like everything was very strategic and I worked hard to get there. But then to show up to the mountain, and there's people that have never even climbed before, like people are putting crampons and teaching someone how to use an ice axe on Everest. Like, that's an issue. No, serious. So it was super disheartening for me. So it is. It is. It is. It is. It's getting, Everest is getting the point where it is kind of a, not a joke, but like the mountain's not a joke, but the way it's being handled is. There's so much corruption over there with it.

I mean, like, what's going on with that? What's the corruption that somebody like me doesn't know? I see it's like, I see the pictures of people, the log jams, which can be frustrating on Kili, but it's not like you're going to die if you don't get off the mountain. Like, what are they fucking up the worst? I mean, so the wealthiest area over there is called the kumbu, and it's because there's so much tourist traffic going in there and giving Sherpa the money. and money talks. You know, these people, you know, they have 10 kids each, and they have a wife and kids, you know, all those kids to take care of.

They get busy in the hamillus. There's nothing else to do. You're hanging out inside. Yeah. That high altitude. But, you know, like, and our money over there is just so valuable to them. A thousand bucks is going to get them through a whole year. So you come up, but somebody comes up and says, hey, here's 10 grand. You make, you know, get me to the top.

They're going to say, okay, fine. Fuck it, I'll do it. Like I stayed at a holiday in Express last night. Where were the farts worse on Everest or Killy? Killy, dude. Because of the dudes that were there. Yes, well, the dudes and the things that you're eating. Oh, man.

Hey, what's up? This is Bo Al in conquering Kiley class of 2019. I'm making this video in response to Fartgate. Some pretty intense allegations from Kiercy regarding how bad the farts were on Killy. You know, in 2019, they were still pretty bad. and, you know, I'm not going to name any names. I'm not a snitch, nothing like that. But I would like to state that I'm, I was part of the solution, not part of the problem, you know, with unhuman levels of body control, mental focus.

I didn't take a shit on that trip for three days, four days maybe. And I was stopped up. I was holding them in. I was zero farting. So, you know, guys like Chris, Kels, Rob, Orca, they were the problem. All right. Your boy is part of the solution. All right.

The food was awful on Everest. Really? Yeah. I saw one video of you, which I know is hard for you because you're a competitor. You're like, I'm bowing out. The weather didn't cooperate. Yeah. It's so hard.

You train for how long, and then you're on the mountain for how long before that happens. Yeah. I trained for years for Everest, and then I had spent nearly two months on Everest. I spent a month above 6,000 meters. So a month taller than Killy. Yeah. That's the way you got to look at it because when you get to the top of Killy, to Kibo at 16,000 feet you're like this fucking sucks I don't want to spend a night here remember the way we were yeah you get to 19341 you're like we gotta get down like you're the highest altitude you got it ever says what no 28,8,850 something and how much worse than killie does that feel oh it's awful like you have to trick yourself into taking another step and your body is like eating itself like you know you were saying when I came when I showed up you're like oh you look better than you did you look healthy I was like I was uh I thought you were in

look like the 127 hours guy like you were just like sitting there and not eating for a while I I felt for you but I was proud of you and I just think it just takes a lot to take that on I wanted to before we get out of here talk about what are we missing with vets I mean because the way I look at it is vets aren't a charity case they're a tool to make our society better and they're they're more adept than us they can do jobs with attention to detail and commitment and teamwork and I feel like we fucked that up like what what are we missing with vets like thank you for your service and enough like what pisses you off you know what do we need to do more of well I think the reality is like you said I mean opportunity don't tell me thank you and I just

be empty don't feel obligated to say thanks I mean you paid your taxes you know what I mean you're welcome you're welcome you paid my salary but on the flip side of that like oh they do that football players I pay your salary if we did that to bet but I'm not going to use that one but no like I just feel like people think, oh, well, she shot a 50-caliber machine gun for six years. Like, how does that translate? Well, there's actually a lot more. There's integrity and leadership and obedience. There's obviously judgment.

