Latest / 🎙️ Rebuild & Fulfill Real conversations on burnout, rebuilding, and becoming stronger than before. / More Than the Diagnosis | Jimmy Choi on Purpose, Identity & Never Giving Up | Episode 29 (Part 2)
Transcript
- Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Yeah, that that's amazing. I imagine that's one of the most meaningful parts of everything you've accomplished is just knowing that you're gonna inspire that next person. Cause you know, while many people see the races, the medals, the television appearances, someone else might simply see hope. So I wanna fast forward now to the American Ninja Warrior saga, cause for many people that's where they first learned about your story. So Whose idea was it to do American Ninja Warrior and did you or did you just wake up one morning and think, I'm gonna go try out for American Ninja Warrior? Or did someone else encourage Jimmy Choi: Hell no. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: you to do that? Jimmy Choi: I never believed that I could even begin to compete on American Ninja Warrior. It was my daughter. At the time she was about seven years old and she watches the show every year it comes on. And every year it comes on she would say, dad, you gotta try it. You gotta do it. Because to her, all her life, in her life that she remembers, I've been fit. I've run marathons. Triathlons and all that stuff and she believed that I can do anything So every year the show come on and she would just bug me just bug me bug me bug me and I'm like I'm like, okay Okay, I'm gonna apply then I did it just to shut her up So I did I applied for the show I send in my application I send in the videos that they were asking me doing, you know physical activity and things like that and then they They said Jimmy they called me and said Jimmy we're gonna give you a shot So in 2017 was the first time And then, and then it was a crash course because I was told four weeks before I would compete that I was being invited. And, and, you know, I was just a runner, no upper body strength. And so I had to literally have a crash course in, in, in the, go into the gyms that she goes to, and asking the coaches there to help me because I had been invited on the show and they did, and they did a great job in four weeks of getting me there. Like, this is, this is what we can teach you in four weeks. It's gonna get you as far as it can. And it did, it got me through the third obstacle, so, now first year and, you know what? That's pretty darn good. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Absolutely. So, what was going through your mind? Getting ready at the starting line for the very first race. What were you thinking about? Jimmy Choi: Yeah, I was terrified. mean, there was nothing I wasn't thinking about anything except don't make a fool of yourself. You know, don't go down the first step. Don't go down the first, you know, on the first... Like, you made it here and a lot of people would say that, you know, getting there was just as impressive as anything else. But, you know, to me, don't embarrass yourself because... Again, going back to the whole cultural thing, if I embarrass myself, it's not just a shame on me, it's a shame on my family. And I did see it as an opportunity to raise awareness at a national level, and falling flat on my face would not have accomplished that. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Anybody just flat out tell you, Jimmy, you shouldn't be doing this? Jimmy Choi: Yes, a lot of people, a lot of people. know, all the interactions I have with people over the years have 99 % being positive, supportive. But there are going to be the haters and there are going to be the people that are going to tell you, you know, why you shouldn't do things or why you can't do things. Right. But at the end of the day, you learn to drown them out and you learn to just ignore the naysayers and just keep going about your business. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Some Well, Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Sorry, go ahead, Mark. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: I was gonna say, when somebody tells you you shouldn't do something and they're a naysayer, did that motivate you even more? Jimmy Choi: Yeah, very often it does. You Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Yeah. Jimmy Choi: know, like what? You don't think I can do this? Just watch. You just watch. And sometimes they're right. I can't. Right? But at least I tried. Right? How are you Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Absolutely. Jimmy Choi: ever going to know if you didn't try? Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Absolutely. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Yeah, I I I remember those moments of you competing in those first couple of years where they're introducing you and your story. I mean, like it was yesterday and I was on the couch with my whole family and we're like, Go Jimmy and we didn't even know who you were other than their story. I mean it was just so inspiring. So but then you kept coming back year after year after year. So what kept the motivation going for you to come back year after year? Jimmy Choi: You know, I think a lot of it is seeing how far can I take this. Parkinson's is supposed to be a progressive disease. And as far as I'm concerned, the disease has progressed, no doubt. Even compared to my caned wielding days, I would say, well, I know for a fact that my disease has progressed beyond those days when I was using a cane. Because when I'm completely off medication, we do what is called the UPDRS, it's the Unified Parkinson's Rating Scale. And I know that completely without medications, my numbers are worse today than they were, you know, even back when I was using the cane. So progression has happened. So if I can continue to move and continue to compete on American Ninja Warrior, to me, that isn't me sticking a big FU to Parkinson's, it's telling me that I am at the minimum, keeping up with the progression with my capabilities that I'm putting into my body. Right. The base and the fitness base that I'm building is capable of battling the disease, you know, or combating the movement side of the disease. And for me, that is the win. Right? I don't have to be, I don't always have to be getting stronger, faster, better, as long as I'm maintaining against that progressive disease that is getting faster, stronger and better. But I'm fortunate that I'm, I've been able to continue to advance, like learn new skills. Like I said, you know, despite, because I think one of the things that I've learned about living with a chronic disorder is that when the disorder takes something away, when Parkinson's takes something away, I need to stop focusing on what has been taken away from me. And I need to focus instead on what other skills can I learn to compensate for that. You know, so I no longer focus on what I've lost. Instead, I focus on what I can still do and what I can do with that. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Complete reframing of the mind, brain set reset. Jimmy Choi: And that's it. And that's it. I think it all goes back to mindset. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Yeah, absolutely. So when you're competing every year, or when you were competing every year, you you obviously were competing for yourself, but did you feel like any extra pressure or did you feel like you were competing for all the individuals that have this have this disease to provide hope for them? Jimmy Choi: Absolutely. always have my community behind in the back of my thought when I'm competing. And there's always that extra pressure. And I've fallen on the first obstacle in my third year. I remember that, right? After two years of doing pretty well, my third year, I went out and I just flat on my face. And I felt like I let everybody down. And they put They put it all on camera, right? The ugly cry and the whole, you know, disappointment of going out early. Because now it's like after three years, I fall on the first obstacle. You know, is it the progression? it the disease catching up? Am I not as capable? But you know what, what they didn't catch off camera was another Ninja Warrior competitor. One of the best. One of the best. And, and Kelsey, know, you know her. Jessie Labreck, right? She came up to me and she's like, Jimmy, what happened is no indication of who you are as an athlete and as a person, you know, doing what you're doing. There's no indication. It's one slip, one fall that happens to every ninja that comes out to compete here at some point. And so I'm very appreciative of her for saying that. And... you that helped me and come, you know, like, okay, now I gotta come back and do better next year or not necessarily do better, but I gotta come back and show up again to show people that you don't give up just because you failed, but you come back and you show up and you fight and you fight and you fight. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Yeah. And and it's amazing how one's person's willingness to try something difficult can completely change somebody else's expectations for their whole life. So I imagine there are countless of people out there who've watched you compete and quietly thought, maybe I can do more than I thought that I could do too. And yeah, so it's just it's incredible. So so obviously since your diagnosis, you've completed marathons, endurance races, ops course races, ninja warrior, all that stuff. You even Earned a Guinness Book World Rec, which I just it baffles my mind. but and and those accomplishments are remarkable. But here's what I'm really curious about. Looking back beyond those races, beyond the television appearances, beyond the world record, what has this entire journey given you that you're most grateful for? Jimmy Choi: you know, I think it has given me a different, frame of mind that I'm grateful for. just because I'm the way that I, the way that I think about life has completely changed over the years. And it all came from little things that I learned along the way. you know, it's, it's now for me, and I mentioned earlier that like your, your the mental barriers that the walls that are put up in your way of your goals very often are ones that your own mind puts up, right? So the way that I've, I think one of the gifts that I've received out of all of this is my ability to see around the walls, to see around the obstacles and know that, you know, doesn't always have to be a straight line to a goal. And yeah, you might have to make detours and it's going to take a little bit longer because you're making detours. But you can still get to a destination as long as you keep trying and keep learning from your experience and keep moving forward. And I think that's helped me, you know, not just in my own personal journey, but also I think that's me help. Hopefully, I help my kids in their journeys. Hopefully that they're seeing their dad do things that aren't as cut and dry as A, and C. Maybe dad did things because he went from A to K to Q and then back to C and then finally got to wherever the destination was. So I think having that... to share with my kids and passing them along and just seeing them and how they've grown up and changed. think that's been a great gift. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Okay, well I gotta ask the question because it's on my mind. You mentioned going into twenty twenty one, you did two thousand twenty-one burpees, you got the Guinness Book World Record of the most burpees, what in a minute. How the hell did you pick burpees? What's the meaning of burpees? Jimmy Choi: So, you know, this actually goes back to one of the reasons I had to use a cane is because I kept falling and I kept losing my balance. And even though I gotten, even though I got more physically fit, there's a symptom in Parkinson's called the Parkinson's freezing gait. And with a freezing gait, sometimes your feet just stop and you just fall to the ground, especially when I'm running those marathons. My feet would shuffle all of a sudden and and it would stop and then I would just fall. And you can see it in my last time I competed at American Ninja Warrior right before the balance obstacles. I couldn't get off the blocks. Every time I stepped off the blocks, my feet would shuffle and I had to stop and reset and come back and do it again until I finally moved. So I was falling and I remember one time that I fell and I didn't catch myself quite right and I hurt my elbows. And I'm like thinking to myself, like, what can I do in the gym that's going to simulate me falling down to the ground and then getting back up? Hmm. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Mm-hmm. Jimmy Choi: I'm like, well, that's that's a burpee, right? So this is, you know, years before the world record attempt. And I just started, I'm like, okay, at the end of my workouts, whatever it is I'm doing, I'm just going to do 10 burpees. And then when I got 10 burpees felt too easy. I just did 15 and then I did 20 and then I did 30 and then I I started getting faster at them. I started getting more efficient at doing them. just, it was just repetition. And then when the pandemic hit, there was really nothing to do when you're stuck at home except freaking burpees. Right? So Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Sure. Jimmy Choi: that was my cardio, my cardio regimen when I was at home was just to do burpees. So, you know, and I just got so good at them and I just out of curiosity one day I'm like, I wonder what the world record is for a for a number of burpees in one minute. And there were many different kinds of burpees, right? Because there are different variations of burpees. And the particular one that I chose was a chest to ground hand release. Meaning the chest must touch the ground and the hands must release fully to the side before coming back and getting yourself back up with the jump. So, and I looked at that and it was a record that's been standing for many years. and the number was at 28 in one minute. And I'm like, I think I can do that. So I practiced, and just in practice the first time, after doing all these burpees for all these years, I got 28, and then that's when I applied. I'm like, if I can do 28 now, I can certainly get faster and do better. And I applied, and then it was right in the middle, right when things lifted in the pandemic and the gyms opened back up with social distancing, but it was sanctioned at the gym. in Naperville and we had the official scorekeeping, we had the sanction rights to do it and we had all the camera angles we needed and then we did it and we sent it in and they verified it and they certified it. So, Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: That's one. Jimmy Choi: and it's all like opportunities, right? It was started as a desire to learn a life-saving skill. gave me the opportunity to break a world record. And then just so you guys know, I actually have three world records now. The second one came because I was doing so many bird piece, I had gotten really good at doing pushups, especially plyometric pushups, flying pushups. So my second world record was flying pushups. There's lateral pushups flying from one side of a barrier to another. would hands and feet going right over. And then the last one was in 2023 where they invited me to go out to the Guinness World of World Records television show in Italy. And there I went, I competed there with another gentleman and we did high five pushups. So high pushups to a high five. And the record was to break the most consecutive high five pushups where the hand must clap and your hand must make a sound. And then true pushup form and plyometric explosive push-up form, and we did 50 consecutive high-five push-ups. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Wow. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: It's amazing. Jimmy Choi: So like I said, it's opportunity after opportunity and I'm never a closed book or a closed mind when I take on something and if there's an opportunity to take it to the next level or there's opportunity to do something with it, it's an opportunity, whatever it is. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Absolutely. So I got a question for you. So the young Jimmy post diagnosis, struggling to come to grips with the diagnosis, probably kind of blackening out a little bit, maybe in denial, putting on the weight, walking with the king, what would that Jimmy say to the current Jimmy after he saw what your life has become? Jimmy Choi: impossible. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Mm-hmm. Jimmy Choi: Yeah, no, if I were to show that person what I'm able to do today, if that person came on my Instagram feed and looked at the stuff I'm doing today, that person would say, I back then there wasn't AI, but that person would say that's AI. But yeah, no, for sure he would have said it's impossible because that's exactly how I thought back then. I thought it was going to be impossible for me to lead the life that I wanted. And yeah, I mean the life that I'm living now is certainly different than what I envisioned with my wife. But I wouldn't say it's worse than what we had envisioned. But back then I thought everything was over. My doctor told me, of my earlier neurologists told me I was going to be in a wheelchair by the time I was 45 years old. I'm 51 today and... I still fall. That hasn't changed, but I'm not in the wheelchair. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: boss. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: so one of the themes that we always come back to with the Rebuild and Fulfill podcast is identity. Because adversity has a way of asking us a difficult question. If I can't be the person I thought I was gonna be, who am I gonna be now? And as I listen to your story, I don't just see an athlete, I see a husband, I see a father, I see an advocate, a leader, someone who found a completely new purpose at what point did you stop focusing on everything Parkinson's had changed and began to start focusing on the person who you were becoming? Jimmy Choi: It, you know, I would say it's right at the point when I, right. When I fell down the stairs and I, and, and, and I decided that something had to change. Right. Cause Parkinson's had gotten me to that, that fall. I had no, I had no one else to blame except myself and, and what Parkinson's has done to me at that point. When I decided to make the change, it was, and even though was just a little bit at the time. And I didn't 100 % believe it yet, right? But it was the first inclination of something has to change, right? And it is that, that was the first snowflake in the snowball that came on afterwards. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Have you ever had a moment when you look back, when you look and realize that Parkinson's completely changed your life and made you the man that you are today? Jimmy Choi: Yeah, it was in an interview when there's a mini documentary that was done with the Fox Foundation and during that mini documentary they asked me, you know, they asked me the question like, Jimmy, you know, we were talking about my fastest marathon and it was It was three hours and 40 minutes or something like that. That was my fastest marathon. And one of the questions that they asked during that documentary was, have you ever been sad or have you ever wondered to yourself how much more of an athlete, how much faster you might have been, how much more you could be able to do if you didn't have Parkinson's? Right. And I think it was right in that moment. I didn't even think about it. And I didn't hesitate. And I said, you know, I wouldn't even be running marathons if I hadn't been diagnosed with Parkinson's. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: I mean, a as as we always say, you know, you you don't always get to choose what happens to you, but you do get to choose how you respond to it and whether or not it becomes you know, your identity. or, simply one chapter is, you know, can lead to a much bigger story. So Jimmy, you've chosen to use your story to help thousands of other people. and in ways that you're doing that, you're speaking across the country, working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, serving on the patient council, participating in the Jimmy Choi: Yeah. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: research, helping raise awareness, and you even consult on shrinking, which I love that show, and I can see your influence all over it. but you're basically on there to help portray Parkinson's accurately, So When you were first diagnosed, could you ever imagine that Parkinson's would eventually become the platform through which you'd impact so many other lives? Jimmy Choi: No, of course not. No one thinks about that. And I just want to make one thing clear. don't think anybody is... Even Michael J. Fox himself, right? He was an accomplished actor before his diagnosis. his story of inspiration, he's been a mentor of mine. And his story... isn't, Parkinson's is a part of his story, but it is not the story, right? When I talked about Alex Flynn earlier, Parkinson's was part of his story, but it is not the story. The story was his drive, the man