Pete 0:00
All right. All right, and welcome to another episode of hempire. I’m Pete Bahrenburg again, I’m your my good friend. And by now hopefully your friend at least, and Nick DeFrancesco.

Nick 0:11
what’s going on. Pete? I always love your intros. I don’t know what to expect with them.

Pete 0:16
Good. I’m gonna keep getting.

Nick 0:19
So we have a really good story today we have somebody that is full of determination, inspiration, just someone that I met a couple of months ago at an athletics and cannabis when we met. I think we I’m sorry that we met that. And yeah, well, you want to start over on that. And, and I just actually really excited to have her on. So why don’t you tell them? Everybody about who we have on today and why she’s so special?

Pete 0:54
Oh, yeah. I’ll tell you something impressive. Actually, we’re talking about someone who remembers is encountering some big bright light through windshield. And unfortunately afterward two angels telling her that it was not your time and that was only at the age of seven. This person stayed a L two spinal injury I believe. And it ended up paralyzing him from the waist down. This didn’t stop anything from now a world class athlete. We were speaking with Caitlin. And the roof. Right. It’s close enough. I don’t Caitlin.

Nick 1:24
I’m doing awesome. How are you? We were we were going through that Kaitlyn how to say your last name. I should have brought that up.

Kaitlyn 1:31
That’s okay. It’s a it’s a tongue twister. It’s really not. It’s actually just very German. It’s ver Firth. Wow. You know, like in German, they have the you with the well, I don’t know what that’s called with the two dots. Yeah. Get rid of that when we came here because it’s not American. So now it’s Burford, that used to be verb foods or something like that. And do you guys know what verb first means? Know that. So I was playing a tournament in Austria, and I was checking in to get on the court and the umpire comes up, and she goes, I’m chairing your match, and I wanted to check your last name and I go, okay. And so she goes, How do I say, and I said, referred, then she goes, she starts laughing. And I’m like, what? And she’s, like, she says, saying it again. It’s inverse. And I go, why are you laughing? What’s so funny? And she goes, Do you know what your name means in German? And I said, No. It means to seduce in a really cute way. The whole time, everyone, they sent money, and they were like, chuckling. So I don’t know if that’s a truth, but I have checked with some other sources. And that is the truth.

Pete 2:49
I have a German last name, too. And I had some German exchange student have to tell me that it wasn’t as cool as that, but there’s some kind of because it’s Baron Berg, you know, but it’s got the H and the U and I guess we dropped the lots at some point too, but we had, I guess, you know, kinda like a governor of planned, you know, as bad as good or castle. So maybe there’s

Nick 3:10
a castle or be seductive. I don’t know. I’m gonna say

Unknown Speaker 3:16
what we’re gonna say.

Pete 3:17
I mean, you can seduce someone.

Pete 3:21
There’s always a castle involved, right?

Nick 3:28
I’m gonna tell you, either one is awesome. So we got a little German lineage going back and a little, a little bombing over that. So.

Pete 3:38
No, not official. So it can’t be Yeah, right. Yeah,

Nick 3:40
yeah. So for everybody would know. I mean, we’re talking about someone that’s competed in four of the Paralympic elite games are three of those in tennis, which was something we got to talk about, because that’s amazing in itself. And in 2021, you competed in your fourth paddling of a 200 meter power canoe. While Yeah, so that’s pretty amazing. But we’ve seen athletes like Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Michael Jordan, they’ve competed in multiple sports. So talk to me about what it means you to be successful, you know, successful in that one, and then having to kind of make a jump to another, you know, another category?

Kaitlyn 4:27
Yeah, absolutely. Um, I don’t know what I was thinking. Going from wheelchair tennis, which is very similar there just for the people out there that don’t know anything about wheelchair tennis. wheelchair tennis and tennis are the same things. The only difference is you sit versus scanning, but I hit the ball the same way we hit with topspin. We have you know, slice, whatever. But the only biggest rule differences the wheelchair players allowed to bounces and so that’s what kind of levels the playing field. And so really honest You guys, the only reason why I started playing wheelchair tennis was because when I got to high school, I wanted to be like everybody else I wanted to be like my friends. I actually really wanted that stupid Letterman’s jacket

Unknown Speaker 5:15
of course.

