Latest / The Unsexy Businessmen / From Torn Achilles to the Pitch Again: Juan Guitron's Road Back
Transcript
- Aaron Skinner: welcome to another episode of Unsexy Businessman Podcast where we talk about everything unsexy. Today we have a very, very special guest. It is Juan Magania. I know ⁓ he needs no introduction, everyone already knows who he is. ⁓ a little background on Juan. ⁓ he played Division ⁓ One soccer. Corr is that correct? Yeah, we'll just say it. Division one soccer at Bushnell University, where he was known there as the ⁓ what your nickname there was right, was ⁓ Lionel Bushy, right? That's what they called you? ⁓ just yeah, just because Yes. Well, it's because it's messy, but it's ⁓ it's bushy. ⁓ and so he was known as the messy of the of the West Coast. Juan: No. Yeah. Alex Skinner: Lionel Bushy. They they gave him a nickname after the college. Juan: you Aaron Skinner: And set all sorts of right. It doesn't matter. Okay, so but what are we gonna talk about today is so anyways, elite athlete. So what we're talking about today, the last podcast is we talked about how to prevent injuries. And this podcast we're gonna discuss how to overcome once you do get injured, because more than likely at some point in your life, you're gonna go through an injury if you are active in any capacity, no matter how in shape you are. So one, the reason I wanted to especially have you on is because you came back from a very devastating injury. And so if you could just explain kind of the just the the whole backstory of of your injury and we'll just start from there. Juan: Yeah, yeah, no, thanks guys for having me. I ⁓ love the last podcast where you're talking about even just preventing injuries and doing a proper warmup and all that stuff. ⁓ Yeah, so going, soccer background, right? ⁓ I tore my Achilles, I ruptured my Achilles playing soccer. ⁓ indoor soccer and I would say I was in one of the best shapes in my life at that point. I started doing CrossFit at the beginning of 2021. ⁓ Did something a little different than what I was used to. I used to just go into the gym. I wanted to do something different so I got into CrossFit. So at the beginning of the year I got into that and was in really great shape. ⁓ This was after COVID, so there was not a lot of soccer going on. So I wanted something different that would challenge me mentally. And that's where I found it. And then once league started back up, I started playing with the mixture of CrossFit. ⁓ And so, yeah, I was feeling really good. I mean, I was in top shape playing in different leagues. yeah, that night that it happened, actually happened to be, I mean, in hindsight, you start thinking about all the things that could have prevented it, but it was 10 p.m. at night. Aaron Skinner: Sure. Yeah. Juan: I had a really good warm up. I felt great. I felt loose. And the surface that I was playing on is actually a footsaw court. footsaw is in the indoor court, kind of like basketball. Aaron Skinner: What's what's that? It's like Astroturf? ⁓ it's like ⁓ like a legit court. ⁓ okay. Juan: Yeah, it's hard. So it's hard. The ball is just a little bit smaller, a little bit heavier. It's fast pace. And so that's what it was. And that night, I don't know if they just hadn't cleaned or what, but it was really dusty. And so I was really having to dig in to get some to just get any traction, right? And yeah, I ran back. Aaron Skinner: Sure, yeah. Juan: to go make a play, I turned and I just felt this big hit. What I felt was a big hit. I got fouled, right? To me, I got fouled as I was turning. Yeah, as I was turning to go make a play. ⁓ And so I go down. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, by your body. Juan: and I'm looking around and there's no one near me. I look back at my goalkeeper and I'm like, hey man, did someone just hit me? Cause it felt that way. And he's like, no dude, there's no one around you. I, know, immediately, you know, I'm known athletes, pro athletes that I have done and they described it. So I start going through the archives, right in the, in the head, started feeling my, uh, my Achilles. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Juan: and there's a divot, you know? There's a divot. so immediately I'm like, gosh, this is what it is. And yeah, there's still a little bit of hope, but in your mind, you're just like, okay, yeah. Alex Skinner: That sucks. Aaron Skinner: What was your hope that it just like was like ⁓ st like stretched or like I don't know what that would be, just like aggravated as as opposed to being torn? Juan: Yeah, I mean... So the worries, the thing with that is you could have like a partial tear, right? And so there could still be some of it. When there's a partial tear, you don't have to go in for surgery. There is time. Like I know someone at work actually who did a partial tear and they didn't do surgery. there was something about that that I was hopeful that that was part of it. But feeling back there, Aaron Skinner: ⁓ gotcha. Juan: I knew it was gonna be a full... Yeah, bring your Achilles. Aaron Skinner: What did it feel like? Like I like all right, so everyone can like feel their Achilles, like did it just was was it just like not there? Was it like up in your calf? Juan: Well, that was a concern too, right? was thinking with the tour and then all of a sudden my calf is just rolled up, which would have been worse. I could feel my calf. So I knew I was like, no, that's not happening. But yeah, you can feel if you feel your Achilles right now and you just even, yeah, if you lift your foot up and down, you can feel it. There is nothing that was just, and I could. Alex Skinner: Rubber band. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Alex Skinner: Super tight. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, yeah. ⁓ my god. Alex Skinner: Crazy dude. Juan: And I just couldn't do that, right? Like that movement wasn't there. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. So d did you like stand up and try and like walk and then you're like, ⁓ crap, that's not good. Juan: Yeah, I stood up and I basically had just a flat foot, right? Just... I couldn't, cause it's... Aaron Skinner: You couldn't even like extend? ⁓ my gosh. Well, of course, I'm sure people are listening like, dude, he snapped his Achilles. Yeah, he can't flex his foot. Alex Skinner: Wait. Juan: Thank Alex Skinner: Wait, Juan, d would like did you know on the ground though? Like w like you said you're filling the divot, like when you're on the ground you're like, This is the end. Juan: Yeah, no, so that's when I, so I, it happened. I fell to the ground and I was looking around again, assessing like who did it, right? Yeah. Well, let's next, next play, we're going to have to go 50 50. So I'm looking around and there's no one. Right. And so then I'm just on the ground and I'm, I'm feeling back there. And so I knew Alex to your point. knew when I was on the ground. Alex Skinner: It's terrifying. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, like who you gotta punch, right. Yeah. Ha ha ha. And this is and this is something we kind of ⁓ went over a little bit ⁓ in the last podcast. Like I'm sure you stretched before, you're in great shape, you did everything right, freak accidents can still happen. And this isn't a freak anyone out with like, okay, well, this is why I don't exercise because this might happen. But it's just like it's just shit can happen and it sucks. ⁓ did you at any point did it cross your mind that COVID probably caused this? Just chuck. Juan: No, I mean I do I you know, I looking back and I shared with you no well, there's it's kind of a you know, it all adds up right because in 2020 at end of 2020 I was probably in one of the worst shapes of my life because Things weren't open. I didn't I mean in hindsight. I could have done a lot of body stuff I could have done things around the house Aaron Skinner: I'm just checking. Mm-hmm. Juan: Um, but I wasn't set up to, to just get into shape. Right. was, I always relied on just being out around the fall and winter. I'm playing soccer. Um, I'm indoors, so I'm running, I'm doing a lot of cardio and there wasn't any of that. I hadn't played in a long time, which is why I transitioned over to, to CrossFit. There's a CrossFit gym here in town. And, um, and I just, I'm a very active person. So having to out and do something. I just needed to do it mentally. It helped and so that's where I jumped into CrossFit. And so I mean jokingly, what's that? Alex Skinner: So then follow-up. Do you think CrossFit caused it? So like you've never done CrossFit in your life, all of a sudden, boom, snapped Achilles. Juan: Yeah, well, no, No, I mean, I honestly going through the going through the physical therapy and all that. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: It was CrossFit. CrossFit did it. CrossFit did it. Sure. Well, hold on, hold on to the on the physical therapy. We'll get to that part. And we're probably just more joking about all these things. Alex Skinner: So actually, can we do like a timeline really fast? So 2020 happens. We're shape of your life. Start you start back up 2021, I assume, doing playing. And then when does the injury take place? Of 2021? Okay. So you've you like how how how active had you been in 2021? So everything's closed 2020. You've been like going ha ham for like that those 11 months essentially. Juan: No idea. Yeah. Yeah. in November of 2021. Thank Mm-hmm. Alex Skinner: And then snappy snap in November. Gosh. Okay. Juan: Yep. I was, yeah, I was really, like I said, I was in really good shape. Um, and I was playing at a, I would say for my, my, for myself, you know, you kind of get it out there and you're like, man, I'm doing things that I hadn't been doing for a long time. And I would say that's a combination of the stuff I was doing, a CrossFit, adding some cardio, like, and I've been just more active in soccer. I think, um, I felt great, that's the thing. I'm not