Disability Talks: Don't Dis My Ability
Disability Talks: Don't Dis My Ability
Winter Paralympics with Tyler Carter, 3x USA Paralympian
Tyler Carter is a 3x Team USA Paralympian who competed in Alpine Skiing. Tyler is a Berks County native, growing up in Reading, PA! After competing in three different Paralympics, we are thrilled to hear Tyler's perspective on disability and accessibility--not only in competitive sports--but in all activities across the globe.
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Welcome to Disability Talks, a podcast produced by Abilities in Motion. I'm your host, Ed Granger. Join us to encounter unique perspectives on accessibility and independence, and to hear stories from everyday people living their most independent everyday lives, where essential conversations find their place. Let's talk.
Ed:Today, I'm honored to be speaking with Tyler Carter a three time US Paralympian in Alpine skiing, who was actually born right here in Reading, PA. Tyler had the honor of carrying the United States flag at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Paralympics in February. Tyler currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where among other activities he does public speaking and promotes an active and healthy lifestyle. Tyler, welcome to Disability Talks.
Tyler:Thanks Ed. It's really great to be here.
Ed:So let's, let's just start out with that, uh, being chosen to carry the flag in Beijing. Talk a little bit about what an honor that was and how that came about.
Tyler:Oh my goodness. That was such a crazy experience. Um, a true honor, honestly. Uh, you know, I think a lot of athletes will dream about it. It's like beyond their wildest dreams with they're like, oh, I would be so cool to be flag bearer and to be able to do that at opening ceremonies, I mean, oh my goodness, capping off my career ending, you know, this long, crazy journey carrying in the flag, bringing in our team, like it's hard to explain how special of a moment that was. And opening ceremonies is something that most athletes will look at as like their favorite moment of the games. Just one of the, you know, things that brings it all together, unless you, you win a medal and to be able to do that, it just, oh my, my goodness. I I'm still excited. I still get chills thinking about that moment.
Ed:So, um, that story started, as we mentioned, you were you're from Reading originally and you grew up in Topton, PA. That's not exactly a skiing Mecca. So how did, uh, how did Tyler Carter and skiing come together to form this, uh, amazing relationship?
Tyler:A lot of luck and random circumstances, I would say, but no, like going more into that. I started skiing at Camel back in the Poconos, through the Pennsylvania Center for Adapted Sports. Um, you know, I can credit them or my parents would say blame them.<laugh> and all joke. You know, an all joking of getting me into skiing, uh, went to a, learn to ski camp for kids with physical disabilities when I was eight, fell in love with it. And it just blew from there. I was eventually recruited by the National Sports Center for the disabled out of Winter Park, Colorado, where I would train, um, to get more into that racing side. But, you know, I, I grew up in the Reading area, grew up there, grew up skiing Camelback, and, um, Bear Creek was kind of a local 15 minutes from my house where, where I'd spend some time when I was in school, but it just skiing was such a cool thing. I mean, it allowed me to go out to hurl myself down these mountains. No one really knew or focused on that. I was missing a leg. Cause I skied with both, both of my legs or skied with my skiing prosthesis, but it just, it was such a different experience than anything else. I had the opportunity to check out or try at that point. And I just knew it was something special and eventually grew a lot more than just me, you know, skiing for fun into, you know, turning into a, I'd say an okay racer, you know, somewhat decent.
Ed:It sounds like you were a, a kid who was active. Right. So the skiing was that became the passion, but you were, uh, sounds like you were active in other sports and other activities at the time.
Tyler:Yeah, I, I tried a lot of different things, thankfully skiing stuck, but um, I tried swimming a little bit terrible swimmer. I mean, I can, you know, swim well enough so that I don't, you know, sink, but I, that is not my forte. Thank goodness that wasn't the sport I decided to pick up because man that would be kind of a miserable to watch me try to try to swim at the games. You know, I biked a little bit just for fun, like around with friends, did basketball, hand-eye coordination with ball sports, not really my thing. So again, you know, that one didn't stick too much, um, skateboarded for a little bit, but I preferred the, the two different boards for me, I'd dance for 10 years, which was kind of fun. I always joked, it was fun being the only guy in a class of all girls, but you know, it was just a fun way to be active and move. And I'd say the only other sport that kind of connected as closely to skiing was tennis. I had a lot of fun and mostly cuz of how athletic you have to be like any sport, you have to be athletic, but there's so much moving around in tennis that I, I really enjoyed that. But again, skiing had my heart and passion and through all these, you know, I love being active. I love being outside and kind of testing my body in different ways. But skiing was the one that was like, yeah, this is, this is kinda cool. And I, I think there's something here.
Ed:So it sounds like your family was pretty involved in the start of your career, you know, making that happen. And I know families know, parents are always thrilled when their kids pick up a sport that involves expensive equipment. So you, you check, you checked off that box for them, but you know, talk a little bit about how, how much of a support that was for you in, you know, getting you launched here.