Kaitlyn 5:17
So wheelchair tennis was actually the sport that got me there. So I played on my high school team, I competed against all the other schools just like I’ve made varsity, we weren’t like the greatest team, we were kind of like the bad news bears, but we we played and, and that’s where I kind of got my start in tennis. And then once I kind of graduated high school I in that last year, I made like a junior, a junior national team, and I got to travel, you know, over to Europe and play one of our big tournaments in Switzerland. And I was like, this is really cool. And then I learned about this tour. And I was like, How do I do this, I gotta this is, this is what I got to do. So then I started playing like, kind of professionally, I got some really big sponsors to back me and the USTA also helped a lot with travel. And I was able to pretty much win enough prize money to be able to travel the world and play tennis. And I did that for about almost 20 years. It’s just which to go from tennis, which is, you know, those matches, I don’t know if you guys watched any of us open recently, but like, something actually lasts four hours, five hours, where I’m going to a new sport, Sprint, and that’s like, you gotta beat it in under a minute. Right? Right. So, um, so like, big, big flip there. And really just figuring out how to train and how to get out on the water and get in my boat by myself was kind of like a, a little bit of a hindrance in the beginning to be able to train because in this sport, a lot of people relied on their coaches or their trainers to get their boat on the water. Like it’s a it’s a 17 foot long boat, it’s skinny and it’s narrow. And yeah, I’m going to person I’m a person in a wheelchair, like how am I going to carry that so I rigged up this little system, I have this little cart with wheels and I put the boat in my lap and I would push it right down to the water and I would do a workout on the cart and I go back up the ramp and I put it back and um once I figured that out then I was like okay, I can do this. However I felt like going into Tokyo I just didn’t have enough time and by the time I got into the sport I just you know competing at that level with the top I think I came in seventh and I was actually just stoked not to flip you’re disqualified you’re always over

Nick 7:47
we’re gonna say that’s like my absolute fear of all fears. I mean I scuba dive I do to be stuck especially like read whitewater rafting when I see the guys in the canoes, right. They flip I’m like that’s a death sentence to me. Because you’re you’re locked in. I mean, you’re you’re in that canoe you’re I mean that’s insane. Well, you’re in for the ride down for the ride and how do you flip I mean it’s just to me it’s like one of the scariest things to think of

Kaitlyn 8:18
just go with the flow you just go with the flow of the river whenever you don’t fight it because if you fight it it’s only going to make it worse. But yeah, it’s

Nick 8:27
good to be able to flip yourself over so what I’m saying is this

Kaitlyn 8:32
Yeah, so I didn’t do that’s called slalom that was not I didn’t do slalom they won’t even let I don’t think they’ll ever let us do slalom Yeah, put a person in a wheelchair and then strap into the boat and then

Nick 8:44
say like I thought I was thinking right there was like Jesus

Kaitlyn 8:48
we just did flat water 200 meters

Nick 8:51
gotta gotta gotta gotta go. Oh, you had

Kaitlyn 8:53
to break under even to just like be up there with the top is under a minute.

Pete 8:59
Now do you do any kind of like emergency training just to get out of that? I’m sure Yeah, so

Kaitlyn 9:05
in order to even do a race or compete you had to like go in for the judges and they would have to you would flip yourself on purpose to show that if you didn’t flip you could get yourself back in the boat. Always before a race like that’s always the first thing is that like those are my biggest worries. Am I going to flip I saw

Pete 9:27
it’s like every mama turtle that just wants to make sure their kids Okay, before they go. Flip over. Just flipped over one time. All right, you could go

Nick 9:40
that was a great visual that is fantastic. Visible.

Kaitlyn 9:48
So with that, I love that. So with that, um, I actually retired from playing wheelchair tennis after the Paralympics in 2016. And I really I really wanted to get back to the sport because the But it’s given me so much it’s taken me around the world. And so in, right when I came back, I went, I got my teaching certain, you know, I taught tennis and I still teach tennis and no, well, I did that. Yeah. When we lived up there, I taught at the high school. It’s like, I taught the girls team for about nine years. And then, um, and I moved down, we moved down here to Phoenix. And now I worked for a really cool nonprofit called ability 360. And basically abilities, I worked at the Sports and Fitness Center. And basically we help folks that have maybe had a like a spinal injury, like a spinal cord injury, or stroke or traumatic brain injury, anything kind of like that. Or maybe people that are on the spectrum or have Down syndrome or something like that. So we help folks get involved in sports and adaptive, really adaptive sports. So I get the coolest job of being put someone in their first sports chair for the first time to be able to show them what wheelchair basketball is what wheelchair tennis is. And so I’m a rec therapist here at ability and, and then I also run our outdoor court and I do our outdoor. So I know that Nick, you’ve been trying to get a hold of me, like for 15 days, and I was not at the Colorado River. We took about 12 folks with like varying disabilities, and a lot of volunteers, we needed a lot of help. And we did 226 Miles 86 rapids, it was 11 day trip and every night was a different campsite and no cell phone, no connection, like you are out, you know, there’s there’s no way to, to get help, or really anything. And we we did those rapids and we had a really good time, it was pretty awesome. But it’s really cool, to be able to be able to share those experiences with others and also be able to show people that, you know, maybe because you had an accident, or this has happened to you like your life’s not over, it only can get better. And I think people just need to realize, like, they might have to do something a little bit differently. But I think the world is my oyster, I don’t I really don’t believe there’s anything I can’t do except for I can’t walk so. But it’s really cool to be able to, to show people like you can do this, you know,

Pete 12:14
kayak, we can play tennis, we can do a lot of these other things.

Nick 12:18
People some people don’t want to get a bat like we’re you see Kaitlyn is in phenomenal shape phenomenon.

