What's gravity?

When does the grass grow greener? Can people with longer.

Legs jump higher?

How are plastic cups made? How filthy are our parents? Which ingredients make the best slime? Why do we dream? Are you faster than a calculator? Could a robot be powered by fruit or vegetables? Kids are full of curious questions. Esb Science Blast, delivered by the ARDS, empowers children to investigate the science behind simple questions just like these ones. Find out how your school can get involved at esbscienceblast. Com. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is the greatest murder mystery in American history.

That's Rob Reiner. Rob called me, Soledad O'Brien, and asked me what I knew about this crime.

We'll ask who had the motive to assassinate.

A sitting president. Then we'll pull.

The curtain back on the cover up. The American.

People need to.

Know the truth.

Listen to Who Killed JFK on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join former 90210 star, Brian.

Austin Green, along.

With dancing with the star's fan favorite, Sharna Burgess, and Hollywood air turned life coach Randy Spelling, as they navigate life, love, and the quest for happiness in the new podcast, Oldish. After a few high-profile relationships in a very public divorce, have.

I finally found the secret to happiness and the key to a successful relationship? Let's harps are.

Because most of that.

Is with me. Listen to Oldish on the.

Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's more frustrating? Being born without legs or being a black man in America? That's a good one because.

They actually are close to being equal. Tashow. Tashow. Tashow. Tashow. Tashow. Welcome to Tashow. Another episode. How are you doing, Eddie?

I'm doing great. How are you? I'm well, thank you. You got any cool new vids I.

Need.

To check out? No, no videos this week. Huh. Your only job is to give me one interesting video that I may have missed that has slipped through the cracks that I didn't see, and there's none this week. Well, that's the beauty of Tossho. Apparently, some weeks, no videos. Anything going on in the world that I need to know about? No. All right, well, I'm caught up. Let's talk sports. I got my favorite Paralympian on today, and I'm excited about that. Let me tell you something about US athletes that compete under a.

Different country's flag. This happens all the time.

Because they're not good enough to compete under the American flag. They don't make the team. So they go to another country. I want you to know that you're a traitor, okay? And that I pray that you get injured and then you find out how great the US healthcare system really is. I'm only half-joking. I understand why US athletes go to other countries. It's a great opportunity, but I just think it's... I don't know. I'm always like, They're Americans. Here's my stance on California. You know how long you have to live in California before you're supposed to get a California driver's license? Ten days. Don't look it up, Eddie. I've already done it. Let me tell you something. These people that come here live here 10 years and refuse to get a license because they don't want to pay the high insurance, car insurance, all of that nonsense, registration. It's a mess. So I don't really believe the number of the people that actually live here is way higher. Don't even get me started on the illegals. For the record, I love illegals. That's how I feel about tennis players, all these Russians. They all grew up in South Florida.

They all trained in South Florida at tennis academies in Florida. I think if you're going to play tennis in Florida for ten days, you're now a US citizen. I'm just tired of all these other countries getting credit for these great athletes that only became great athletes because they trained in America. I think it's a decent point. I think I can actually get some of my Red State, Republican fans to get behind me on this. In 2028, the Olympics are here in L. A. I'm excited to see what happens. Our freeway burnt down last week, so I can only imagine how flawless building these Olympic villages is going to go. I also want to compete. In 2028, I'll be 53. I want to compete in surfing. Now, I'm certainly not a professional surfer, but there's got to be some Jamaican, Bobsled type scenario where there's a country that would let me compete. And I don't know what the qualifying is to get into surfing in the Olympics, but this is what I need to happen. I was born in Germany at Macintosh, shortened to Tosh. I was originally, I think my family was in Ireland at some point.

I think they changed the name and fled the country. I don't know what they did. Probably something awful. It doesn't matter. Find a country, some landlock hellhole, and then I'll be your flagbearer. I certainly want to do the opening ceremony. That's my favorite part of the opening ceremony is the small countries that have two people or one person competing. It's great. There's always in some event that nobody gives a shit about. By the way, the Olympics, the Summer Games should have two events. It should just have running and jumping the end. That should be the Olympics. We don't need all the every year. Oh, did you hear that they're adding touch, whistle ball? No, I didn't hear about touch, whistle ball. By the way, and running, running fine. Running should be in the Olympics because it makes sense. But running in general is the dumbest thing on the planet. I honestly can't think of anything worse. You're a runner, Eddie.

I mean, I.

Used to, now the knees are killing me. You ever had runners high? No, I've never run that far. People talk about runners high like it's a good thing. You know what else gets you high? Fentanyl. I don't do that either. Fentanyl. Fentanyl gets you high, right? Oh, yeah. I think that's the thing, yeah. Running has never been my thing. That's why I'm so inspired by today's guest. A world-class sprinter would never be something that interests me. But he's overcome so many obstacles. I'm a tall, handsome, successful, straight white male. The only obstacles I've ever had to deal with are my in-laws. Blake was born without legs. He is a built-in excuse.

To never run. He's going against.

God's will. God's plan for Blake.

Was to be a.

Couch potato or a fancy throw pillow. Enjoy. Discover Dublin's lifestyle and retail experience. Discover BSQ. Beacons South Quarter for home, retail and wellbeing. With over 25 stores from high-end furniture and kitchens to restaurants and beauty.

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Two hours of parking-free and a Duns and Yusk store with the latest must-have, festive ranges. Make sure your next shopping day is a BSQ day. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is the greatest murder mystery in American history. That's Rob Reiner. Rob called me, Soledad O'Brien, and asked me what I knew about this crime. I know 60 years later, new leads are still emerging. To me, an award-winning journalist, that's the making of an incredible story. On this podcast, you're going to hear it told by one of America's greatest storytellers. We'll ask who had the motive to assassinate a sitting president. My dad thought of JFK, screwed.

Us at.

The Bay of Pigs, and.

