What if the struggle you are facing is not a sign to stop, but an invitation to see yourself differently?

Many people live with ongoing pain, stress, anxiety, disability, pressure, or physical limitations that quietly shape their mental health. Not because they are weak, but because living with adversity and disability forces the mind to confront identity, fear, and limits on a daily basis.

In this episode, Sam speaks with David, an elite endurance athlete who races on crutches, lives with a bone condition, and has undergone multiple surgeries. Despite his disability, David has competed in HYROX events, marathons, and ultramarathons, and holds the world record for the fastest marathon on crutches. This conversation is shaped by lived experience and focuses on pain, disability, mental resilience, stress, identity, and the relationship between the brain and the body.

This conversation explores why stress and anxiety have a breaking point, why pain and disability are not just physical experiences, and why awareness alone does not always change how we cope. David shares how adversity can become an asset, why identity is not defined by ability or disability, and how mental strength is built when the body feels pushed beyond its limits.

This episode is not about motivation or achievement.It is about understanding what keeps you moving when stopping feels easier.

• What it means to live with pain and disability as a daily reality

• Why stress and anxiety reach a breaking point

• How adversity and disability shape mental health over time

• Why the brain drives everything, not the body

• Why identity is not defined by ability or disability

• How endurance challenges reveal mental resilience

• The role of movement in managing stress and pressure

• Why perspective matters more than outcomes

• How to keep going when progress feels slow

• Why sometimes the only question that matters is: can you take another step?

00:00 Intro

00:18 Living With Constant Pain (The Reality No One Sees)

00:38 World Record on Crutches (How This Was Even Possible)

01:02 The Breaking Point of Stress and Anxiety

01:28 Turning Disability Into an Advantage

02:24 What Chronic Pain Really Feels Like

03:10 Learning Where the Real Limits Are

04:12 The Mental Shift That Changed Everything

05:00 From Injury to World-Class Performance

06:10 Losing Identity After Disability

07:22 Why You Are Not Defined by What You Do

08:33 One Decision That Starts All Progress

09:24 Running Marathons When Walking Wasn’t Guaranteed

10:15 Ultramarathons, HYROX, and Choosing Hard Things

11:28 Why Winners Always Find a Way

12:18 Using Pain as a Teacher

13:22 How the Brain Controls Performance

14:05 Can You Take Another Step When You’re Empty

15:06 Managing Pain Without Letting It Stop You

16:18 When Motivation Disappears

17:20 The Discipline That Creates Freedom

18:24 Turning Adversity Into Strength

19:30 Why Comparison Destroys Progress

20:48 Sport as a Tool for Mental Resilience

22:04 Stoicism and Emotional Control

23:34 The Moment Everything Nearly Broke

25:12 Falling, Failing, and Continuing Anyway

27:02 Building a Fortress of the Mind

29:04 Why Attempting the Impossible Matters

31:06 Learning From Failure Without Quitting

33:14 Strategy, Endurance, and Mental Fatigue

36:00 What True Inspiration Actually Means

39:10 How to Apply These Lessons to Your Life

42:08 The Cave You Fear Most

44:20 What’s Waiting on the Other Side of Pain

46:50 Final Reflections on Strength and Purpose

Pain is often misunderstood.

Disability even more so.

This conversation slows things down and reframes what strength really looks like.

With gratitude,

Sam Church

Host, The Transformation Code Podcast

Learn more about David Van Wetherill

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