Pete 12:25
You like the turtle trying to get out of you’re allowed to get

Nick 12:32
a couple of sports in my day. All right, I’m just saying, um, but no, I mean, I just think that sports do so much for so many people. It does teach you as a child and growing up, you know, obviously, it teaches you social, right, you know, being on a team and all that. But I really feel it teaches you that determination, that drive, you know, what does it take to win? What does it take to get my body prepared, you know, everything that it takes, you know, I have teammates that rely on me, or it’s about your own or your own, you know, maybe you play golf, and it’s just on you. But But you know what I’m saying but like most of the time you have a teammate, or you have somebody that’s relying on you. And, and yeah, and it helps with you getting your mind right. And I think it helped a lot of kids keeping out of trouble truthfully, I mean, that was a huge thing. I know that it definitely kept me out of trouble, for sure. Because now everybody’s gonna say, Well, we’re talking about all this different stuff. And it’s amazing for Caitlin. But how does this tie in to cannabis and hemp. And so I met Caitlyn, and we met Caitlyn at a cannabis and athletics convention, and a lot of amazing people actually, Kevin was on on our show as well. And we met Caitlin. And Caitlin was telling us a little bit about how she got into chemistry. Tell us everybody how did you get into cannabis? Because it was an amazing story on how you transition than that first initial introduction.

Kaitlyn 14:05
When I retired from when I said I wanted to retire I thought I was really going to retire after 2016 I didn’t know I was gonna go do canoe and kayak but when I had been taking seven different medications and I’ve been basically taking these meds for since I was seven since I had my car accident and you know, I think as I got older, some other little like secondary issues would pop up just due to having a spinal cord injury. And so I was like after Rio I went back and I told my husband I was like you know what, people have been talking about medical marijuana and I think I think I want to get my card and just see just see what this does. Like I don’t know if it’s gonna work if it’s not who knows right so I like to give everything a shot and so um, I remember I went to my first dispensary and I got to or my friend it because I couldn’t yet right I am in Arizona, he was only medical. And she brought me this chocolate bar. And I went home and like I only really wanted to test it that night like before I went to bed and just to see if that would help me fall asleep better or whatever. And I had the best sleep of my life. Um, I so one thing that comes along with spinal cord injuries is I lost a lot most people will lose the the you I lost control of my bowel and bladder. So I have to do like a bowel program every day. So in the bathroom, I know I’m being really open. And then

Nick 15:36
people need to know like what goes on.

Kaitlyn 15:38
And then to go to bokeem like I have to use a catheter I use like a little stick and I inserted every day. And as you get older and living with the spinal cord injury, your bladder maybe comes it starts to leak more. Just those muscles aren’t there. So they’re not working as well. And so I was like starting starting to experience like I was having a continence and leaking and I was just getting really frustrated. And that’s why I was really taking a lot of meds. So that night that I took that chocolate bar, I woke up, I never got up to go pee. I woke up dry, I woke up like with a really good sleep. And then like, I kind of started doing it every single night. Just to see and I noticed I didn’t have to wake up to go to the bathroom. And I just like wasn’t leaking anymore. And I was like well, that’s weird. Um, so then I started working with a naturopath and I was kind of telling her what I was doing and, and she kind of explained to me just, you know, how medical marijuana or marijuana in general can be really good for muscle spasms. And so, um, I noticed you that my legs weren’t spasming as much either and, but basically what what I kind of figured out or what we we figured out together was like my bladder wasn’t spasming anymore, which is really cool. So, um, then like, um, whatever dose I don’t really know, I kind of messed around with like, kind of micro dosing and then or, you know, taking a certain amount and just kind of seeing, but it started to, like trickle over into the day. So then like,

Nick 17:05
no, does it stop you for a second, but you’re talking about edibles, right? We’re doing a lot of this is edibles.

Kaitlyn 17:11
edibles in the beginning, because I knew and I was like, I don’t want to smoke and you know, I’m gonna want to

Nick 17:15
know the exact milligram or what was helping you and okay, you wanted to

Kaitlyn 17:19
know, like, what, so then I started taking a little bit more and then I noticed, like, it started to trickle into the day. And like, I could hold, I can hold my, you know, my bladder longer, I could make it to the bathroom, I wasn’t leaking. And I was like, Whoa, this is, this is really cool. Um, and the medications I was taking like for just to stop my bladder from like leaking and spasming and like, all this stuff. So like, I was getting like really bad side effects. Like I had super bad dry mouth and like, my eyes were dry the upset stomach a lot, I was just not really happy. I didn’t feel good inside. And so my naturopath and I came up with a plan and our goal was to get off the medication. So we slowly you know, over time, displeasing animals at this point, we slowly started to like, get rid of one Med and then another and another and then I became more open to consuming different ways. And so you know, I did a lot of research before I really started to smoke but one of the ways that I like to use is like a it’s like a convection oven. It’s like a little I use just you know, the dry the herb and then you just put it in and I only you know cook it at 370 So I know Yeah, it’s it’s a great

Unknown Speaker 18:37
convection doctrine. I’m making my friends I’ve got some good breaking in the background I usually have

Nick 18:49
to air fry but but I convection oven

Kaitlyn 18:57
Greg returned it up to like 500 or whatever I don’t. Okay, so that’s how my friend explained it to me the first time because

Nick 19:06
it’s like a little confession. It is a vaporizer.