Then he screwed us after the Cuban missile crisis. We'll reveal why Lee.

Harvey Oswalt isn't.

Who.

They said he was. I was under the impression that Lee was being trained for.

A specific operation.

Then we'll pull the curtain back on the cover up. The American people need to know the truth. Listen to Who Killed JFK on.

The iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, I'm.

Chelsea Paredi. Do you feel chronic existential dread but love talking about delicious snacks? Call me. My podcast is relaunching.

Subscribe and.

Treat yourself to sound effects like this and this. Have you ever been attacked by a bear? Yeah. Yes. And moments like this. I happen to fall asleep in front of a space heater. No. And my whole leg, put my knee down.

And my foot burnt until it's.

A big bubble. And this? Kale chips are delicious. They're too oily when I get them.

They shouldn't.

Be soft at all.

They.

Should be really crispy. That's what I.

Said every single time.

You are yelling at me.

And this?

Do you want to go to the Clipper.

Game with me tonight? Do you have 25 references.

Of mutual.

Friends.

That can tell me that you're not a murderer? And this? Hold on, I got to open some peanut butter pretzels. Listen to call Chelsea Peretti on Will Ferrell's.

Big Money Players Network on the.

Iheart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Pasha. My guest today is an eight-time track and field medalist, world record holder, and my favorite sprinter with no legs.

Please welcome, Blake Leper.

Josh, thank you.

So much.

Your favorite sprinter without legs. I love that title. Listen, I want you to know.

That I.

Have a lot of black friends without legs.

Yes, I'm sure it's like an ample amount.

And I'm your favorite one out of.

All of them. Well, yeah, most of.

Them don't run. I mean, what are the odds that your name is Leper? I know, right? Born Without Legs, last name, Leper. That's just weird.

That's always how it is. Sense of humor.

My name is John White. By the way.

I should definitely start by thanking you for your service to our country. No, I'm.

Not military. No, okay. Stolen...

That is my thing.

I am not military.

You didn't serve in Vietnam.

I did not. I was not in Vietnam. You'd be surprised.

How many people think that I was.

Stoke. You were in Vietnam. Black people don't age. I don't know. I don't want to guess how old you were. Our research is horrible. Blake, this is my first question I ask all.

My guests. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes, I would say I do.

Believe in ghosts. Honestly, gun to your head, You believe.

In ghosts? Yes, I do believe in ghosts. Really? Yes. Yes, I do.

I felt them tickle my feet at night. I'm joking.

No, you don't believe in ghosts? Yes, I do.

No, I do. You really don't know spirits. I don't know if it's ghosts or spirits. It's nothing. It's something that's like floating around us. No, there's nothing.

That we can't see, but we feel.

We don't feel anything. Right? Don't you feel something?

No, never.

All the stories and everything.

I could care less about the stories. Couldn't care less. Where are you born? Yeah, I.

Was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, 60 miles east of Knoxville, Tennessee, for people who don't know. Born with congenital birth defect, Fibler, hemorrhoea. So the day that I was born, the doctors basically told my parents, my mother.

And father that I was never going to walk or.

Run a day in my life.

My legs didn't develop. I didn't grow anything basically below my knees. I have my knee joints, but I'm.

Missing my.

Calf muscles and my ankles and my feet. Okay. Yeah. That's a blow. Because this is... I don't know how old are you.

Yeah, I'm 33 now.

Okay. They didn't know.

This until you.

Were delivered. Right.

I was.

Delivered, took me into the ICU.

Came back and had the conversation with my mother.

And father, Mr. And Mrs. Leeper. I'm sorry, but your baby boy, Blake, is born missing both of his legs. He's never going to walk. He's never going to jump. He's going to be bound in a wheelchair his whole life. It was, I would say, initially a blow to my family to be- Of course. Yeah, it definitely was a blow to my family. You're a father.

Yes, I am. She's three. Three. Yeah. God, she's such.

A crazy baby.

Let me tell you, you did a pandemic thing. Yeah, I.

Had a pandemic baby. I did, yeah. You were just bored. Oh, my God. I had nothing else to do. I was in a home making babies. It was ridiculous. Oh, congratulations. Thank you. But you obviously, I assume, went to all these checkups. Oh, my gosh. Yes. In this day and age, if you would have found out at nine weeks or 10.

Weeks, Hey, there's.

No legs.

In your baby.

Some people might.

Be like.

Oh, I don't want to.

Have this child. Right.

And it's a common situation. Of course. Having a child with a disability, we don't want to deal with this. The divorce rate.

Goes up with the parents. All these things that come with the stigmatism of having a child missing not only one leg, but missing both his legs. And so for my parents to stick into it, I asked them the day that I was born, Well, what did you say?

Mom, who did you... My mom is a Christian woman, but she cussed out. Who did you cuss out with the doctors? But they tell me they did two things in the moment when they found out that I was born missing both of my legs. The first thing, they decided to stick together as a family, as a unit. And the second thing was to keep a positive attitude towards my situation, specifically being born without legs. That's pretty great. Are they still together? Yeah, they're still together. They fight every day, but they're still together. They hate each other and they blame you. Yeah, they're usually... Where did you go to college? I went.

To University of Tennessee. Go Vals.

Go Vals, baby. Let me tell you something. I truly love Knoxville.

That's a city. Yes. Isn't it a great Knox?

We call it Knox Vegas. Were you an.

Athlete at the University of Texas or University of Tennessee? No, I wasn't.

I did play basketball and baseball growing up as.

A kid. But once I went to University.

Of Tennessee, I was just focusing on my studies. I was premed, I wanted applied physics, so I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. That was altered, obviously, once I got the running blades. I got the running prosthetic blades in college, started competing competitively and became one of the fastest Paralympic runners in the world within a year. Yeah, it's pretty impressive. Yeah, right.

Am I supposed.

To.

Be able? Yeah. Am I supposed to be able-?