Tyler:Yeah. I, there's no way I could have made it this far without my family's support. And, and so many others. I mean, it, it really is a team effort to get anyone to the Olympics or Paralympics. Um, it doesn't matter if you're a team sport or individual sport, you know, I always joke how all of this started. My parents wanted me out of the house for a week cuz it was a stay away from home camp. And I always joke that, you know, it's, it's their fault. If they ever blamed about the expenses, they sent me away from home for a week and I fell in love with skiing, but I mean, they've, they've always had my back whenever, you know, I, I wanted to do something when I said, Hey, I think there's something here. Hey, I got invited to this race camp, Hey, I wanna go to the Paralympics. They never said no. There were a few times they might have like given me a little bit of a look like, okay, like you're just from, you know, this kid from Reading, PA there's not a lot of snow and you wanna go to Colorado to race and try to go to the Paralympics, but they've always, they've always had my back and full support and you know, I, I, I, there's no way I could've done it without them. And something that I really credit them and I'm thankful for is they were supportive, but they also knew where they needed to step back and kind of let me, you know, develop and learn things on my own. You know, they weren't super like helicopter, like over me, you know, every little moment, like they let me make small mistakes on my own. They let me enjoy the victories, the losses and, and just be there when they, when I was needed them, when truly it was something that, you know, they had to do. And I, I really respect and, and grateful for that, cuz that I think turned me into who I am today for better or worse.<laugh>
Ed:You started out doing sports for fun. You're active, you're a kid getting out there doing things you find out that, Hey, I really love just flying downhill fast as I can on skis. But you know, being a serious athlete, there's a transition to like doing the serious training and you know, those mornings when you get up and maybe you you'd rather do something else, uh, you know, and, and not train talk a little bit about how you made that transition from being someone who did something for fun to taking it really seriously and really putting in the time and effort to be the best you could be at it.
Tyler:Yeah, absolutely. Every athlete has that transition. I've always said for me, I need to be having fun in whatever I'm doing. That's first and foremost, the most important thing, but there does come a time where it's not just a hobby, then it's more of a it's work. It's, you know, it's your job, your full time thing that you need to work on. And I'd say my shift came around 2010 when I went to Vancouver to spectate the Paralympics. And that was an eye opening experience. Seeing the level you could get to in, um, you know, not just sports, but like, you know, in life, like that's just such an incredible point. You know, the second biggest, uh, sporting event in the world. And, um, being there at opening ceremonies, watching from the stadium, watching team USA march in, I said to myself, I'm gonna do this one day. I'm I'm gonna be one of those athletes. I'm gonna be on that team. And from then that's where the shift happened. It wasn't just a hobby. It was something I still love to do, but it was my life. It was my work. And every decision I made from that night on, I thought, how is that going to get me onto the team and always make the right decision. But I always had that thought process. I was like, okay, if I skip this workout, if I eat, you know, this whole cake, well, I'm probably gonna eat the whole cake anyway, but how is that gonna affect my training the next day or my performance and that mindset and attitude? I, I definitely think helped me through the next four years and making my first Paralympic team in Sochi, but I always had this idea that I need to be having fun. And then I need to be competitive. Those are the two rules for when I started this, that I was gonna compete as long as those two were true. Um, and I'm, I'm happy to say that that was a hundred percent that that's how, how the career went living up to those two and then ready to move on when, when those two stopped being, you know, a thing.
Ed:So Camelback was about the fun and then the training, the serious training starts talk a little bit about how the opportunity to do that serious training, uh, having the, the coaching and the support. How did that sort of all transpire and come about?
Tyler:Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, love, you know, growing up in Pennsylvania was great, um, awesome support system there, a lot of full people and it really is a pretty area. Like when you get up into mountains, just great area to be, but I knew that I had to start coming out west. I had to be in Colorado where the snow was more consistent, where there was, you know, more Hills or mountains to ski. Like you really just had to go where racing was central. Like that's, that's the hub for, for all, you know, Alpine skiing in the US. And once I made that transition, I started coming out and we took, you know, ski racing a lot more seriously. I still loved it. It was still fun, but you know, it was early morning sessions. It was making sure we were, you know, warmed up properly prepared getting our gym time in, uh, you know, making sure the equipment was well maintained, you know, tuning the skis, waxing them, all that, learning those early on in my career. It's, you know, it really is a full time job being an athlete. It takes everything out of you every, every little bit. You have to put into it so that you can hopefully find that success or put yourself in the best position so that you can, you know, accomplish your dreams. And, um, that shift coming out to Colorado, that was, that was kind of the big, like, all right, we are serious now. We're still gonna have fun, but this is, this is, you know, real, real business. We're if I wanna make it to the Paralympics, I have to do everything I possibly can. I need to be where the best coaches are. I need to be where the best skiing is. And that really set me up, um, for the future years. And I fell in love with Colorado. No offense to Pennsylvania, love, love visiting my family there, but Colorado now has my heart. It, it just, it it's a whole different world and there's no humidity. Thank goodness I, the humidity kills me. I, I would come back to Pennsylvania way more often if it wasn't for the humidity there.
Ed:And, and the mountains are a little bit bigger than they are up in the, up in the Poconos.
Tyler:Just a little bit.