Kaitlyn 19:10
I was like, I’m not smoking like I don’t I don’t want to put this in my lungs. Like I just didn’t feel comfortable. So she explained it to me like that. And that made me feel in my head like

Nick 19:20
yeah, no, no. And she’s absolutely right. It’s actually one of the best ways to smoke. And when you have a low temperature, it actually releases terpenes and other things at different rates. So when he churning it up to 500 Yeah, that’s gonna make you feel very heavy. And and you’re gonna feel much more of that Tian chi hai feeling. But when you’re doing it a low temp, it kind of helps you feel more of the body height, the anti inflammatory effects, things like that. And I don’t know if people know that and something we should really talk about more on the show, but and it tastes way better. And you don’t have that carcinogen of that smoke, because you’re literally good Anyway, it was called the vaporizer, the the vaporizer that the little bit of the moisture that is coming out of the plant as well. So that’s why it’s called a vaporizer but that

Kaitlyn 20:12
I didn’t know any of that stuff and like, you know, if you use a flame like you lose all of I feel like you’re right tell me if I’m wrong, I don’t know, but you lose a lot of the medicinal value of

Nick 20:22
Yeah, because you’re burning a lot I mean, it’s definitely worse for you because you know, you have a lot more carcinogens, but yeah, you’re burning a lot of that terpene profile and all those other great things that are in the plant by starting low and slow. And that’s why like, dabbing is great and all and but really, if you want to have a total body feeling, I mean true body, then you want to start very, very low, and you’re gonna feel like there’s no smoke coming on at all, like nothing, you’re gonna be like, I’m not blowing anything out, nothing’s getting anything, but you really are. That’s true vapor. And then as you start to add that heat to it, you’ll start to get those other effects. And you should do that in succession. Right? So you start at really low. And then as you continue to in the same session, as you start to heat it up, and then you also conserve your flour as well. Because you’re utilizing everything that it has in it. You

Kaitlyn 21:17
told Yeah, it’s Yeah. So I think we started at like 100 or 155 bills up there. So for me and what my body likes, because I’ve noticed now I’ve been I’ve been using medical marijuana since 2016. And I use it every single night basically. And I’ve noticed like my inflammation has gone down. I don’t like my joints don’t hurt. I have I’m like way more clear minded. I used that was the other thing as a kid, I had ADHD. And, you know, that was the other medication I was on. I was on Adderall, and I was on like a Lexapro like some kind of antidepressant. I don’t, I don’t take those anymore, because I found that for whatever reason. Even if I did a CBD gummy or CBG gummy, and I have way more focus, and I get just more dialed in. Then when I was taking the other medication and like Adderall used to make me feel like I was like grinding my teeth and like, ah, like, I felt like I had to go and

Nick 22:14
speed. Synthetic synthetic method, it says is what it is. So let’s talk about this. Now you said gummies. Now, so you came up, we talked and I said, You’ve got to try pure while you were telling me all the different things you said even though you’re doing all this stuff. And you said it was helping it still maybe wasn’t giving you exactly what you’re looking for. Because you’re still having some pain and things like that. And you tried purely right. So tell obviously, you know, tell us a little bit about that experience and and how you felt on pure relief, obviously purely because our anti inflammatory gummy that we have. But tell everybody what that made you feel like and how that was a little different. Yeah, so

Kaitlyn 22:55
um, I did start taking him to I came back from Florida because I really I wanted to see and I, I took the chance because I was like, I really need to know what this feels like. And I took the chance and I took it like in the morning when I woke up because I just wanted to see like what it’d be like during the day. And it wasn’t a day that I was going to work. It was a Sunday, I think and so I took it. And I think it took maybe 20 minutes to maybe 2025 30 minutes to for it to come into full effect. And then all of a sudden when I noticed that the colors got brighter. I noticed that my head felt clear. All the anxiety that I was feeling kind of just melted away almost. And yet I had a very clear, very clear head so I didn’t feel like I took anything or I was you know disorientated. I think that day I went in I did a workout and it was probably the best workout I’ve ever had. And then I was taking I only bought a few like so I was taking one every day and I noticed each and every day like my body started to just feel better the inflammation was going down. My low back pain wasn’t wasn’t bothering me anymore. My muscle spasms they weren’t happening. You know, just I didn’t have to go to the bathroom as much either. And so I felt if I regulated this, you know, maybe one in the morning, one in the evening. I feel like my body could could be pain free for for the rest of my life, which is pretty exciting. And I guess what to me was the biggest thing was because I’ve taken a lot of other gummies and you still have that like in your head kind of you feel like you’re a little dopey. Are you a little tired and with with pure well I didn’t feel that at all and that that was the coolest thing because I started I took it before work and I was getting a lot more work done and I just was communicating better and I just I felt I feel physically and mentally better.