Yeah. It's interesting because I am technically a disabled man. I am a man with a disability. And to compare it against people that have their legs, I say able-bodied runners or somebody that is able-bodied. But it's interesting that I am labeled disabled, but I'm faster than you.

Well, you think you're faster. You don't know. I've never actually exerted my full force. I have no idea how fast I could go.

I mean, as a white man with those type of glasses and that outfit, I guarantee you that I am a man.

You think that? I'm not bound by a sweater and glasses. I didn't pick the sweater out. The glasses help me read because I'm old. I'm pretty quick. I get you're ayour 400 meters is your specialty.

Right, yes, 400.

That's still farther than I want to go. I just hate running. Does that bother you that people with legs hate running?

No, it doesn't. To be honest with you, I hated running growing up as a kid, too. I was missing both of my legs, so I always came last in all the running events. So as a kid growing up, I hated running.

I couldn't- How bad were your, at the beginning of your life were your legs?

It was pretty, I mean, it was like-The technology, I mean. It was like sticks, basically. Imagine me as a pirate, just like two sticks, just walking around.

Did your family have.

Money or no? They did. They had good jobs and my mom was a nurse. We did have the whole fight and the battle with the insurance companies because people, for those who don't realize, especially in the disabled community, certain prosthetic legs, like the ones you see me walk in today are considered a luxury and not a necessity. So you can say, Hey, I want to run. I want to walk. You send your letter into the insurance company and say, We don't care. Right.

Figure it out. We'd rather you sit at home. Yes.

Play video games. Exactly. So my mom was a big advocate for me to get the right prosthetic legs with their insurance just to stay active. I didn't get the running blades, but I had decent legs to play basketball and baseball as a kid. And then once I got the running legs, that was the biggest jump in my career to where I was just an average kid, maybe average disabled kid that could run up down to basketball court. To now, I'm one of the fastest Paralympians disabled men in the world.

You were born without legs, yet you're considered an amputee.

Yes. So because I had technically at four or five years old, I went back and had a revision of my legs where I had two toes on my left leg and one baby toe on my right leg, and they just went in and just cut.

Them off. They serve no purpose?

Yeah, they just serve no purpose. I mean, because they were going.

Inside my-Were there feelings.

On them? Yeah, I could move them and they cut my.

Toes off. Could have you left.

Them on? I could, but I was getting blisters and calluses on my toes. And so because I was like, pounding on them inside my socket so much on my stomp, on my nose, that they just cut them off. And so because they cut them off, technically, I fell into the empty T category. And it's a lot easier to say empty T than congenital birth defect fibrillator phthalate.

Yeah, that's a good one. I'm never going to say that. What's more frustrating, being born without legs or being a black man.

In America? That's a good one because they actually are close to being equal. I'm not going to lie, I get judged double time hard because I get discriminated as a black man on a daily basis, especially growing up in East Tennessee. But then I also face discrimination as a man missing both his legs and the assumption of what I can and cannot do.

Emotionally, you're like in a great place.

You've figured life out. Yeah. I would say I figured it out just because all the trials and tribulations that I've been through in my life that life sucks, life isn't fair. So either you're going to cry about it or you're going to laugh about it.

Are you one of these people, I assume you are too positive, but where you're like, If I could do it all over, I.

Wouldn't have it any other way. Yeah, I am. I am. I am because this is who I am.

Who cares? I would change everything about myself. Yes. What would you change? Every decision I make, Well, that was a wrong one. I should have done that.

But the wrong decisions is the lessons that you.

Learned, right? Don't know, right? Yes, in theory. But I'm still saying I would be one of these people that would want to redo and correct almost everything.

Yeah, but could you imagine me with legs? I would just be just a boring black dude.

Or maybe you'd be the greatest, most famous athlete in the history of the world.

Or I could be a tap dancer. That's one thing I think if I... I don't want to be a tap dancer, right?

No, not thought of the genre of dance that you want to be great at. Tap is just fucking annoying. It's loud. It's ruining floors.

If I have both my legs, I'll just be tap dancing my ass all over the place.

I don't like it. Did you have a normal dating life?

Yeah, I did. Actually, I did. I struggled as a kid growing up being judged because of my legs. Sometimes I even dated girls and didn't tell them about my legs.

You could pull.

It off? I could pull it off until, as you know, we went home and went to bed and I could not pull it off. I just was like.

Pop, pop.

Oh, by the way, I'm missing both of my legs.

I was with a girl one time, and she's like, I got to tell you something. I was in my head. I was like, Let's prepare for everything because I don't want to act like I'm not okay with this. I was just preparing myself. What is she going to tell me? And then she told me that she had a, what's it called? A colostomy bag. I was like, All right. That's not bad. So your butthole is clean.

Was the good part. But Idid have to... I had to prepare myself.

Did you think she was going to miss.

A leg? No, I had no idea. But I just remembered that was like a weird... I know it was... I felt like, Oh, this is weird because she has to have this conversation with everybody that she's potentially going.

To-right, I wear a lost me bag.

Right. So you obviously, if you're hiding your legs, that's a real conversation. But if you're not hiding it's.

Pretty much out the open. Right, it's out there. And so most times, especially now, I wear shorts or I'm out and about. And people obviously, I get the stairs, I get the looks, but I've now embraced it.

Were there girls that were into it?

Actually, yes, there were.

Does that make you go like, all right, I.

Don't like that either? Yeah, no, I'm into it. Actually, there's a name for that. I'm sure there is. Yes, they're called devotees. So devotees are individuals that are into people with missing their legs. So if you take your leg off, they like the whole nub play and the nub action.

I'm going to be honest here. I've never liked the term nub.

I know, but.

That's-i know, I.

Get it. -that's a scientific name for it. Because I'm missing both of my legs, I take my legs off in my stumps that I have are my nubs.

When you're home alone, do you have no legs or legs?