himself. Same thing with Michael. It was about the things that he's accomplished and the things that he's able to do. I mean, his foundation has raised more than $2 billion for research. And then if you look at his foundation, there's these websites that rates foundations in terms of the work that they do. There's two parts to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. There's the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Team Fox. Team Fox is the grassroots fundraising arm. 100 % of every dollar that Team Fox members raise goes directly to research. That's a hundred percent. That's a dollar out of every dollar you raise goes to research. That is no easy feat because somebody has to be paying for the overhead of running the business itself, right? And every year they're able to find a donor that donates the operating costs for Team Fox. Now the Michael J. Fox Foundation themselves is a A-rated charity. everything that they post in terms of every dollar that they raise, about 90 cents of every dollar. goes to research. So there's 10 % overhead for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. And over the years, they've raised over $2 billion. And so if you think about it, the things that he is able to accomplish isn't Parkinson's itself. Parkinson's is part of the story. And I think that's how I would characterize myself, is that things that I've been able to do, you know, especially now, hopefully other people who are watching are being motivated or inspired, it's not because of Parkinson's, it's because I'm living with a chronic illness or I'm dealing with an adversity in life. And that adversity could be anything. And that Parkinson's is just a part of that story. Adversity, what it means for you, Kelsey, and for you, Mark, is different than what it means to me. And I like to use this silly comparison. is like, for me, Parkinson's is my adversity, right? But I don't compare that to someone else and we don't compare illnesses, we don't compare adversities, like who's worse than what. Because a professional money counter, okay, there's such a thing, professional money counters, they just count money really fast, like faster than calculators, right? But they have physical bills that they count. To them, paper cut is debilitating for them. That to them is their end of the world because they can no longer compete because they got a paper cut. Right. And now they're bleeding all over and it hurts and they can't. To them, that's the end of the world for them. But to you and I, a paper cut is nothing. But because we don't compare like whose adversity is worse to that person is the end of the world. Right. So hopefully, you know, just, just whatever it is that we're dealing with, I think that that's part of our story. But ultimately, my hope is that everybody finds their way to who they are despite whatever city they're dealing with. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Well that's beautifully said. Beautifully said. Going back to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, what does your work with that foundation mean to you personally? Jimmy Choi: It means a great deal because I have, the first time when I started sharing my story and when I started fundraising for the Michael J. Fons Foundation, it was the first time that I was connected into the Parkinson's community itself, right? Because remember up to that point, I had been ignoring. you know, my diagnosis and then when I got involved into the clinical trials, it was still all about me, me, me, me, me. What can, you know, I'm getting involved into a clinical trial because it was all selfish thinking that it was going to help me. Right. But my engagement with the Fox Foundation for the first time when I ran the marathon was now for the first time I'm connected to people who have similar, you know, interests. Right? Who I've now, all of sudden people who are my age reaching out saying that, hey, you know what? I too am young onset. I am also dealing with the things that you're dealing with. And it just opened the dialogue to sharing ideas. And it it brought open such a network for me that has been invaluable in my growth as a person living with Parkinson's. And my work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation is, first of all, strictly voluntary. I just want people to understand that. People think that, you know, I'm being paid by the foundation to do certain work. No, it's strictly voluntary. And I don't contractually have to say anything in their favor and they don't have to do anything for me. But, you know, at the end of the day, is the community that I've been brought into and the people that I've met. that the foundation has connected me with that has helped provide mentors to me, connections to help solve problems, connections that is shared among other people in the community. And I think it was able to help me find my tribe, so to speak. And I think anybody dealing with adversity need to find their tribe. And I think that... that can help everybody grow. And that's what the foundation has done for me. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: So, you know, again, I'm pretty active in the recovery world and I'm dealing with a lot of, you know, spouses or individuals that are dealing with addiction in their family. And obviously you got a lot of people reaching out with the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, you know, reaching out to you. Have you ever had one conversation with somebody where it was just life altering? They just stays with you? Jimmy Choi: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And I would probably say that it happens. It happened more than a couple of times. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Yeah. Jimmy Choi: And it's not just people reaching out telling me how I've changed their lives. But I'll give you an example. This was just a conversation that I had at the end of one of the one of the marathons that I had completed. And it was a gentleman that comes up to me at a, it was a charity event at the end of Chicago Marathon 2017 charity event. And he had just completed the marathon himself at a scorching pace, like two hours and change, right? He was one of the leaders up there. And he came up to me and, hey, I heard about your story. I just want you to, to know how awesome it is and how, it started with the whole, what an inspiration or motivation it is. And he's like, so what was your time? And I remember being so embarrassed to tell this person who just ran in two hours and changed marathon that I did mine in three hours and more, almost four hours. And then I'm like, I'm like, no, I mean, I took almost twice as long as you did. So it's nothing, nothing to write home about. He goes, no, no, no, seriously. I want to know what it is. And I told him and he's like, that's amazing. And then I thought he was like, blowing smoke up my ass, right? I'm like, I'm like, why are you like, he was, he was acting like he was impressed. And now I'm like, okay, whatever, dude, you just ran in like half the time, but he was genuinely impressed. Right. And then when I realized he was genuinely impressed, I'm like, He was genuinely impressed and I'm like, what do you, I said, why is what I did so much more, like why does that impress you? Because you literally did it twice as fast. He said, look, we all do things at our own pace. We all do things at our own rate, right? My pace just happens to be five minute miles. Okay, that's crazy for 26 miles. That's crazy, right? He goes, but that's my pace. He goes, your pace is seven minutes and 45 seconds or seven minutes and 50 seconds or whatever it might be for that day. And he goes, that's your pace, right? We're both running at our paces. But if you asked me to keep my pace up for three hours and 40 minutes, I couldn't do it. So he goes, by that standard, you running at your pace, your max pace and me running at my max pace, you can do it for four hours. I can't. Right. So that changed. That was one of those conversations that changed the way that I thought about fitness and I thought about effort and I thought about comparisons. I stopped comparing myself to other people. and really started to compare it to, the only person that really matters was me. I'm in competition with myself, right? I'm in competition with Parkinson's within me. That's it. Because someone else's Parkinson's is going to be completely different and it has no bearing in what I do, what changes their Parkinson's and what they do is not going to change my Parkinson's. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: That's awesome. I'm gonna take that with me too. I mean, that's like that blew my mind that and because that's such a good point. I and I never thought of that. I've done probably a hundred races at least myself, and I've never thought of things that way. I mean I don't even do my races at your pace, much less his pace, but I get the point. I I remember just a kind of a a backstory between Jimmy and I, our our kids competed together doing ninja, and one day we're at practice and And he's like, I'm gonna go for a run while my daughter's at at practice. And I'm just like, I'm like, well, maybe I'll go with you sometime. I'm like, what what pace do you run at? And I think at the time he was like, I mean, I'm not really gonna go that fast, maybe like eight and a half, nine minute miles. And I'll be like, I'll let you know when I catch up to that pace, Jimmy Choi: Okay. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: and then we'll run together. So that's one of my early stories of talking with with Jimmy Choi. So I just I I Wanna get back to something I I hinted on before, certainly 'cause it's so current, because the popularity of the show is like off the charts, the the shrinking. And and the fact that you're a part of that as a consultant. so it's I'm sure a lot of people would would love to know. so your work with them centers around you just making sure that they're telling an honest story, an honest portrayal of what it is like to live with Parkinsons for Harrison Ford's character on the show. what do you think that people who've d who have obviously never lived with Parkinsons misunderstand the most about Parkinson's and what did you want viewers to understand after watching the show? Jimmy Choi: Well, one of the most big, the biggest misconceptions that I think I've already mentioned is that Parkinson's is not just a movement disorder. Parkinson's affects so much more than just, again, people think immediately think of tremors and, and other movement issues, the loss of balance and stiff, rigidity, stiffness. Those are the