Nick 24:55
I have a feeling that you know she’s not gonna have to worry about buying it anytime soon. because that’s what I that’s what I that’s what I, I think that just solidified that you will want be buying it for a long time. Because we’re definitely gonna be no but and that is so powerful, right? Because we worked so hard for that. And we try to tell people like, you know, obviously the quality of the product, but they keep saying with every time that you know someone’s talking like CBD, I’ve taken it before, it doesn’t work for me and or the gummies. And it could be THC like because you just said you had all this stint with THC. But you really found something that worked. I mean, that took us three years to create. There’s a lot of different things in that is attaching bachlin Boswellia curcumin, it’s got CBG which you explained, you know, it’s got CBC a little bit, it’s got full spectrum, and it’s got a little bit of THC. But what I mean is, is is that but but under the legal amount, because you know, but but all derived from hemp, but what I mean is is is that it’s a perfect, it’s just a perfect combination. And to hear it from somebody that has been dealing with a lot, I have no idea about what the incontinence and I had no idea I didn’t I didn’t realize I thought you were just in severe pain, you know, just from I mean, if you’ve

Unknown Speaker 26:19
no, no, of course, if you think

Kaitlyn 26:21
about it, too, like, I mean, most people don’t even think about that they think we’ll tell you a pain, like physical pains. But like, first of all, it’s like embarrassing to like go out somewhere, and then you fucking piss your pants and you’re like, God, now I have to like go home and start all over again, or whatever. But like, it’s part of, it’s definitely part of my life. It’s part of anybody’s life that has a spinal cord injury, you know, that loses that function. And, you know, to be able to know that, hey, like, this could help substantially and maybe changed my life then. I mean, like I said, I’ve already like shared this product with a lot a couple other people and I’ve gotten a little feedback and people have like, one gentleman told me like this really helped with his his neuropathic pain, which I don’t struggle from a lot. But neuropathic pain if you don’t know it, just like it’s burning, it’s tingling. It’s in your you know, it’s in your lens that you know, that used to work that don’t work anymore. And people are, it’s this horrible itch that you just can never scratch. It just will never go away. And so when you know, somebody, like my friend, Mike told me that I was like, okay, that’s, that’s cool. This is good, because you take advantage and he’s like, I don’t want to take pains. I don’t want to do painkillers anymore. It’s killing my stomach. It’s killing my liver, my kidneys, like everything has to work so much harder to process all that shit.

Nick 27:36
I mean, could you have said it any better? Like, honestly, like, we try to we try to tell people this and that you’ve got to learn and understand people get educated. It’s not just you know, why are people using cannabis? It’s not to get high all the time. It’s there’s a lot of other benefits. But the fact is, is that these are other things that you’re not taking. They’re not related to cannabis like NSAIDs, Advil, Tylenol. You just heard Caitlin. I mean, your body is working so much harder. The side effects that come with it. Think of an alternative, a natural alternative you could be taking, that wouldn’t have any of those side effects.

Pete 28:20
20 years down the line, it’s gonna be so much worse.

Nick 28:24
Right? I mean, there’s so many people die of INSEAD related deaths every year, which are just alterations of the stomach. Oh, I have a stomach ulcer. Whoa. You know,

Kaitlyn 28:34
just really quick. So like, we have quad rugby guys, these quad rugby guys. So quad is they you know, have limited hands. So they play the sport. And so I know like when I was going to like, I remember going to a Paralympics, and I was hanging out with them. And they were just popping like ivy pro fins. I’m like, Why did ice pop so much ibuprofen. And he goes one guy, they both go to me? Well, it helps us. It doesn’t make our bladder spasm. It like takes away that. Kind of like what I was saying about what it did for me. And I was like, and they’re like, yeah, and now this guy had lost his kidney like, this is 20 years ago, and this guy that told me this, he was popping all these IV provinces now like down a kidney, like, oh, imagine if he was, you know, taking your well or, you know, taking a gummy could have been a different story.

Nick 29:23
Right? No, I mean, this is, this is what people need. Because I think you said it to you don’t think like we don’t like not being like, I don’t really understand. Like you can empathize empathize with somebody, but you can’t truly understand the shoes that they feel or they walk in. Right. That’s what they say. But the truth is, I had no idea about that other part of it. Yeah, you know, you know, we don’t think about these things. But everybody has their story, right? Like there’s all these different things that people are dealing with could be mental health, could be physical health, could be things every single day and there’s so many uses for cannabis in so many ways. So but that is interesting. And one thing you know, you’re talking about rugby. Kaitlyn, we were together with Pete and she started telling us about Well, first of all, well, let’s go back to this really back for the tennis, wheelchair tennis. I mean, everybody knows how hard tennis is, by itself. I mean, the moving around the endurance, everything and figured out you’re in a wheelchair, right? So you have your two hands that you’re using. You have a racket, alright. But I asked her, she goes, No, it’s actually always in my hand. And it’s so that’s amazing. Now, the wheels are slanted. Yeah. So that does help a little bit. But I mean, doesn’t I mean, you’re still using, you know, you’re still in a wheelchair. I mean, it’s not. So Caitlyn goes, Oh, you think that’s crazy? I would

Unknown Speaker 30:51
show you crazy.