It depends. It's just, I guess, sometimes I keep my legs on. If I had a long day, I can just chill. I take my legs off. I can function completely with my legs off. I can climb on counters. I can go use the bathroom. I can climb on the bed. But I get to point A to point B quicker with my legs on.

So you're saying within a year of you getting your running blades, you became... Where did you.

Compete first? So I competed in Oklahoma back in 2009. It was a local Paralympic event, and I ran 100 meters. I qualified for my team. And then by my second race, they called me and they invited me to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And my second race in track and field was in Brazil competing internationally for.

The USA. Brazilians. A scary group of people.

Yes, it depends who you ask. I had fun in Brazil. Rio was amazing, as you can imagine. I blinged my eyes, run two races. I'm on Copacabana Beach just like as a 19-year-old. I was like, you know what?

So much.

Thick ass. Yeah, I think I like this sport. This is good. This is going to be good.

The categories in the pair of games are... There's a.

Lot of categories. There's a lot of categories. It gets very, very confusing. Because you can't.

Compete against somebody that's just slightly missing something.

Right. Well, if they're missing a leg, then I can't potentially compete against them. If they're missing both their legs, then I definitely would probably compete below the knees. And then if they're missing their leg above the knee as a different category, you have blind athletes in that category. You have cerebral palsy athletes, and then you also have wheelchair athletes, too, as well, and different categories within those disabilities. We're talking 100 almost medal ceremonies at a Paralympic Games because there's so many.

So many anthems.

Yeah, it's a lot. It's funny that you say that because you're just constantly just hearing just certain anthems in certain countries, just constantly popping up. You're like, These guys again.

If you take a knee during the national anthem, is it controversial or is it like, Hey, give the guy a break. He doesn't have any legs?

Most of the time I do get a break because of my disability. But I feel like if I took that knee, it would cause a little controversy. Legs or no legs.

The thing that was very interesting, obviously, is that you are skilled enough to compete in the Olympics. Yes. I'm just calling the Olympics. Your time is fast enough, obviously, and you wanted to. And then what happened?

Yes. That was my goal is to compete to be the fastest man in the world. Once I competed at Paralympics and did that, took a silver and a bronze in the 2012, that's when I knew I could be the fastest run in the world. Legs or no legs. So I started training because setting everything up.

Did they say that you.

Cannot do this? No, not initially, at first. So at first they say it's okay. I went out there, broke a few world records. I went to national championships, qualified for nationals. And then in 2019 is when I took fifth at the USA TF national championships against the able bodied runners. And when I did that and broke my own world record, ran 44 seconds in the 400 meters, that's when the sanctions started to come and they said, You have an unfair advantage in your prostate legs. Do you? No. Are you.

Kidding me?

Daniel, I'm born without legs.

You're preaching to the choir on this one. Now, the height was the issue.

That was the issue. And so you have to understand.

How tall are you? From stump.

To head? On my knees? I'm four-foot, four-foot and a half on my knees. And my stumps are like a foot each. So I would say about.

Five feet. So they said that the height advantage was the issue.

Yes, because I missed my legs, they were trying to dictate my height and tell me how tall I would have been if I had my leg.

It seems like there can be a computer program out there that could.

Figure that out. I know, right? They try to create a formula, but we feel like the formula is off.

What was the problem with the formula?

I know what the problem was. What the.

Problem with the formula?

Asians and white people. Yes, it was only Asian and white men in the formula.

Right. The formula only used Asian and white men to determine your height. Yes.

And me as a black man, I felt like I got missed out on the test population. It wasn't considering my body demographic, what my body structure could potentially be.

No one goes, Oh, hey, I want to know how tall I'm going to be. Well, how tall.

Are Asians? Yeah, that was the issue. So when you implement me into this formula that only has a representation of it was like 50 white Australian men and 15 Japanese Asian men. And I come out not 6'2, but I come out a little bit under 5'9, so 5.8 feet. I know I lost six inches.

You don't want to ever be under 6 feet.

Oh, my God. It's horrible. I have Little Man syndrome. I'm just pissed off at the world every time I put.

Them on. So it's done? It's over?

Yeah, technically it is done. I'm back running at 5.8, 5.8 feet, competing the Paralympics. I'm still contesting.

Oh, so you're doing it in the Paralympics as well?

Yeah, I'm doing the Paralympics, too, as well. So I'm back running in the Paralympics.

No, at 5.8, why wouldn't you? Because they didn't have a problem with you.

Running at 6:2. No, the Paralympics had a problem with me running it. They did. Yeah, it was a new rule in the Paralympics, too. It was both a combined rule that just started within the last 2-3 years.

It seemed like some crazy big-wig law firm here in Los Angeles would hear this story and be like, you know what? I feel like taking his side and let's figure a way around this.

Yeah, well, I've took it to the court of sport. It's the highest court of sport in Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland, twice. And out of two times we both lost the case. And at this point, technically I could continue to keep fighting it. But at this point in my career, I'm 33. I got four or five years left. I'm still doing things on the outside. Still talking about it. I have a documentary coming out about it. But for the most part, I want to beat them at their own game. I want to just accept the unfair rule and just shove it in their face.

Right, but I wanted you in the Olympics.

I know, me too. I'm watching their World Championship is happening right now with the able-body. And I'm seeing guys that I used to run with and beat and compete with, and they're.

Fighting for it. It'd be great just to hear all the people, like shit talking. Right. Like, That's not fair.

It's controversy. It'd be a great conversation for track and field. Of course. It'd be a great topic to go back and forth. Is it fair? Is it not fair? Can this guy without legs become the fastest man in the world? It challenges society of being a disabled man and being the best in the world.

Yes, I agree. I mean, track and field is interesting without this for two minutes every four years.

Yeah, exactly.

And everybody thinks like, Oh, the legs are getting better. So you're getting faster. But that doesn't matter. In general, athletes over time have always evolved faster.

