For Jared Muscat, surfing has been a passion, an obsession, and in his own words an addiction, since he was a teenager. Surfing was part of what led Jared to his current job working for the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. And it was on Patagonia’s blog that I first read some of Jared’s story about his epilepsy diagnosis, and a paddleboarding challenge he did to raise awareness for the condition.
It slightly surprised me to realise that I haven’t had any sea-based adventurers on the podcast yet. The ocean has often offered ‘adventure’ in the traditional sense - the swashbuckling, finding new lands kind of adventure.
But whilst the heyday of adventure on the high seas is over, in today’s conversation, we talk about how the power and unpredictability of the sea can still offer adventure of the everyday kind.
In today's episode Jared talks about:
Having brain surgery to stop seizures
Not being allowed to surf post-surgery
How yoga helped him with his recovery
Whether removing his amygdala has affected his fear levels!
How he got into surfing as a teenager
His path to working for Patagonia
How encouraging his Patagonia team have been
Previous employer's discrimination because of epilepsy
Paddleboarding when you can't surf
'Paddling Towards a Cure' - paddleboarding 17 miles for epilepsy awareness
His reaction when doctors told him to stop surfing because of epilepsy
What is Epileptic Opportunity?
The importance of a good support network with epilepsy
What 'adventure' means to him
And more!
READ JARED'S BLOG POST:
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MUSIC:
Kev Rowe on Soundcloud | Creative Commons Attribution License
The FULL TRANSCRIPT of this episode is on its way!! You can read the autotranscript on YouTube.