Nick 30:52
Wheelchair football. And I was like, I got see this game and you got to explain this to people. Can you? I mean, it’s crazy.

Kaitlyn 31:02
So I’m at the where I workability 360. We started a wheelchair football team, and there’s a whole wheelchair Football League. And they’re all sponsored by the NFL team. So like our team is Arizona Cardinals, obviously. Right? There’s Green Bay Packers. There’s the buccaneer. I mean, there’s a bunch of them. So

Nick 31:22
that’s really cool. That’s cool. In itself, though, let’s let’s, that’s just the fact that they support that. And, I mean, that’s pretty cool that in general, they’re really

Kaitlyn 31:29
trying to grow it. The cool thing about this year is the Super Bowl is going to be here in Arizona. So we’re going to be able to do some exhibitions right here in the state and our team will be our to be number one, but we heard these guys, I believe it’s really to touch but it’s not to touch these guys pushing each other down. They talk to each other, like people got busted elbows big like this. out of it.

Nick 31:59
She sends us a video. We’re watching this video, this guy jumps out of his wheelchair to tackle a guy like it is crazy.

Pete 32:22
No, person in the building.

Nick 32:26
Exactly. And then and now she’s saying rugby, and you know, crazy rugby is so and that’s even because, you know at least with football, you’re holding the ball or you’re throwing you’re catching rugby, you know, you’re running but only a certain amount, then you have to either bounce a ticket, you know, like how rugby paid. And then the way they play with how they they stack everybody together and block. I mean, I’m just saying this is

Kaitlyn 32:50
just people out there. If you’re listening, you need to Google wheelchair football and you need to Google wheelchair rugby. And then you also just really need to Google wheelchair tennis because it’s kind of insane. And it’s really hard to explain. I always tell people just Google it because I it’s hard to explain like how it manipulates and how the chair works. And it’s pretty, it’s awesome. But so as you know, like us wheelchair athletes, like it’s just second nature. But if you’re not in a chair and you’re on the outside, you’re like, holy shit, like how do they do that? Because we don’t care and get there and catch the ball and like it’s insane.

Nick 33:24
It is because we don’t again, like you said you’re not used to it. And we’re not. I mean, listen, that takes a special person because there’s a lot to think about. Most people get trouble getting out of a chair. I see people coming out of a restaurant I go Wait, are they are they safe to be in that chair? Like just a regular chair.

Unknown Speaker 33:46
And then they go exactly.

Nick 33:49
Obviously checkout Kailyn you know if you’re gonna check out anything because she’s one of the best that’s ever done it so you definitely want to check her out and Google everything she does in tennis as well. And like is this right? You have a yogurt stand or a yogurt please talk to me about what the Academy’s kindness was inspired this. I feel like

Kaitlyn 34:12
I really do wish we still have our yogurt shop so we don’t have it anymore. It was in Flagstaff but we used to have a self serve frozen yogurt shop and it was right by right next to NAU which is Northern Arizona University so we had a ton of college kids coming in it’s you know those places where you go and you get your yogurt and you fill it fill up with whatever and then you weigh it I you know there was talk kind of at the end we were talking about like some alcohol infused

Unknown Speaker 34:40
cannabis infused CBD infused

Kaitlyn 34:45
level unfortunately we got rid of the business and we got out of it but uh ya know, it would have been cool.

Pete 34:51
choice for you.

Unknown Speaker 34:54
When was that? What was your

Kaitlyn 34:57
Oh my favorite flavor. Oh, Um, we made a really good vanilla that I just handed by 2014. I just loved our vanilla. And then we had a toasted marshmallow that was one of my favorites. But the coolest part about our shop was that our customers like they pick the music, they pick the flavors, if people wanted to come back in the kitchen and make a flavor, we’d invite like one guy and gal they did a date and they had a date at our at our yogurt shop and they made their own flavor for their anniversary. It was super cool. So we loved it. I mean, whatever topping you want it if you ask for it, we went and got it. So we really, we you know, we went far above and beyond for our customers. And it was a lot of fun.

Nick 35:40
Just have your hand and a lot of things. I mean, it’s great. And then I you know, I guess you work on a nonprofit called Over the Rainbow.

Kaitlyn 35:48
Yet no one can do

Nick 35:50
that anymore. That was news. Pulling up all your news. All this old news. I’m so sorry. Which is cool. No.

Kaitlyn 36:02
We help sponsor with the yogurt shop, we worked with them. They had a butterfly garden in Flagstaff, which was really cool. And I worked with them a little bit there. All the proceeds went to kids with special needs. And so I was on their board for a little bit. And it was it was a fun, it was a fun, fun time.