Yeah, we're just learning more. We're just knowing more about the technology hasn't changed. We're just starting to understand the carbon fiber a lot better and understanding how to use it and getting it in hand of the user at an early age to perform and better users.

What about the weight? Is it supposed to be comparable to leg weight or no? Yeah, a.

Little bit lighter. With the carbon fiber, lighter, stronger, faster, springier is always better when it comes to sprinting.

So then.

It is an advantage. It's interesting because things on the able-body side for running materials, the spike plates, the surfaces that you run on has enhanced over the past 20, 30 years. So if these things are making able-body runners faster, then the things that's making a disabled runner faster should have the same increase in development, right?

Well, that's tough, still. It's tough to say that it's completely even, I don't know. How would I know?

Right. But at the end of the day, it's just like it all has the lens that you look at it. Some people are going to look at it and say, Dude, you clearly have an unfair advantage. You're wearing technology against able-body runners. And some people will be like, There's no way you have unfair advantage. You're missing both.

Of your legs. What's your stance on transgender people performing in sports?

That's a tough topic.

It shouldn't be. It shouldn't be a topic. You're right. Here's what I'm going to tell you what you should say. You should say, I'm fine with it.

I have no issue. Yes, I am fine with it. I have no issues. I know it's a huge controversy.

Well, here's my take on this. I'm going to bring it back to you. Because it's like when people say, Oh, they have an unfair advantage, or what if a man then just pretends or says I'm trans and just to compete and make all this money in this sport that's dominated by women? You know what I say to that? Good. Let that person do that. Fine. That person wants to be a woman to compete and make some money. Great. I don't care. First of all, it's a game. I don't care. Entertainment. Bringing it to you, do you have the same fear in the Paralympics? What if somebody's like, Oh, I'm just going to cut my leg off just so I can compete against people?

Yeah, it would never happen in Paralympic Games. I don't think somebody would deliberately.

Cut their leg. But what if somebody's like, No, let's say, Bolt is like, You know the end of my career? I'm going to see if I can do it. I'm going to cut myself off from the knees down and I'm going to compete. That's not fair. He did it on purpose.

Yeah, well, if Bolt cut his legs off and would try to compete, I would dust Usain Bolt with his legs cut off. With his legs cut off.

Sure. Well, that's a big claim. That's a big claim.

But as somebody that does get discriminated against, I really true do believe in equality and just a fair chance. I'm in the face of discrimination on a daily basis as a black disabled man. I like seeing that it is very unfortunate.

How much longer do you have at the top of the game? That's a good question.

You're 33. I'm 33, Daniel. And the Olympics and Paralympics will be in L. A. I know, 2028. 2028. I'm going to be 38 at in 2028. So God, I can.

Pull it off. That'd be exciting to run in your own backyard.

Right? Look at Tom braided made it to like...

Tom.

braided.

Didn't.

Do shit.

Tom braided might as well not have legs. He stands back there and he dinks and dunk down the field like, Oh.

Tom can make it. Lebron is still.

Out there, D'Aubri. Fine. Lebron is an example that I accept.

Okay, look at LeBron.

But when people talk about Tom braided is the greatest athlete, I'm like, What are you talk about? There's nothing athletic about what he does.

He dropped back three steps and has one of.

The best. Right, he can throw a ball good and it can move a little bit, but barely. That's not the greatest athlete.

That's absurd. True. You've seen this 40 before?

Yeah, it's just like sad dad, bot, bouncing down the road. By the way, when you race, whatever the body part crosses the finish line first?

No. When you race, it's your torso that crosses. So your head, not your hand, but that's why you see runners lean.

I always saw them lean. I just saw them do whatever.

Yeah, whatever knows. No, it's from your shoulders to basically your torso, your shoulders to your hip. So you can dive across the line. If that.

Crosses, you're good to go. Has your leg ever flew off during a race?

It has, yes. 2016 national championships. I'm running 100 meters sprinting all out. I go to step at meter 95. I looked down, leg is gone. And when I fell down, just tucked and rolled over the line.

What place did you.

Come in? It's a second. So it worked out, but it does happen every so often.

I don't want to make you speak for an entire race of people and a sex of people that you're not. But I'm going to ask you this question regardless, because I've always thought about this. Okay. Running in the Olympics, obviously, I'm talking to sprints, dominated by black athletes. Fine. Okay, now I'm talking about females. If you watch swimming, winning and losing races is within a point second or whatever. -tiny fraction.

-tenth of a second.

Swimmers. Shave every bit of their body, everything, because it gives them a slight bit of advantage. Female black racers will have so much hair, jewelry, and everything. And all of that. Why wouldn't there be one that's like, no, I'm shaving everything down. I'm doing no rings. I'm doing no do it, because all of that is a weight.

Technically, yes.

But no one ever says, no, I'm not.

Going.

To have in running. You'll have facial hair.

You shouldn't. Yeah, the facial hair, the beards, the chains, anything that goes into it because it's scientifically proven that if you look good, you run faster.

I don't know. This is insanity. I'm just saying I just can't believe there's not one athlete that's like, no, I'm going to streamline to nothing.

I think with the force and the power technically that you're producing on the track, it doesn't matter. Yes, it does matter.

That's weight. If you have all this hair and you didn't have it, you are now lighter, lighter makes faster, right?

Yeah. I mean, technically, I guess, yes, lighter is faster in theory. If I tell.

You to drag a garden hose, you're going to be slower.

True. But if you're going to win it anyway, you want to cross the line, look good with.

Your hair. Yes. I'm amazed that I feel like there could be some time shaved off. Nobody cares about this. It's just my thing that I sit at home and go, I could make them faster. I'm going to be the old man going, Put your jewelry away.

Put your chain away. You're going to run faster.

Talk about the Booger Sugar.

Oh, man, yes. That was a crazybeen part of my life, right?

Okay, so you were just.