telltale signs that people look for when it comes to Parkinson's. But, you know, it's funny because like, like not funny, but funny, but shrinking is, is a show about mental health. Right. The mental health side of Parkinson's is, is really, to me, it could be more debilitating than, the physical side, because it's the thing that keeps you from, from, from moving. The physical side can be, can be trained and adjusted and all that stuff. But if your mental side is just not there and not talk about, we talked about apathy and depression. If you're just sitting on the couch and you have no desire to get up and move the physical side. You know that in itself is is so one of the biggest misconceptions is it's just a movement disorder, right? but definitely one of the things that Is that's important to me and when I share my experiences and I just wanted to also make it straight that you know The the writer that is shrinking asks for my lived experience, right? and how I feel it's important to and how Parkinson's is portrayed. And one of the things that I am constantly talking about is that, know, people with Parkinson's don't want to be treated like victims, right? We don't want you to look at us and all of a sudden you feel sorry for us because we have visible movement symptoms, right? And I think what you're seeing out of the character, Paul, is something that's pretty amazing is that, you know, he is, he is the leader in his, in his world, in the world of therapy. especially around his, around the cast and the people that he works with, the Jimmy's and the Gabby's that works with him in his practice. And despite Parkinson's, they still come back to him for advice. They still come back to him and lean on him. Right. And up to season three, when he retired, they still lean on him despite Parkinson's. So he's still seen as a strong figure, but he clearly has his moments of weakness as it relates to Parkinson's. And that's fine, right? The biggest thing that drives me nuts about misconceptions in the Parkinson's world is that people talk to you like you're... Like you're a kid, people talk to you like, like you have completely lost it in your mind. Right. Um, so I, and, and I just wanted to make sure that we don't, uh, it's become a stigma and I just want to make sure that we don't amplify that. And by any means, and we just, want people to, come out on the other side, um, knowing that to come across a person with Parkinson's just talk to them like they're. the person that you know, the person that you're talking with. Don't take any special considerations into this and that because if something is bothering them, they're gonna tell you, right? But until then, isolation is one of the biggest problems with people with Parkinson's. And isolation is one of the leading causes of people going downhill, so to speak. So I just wanna make sure that that doesn't get portrayed and that people understand that, you know. we can still be a part of everyday social life and all of that. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: That's amazing, amazing information. and and I like I said, I'm I'm a huge fan of the show. I I love it, and I think that it does such a tremendous job showing what he goes through, but yet in such a way that y you see the resilience and which is i is just amazing. So which kind of leads me to my next thing. So, you know, obviously we call this podcast Rebuild and Fulfill, and it's because we believe Everyone eventually goes through a rebuilding season. So looking back now, what did Parkinson's have to tear down in your life before it could rebuild something stronger? And when people remember Jimmy Choi years from now, what do you hope they remember about the man that you've become? Jimmy Choi: Well, mean, you know, the part that I Parkinson's teared down within me was my, I would say that it's like my mental, my mental well-being is what it tore apart. One thing that we didn't talk about that early on in, cause we didn't, we didn't talk more deeply into this, but it's that when I talk about depression, and it's not just feeling sad. It's not just, you know, feeling gray or doom or whatever. mean, I, I, I, I try to, I try to take my own life in 2006. So Parkinson's could have taken it all. and, you know, it's, it's, it's, I think when it comes to like what Parkinson's has taken this, it's taken a lot of joy away, especially early on. But fast forward, because of the small changes that I've been able to do to make mentally over the years, and again, it's just all these mental mindset changes, right? These different ways of thinking about life, different ways about thinking about situation. Ultimately, it comes back to, there's little tiny things that I've been able to build around my mental well-being. has brought me to where I am today. I think, you know, years from now, and I'm not gonna lie to you, at some point I will end up in a wheelchair. At some point I will, you know, my family will have to take care of me. I'm not ignorant to that fact. all I'm trying to do is to prevent that from happening as far down the road as possible. But at that point, when people look at me and... And what I want them to remember about Jimmy was that, this guy went down fighting, right? He went down swinging and never gave up. He gave himself the best chance. And I want them to look at my family and my kids and think they're able to do these things. They're able to get here because Jimmy kept fighting. Because who knew, who knows? how all of our lives would have changed. I can tell you it probably wouldn't have, like if I continued down the road that I was going down, it probably wasn't gonna be a well-read story, so to speak. So in the future, I think when people look at me, I just want them to say, you know what, there's a man that never quit on himself. There's a man that never quit on his family. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Yeah. I mean you're you're gonna be just like the the mentor that you had that that went down doing Mount Everest. It's just gonna it's gonna Jimmy Choi: I'm Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: be something different, but it's gonna be a story like that that somebody else is gonna say, Hey, that guy went down swinging just like you feel that way about the guy doing Mount Everest. So so before we wrap up, we'd love to give you opportunity to tell people, you know, where they can find you, where they can find inspiration from your work, whether it's on Facebook or YouTube channel or stuff like that, learn about your speaking events, how they can support the Michael J. Fox Foundation, you know, or anything else that you'd like Jimmy Choi: Yeah. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: to share with the audience. Jimmy Choi: Yeah, no, I'm pretty simple guy. I could be found on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook and all under the same handle of JC Fox Ninja. I can also be found on LinkedIn just as under Jimmy Troy. You know, and that's where people can reach out to me for like speaking engagements and things like that, even on Instagram or Facebook. Shoot me a DM. You know, I don't have a presence on YouTube. Just a lot of work that needs to go on there. I'm just a guy, I always say I'm just a guy that likes to have fun and do shenanigans on Instagram and things like that. But as far as supporting the Michael J. Fox Foundation, look, it doesn't matter whether it's the Fox Foundation, whether it's Davis Finney Foundation, Davis Finney is an Olympian. cyclists who now have been diagnosed with Parkinson's or the Bryan Grant Foundation, former NBA player, or the Parkinson's Foundation, or the Kirk Gibson Foundation. Kirk Gibson also has Parkinson's. It doesn't matter. Just find an organization that speaks to you and matches your goals and matches your... your ideas of what an organization should be doing to help. They all have their sweet spots in how they help the Parkinson's community. But all these different organizations are always looking for advocates, always looking for fundraisers, always looking for people to help volunteers and things like that. you know, please, if you have an interest, please look them up and provide any help that you can. Thank you guys. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: Appreciate that. Before I let you go, what's next for Jimmy? Any any projects on the horizon or any other goals you're looking to accomplish there? Jimmy Choi: Well, so right now, my goals are to support my family. My son, unfortunately, has been diagnosed with a neurological disorder. It's not Parkinson's, but you know, he's venturing and he's navigating that chapter in his life. Because of my experience, hopefully I can provide him with guidance that I couldn't get myself. But that's the next chapter is to get him to where he needs to be, where he can be independent. and he can continue to live the life that he wants. So that's kind of where I am right now. And of course to continue supporting my daughter who's now in college, to give her the best possible chance to be successful in school and to support her in everything that she does. She plays college softball at Cal Poly. And I told her that I would. that I would do my best never to miss the game. And so far, after her first season, I haven't missed the game yet, even though she's all the way out in California. And I'm gonna continue that to do the best I can. Marc Rogala Co-Founder S2T: That's awesome. That's awesome. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: Awesome. Yeah, she's an incredible, athlete. I mean, she was incredible in ninjas, she's an incredible softball player. So she gets it from Jimmy Choi: Thanks. Kelsey Dunbar Co-Founder S2T: somewhere. Yeah. So Jimmy, thank you so much. Not just for sharing your story, but for reminding all of us that our circumstances do not get the final say. And you know, what always stands out to me, isn't the races and the TV appearances and even your world record, which I only knew about the one I didn't even know about all three. but it's just something much simpler than that. And that's just you choose not to let a diagnosis determine the rest of your life. Instead, you choose to keep moving. And because you kept moving, you became an example of what's possible for thousands, if not millions, of other people. So thank you for spending your time with us. It's truly been an honor. And everybody else listening, whatever challenge you're facing today, remember this. Life may change your direction, but it doesn't have to define your destination. And we will see you next time on Rebuild and Fulfill. And take care, everyone. Good night.