Ed:Slight, slightly bigger. Yep. And, uh, you know, so the, so you're in, you're now you now you're doing the serious training. Can you talk a little bit about what that training regimen, uh, looked like and how it worked itself out for someone with your specific disability?
Tyler:Yeah, absolutely. So it depended on what type of the season we're in. Are we in the, like on snow, you know, our important part of the year, or are we in our off season where we're doing, you know, we don't have the opportunity to be on snow as much. We're doing more dry land, gym work. So it all starts with that off season training. You have to build that foundation so that when, once you're on snow, your body's ready. You have that endurance built up, you have that strength, so you can make it through all those training sessions and those crazy forces you get while you're skiing. So that involves a lot of lifting. I mean, skiing is a powerful, explosive sport. So a lot of lifting there, you know, as I like to joke, picking heavy things up and putting them down, um, is a big part of what we do. Um, but there's also an endurance component and not endurance in terms of like doing a triathlon, but our races only last, maybe a minute and a half or so. But you, for that minute and a half, you have to be on, there is no letting off the gas. There is no, like you can't take a break, you can't stop how to sip of water. Like you're, you're on, you know, going 60 plus sometimes 80 miles hour down this icy hill, there is no room for error. So we do a lot of explosive type like hit training. I don't love cardio. Uh, it's not really my thing. I'd rather have to pick up really heavy weights than spin on a bike for 30 or more minutes. But we do a lot of interval training as well. So short spurts, you know, you're on for like 15, 30 seconds, maybe a minute. And then you have a, a, that long of a recovery break and you keep doing that. So that's a huge part of it. So we spend the summer get all strong, get our endurance up, we're all ready to go. Now the fun stuff starts. That's when we get on snow, that's when we start our training. Now we might have some summer camps where we get to travel to be on snow, whether, um, it's further out west, you, they have longer seasons in like Oregon and California. You can go to a few resorts there that you can ski into July, maybe August, if you're lucky, we go to Europe quite a bit for early season training, cuz they have glaciers there. So you can see almost year round, but once you're in season, that's where the fun begins. That's when we're like, okay, time to ramp things up. You know, we're training five, six days a week. We're on the snow. We sometimes have two sessions a day. Sometimes one, if we're having two sessions, they might be a little bit on the shorter end for both sessions with a good lunch break. If it's one, it's one pretty long session. And each day we have a different focus. Uh, some days it's all about getting as many runs possible and you want it to be good quality runs. But honestly at the end day, you know, you have a set number that you're like, okay, I want to get 10 runs in on the course. And you're gassed at the end, that's it you're done. You're exhausted. But you're building up that volume, getting that endurance up. That's usually early season as we go more later season, then we're trying to do quality. So we might do a double session or one session and only get three or four runs in, in each session. But those runs need to be quality. We need to be firing like we're in our race mode, our race mentality and making sure that, you know, every turn counts, then you have lunch. At some point you tune your skis, get'em all prepped, do a recovery gym workout, maybe a lift here or there to maintain that strength. And then you sleep. I do a lot of sleeping during that season nap in the midday, if I can, and then early to bed, cuz sometimes I'd be getting up before 5:00 AM for training or gym stuff, um, in the season. And that does wear on you. If you don't get your sleep, that's, I'm not a fun person to be around if I'm hungry or if I don't get my sleep, I feel like everyone's that way. But I'm especially notorious for that.
Ed:It doesn't sound like you would've had a lot of time to eat an entire cake based on that schedule anyway. So maybe you're too busy to eat the whole thing.
Tyler:Ah, yeah. Only half.<laugh>.
Ed:So it, I, I know I read online that your, uh, Paralympics is a little bit different in the sense that they're different classifications, uh, and your classification it says is LW4. So talk a little bit about what that means and how that works in the context of the kind of racing that you do.
Tyler:Absolutely. That brings us to the biggest difference between the Olympics and Paralympics, uh, Paralympics, meaning they are parallel to the Olympics, but Paralympics obviously are for athletes with a physical disability or visual impairment. So how they go about that is, each sport's a little different, but generally they look at your disability and your classified based on that, think of it as like a golf handicap, basically. So most sports, the more disabled you are or the more severe your disability that will have your time or your score adjusted because of that. So I like to think of it as in our, in our world. You know, if you have a more severe disability, the clock's gonna run a little bit slower for you just to make up that difference. And so me being an LW4 in Alpine skiing, uh, that I'm at the kind of lower end of the spectrum where like, even though I'm missing, um, half my leg, my foot compared to others, it's not really as severe. So I don't have a whole big of an adjustment over my, um, time. However, it is much more than someone that's just missing their hand. Um, in Alpine skiing you have a visually impaired division, a standing division and sitting division. So I'm only competing against the standing athletes for a medal. However, when we're looking at our all over score, it's about the fastest male or fastest female. So fast snow could be visually impaired standing or sitting. And then when we're trying to get our results in terms of ranking, that's how we're looking at. It's a little confusing, sometimes a little complicated, but hopefully that's somewhat simplified enough that it makes sense to everyone listening, but classification like it, it is a very complex system. I always say, you know, it works. Is it perfect? Not really, but it's very challenging when you have all these different athletes with different disabilities coming in and you, and I mean, at the end of the day, they wanna make it as fair as possible for everyone. And I think they are doing their best to make that happen. And there's really no easy way to do it. So it, it works for our purposes.