trying to scare anybody, but I felt great. And freak accidents do happen. Alex Skinner: Right. Well Yeah. Aaron Skinner: Well, I wanna let you know, Juan. ⁓ you're probably like, Era never thinks about me. I think about you every time I do calf extensions. Every single time. I'm just like, ⁓ God, Juan, don't let me I do a prayer to Juan, I mean ⁓ Lionel Bushy, and I say, Please, please don't let this blow don't blow my Achilles doing this every single time. Juan: Thanks. you Thank Alex Skinner: Be the time. Can I ask really quick one, like what the move was? You said you were like you said you were about to make a move, like cause anytime I see it like so all of my familiarity with Achilles is basketball related. So you see Jason Tatum, ⁓ of course now we've got Kevin Durant, how Halliburton, all these people t like tearing it. It's usually like just like a pivot move. Is that exactly like what happened with you? Like, or was it just straight running? Juan: Yeah. Thank Yeah. Kobe. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, Kobe, yeah. Juan: Mm-hmm. No, it was kind of like that and we'll get into that a little bit with the physical therapy but ⁓ so yeah I ran the playback to my goalkeeper and I went to turn and take off so that that just pivot and Aaron Skinner: Just that that angle and that whatever. Again, everyone, anyone listening to our fifteen people that listen, it's a freak accident that happened. Like just it's a freak accident. It's one of those things like you wouldn't have been able to prevent that if you like, you know, at some point you ⁓ you're gonna make that move and it's gonna happen. I mean, I we'll get into like the physical therapy part of like maybe exercises that you started doing ⁓ for that. And I guess we can do that now. Like, all right, so it happened, you you had the injury. What what did you do after the game? Alex Skinner: What's next? Aaron Skinner: Like or I guess the game was done for you. So what did you do right after Alex Skinner: It ER? Yeah. Juan: Yeah, right after I was lucky enough my father-in-law was in town so I gave him a call and was like, because it was a 10 p.m. so I called him and I said, hey, I think I just tore my Achilles. So we went straight to urgent care. Aaron Skinner: ⁓ yeah. Juan: and or not the emergency room and they just assess me they're they're giving me some tests they're having me try to flex my calf and they're like yeah there's there's there's Aaron Skinner: How was that soup was it s extremely painful the entire time? Or is it just like there's just nothing there? Juan: Yeah, nothing. That's the thing is, you know, there was no pain. I mean, the only pain I had, I guess the only uncomfortable part was just that that big hit that I experienced. People describe it as getting hit by a bat or something. There is no, I can't describe it. That's a good... Yeah, it's a big... Alex Skinner: So crazy. Aaron Skinner: Initial. Yeah. Alex Skinner: ⁓ Aaron Skinner: I would I would I would say that'd be painful, getting hit by a bat. Juan: pull and then a big boom right so I thought someone had ran across my foot and and then you know my ankle twisted a little bit because it happened that quick I thought someone kicked me it felt like that yeah yeah yeah they're just like yeah you need to go ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Yeah someone did kick you. You're Achilles. Snapping. All right, so you're at the emergency room, you do some tests, and then w we'd go from there. Juan: you need to go see someone for surgery and just kind of get the, yeah, it's all rupture, which I sent you that text of the x-ray that I got, that picture, and they confirmed it. Thankfully, the rupture was just a clean rip and the Achilles tendon was just on top of each other so they can just do the surgery. and make the repairs. My tendon didn't get rolled up into my calf or anything. that was, I guess, a part of it. No, I had to wait. It happened on a Wednesday, and then I was in surgery by that following Monday. Alex Skinner: Do you do the surgery the night of? ⁓ Okay. So like you didn't have like those special German doctors that you flew out to to get the the surgery immediately. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: You didn't hop on your private jet? Juan: No, they gave me a, you know, they're like Das Boot and then I was like, in a boot. No, I was... No. That's a new nickname, Aaron. I'm going to have to embrace that one. Yeah. It's a little... Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Alex Skinner: That's b No respect for Lionel Bushy. Sorry. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Start courtesy of chat GPT. Alex Skinner: But th courtesy of Bushnell College. Juan: The unsexy Bush... Bush... Alex Skinner: ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Alex Skinner: So injury Wednesday, surgery five days later, right? Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and then you're going into recovery essentially. Juan: Yeah. Yep. So I had surgery that day and then that same week I went and saw my physical therapist and I got lucky because actually the Dr. Kennedy, I played soccer with him and so he ⁓ Aaron Skinner: ⁓ Alex Skinner: So we gave you it for free. Cool. Photo help me. Juan: No, what why I say I'm lucky is because he he knew how I played and He knew and I told him I said I want to get back to that, you know I want to get back to that and so he took really good care of me And yeah, I started my physical therapy and right away it was Goal my goal was just to get back to normal Alex Skinner: Wait, was Doctor Kennedy your physical therapist or the surgeon? Okay, okay. Juan: My physical therapist. Yeah. Yeah. And unfortunately enough, few, ⁓ like a year later, he did the same thing. So he, he actually had to go in and get surgery himself, but that's, that's another story. Aaron Skinner: So d how did what was the first step of physical therapy? Juan: First step was, ⁓ yeah, just, yeah. First step was that, you know, is go in and work on the swelling, like the swelling to go down, a lot of massaging of the tendons, and doing a little bit of... Aaron Skinner: No pun intended. Juan: Biking, they have special bikes that you can do, you can use your arms too. ⁓ And starting to kind of get that movement. But yeah, I think in the very beginning, a lot of it was just trying to massage and getting those tendons ⁓ worked out. Because everything can get super tight, right? That's the main focus. Aaron Skinner: Sure. What was the time frame they gave you? Like, all right, you're gonna be out for this many months. Like, did they give you a time frame? Juan: Yeah, like nine months. But that's, yeah, I mean, to be back to normal, they are like nine months. I mean, there's gonna be things you're gonna be working on, like your leg, right? Your muscles in your leg are obviously gonna be... ⁓ Aaron Skinner: And so was it w did it end up being nine months? Like atrophied. Mm-hmm. Juan: atrophy. Yeah and so it's gonna take some time to just get all everything back to normal. So it's gonna be about nine months. I mean you're able to walk in a boot and do things like a couple months into the surgery or after post surgery but feeling back to normal and feeling yourself it was about nine months. Alex Skinner: So month one is all the massaging, getting the swelling down, or is that like the first couple of weeks? Or is it ⁓ then after that you move into month two, month three I know this is probably a while ago, but like month two, month three, what it what's going on there for recovery. Juan: first couple of weeks. ⁓ You're in the boot and you're walking around and then you're starting to, you know, they're adding little things. Like they had these little plastic teddy bears, right? Where you're trying to pick them up with your toes and you're putting it in a cup and you're just getting the muscles to start reacting to what you're doing and starting to build back some of that that you've missed. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. In the beginning was like what was your frustration level with putting the teddy bears into a bucket? Juan: Honestly, that, that, the mental piece was probably the hardest thing about the whole process. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Juan: I was fortunate, I played four years of college soccer. I was fortunate and never had really any big injuries. I had pulled hamstrings, twisted ankles, things like that. But nothing to this extent. I had friends that did it. But yeah, mentally, was just, my daughter was born February, 2021. And so she was starting to get to the point of crawling and about to start walking. Aaron Skinner: Sure. Mm-hmm. Juan: And just not being able to hold her and carry her was really frustrating. And then just that mental of will I ever be back to where I was? Even though I've seen athletes go back and do it, I just in my mind, I didn't know anyone personally that had gone through it. And so just that was really tough. That was really tough. Aaron Skinner: Sucked. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. Yeah. And it's one of those things too, is like, yeah, you see these professional athletes is like, yes, but they have like the best, the bet yeah, a team they have the best everything. Am I getting the best everything where I'm at? I don't probably I would not know. The answer's no. And so that the I think that yeah, that I mean that that would be that would be my I that's where I'd be. I'm like, dude, I would that ⁓ that would that would hold me hold me back. Even with my when I got shoulder surgery, I'm like, I know it's ⁓ you know, it's a good doctor, a good surgeon and stuff, but is it the best? Alex Skinner: With the team. He didn't get his surgery in Germany. Yeah. Juan: Thank Aaron Skinner: Probably not. But yeah, I'd say the mental aspect would be I it must have been did you always just think that? Where's it's like I always say when I'm sick, I'm like, what it was it like to feel normal? Is that what it was like? Like for like nine months? Or was it like was it like month seven? You're like, no, I could I could go play, but I guess let's get to this part. How terrified how long did it take before you could just play all out? Juan: Right. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: And not be terrified of blowing out your Achilles again. Cause it had to be something. It had to bid some time because that's a lot of things. And did it was part of your so it's a two-part question. And was part of your physical therapy like, Hey, you need to make sure you build this up because if you start favoring this one side, they're more likely to blow out your other Achilles or you know, do something else to another part of your body? Alex Skinner: Again. Juan: Yeah, that's the thing is going through that is you just get to really get in tune with your body, right? You understand how everything is just connected. Obviously, you know it, but once you go through it, you start realizing, man, everything is just truly connected. Once one side is off balance, you're off balance on the other side, So that was... I had ⁓ sciatic pain and that was probably the most painful part of this whole process because I being in a boot it like made my hips all unbalanced and so that was probably the most painful part was trying to get everything realigned and making sure that when I am working on the one side right to strengthen my right side that I'm still balanced Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Juan: enough to make sure that I'm now messing up my left side, right? And so that was one of the things was, you we worked really hard to try and get that back. And again, going back to what I mentioned earlier, he knew how I played, he knew where I wanted to be. And so he was really good about guiding me and putting some milestones to make sure that I was kind of getting to that point. Aaron Skinner: Ex Yes, yeah. Juan: And yeah, mean, he was pretty straight up with me and was telling me, hey, this is where you need to be. This is where you have to be. And so I would say, think by September, late September of 22, I went and laced up the boots and played a little pickup soccer. Dude, the best feeling. Aaron Skinner: What was that like? ⁓ th there was like no like trepidation at all. You're just like eff it, I gotta I gotta do this. Alex Skinner: Okay. Juan: No, was, because I was at that point, I was like, I knew, I knew what I went through, but I knew I could get back to normal, right? I think in the beginning, it was always like, can I? At that point, I could. And so I was no longer afraid. And if it, if it happened again, screw it, man, I'm, I'm, I can come back. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I know I know what I gotta do. If I gotta another nine months and I'll be right back at it. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's probably the right attitude to have anyways, instead of I mean, this is what we're gonna I was gonna ask you too is like how long did it take you to lose the thousand pounds you gained during those nine months? It's a work in progress, baby. No, that's that's that's interesting though. Like so that was a few years ago. Does it Juan: I'm out of here. ⁓ it took a long time. Still in process. Alex Skinner: Still in process. Juan: Yeah. Aaron Skinner: I i is it like any time you feel anything weird in i either Achilles or you're just like, I I have to slow down or you're just like, No, this is normal. I just never noticed this before. I just need to play like I normally play. Juan: in. Yeah, just in tune, right? In tune with your body, in tune with what you're needing. If I feel any tightness, I go straight and I'm massaging myself, right? Like I'm just going through from the bottom. it's just turned into the sexy podcast. Aaron Skinner: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa ⁓ you're Achilles, gotcha. Yeah, yeah. Alex Skinner: Gotta do what you gotta do. Get those endorphins flowing. Ha ha ha. Aaron Skinner: This will also be on On OnlyFans. Juan: ⁓ Yeah. No, but yeah, I mean, if I I'll roll, get like a ball or even a ⁓ like a golf ball or a lacrosse ball and I'll roll their attendance underneath my foot and then I'll massage my Achilles all the way up to my calf. That's a good problem. Alex Skinner: That's how you know it's unsexy. We'll we'll get zero people who ⁓ subscribe to that. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Sure. Yeah. Is there is there times you're just like I I gotta like I'm done with this game just out of precaution or just you as long as you're as long as you're doing the massaging and and ⁓ rolling and stuff like that, you're you're good. And you've you know, knock on wood. You can't hear me. I noticed you can't hear that I knock on knock on wood when I do that 'cause our program works so good. ⁓ but like I was knocking on wood. ⁓ that never happens again. But is I don't know where I was going with that 'cause I had to mention that ⁓ you couldn't hear me knocking on wood. ⁓ Juan: Yeah. Alex Skinner: Thankfully. I have I have a question about ⁓ mental. Like like how do you like mentally get through like what tricks did you have? Or you're like, I'm just a mentally tough person. Cause this injury sounds more mental than physical, because essentially you get the surgery, you have to go through the physical steps and you'll be back, but you have to wait a long time, essentially. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, I I guess sorry, go Alex. Juan: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you have to wait a long time and I think that's the biggest thing is is ⁓ making sure that you just are meeting your goals right physically in your physical therapy and just taking the small wins right like I remember the first time that I got on like a normal bike and I was like dude yes right like I was going back you know thinking about it now there's definitely other things that could have been doing but I was so hyper focused on like no I need to focus on this before I can even do any upper body stuff I just going back to the unbalanced things you know I wanted to make sure everything was balanced and but in hindsight I could have been doing a lot more things Aaron Skinner: Yeah, yeah. Juan: But yeah, taking those small wins one step at a time, no pun intended. ⁓ But yeah, was today I won, right? And there was setbacks, right? There was times where it was like, dang dude, again, going back to will I feel normal again? Because to your point, Aaron, when you're sick, you're just like, man, I don't know what that feels like right now. And I just hope it does. And that's what it was. It was like, I just want to make sure when I walk, I feel normal. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yep. You don't even think about it. Juan: Because the first time yeah, the first time I started walking with a regular shoe was so weird like I I thought I was You know, I thought I was limping like I had you know, it just didn't Yes Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Alex Skinner: God. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Yeah, it's like like how did I normally walk? How do you normally do this? It's like when you have a sore throat, you're like, how do I swallow like my spit? Like the as I normally do throughout the day and you don't realize it. When you have a sore throat, you're like, Is this how you do that? ⁓ yeah, I yeah, exactly. That must have been interesting. Alex Skinner: Can I go back to something you said, Juan? Like you said, I'm sure there were other things I could have been doing. What are those other things you could have been doing? Juan: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, just working on just working on upper bodies being more more active, right? Being more active. ⁓ I would like I said, I was so hyper focused on just my legs. Alex Skinner: ⁓ okay. Aaron Skinner: Yes. Juan: that there's other things that could have probably helped me physically and mentally to just feel better because I could have been more active. Like I just, I could not wait to just be just more active, get back into the gym and do those things. And I probably could have done some things, but I would just, I was so, I was just so worried that I would take steps back and mess up that progress. Alex Skinner: Okay. Aaron Skinner: Well, and I also want to point out, just like give hope to everyone. You've also since then, you obviously you play soccer now, ⁓ or have been for a while. You've done multiple like half marathons, you've done a ton of stuff that has not that the this injury, which is a devastating injury, has not held you back from being active and doing all the things that you want to do. My my next my next question for you is like, I guess like what what like advice would you give somebody Juan: Yeah. Aaron Skinner: that has gone through even like a any sort of injury, but like especially a t a blown out Achilles. Juan: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just to know that it's going to be alright. You know, in the moment it feels like you're done. Like you're permanently just... Changed right and you're not gonna be the same I mean I look at it now you mentioned like the things that I've I've been able to do afterwards I got into because of this injury actually got into biking and you and I have gone and done some pretty cool biking trips ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Yes. Juan: But that you know everything's gonna be okay and ⁓ and reach out to people right like there's I feel like you kind of get you shut yourself down and that doesn't help with the the mental peace but reach out to people maybe that have gone through some injuries ⁓ maybe reach out to us ⁓ if you know someone or go talk to a PT or something and just kind of talk through the process to help you get some of those small wins because I think a lot of it is It's it's all mental. And the way I look at it now, man, I got a fresh freaking Achilles, man. It's got, you know, it's like getting a new car. You got fresh miles, you know? I'm like, it smells good, fresh miles. You're, And yeah, I mean, that's how I see it. You know, I'm like, dude, this thing is super strong. Yeah, it's pretty good, man. It's got, but yeah, there's. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Yep. Alex Skinner: Smells good. Aaron Skinner: Smells good. Pristine. Yeah. Yeah. That's Juan: that there's hope ⁓ and just get out of your head, you know, reach out. I've known a few, I have a family member who actually tore it, which is kind of interesting, right? Once you know, you do go through it, you actually, you see people that have gone through it, like my physical therapist went through it, I had a cousin that went through it and I just instantly just reached out and was just, hey, ⁓ It's gonna be alright, you know, here's kind of the timeline. If you have any questions, I'm here to kind of help, right? Aaron Skinner: And that's and that's why we're gonna be we're gonna be putting Juan's phone number in the description. So anyone out there that wants to give him a call and talk either about massaging him or just about ⁓ Achilles Achilles injuries, ⁓ or wants a massage. ⁓ no, that's I think that's really important, man. Like having a support system, you know. I I'm sure your wife and ever I I know your wife very well. I'm sure she was very supportive and helped out a lot. But it's just it's so much different when it's someone who's gone through something. Juan: Thank Okay. Alex Skinner: Yeah. Juan: Yeah. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: very similar that you they can like like just like you said like it's gonna be okay man like we we'll we'll work through this. I went through and it's like hearing somebody that's gone through it and where they're at now is gotta be just such a huge relief for for anyone that's gone anyone's gone through an injury like that. Juan: Good. Yeah, that's, mean, like my cousin, right? He went through it and he was kind of in that same boat where I was, where he has some little ones. And I think being a dad, feel like is one of those, those things that also adds another factor to it. Because like I said, at that point, my daughter was going to start walking. ⁓ and so was like, I just want to be able to hold her hand, right? Like that's, and walk with her, right? ⁓ I want to be able to do some of those things. I want to be able to chase. Like I've always envisioned myself and Aaron Skinner: one, yes. Juan: still do. I'm like, dude, I want to be able to chase my kids and I want to be that. I want be able to be that dad that's like, you know, raising my kids. Aaron Skinner: I've seen it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Was the final step of the the PT like to to graduate from that was being able to pick up your daughter with your feet and then put her in the basket? You've been healed. Here's your certificate. ⁓ Juan: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I had a racer. had a racer. Thankfully, she was still learning, so I just kind of cut her off. Alex Skinner: Come here, little bear. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, well you you pushed her over. She started winning. ⁓ I think that's I I that I think that's all incredible valuable information for anyone that's gone through an injury and anyone that has, you know, or has questions or anything like that, like leave a leave a comment or whatever of or your experience of what you've done. ⁓ but do you have any other questions, Alex? We could do honestly, we could talk about that. I mean, you and I have talked about this for hours. Alex Skinner: She could not walk. She couldn't. No. I I just think it's important to like bring up like what the next thing for Juan is. So just so true ⁓ the true underdog story of Juan, like coming back from all this, he has made the twenty sixth roster spot for team USA in this year's World Cup. So go check him out in Portland and everywhere that the team USA is playing in the World Cup this year. We're in the World Cup, right? Juan: Yeah. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. He will be at the World Cup. Yes, that is a true statement. He will be at the World Cup Team USA. I can say that completely honestly. Team USA. Juan: Yeah. I will be at the World Cup. Alex Skinner: Team is team USA in the World Cup? Juan: Yep. Yep. Yep. I will be at the World Cup. will be... You'll see me, but my position will be left out. ⁓ But I will be in the stands cheering on the team. Aaron Skinner: Ha Alex Skinner: Go to go to. Aaron Skinner: Awesome. Awesome. Hey, well, thank you so much, Juan, for ⁓ for hopping on and letting us pick your brain about that whole thing. ⁓ I don't know how we normally end this. ⁓ thanks thanks for listening to the podcast and ⁓ keep being unsexy. Alex Skinner: Go be unsexy. Juan: Thank you.