Nick 36:21
Well, this I do know that this cannot This is timeless. But um, you know, you’ve worked with a couple you know, NFL legends. You know, you were in that. Obviously, you were in cannabis in athletics conference that we saw you at but you know, advocates like Marvin Washington, Ricky Williams, Jake Plummer, Jim McMahon. What do you think about? You know, because you’re, you know, talking to a lot of athletes. And when we, we try to talk to people, you’re obviously much more in it? What is their whole thought on cannabis, and the avocation of it? And, you know, what are they saying? Or what do they feel that cannabis plays a part in their lives or how it should be in the leads that they plan? Well,

Kaitlyn 37:07
from, you know, my talks with them, really, really, I just want to plug athletes for care really quick. They were basically the organization that helped me get a ti e, which is a therapeutic use exemption form, to compete to compete, because obviously cannabis is illegal in your system. So if I would get drug tested, I would show up positive and then I that would be really bad. So I reached out to athletes for care, they were able to get me in touch with a doctor who was able to write write A T u e for me. And then I submitted that to the world anti doping Association and you sada and when I got the bat, when I got back, I could not believe that I got approved. Because it nobody, not a lot of people do this and not a lot of people know about it. But if you have a neurological disorder, you can get a tee up for medical marijuana and still compete. So

Nick 38:05
you know, competing, now you’re talking about in the Olympics, are you talking about the Paralympics? Are you talking about? Just Is that what you’re referring to specifically, specifically talking

Kaitlyn 38:14
about the Olympics and the Paralympics, as well as like any international competitions that I was going to? I mean, come on, come on people like I want to get in a boat and smoke a bunch of pot and then go paddle that’s really stupid. So like, obviously, I know a lot of these athletes like myself are using medical cannabis to help recover, to help you get over in like just recovery in between, you know, training sessions, like I found that if I you know, ate a gummy in between a session, like my body was just a little bit more relaxed, and I was able to like, go to sleep and the only time your body really is able to recover is when you’re sleeping right so that’s that was a big reason. I know a lot of these players are big NFL players and hockey players are really fighting for this. But here’s the other side of the of the coin that I think is a little bit hard is even myself like I was really scared to come out and tell people that I use cannabis because I’m an athlete. I’m a paralympic athlete. People look up to me, I’m a mentor, like I have I teach kids and I was really really scared and afraid. People are gonna think I’m a pothead or they’re gonna get a different opinion about me. And as an athlete like I think to like you just you don’t want you wouldn’t you know, you you’re worried about your reputation. So I was actually my first post ever on Instagram or on social media was after I went to the cannabis and sports conference. And that was my first time really saying like and coming out and saying that I use this and guys, I can’t believe the feedback. So many other people so many other athletes reached out to me like DM me personally, like, hey, what how do I get a TV? I can’t believe this is allowed. Nobody talked be this, like, I’ve been wanting to do this for so long, but I just wanted to stay in my sport and I was gonna wait till I was done. And I was like, you don’t have to like, it’s out there, you can get a tea leaf or your condition. And you can use cannabis. And like, there’s just, I just was so taken aback that how many people actually supported it versus nobody, nobody even said anything negative.

Nick 40:23
I really, honestly, I am so glad that we we brought this up that you brought this up, because this is huge of what we were talking about. When I heard this at that event. I was like, That is amazing. But people need to know about this. And that’s so amazing that you’re talking about athletes hitting you up in everything that they don’t even know this is available. And that’s why education is so important. But But in fairness, how would you know? Right? Like, how would you go and research this when you your mind goes, Oh, this is not going to be allowed? How can I even you know, so I think that’s what stopped people from really trying to search. And yeah, we should definitely try to help get the word out about this. Because

Kaitlyn 41:05
it’s that negative. It’s just the stigma. It’s we need to change the way people think and like, actually kind of leaving and rolling away from the conference. Like we use some new terms like, elevated or what was this other one? I can’t remember we said but like being elevated or shoot enhancement, like enhancing? Like, I feel like if we can change the language just a little bit, and then I feel like people are going to be more open to like, oh, I want to enhance my brain. I want to enhance my body. Oh, I want to feel elevated. Like maybe that maybe that’s better than saying I’m high or I’m a PA right? Because that’s just kind of worse.

Nick 41:44
And I think it was you speaks volumes that you said, Look, I didn’t want to even tell people that I use cannabis, because they might judge me. And it’s such an obscure unfortunate thing when Here you go saying, well, or at least the way I would look at it, because you know, will screw with what they think it’s helping me with everything in my life. If they want to judge me for something that truly like you’d have never lived in my shoes for one moment to know what it would feel like. And if this is the only thing that helps me, and I’ve tried everything else, well then screw you for judging me. And I think that but I know you can’t but you want to. And maybe I’ve said it for you. But I but but it’s true. And that’s kind of why I did that. Because me being as loud and boisterous as I was I probably would have said that. And I know that I shouldn’t always sound like this. But But come on people, you have to look at things from all points of views. And and why are we saying that it’s a dirty word to begin with, when it’s been around since the beginning of time. And it’s helped so many people millions, billions, probably at this point. And come on. We got to get educated here, people there, it’s helping to wait you many people to even think that this is a bad word anymore. Yeah.