Ed:A and your, your specific disability is something you've been, you know, it's, you grew up with it. Right. So share a little bit about like, I, I think it's called fibular hemimelia. If I remember correctly, how did I do with the pronunciation? I, I worked on it a little bit.
Tyler:That was pretty. That was pretty spot on. I liked it. Good job.
Ed:So talk a little bit about that specific, you know, condition.
Tyler:Yeah. So basically I was born without my fibula and when I was one, I had my foot amputated, super simple. It's not that exciting of a story. I've been like this my whole life. You know, I always say I'm, I'm grateful that I've grown up with this. Uh, just because it's all I know. I don't know any other world. I don't, you know, know any other life. I just know being an amputee growing up with it since I was one, uh, below the knee amputee, sometimes there are challenges sometimes there aren't, but at the end of the day, I'm just trying to live, you know, my life. I don't wanna say normal life cuz I don't, what, what is normal? Like I don't know that anyone is, you know, normal. It doesn't, you know, it's not a thing to me. So just go out, live my life, have fun, be active, all that good jazz. But yeah, it's just, it's been part of me, my, my whole life. And I think, you know, everyone has something going on. It doesn't matter if it's physical, if it's mental, if it's something that, you know, you don't talk about or you can't see, everyone's got stuff going on in life, maybe it's just stress. But at the end of the day, it's what you have and how you deal with it. I always say, you know, you can't control the hand. You're dealt, you can control how you play with your cards now I'm not a gambler. So I don't, hopefully that's, that's kind of how it works, but that's how I've always looked at it, but it's just, you know, go out, do what makes you happy? Live your life, have fun with it along the way. Um, I think that's, that's the most important thing. So yeah, you know, I've grown up my whole life missing my leg amputee, but that doesn't define who I am. It's what I do. And it's, you know, the relationships I make with people, the, you know, positivity, I try to put out in the world, that's what matters
Ed:Now for people who, who don't maybe follow Alpine skiing. I have a list here of the various disciplines that you have competed in or compete in. I am a fan of Alpine skiing. So I've heard of, of these have a little bit of idea of, of what, what that involves, but, um, maybe you can explain, you have the slalom, the giant slalom, downhill, super G and super combined. So how would you, uh, to, to someone who is, who is not, not familiar with that or, or, uh, isn't familiar with watching it happen, how would you describe the differences between those and what's kind of involved as an athlete? What kind of, uh, things you have to do to be successful at those?
Tyler:Yes. There is so many differences in Alpine skiing with the different disciplines. I like to say, you look at it kind of on two ends of the spectrum, you have downhill on one slalom on the other downhill is the fastest event. I mean, you are, you know, going like straight down the hill, you are technically turning, but you turn with the hill. I mean, it is big, fast loopy turns. Um, and sometimes you're catching air over, over jumps. Sometimes you're not, um, honestly that's the most fun event. I love that event. It's definitely one of my favorites and you move down a little bit and you have the super G uh, super G has a little bit more turning to it, but it's still very fast. Um, I'd say super, G's probably my favorite event, mostly cuz that's the one I've had the most experience in and um, just, I like downhill. I'm crazy, but I'm also not as crazy as some of the other athletes. I can just go like full flying down with no regards to safety. I, I like to be just a little bit more in speed check. So super dues, a little better for me. Then you move to the giant slalom, which is, um, getting into our technical events. So you have your speed events, downhill, super giant slalom, slalom, the technical events, giant slaloms, more like if you've ever like been on a ski hill, it's kind of like a medium size turn. You know, you're just kind of cruising through. You can get some high speeds, but it's pretty mellow, nice, easy distance. Um, if you are a skier and you've ever gone to the NATAR hut done the like little NASTAR dual racing courses, that's a little more of a giant long type of event. Then you move to slalom, which has been my nemesis. Most of my career, even though I have I've done it most of my career, we, we didn't really get along too often, but it is a single pull versus where you have downhill, super gene giant. So where it's two poles with a panel or flag in between them. And you're knocking down that single pole in slalom. So, um, everyone asks, do you have to touch the gates? None of the events you have to touch the gates, but it's all about picking that fastest line from top to bottom. So usually it involves going through the gates, Slalom, you're knocking them down. Um, it is very quick turns, very like high paced, you know, speeds are down, but you are moving really quick back and forth. Um, and it's that quick pattern that I always struggled with because I like to hold onto that turn. I like to build up the speed and let the edges go and catapult myself into the next one. I'm making gestures with my hand, like moving, moving around, but it just, I, I love going fast and making those big loopy turns. Slalom and I, we didn't always get along, but it definitely is a very technical and fun event to watch. Now I did leave out one that is the super combined and super combined takes a run of super G and a run of and slalom and puts them together. And I love super combined races, but I, but that's because of the super G once we get to the slalom component, I'm always like, eh, we'll see what happens. Um, more often than not, I, I didn't end up finishing the slalom part just because we, we did have a, it's not even a love, hate relationship. It's really a hate, hate relationship between me and slalom, but it's always been my attitude mentality, go out and give it your best. And you know, whether I cross the finish line, I don't, whether I'm in first or last, as long as I put out my best effort, that's what matters at the end of the day. So there's your crash course in ski racing. Um, there will be a test later. Uh, we'll, we'll check in on you- no I'm joking. But hopefully that at least, you know, enlightens, y'all a little bit about it, cause it is, it's such a fun sport and there's so many different dynamics going on. I know Ed you're, you're a big fan of it. So it's a lot of fun to watch. I, I think to do,
Ed:And I watched hours and hours of Paralympic, uh, coverage, which, uh, was available. So it did enjoy of course watching the, the Alpine skiing. It's always been one of my favorite events since watching, uh, Franz Klammer for Austria in 1976 with his, uh, his famous run. So I've always been following it. How common is it for people though, to, to do all of the different disciplines? I mean, obviously some people are, or a lot of people are gonna gravitate more towards sort of the technical end of the spectrum or the speed end of the spectrum. Do most skiers do, do the whole, uh, the whole range or is that unusual?