There's, I mean, self-sacrifice, like over-commitments to, you know, being able to be committed to, like, your mission. Like, there are so many things that people overlook. They just get so obsessed with what's face value. And, like, our veterans would be huge in our workforce, especially in corporate, corporate America. Yeah. Like they would be able to make sound judgment and like I really do.

I feel like they could totally revamp tons of businesses out there. But I think our society is afraid of of what I guess we might look like right now. You know, like post-9-11 vets, whether you're Iraq or Afghanistan, like there is a stigma associated with that. You know, I mean, I've been called a baby killer.

I've been spit on. Like, your dad picked me up in Texas after I got put in handcuffs. Yeah. I forgot to tell that story real quick. The short version is I was sitting in first class, front row, and the woman behind me is popping off out of her mouth saying that, you know, if we went over there, that, you know, we deserve what we got and this, that and the other. And I don't care if you have that opinion, but be mindful of who's around you. And I'm not going to take offense to it, but what happens if the woman across from me lost her son?

Right. And that bothered me, and I took my seatbelt off, and I got up and said my mind, and the flight attendants were telling me to sit down, and we're on our descent. and yeah, you know, say I got escorted out of the... Holy shit, I wish there was a viral video. Everybody's getting a viral video these days on a plane. Like, why didn't you get your viral? So my pops picked you up. Yeah, so I was down there for Radio Road for the Super Bowl.

And, yeah, so I saw you out of the bracelet. I saw your dad, Jay Glazer, and there was somebody else there, right off the bat. You know what? That's one more time than my dad's got me out of handcuffs, so this is pretty cool. I got that going for me. What's next for you? Like, it's in the crazy, you're a fucking lunatic adventure bucket?

Well, I'm actually going to go down to Ecuador in September and Clemm a Mountain called Code Epoxy. Yeah, me too. Yeah, same. And again, to raise money for an organization called Range Motion Project. But more importantly, we're actually going to be going down there

and giving recycled prosthetics to underserved populations, like amputee orphans and stuff. Can you stop making me feel bad about my Not the intention. What about the English Channel? Yeah, so whole other world of craziness outside of mountains. I want to swim the English Channel, seven marathons, seven continents, seven days, which might be happening sooner than I anticipated.

Yeah, and then I want to bike the Great Divide. So, like, 2,600-mile mountain bike ride. I'd like to take a helicopter through the Great Divide. You know what? My great aunt is the first woman ever to swim the English Channel, named Gertrude Ederley. You got a fact-checked that. So if you do that, I'll be there.

Can I ride the tugboat and like motivate you and like talk to you? Because we're screaming. And you'd be like, shut the fuck up. Yeah. Leave me alone like on the mountain. No. That's kind of accurate. Well, the last day was tough.

Yeah. The last day was tough. Well, thank you for being here. And I'm very inspired by you. And I want to congratulate you. I'm very proud to have you associated with Waterboys and work with MVP, you know, on a small scale along with what you've done. And so just one of the all-round good people in the sports and celebrity now industry.

Thank you for being here, Kirsh, we appreciate it. And good luck tonight. Thank you. I'll be attentive during the speech. I appreciate it. Congratulations. Thank you. So like I said, it's an amazing interview, amazing person, amazing human being.

Kirstianis, shout out to her. And thank you to her for sitting down with me for an hour. We spent a long time getting to know each other on Kilimanjaro. but you know to be sitting there in L.A. before the SPs when she's about to receive an award like the Pat Tillman Award in street clothes. It's a far, far cry from East Africa on the side of a mountain at 20,000 feet. Bally my eyes out because I'm watching her summit and being the first woman to summit Kilimanjaro above the knee amputee. So thank you to her. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Next week, we've got George R.R. Martin. and this was so fun for me obviously the brainchild for the literature that birthed Game of Thrones

and he's just a cool dude he's a football fan there's a lot more to him than dragons and dire wolves and shit like that this was really fun to do very fascinating check this one out it's coming out soon