Pete 43:00
It’s a plant. I mean, people forget, and we’re talking about a plant here, you know, the everything you look outside, we’re gonna get to see plants, right. And we’re gonna have a giant argument on what’s good and bad for you. And meanwhile, we’re gonna go to a giant plant. And when I say plant, they’re gonna take a big metal processing plant, and then pump out something and go here. This is what you shouldn’t be doing this, I’m telling you, it’s better for you. Right, sorry.

Nick 43:21
And, and you know what we were talking about, like, all these different things that people use? And that’s completely fine. You know? No problem. Oh,

Kaitlyn 43:31
yeah, no problem. Although drug commercials, um, I mean, do you ever listen to like, Oh, this one is going to cause you know, you might lose your face, and then you’re going to lose your arm and you might die. And all these things are like, very quietly, she’s saying in in the background, but like, Oh, it’s okay. My doctor prescribed it to me, I’m gonna take it.

Nick 43:49
Because we know why. Right? Because sometimes they just have a lot more pool and everything and, and things that really, yep, that’s it. And both green, both green. But, but but different in so many ways. But no, and I say it all the time. It’s just, you’ve got to understand what you have out there at your disposal naturally, and try that. Now. It might not work for you more, nine times out of 10 Probably will work out for you. But it looks there is a possibility, then go to the other steps. But the fact that so many people that come on our show go, I’ve tried all this. It didn’t work for me. And I have this A B and C, you know side effect or or this happened or a friend that lost his kidney or, you know, instead of going well let me try the plant first. And then if that doesn’t work, I can move on. And let’s not just talk about plants. I mean, we’re talking about eating better, putting more natural things in your body to be even mushrooms and I don’t even psychedelic mushrooms can be regular mushrooms. We’re working on something right now. That is a month of mushroom Complex. because, you know, this is another way to do it along with cannabis. So we’re not just saying these things, but just being much more natural on what you’re putting in your body, or knowing what you’re putting in your body. And look how many people that it’s helping. So I’m I don’t I mean, there’s really how do we follow that? Probably? That was amazing. I mean,

Unknown Speaker 45:24
I don’t know, you

Kaitlyn 45:26
know, just everybody try some peer. Well, I’m trying.

Pete 45:33
I mean, I mean, Caitlin, how can we? How can anybody start supporting you? And where would you like, Oh,

Kaitlyn 45:41
um, support me, you guys can follow me on Instagram at K vert, k, d, e. R F, I’m on Facebook, I have a website, but I need to update it. It’s Caitlyn birth. group.or.com Um, and or also check out ability 360 Um, my organization that I work for this nonprofit, we serve a lot of really, really cool people. And I get to change a lot of people’s lives every day. And you know, we we really run a lot on donations and a lot of our programs are, we have a lot of big donors that help make those programs happen. So please check out ability three sixty.org.

Nick 46:18
And what was the one? The one that supported you that talk to you about getting you’re

Kaitlyn 46:24
also Yeah, athletes for care as well. So yeah, athletes, any athletes out there listening that want to get competitive and want to be able to use cannabis, there’s, there’s an option you can get it to elite. So

Pete 46:38
competition, do you have any competitions?

Kaitlyn 46:43
So actually, I had shoulder surgery. I, six months ago, actually, but in Tokyo, I tore my rotator cuff like four days before I raised,

Unknown Speaker 46:54
oh my gosh, wow, four days or four years, all that training.

Nick 47:00
It’s heartbreaking. That’s hard,

Kaitlyn 47:02
recovering. Um, you know, I’m kind of more in a coaching role now. And I don’t I don’t know if I’ll, I might be kind of retiring and kind of, I really want to try to do some other stuff and get more into the outdoor realm and do some more like mountain biking and like, I love kayaking and stuff like that. But actually, after, you know, I have been, I have been motivated actually. Or maybe what’s the word I can’t think of the right word right now. But as we were going down the grand canyon down the Colorado River, there were these guys in their little kayaks and the toy kayaks where they flip. And I kind of, I kind of would think it’d be really cool to like, be able to do a stent of the river and do it. And I would love to, I’m thinking more like outdoor adventure, like extreme stuff is kind of what I want to do next. So oh my

Nick 47:52
God, that sounds awesome. Absolutely. Yeah, that’s where that’s, that’s for sure.

Pete 48:00
listener will get recovery. Well, yeah,

Nick 48:02
I liked her. It’s a good I love that.

Kaitlyn 48:07
No, and honestly, I didn’t even tell you this, but like, um, when I was taped, like taking the the pier while the gummies that really helped with my shoulder plane, I also felt like I had way more range of motion and I wasn’t like stretching it as far back maybe just because everything was loose, but like, really helped with my shoulder a lot. And I got to try some topicals

Nick 48:27
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Pete 48:30
Yeah, but anyone else can try that at pure well.com. That’s p urwell.com. And you can use the code hempire for 20% off that’s ATMP R E. So I want to thank you again, Caitlin, everybody, go ahead and support her on Instagram. And, you know, follow us on Spotify, iTunes, Apple, cannabis, radio and anywhere else. You can get your podcasts and listen to share, like subscribe. We appreciate the time in between that and the next episode. Get educated

Nick 48:59
like that. Thank you, everybody.