A partier? Yeah, man, I was partying. I was hanging around the wrong people.

It sounds like you're hanging around the right people.

According to the living committee.

So you got suspended for a year for doing test.

Deposit for doing cocaine. Yes, I was in, coming from Tennessee, moving to California.

Don't blame California for.

Your fucking decisions. This is crazy California. There's no cocaine in Tennessee. Are you kidding me? These have moonshine, and that's it. But moving out to California, just training, it was a part of my life where I just couldn't say no. I was partying, hanging out with the wrong people, just people in general. I go to a tract meet and I test positive for cocaine. Crap. And then I get suspended for a year, which was.

Just like -Because they thought it was a steroid?

Yeah, well, I was running so fast that it's technically not a performance-enhancing drug, but it cannot be in your system at a track meet. So I'm like at a tract meet.

You obviously knew this, so you were trying to get.

Away with it? No, I wasn't trying to get away with it. I just thought it would be out of my system before I got to the track meet. But I was like at.

The tract meet. You did it last night.

No, I was like, oh, the problem was I was at the tract meet looking like Bobby Brown, just like my jaw was to the left. And I'm joking. They were like, We got to test this guy.

Do they not test everyone?

No, they don't test everyone.

Just the black people?

Yeah, they just test the black. With the chains, right?

God damn it. So that was bad. So when you got tested, you were like, You didn't think you were going to fail?

No, I didn't think I was going to fail. I think I was going to be out of my system. I'd be good. They actually caught the medical bolical breakdown of cocaine. So they actually didn't find cocaine. They found what cocaine breaks down into your system. And then with finding that, they said you've taken it before.

Then you denied that, right? I mean, I was like, There's no way. Then I was like, Yes, it was me that had to go into an Olympic, Paralympic drug program, and I had to take three drug tests for a full year clean up. Was it easy to clean up? It was because I really wanted to really do this. I knew I had a special opportunity. Obviously, I was having fun in that part of my life. It goes back to the conversation we had earlier. I said, I don't regret a few things in my life. I regret. Right. I regret that. You should have.

Skipped that race.

Yeah, I should have skipped that race. But I finally got to tap into my true potential, like cleaning up my life, putting down the partying. And then I made the decision I wanted to be great and then put everything down and just focus on track. And by doing that, that's when things started happening for me.

See, that's good. I like the idea. I've always been just like, I don't want to focus too hard because I don't want to find out that I'm not great.

Right. That's the fear, too. I'm not good enough for it. I'm not the man that I tell people that I am.

It's nice to be like, Oh, if I tried harder, I could be.

Right. And that's what I was doing. Well, I didn't try that hard. Well, I stayed up late partying, hanging a hang. And then once I did that and gave it everything, I mean, I dedicate my life to this.

Are you faster, right, the second than you've ever been?

No, I'm not because I'm shorter. Oh, right. Yeah, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in my life right now. Two years ago, I was the fifth fastest 400 meter run in the world.

I assume everyone was doing the height thing as well.

It was an.

Even playing field.

Yeah, it was an even playing field. Paralympians across the board lost their height. But because I was a black man implemented into this formula that did not represent me, I became the shortest out of everybody. For example, the average double-legged amputee lost 2-3 inches. I lost six inches.

I know. But that seems this versus this seems- Yes, a lot. It seems fair.

You got to get it back somehow, right? Right.

I think we all know what I was referring to. Give him six inches. All right, fair enough. By the way, that's a bathroom behind that door. I was going to go, but I'm worried that if I'm in there that you would potentially shoot through the door. I don't want to lump you guys all together.

But.

Talk about Oscar.

You've raced against him? I've raced.

Against him. Is Oscar White? Yes, he is a White guy. He is interesting because he's a White South African, and I'm a Black American. But once the whole controversy went down and I'm walking through the airport with my running blades and people just heard this African Blade Runner. A lot of people initially thought I was the guy. You shot.

Oscar's.

Wife? Yeah, they thought that legit. Wait, I heard an African guy missing both of his legs. I was like, No, no, no. He's a white South African, so you don't have to worry. But yeah, I competed it. I was actually the last person to compete alongside of Pestarius in 2012 at the Paralympic Games.

Well, you weren't.

The last one. Yeah.

Someone else was trying to run. Sorry, that's insensitive. Was he faster than you?

Yes, he was at the time. So at the time we competed it, he was faster than me, but I ended up breaking all of his world records. He went 45, 35 was his fastest 400 meter, and I went 44, 38. I ran about almost a whole second.

He's still in jail. I had to look it up. Yes, he is. But for some reason, he still didn't get what he was supposed.

To get. Yeah, I think he ended up with 13 years for culpable homicide.

Do you think he'll run in L. A?

I don't think so. I think he might. Is he banned? No, he's not banned. I mean, to my understanding, he's not banned from the...

What do you have to do to get banned? Cocaine?

He does a little bit of booking. You're out of here.

Fire four blindly into your bathroom. You're fine. Do you have a lot of friends now because in the para community, like from the Olympics and stuff? I do. Do you need that or do you go, Enough already?

I mean, I like it. It's just like we're a community. We all get together and we go to dinner or whatever. Can you imagine four dudes? We're all missing our legs. We hop out the car and just like four dudes missing both.

Their legs. The server is like, Oh, this is going to be a tip. Yeah, these.

Guys, this is going to be terrible. They expect half off or something. I don't know what's going on. That's what I was going for. But it works out. And it's just cool to build that community. Honestly, that's exciting, too, about the LA 2028, it's going to be the first time the Paralympic Games going to be in LA. The Games have been in LA twice, but the first time for the Paralympics to be.

In LA. How great is your parking situation at the Olympic Village?

I mean, It's right in the front. It's handicapped parking, which, by the way, you don't have to pay for handicapped parking in L. A. So I have a handicapped sticker.

Wait, in L. A. If you have a handicapped, you don't have to pay meters. You have.