Tyler:Yeah, so kind of in early on in your career, you're gonna start with the tech events and then you start dabbling in the speed. Um, just because it's easier to learn the tech events, the speed requires a lot more experience and strength and also craziness in you, but you get to a point after you've dabbled both that most athletes will gravitate towards one or the other. Um, I started as a tech skier and early in my career always wanted to be a speed skier and kind of finish my career as a speed skier. Um, doing those the downhill in super G, but I'd say every athlete, um, unless they're really like adverse to speed, they really don't want to do it will dabble in both. And then you kind of figure out what, which one is your, you know, preferred or which one you click with. And then you're going spend more of your time training on that because I never was a slalom skier didn't really get along with it. I actually didn't train much slalom at all. And then I eventually stopped racing it in general just because we, we, it just, wasn't where I wanted to put my energy or time training. Cause you think there's, you know, four main events, five, if you count the super combined. And if you're trying to train for four events, um, you know, five, maybe five days a week that doesn't give you a lot of time to focus and specialize. So a lot of the top athletes out there will focus on a couple of those and then, um, maybe dabble on the rest, but really have their priority.
Ed:So, uh, Camelback is where, uh, you get bit by the skiing bug and then Vancouver's where you get bit by the Olympic bug. So, uh, take us the rest of the way to your, uh, first Olympics in 2014.
Tyler:Yeah, absolutely. So first games, um, made the team 2014, uh, Paralympics Sochi, Russia. And that was crazy. Like that was, I was not on the national team at that point. So I spent those four years grinding, working really hard just to make that team kind of walked onto it. I honestly didn't know I was going until like two weeks before the game started. That's when I got the call that I'd made the team, we're one of an experience, like almost all good things to say. I went in not really being super competitive, but that was kind of the plan I was going in to get that experience, to understand what I was doing and, and, um, you know, get that kind of first games jitters out of the way. And four years later make, you know, the national team in that, in that time span and get some support, some extra fun day, I'm ready, I'm prepared. I'm like, okay, I have been to the games before. I know what to expect. Let's go in and, you know, like start, you know, putting our name out there and, and being a little more competitive. That was a plan. That was the idea did not exactly go that way, but you know, when does life ever go exactly how you, you expect it to. Um, in my best event, the giant slalom at that time, I actually crashed in my second run. Unfortunately I can joke about it now, but at the time it, it was definitely a, a bitter, uh, feeling and, you know, it was tough. It was tough to swallow that, but I had a, uh, slalom race like two days after that. So I had to reset, get ready for that. And, um, ended up finishing 19th so that was all right. It was respectable. It wasn't quite what we wanted, but, um, you know, we, we, we definitely gave it our best and, and you know, I, I didn't leave anything on the hill that's for sure. You know, I, I put my face in the hill, probably left a face imprint in it, but I didn't leave. I didn't, you know, I didn't leave anything that I, you know, I gave it all I had and fast forward these last four years and wow, they were rough. They, they, these were the hardest, like years of my training. I always thought the first, you know, few years of my career, like, oh yeah, this was tough. Like grinding making it. But I had, no, I, I had no idea. I thought experience in time would, would solve it all. And that it would be a walk in the park. And how wrong was I between injuries between COVID? Um, I couldn't get a full season in the last, um, in, in the three years leading up to this last games. So I missed a whole season due to a knee injury. Then I missed half a season to, to COVID and another like, um, re-injury with, with my leg. And then finally, when I was getting my groove back, I got COVID like two weeks or three weeks before our nationals, uh, the year leading to this last season and that just threw a whole, uh, wrench in, in my plans. And while I did come back in time, I was cleared. I just, I was, I was so weak and, and just not up to par. So that basically put a lot of pressure on this last season to do what I needed to, to make the games. And, uh, like, I'll be honest. I don't shy away from this. This was probably one of the worst seasons of my career. Like result wise. I just couldn't find my rhythm. I wasn't being really consistent. Didn't finish a whole lot of races. Uh, but the biggest thing I'll say is I didn't give up. I kept finding, I kept grinding and I, I squeaked by barely, but I made the team, uh, for Beijing was able to go out on my own terms because I decided, um, I actually decided last summer, but I announced it at the beginning of the fall that this was gonna be my last season. I was retiring after this. And it really was a long journey to get to this point. It wasn't an overnight decision, but the last few years have taken their toll. And there there's a lot of other things I want to do. So, you know, we, we fought, we grinded, we made it to the games. The games were an amazing experience, um, in Beijing, um, you know, all things considered with, um, you just, how COVID played its role, but, you know, I, I didn't, I didn't ever get to win a medal at the Paralympics and that's something that I really wanted to do, but I did about everything else. And I gotta say, I gave it my best, my best effort. And at the end of the day, you know, that's all you can ask. That's all you can do.
Ed:So we talked about, uh, getting to be the flag bearer, and we talked about some difficult moments in the Olympics. What are some of the, the memories that have really stuck with you or the moments that, you know, you, that you will always remember, or that, you know, were positive takeaways, uh, from your experience, whether that's something that happened on the hill or just something about the Olympic experience in general?
Tyler:Yeah. Well, so obviously being fly bearer was something I will never forget. Um, you know, that just was a crazy experience, but I, I think it's not necessarily one moment, but it's a, you know, collection of moments, um, friendships I've made, uh, ice cream I've eaten, because I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I'm a huge ice cream fan. Um, you know, I should have said eat an entire, you know, gallon of ice cream versus a cake earlier because ice cream is my favorite thing in the world. So like sharing ice cream with friends, I know that's like super cheesy and cliche, but like my team know knows my love of that. And that kind of became a running joke, but really being able to travel around the world to do what I love for so long and just represent our, not just our country, like our, I mean, our country, like the biggest honor I can imagine representing our country, but representing the entire world at the biggest stage, you can imagine. I mean, that's what the Olympics and Paralympics are about. It's about bringing everyone together for a short period of time for the spirit of sport and competition. And when you're out there, you are representing yourself, you are representing your country, but you're also representing a whole lot more. And to be able to do that three times, um, you know, I always knew I wanted to be, you know, a ski racer for a long time. Once I set on this journey, I didn't actually know if I'd make it this far. So it's pretty, uh, I'm pretty, you know, happy to look back at that. And, um, you know, again, not really one memory, but just this amazing collection of this journey.
Ed:So talk a little bit about how, uh, the Paralympians are kind of received. You've, you've been to three different, uh, three different, actually four different countries. If we count your spectating experience and just have you seen it change over time and, and what's kind of how are, how are the Paralympics, you know, viewed at these different places that you've gotten the opportunity to visit?
Tyler:Yeah, absolutely. Um, and it's funny, I didn't, I haven't even mentioned it yet, but I actually went to Tokyo as a staff member. So I've, I've, I've, you know, in a way been to five different games and over the years, and, and really gotten to get this wide experience, but yeah, the Paralympics have grown quite a bit over the years. I mean, I, I look back to Vancouver, there was like no TV coverage. Like it was all maybe some streaming online, but it was super, you know, super small, like not just, not as well known in broadcast. And then Sochi, they started putting a little bit more run time, had like an hour or two hour, um, like highlight of that more streaming online. Um, and then you start going to like 2018, that's where the big shift, there was more to view more to see, and each teams that just gets better and better, um, you know, and the host cities, like they've, you know, generally been quite welcoming and super excited to have us. I mean, I look at, you know, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo, even though I was in the staff role there, um, in, uh, 2021, um, cuz it was delayed a year and then Beijing, like they were just so excited to volunteers, to staff. They, you could tell didn't matter, Olympics, Paralympics, they were just happy to have, um, athletes in their country have this event there and really showcase their culture to the world. Um, and I think that was just some, one of the coolest things like Beijing. I mean, pin trading is such a big thing. If, if you don't know if, if our lessers don't don't know at the Olympics and Paralympics like pin trading is their currency, like you can get a lot done or, or, you know, you can get things for trading pins. And it really went beyond that in Beijing where the volunteers and staff were actually making these, you know, custom little like ribbon, you know, good luck charms and giving them to athletes. So we'd see'em on all, all these athletes bags and like pouches and stuff. And I brought a few home and actually got a really big one hanging on my door to my bedroom. I had a trade like five pins for that, but it's like the size of a reef. So I thought that was a good trade, but it, it is just the excitement they get. And the thrill of being at the games is just something you don't see anywhere else. And we are really getting to a point where the Paralympics are well known, being broadcasted, you know, people care about them. And I, I just see it's a really bright future for us and, and the world.