To pay meters, yeah, you don't have to pay meters, which is.

Like gold. That becomes every spot becomes a handicapped spot. Right. How can we say a handicapped spot, but we don't say handicapped people anymore?

I know. That's so interesting. You say the word handicapped because technically it's very inappropriate to call somebody handicapped. We're just to work on the word disabled. We're trying to change the word disabled because you're done. You're not doing nothing to the word disability, where you're living with this and you're moving with this. It's just like the word, you know what it comes with. But yeah, handicapped spot is appropriate, but handicapped person is definitely not.

No, not acceptable. I knew that. 75 and sunny out. You go with shorts or you go with pants?

'75 and sunny, shorts.

I feel like shorts are always technically pants.

For you. Yeah, I know, right? My legs do not get cold. So it could be like 30 or it could be negative 20. I could be in Minnesota and I can wear shorts in it and it wouldn't matter.

How long have.

You been married? I'm engaged. Oh, engaged.

Yeah, I'm not married yet. Okay. Are you definitely going to do it? Yes. Are you going to drag your feet? It never gets old.

Does it?

It never gets old. Where did you meet your partner?

Back home in Tennessee. We grew up together.

That's a mistake, too.

That's a mistake. She was the girl.

Next door. Don't do that. No way.

You've seen the movies.

You meet the girl in L.

A. Oh, gosh, the girl's in L. A. They're nice. I'm a country boy from Tennessee. It was.

Too much. You're no longer a country boy. Those days are gone. Those days.

Are gone.

Oh, gosh. Do you have a sponsorship?

I do. I do have a sponsorship. Yes. The crazy thing is I do have a shoe sponsorship. I'm sponsored by Nike.

That's great. You should be sponsored as shoes because what better endorsement to be like, Listen, if I had feet, I would want to wear Nikes.

These are the ones I would wear. I get the question, What's your most comfortable Nike shoe that's out there in the market that you like to wear? I'm like, I don't know. I don't feel nothing. Okay.

Whoever pays me the most, that feels the best. By the way, we're on a game show on Netflix. We're 200 grand on a wake, which I didn't even know it was a show at first. Yeah, me neither. Were they just torture you.

Oh, my God. Which we didn't know what the show was until we got there. They locked us in a room and took our cell phones, and then they told us what the show was, and then we had to make.

A decision. How did you sign up to that?

Just random stuff in the offseason. When I'm not training, I like to just be anywhere and everywhere. I signed up for the show. I booked it, and I freaking won it. It was pretty cool.

Yeah, that's great. You actually got the money and everything?

I actually got the money. It was like 200 grand.

Is that more than you.

Make running? Yes. I mean, at the time, it definitely was. It lasted me like a year's worth of L. A. Rent. So it was.

Pretty cool. Can you make money as a runner?

Yeah, you can. You have sponsorships. You have medal money. You have prize money. What's medal money? So medal money is like the medal, the money that you win when you win a medal from the federations.

Oh, I thought you had to just pulling.

Off the medal. Yeah, no, I mean, the gold that comes into the medal. You take it to the pawn shop and whatever they get you like pawnsars.

All right, so you get a chunk from that as well.

Yeah. And of course, me too. I do other stuff. I try to be versatile, just not be a runner. So I do motivational speaking. I do a little commercial acting, too, as well. I'm trying to get more into acting, too, as well. Just trying to be that representation just for the disabled community.

Would you be one of these people that if, say, there was a famous person that was being portrayed in a movie that didn't have legs, would you be like, well, then you can't put an actor in it that has legs. That's not fair. It's so.

Interesting because there's so few of us, I guess, in the business or in the industry that's missing both their legs or with a disability. So... I mean, there are more calls for actors with disabilities, so I'm trying to step up. So when they do need an actor missing both their legs, I have the reels and enough talent to step up into that role.

Could you be in the NFL? Why can't you be in the NFL?

No, I think I can. But if I get tackled and my leg comes off, that might.

Not look good. It's not flagged football. You keep going.

Yeah. It's just like, What that count? Can I just keep running? My leg is on the 20. I don't give a shit.

What's... What's the smell situation underneath the sock at the.

End of the day? Oh, man, it gets bad. That's how I knew that my fiancé was the one when she took them off and washed them for me because it gets atrocious.

It's basically a watchband. Yeah, like magic. Is that the type of smell?

Yeah, magic, because there's no air that's getting in. So it's like all the sweat. I would say I'm one of the most active amputees in the world. Do you swim? I cannot swim. I know. I won't drown. I'm not.

A swimmer. I mean, swimming for exercise is the only thing on the planet worse than running.

For exercise. Yeah, like sweating in the pool. That sounds miserable. That sounds terrible.

You ever had a day job?

I did, yeah. My day job was selling shoes at a shop store. I sold shoes at a shoe store.

Do you ever wear dress shoes?

I do wear dress shoes every so often, but they have the heels on them, and they just thick of the heels on the dress shoes just throw me completely off. I just wear sneakers most.

Of the time. Are there any advantages to not having the bottom of your leg? I would assume a disadvantage is bathtub. I assume you always slide down.

Yes. So what I do is I found a little quick like -You got to hack. Let's hear it. You put it like either a towel or like a washcloth or something just like a towel, something down and it gets wet. On your butt? Yeah, on your butt. And then you sit on your butt so you don't slide.

Then the next time that your fiancé is in the shower, watching her face, Wait a second. Is this your ass, Slipper?

It's like a butt print.

But you probably do have quite a.

Few hacks. Yeah, a few hacks. I mean, the handicapped parking is just like a huge hack for me. I'll pull up, I mean, Trader Joe's.

You like Trader Joe's? I do like it.

Their produce is shit.

They're produce is all the snacks because you're big drugie.