Ed:So when you're, when you're actually at the games, we talked about how it has changed a little bit, uh, from your perspective during the, the years you've been able to go there, you know, do you, you're very focused obviously on your events, you're there for a purpose, you know, you're there to, to, to try to get those medals, those elusive medals that everyone wants. Do you have the opportunity to watch any of the other sports, any of the other athletes or are you just so focused on the Alpine skiing piece and, and being around that, that scene that you don't have the opportunity to, to enjoy other aspects of the games and other sports?
Tyler:Yeah. I mean, you are, it's a job, right? You are going there for a reason and that is your first and foremost focus. But, um, we do occasionally get a little bit of downtime, not a whole lot but a little bit. So whether it's on the TVs there, or if we're, we're lucky to have that opportunity to go to a different venue, we do try to cheer on the rest of our team. Um, so in 2018 and even 2014, we did that. We, there was a couple times we kind of snuck away. Um, sled hockey was a big one that we tried to go to those games, um, to, to cheer on the team, um, to, to root'em on to, to win, win gold, which they've been absolutely crushing, which is so cool to see. Um, but you know, 2022, this past games was a little different with COVID and we had three different villages and it was a closed loop system. So unless, you know, you were living in, in, in that village or you had a reason to be there, you couldn't travel between the different ones. So we didn't, we didn't get to go to see the other sports this last one, which was a little bit of a bummer that was kind of disappointing, but, um, we watched it on TV. We cheered'em on, you know, in spirit and, um, you know, knew that they were doing the same with us, but generally we do try to find a little time to go cheer on the rest of the team, see the different sports, but obviously sometimes factors play in that, you know, it's just not possible.
Ed:How, how about the, you know, you're traveling to these other places, you know, what's the impact of having to do that travel and, you know, changing time zones. How do you sort of prepare for, is that one of those things where like, after you've done it a couple times, it gets a little easier to make those adjustments.
Tyler:You know, the more you travel, you get used to whatever plan you need to like get yourself set, but I'd say it never gets easier. Um, especially when you're jumping so many times zones like going to Asia, the one thing you get is the experience and knowing what you need to do, knowing like,"Hey, I don't, I shouldn't, you know, sleep all day because then I'm gonna be up all night" being really on about your pre travel. Like that's huge. Like, I didn't know that, you know, the first time I went to Sochi was, you know, being on about trying to get yourself set up a couple days before you leave on that time zone. Um, being strategic on the flight in terms of like when you sleep, when you don't in line to yourself, so that you're, you're, you're giving yourself the best chance to adjust. Cause when we got to Beijing, we had, um, we arrived like, uh, one or 2:00 AM. We moved into the village and we had that day that, you know, day that we landed early morning to kind of explore the village, get set up, unpack our bags. And then next day, you know, we were on snow and then we were, we started our official training runs for the downhill, the following day. Like we, we didn't have any, like we didn't have, Hey, you got a couple days to kind of chill and get, get ready, no. We were, we were, we had to be on like pretty much right away. So that pre you know, travel planning and, and just being aware that was, was such a huge, uh, factor in what we were doing.
Ed:So you had already announced your retirement prior to going to Beijing. Did you already know what you were gonna do next or did you have to kind of figure that out when you got back?
Tyler:Yeah,<laugh>, that's kind of the big question is, you know what, what's next? The last two years I've been working at the US Olympic and Paralympic museum here in Colorado Springs. Um, the, the first one of its kind in the us, which is really special, um, having a place to honor our us Olympians and Paralympians and they're amazing stories. Um, so I've been working there, um, since they opened in 2020. And, um, I took a leave of absence for the winter. Obviously I can, couldn't really do both, but I came, you know, pretty quickly right back to work and, and working there now. And, um, just, you know, doing, doing what I can to, um, share those stories, to honor the athletes and, and make it a fun experience for anyone to come visit. Um, so that's kind of the, the where I'm at now. Hopefully I'm there for a while. We'll, we'll see what the future holds. There's honestly a lot of things I want to do, and it's kind of the pecking order of how I want to start, what order that. Um, but I know the biggest thing at the end of the day is I want to promote the Paralympic movement, keep growing that I want to be an advocate for living a healthy and active lifestyle. I want to eat as much ice cream as I possibly can and work out a bunch and I'm back to working out, cuz it, life is weird. Like it's, it's, I'm in this weird transition period, figuring out, you know, post athlete life and all that. And you know, one of the things that I I've just grown to love, you know, the training's a grind, but just being in the gym, there's something special about that. And you know, again, being active, being healthy, I know I talk a lot about ice cream and I know that, you know, it, it's not always the healthiest, but in moderation you can really, you know, find your path, your balance. And you know, I, I eat fairly healthy and, and you know, good meals outside of that. So I, I, and I work out enough that I think I can enjoy my pint of ice cream here and there.
Ed:So you, you save your ice cream points?
Tyler:Yeah. Yes, absolutely. And that's the thing, like, I'm not a sweet guy, like everyone's like, oh, you like ice cream? You're a sweet guy. No, I don't, I don't eat candy. I don't like nothing against anyone that does. I just, candy doesn't really do it for me.
Ed:Have you, have you been approached by any major ice cream manufacturers about some kind of like sweetheart sponsorship deal? That sounds like it might be something that we, we could cook up maybe.
Tyler:I have been trying, please help me. Uh, this is my plea out to the world. I am a free agent in terms of ice cream. I wanna work with you. Let's come up with a cool flavor. Let's work together, you know, let's make this a big thing. Um, anyway, that's my plea out there. So, um, any, any ice cream brands companies, you know, I am, I am open to, um, partnering with you. Let's let's make something happen that you would, you would truly make my day.<laugh>.
Ed:So I don't, I don't think we, we, we necessarily wanna list ice cream as a hobby or a, a side interest, but you probably have more time to do those kinds of things now. And, and, you know, try some stuff that maybe you didn't have time for before because of your, your training schedule. What are some, what are some other fun things that you just enjoy doing?
Tyler:I'd say ice cream is a lifestyle, um, you know, living the ice cream lifestyle, but going away from ice cream for a minute. Cause I really do talk too much about it. It it's funny cuz I thought I would have a lot more time, but I actually don't, I'm just as busy if not more, but I, I guess that is because I'm like, since I'm not skiing all the time or you know, even though I'm in the gym, my training, I have pulled back just a little bit just because I, I don't need to be in the gym as much as I used to. I'm, you know, keeping myself busy, I'm doing a lot of public speaking. I'm doing, you know, um, kind of podcasts and interviews, trying to get my name out there. Um, I, there's some amazing organizations I work with, um, kind of in this local area that I've been able to devote more time to, uh, you know, I'm back at work full time. I, I mean, it's my day off today and I have a packed schedule. Like I I'm, you know, got so much going on, but it's, it's good. I like being busy. I like having stuff going on and I have a few ideas of things. I'm like actually some projects I'm, I'm trying to work on. So I'm kind of just formulating like how they're gonna pan out, but I'm, I'm quite excited what, what might come, but at the end of the day, you know, I've said it, I think I've said it a few times, but I, I truly mean that, you know, my goal is to bring some positivity to the world. So however I can do that, that's the most important thing to me. And um, every project or every, you know, kind of company or organization I sign up to work with. Um, that's first and foremost, the most important thing that we're, we're doing that and we're making a difference.
Ed:Do you ever get to, to come back to, uh, the Berks County area and, and visit your roots a little bit?
Tyler:You know, I, I came back for, I think exactly week, like literally a, a day after I got back from Beijing. Um, cause I hadn't seen my family in such a long time and it's kind of sad cause I slept half of that trip. Cause I was so jet lagged and tired from the games, but um, you know, I try to come back and, and I think that is the one difference is now not having to travel as much as an athlete. I, I can take that, you know, time to come back, see the family come to Berks County area. And I know I'll be back in August cuz I, my cousin's getting married. So I already have that trip booked. I've book blocked a week off. I'm very excited. So I'll be back during that time and um, always looking for, for ways or projects to be involved that will, you know, bring me back to that area to visit, to visit. I love, I love Pennsylvania, but Colorado. I'm sorry. Has my heart.
Ed:So do you have any, any kind of final thoughts you'd like to share aside from"will work for ice cream," which you've made abundantly clear?
Tyler:Yeah, I feel like that could be the title of this. No I'm joking.<laugh> um, you know, final thoughts here. Here's the thing I've, I've really had some incredible opportunities. I've I've really been blessed to be able to follow my dreams, to, to do what I love for so long. And um, to anyone out there listening, you know what, doesn't matter what your dream is, it doesn't matter how big, how small, you know, do it, follow it. You know, if you fail, you fail, but you at least tried. And that's the most important thing. You know, how many times that I've crashed, I've been knocked down I, you know, had, you know, setbacks and I just kept going. I kept staying, you know, determined and having that discipline to fall, follow that dream and see it through to the end. So, you know, be active. You don't have to worry, you know, it doesn't have to be trying to go to the Olympics or Paralympics, but go out, you know, be a little active in life, get outside, have some fun, maybe eat a little bit of ice cream, but really just find what you enjoy, what your passion is, stick with it. And don't give up on that. That's the best advice I can give. Um, and it's, it's just, it's a, it's a special thing. You know, if, if you're, if you're doing what you love, you're never really working a day in your life. At least I've heard that many times and until I like kind of experienced this side of life. I never believed it, but it really is the truth. Um, so I hope you all find your passion and if you want to check out my crazy ice cream, um, escapades or my silly workouts that I still do, tcskiusa on Instagram, I have to give a plug for that cause, oh my gosh, it, it is, um, I have way too much fun on there. So if you, uh, you know, wanna see what shenanigans I'm up to, even though I'm a retired athlete, I promise I'll still have plenty of fun shenanigans on there.
Ed:Well, Tyler Carter, three time US Paralympian, thanks so much for spending this time with Disability Talks and sharing your story with our listeners. We really appreciate it and wish you all the best with your future, whatever it is that comes next, we know it's gonna involve ice cream at whatever else it involves, I'm sure you're gonna be great at it.
Tyler:Thank you so much Ed, it's been an absolute pleasure being on here.
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