I got the munchies. I'm just not. Do you eat healthy? I do eat healthy. I'm always in a cat. Well, in season, I try to stay in a calendar depth. What's season? So season is just like where I'm about to get ready to ramp up to compete.

Right, but what is.

The actual season? So say from December all the way up to August, September. So right now, I'm technically in offseason.

Do you gain weight?

I do. I do gain weight. I gain like 5-10 pounds. I've been eating. If you can't tell, I've been.

Eating good. You look like.

An athlete. Yeah. I'm like five pounds heavy right now, like 5-10 pounds heavy. And then I shred up as we get closer to my biggest race of the year. I was in Paris a month ago for three weeks for my world championships.

You like Paris?

I love Paris. Paris was cool. Everybody was just sitting around eating. They eat so late. Yeah, they eat for like three hours. Each meal is like two and a half hours, which is crazy. And everybody's smoking cigarettes, just smoking and eating and drinking.

Happy? Yeah, just happy. It's like New York City if it was only four stories high. Yeah, you've seen the world. That's pretty exciting.

I have. I've seen the world. I've been to like... And this all came from running. Right? I know. I've been to Brazil, New Zealand, Czech Republic, all through Europe. I even went.

To Latvia. You ever been to China?

No, I still haven't been to China yet. No, I haven't been to China. I've been.

To Japan. You got to go and talk to the people that have measured your height. Yeah.

I got something for you. I'm going to yell at you. You guys got it wrong.

You ever.

Run a marathon? Hell no. Are you kidding me? That is 26.2 miles. Are you kidding? No. Absolutely not. I would never...

I held a marathon once all on treadmills.

Oh, really? How did that go?

It was funny. I had 50 treadmills on the pier in Hermosa Beach.

Was it.

Professional runners? I put a few wringer in. Why did you? Like a couple of guys, like Kenyans that just killed it. Yeah, Kenyans are always fast. Two hours and 12 minutes or something.

They're sprinting the whole time, which is just ridiculous.

Yeah, I mean, how is that? Some people just can run. My chest wants to explode.

Yeah, just genetically speaking, some people just have that sprinter or runner, just look or just build about them. So that's why I look at you and just know that I would destroy you.

Now I'm over the hill. Now I'm all this shit. It doesn't... It's easy. But all right, well, listen, Blake, we appreciate you. We'll be cheering for you. And then I don't know, I just want to see you, I guess, in 2028. Yes. Here in our.

Own backyard. It's going to be awesome, Daniel. I really appreciate just taking the time to hear my story. I had so much fun. This is awesome.

Thanks, buddy.

Yeah, appreciate it.

All right.

Welcome to Flannels Blanchardstown. New luxury is here. Flannels, luxury designer brands in fashion and beauty. Shop off White, Stone Island, Canada Goose and Palm Angels and lots more. Head over to Flannels in Blanchardstown shopping center, where the party never stops. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is the greatest murder mystery in American history.

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Need to know the truth. Listen to Who Killed JFK on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get.

Your podcasts. Hey, everybody, it's your boy, Michael Cough. You're world famous, often talked about alleged comedian. Some of you all know me as Mr. Whittaker from Martin. Some of you know me as Show Boat from House Party Three. And yes, I.

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How was that one, Carl? I'll tell you what bothered me. How quickly Blake profiled me. The thing that he says people do to him constantly, he immediately does it to me. Judges me by my glasses and a sweater, assuming that I'm not an athlete. People always underestimate. How quick I am. I'm going to have to teach him a lesson. He said he could race me anywhere anytime and smoke me. Okay. All right, well, let's see how that gobot does on the beach. I'm not even asking for a head start today.

No head start? I mean, you do have me on the beach, though.

This is where it's at. Besides, what's better than the feeling of sand between your toes?

Yeah, it's actually my favorite. All right, let me do my drills.

You do your drills. Oh, God. Let me do my drills.

Are we going all the way down there?

You see the end? 50-yard dash.

I talked a lot of shit. I talked a little bit too much shit.

I'm wearing all white just so you know what you're racing against.

Should.

We do this thing? I'm ready whenever they are. Let's go. I can't move.

I cannot move in the sand.

I did that with.

A necklace. What? Oh, good raise. Dude, that's impressive.

Don't beat yourself up. No, don't do it. I'm trying. Don't look at it as a loss. Look at it as a milestone or at the end of your career. I don't know. Was there ever any doubt? I'd like to dedicate my victory to Abled, bodies people everywhere. I hope I've inspired you. Representation matters. I've got some stand-up dates coming up in San Diego and Reno, boyswherepink. Com. And don't feel bad for Blake. As a consolation prize, I gave him a gift. Every guest on our show will receive something from me. I don't purchase anything. I just find something in my home that I think they would appreciate. Also, it's an easy way to de-clutter. All right, I'll see you guys next week. All right, here I got you a skateboard, but I don't... This isn't for you to ride. You can give it to your daughter. She could ride. I don't want you going around Venice Beach doing that thing.

No, I can put my legs off and just like... I don't want it. No, okay. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I'm going to write this all the time.

Not in the sand.

Instead.

The shop.

Fronts are closing.

As he walks with no aim and with.

Nowhere worth going, he'll stay.

Out in.

The rain. Christmas isn't Christmas when you're homeless. Donate now.

To.

Dublinsimon@dubsimon. Ie. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is the greatest murder mystery in.

American history. That's Rob Reiner. Rob called me, sold it at O'Brien, and asked me what I knew.

About this crime. We'll ask who had the motive to.

Assassinate a sitting president.

Then we'll pull the curtain back on the cover up.

The American.

People.

Need to know the truth. Listen to Who Killed JFK on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get.

Your podcasts.

Join former 90210 star, Brian Austin Green, along with dancing with the star's fan favorite, Sharna Burgess, and Hollywood heir turned life coach Randy Spelling, as they navigate life, love, and the quest for happiness in the new podcast, Oldish.

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Listen to Oldish on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.