Hailing from Philadelphia, Timmy O’Neill left after one semester of college to head out and design a life for himself. He quickly became known as the “Urban Ape," scaling buildings around the country, like the Chicago Tribune Tower, without any ropes. Now, he’s a seasoned Patagonia-sponsored climber with a lengthy and impressive resume that includes setting world speed climbing records in Yosemite, and first ascents around the world in Venezuela, Patagonia, Pakistan and Greenland. Timmy is also a world class slack liner, mountain biker and kayaker and recently guided completely blind kayaker, Lonnie Bedwell, down the Zambezi, a class V River. Outside of his athletic achievements, Timmy is always giving back. He co-founded Paradox Sports, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing inspiration, opportunities and adaptive equipment to the disabled community and provides ophthalmic surgical care in Africa as part of the organization, Cure Blindness, along with Dr. Geoff Tabin. Timmy's vitality and zest for life continues to inspire others as he pushes on to live a life of meaning.
Our hosts, Jeff and Erik, sat down with Timmy at our studio in Golden to catch up. He was in town to train with Erik for their upcoming expedition to climb Ama Dablam, a beautiful peak in Nepal. Timmy, Erik, and Jeff have been friends for many years and know Timmy not just as a wild speed climber but as a thoughtful philosopher of sorts who has dedicated a large portion of his life to giving back both through his nonprofit, Paradox Sports, and his work with Cure Blindness in Africa.
Timmy talks about his quest to live in the now and to find meaning in all of his pursuits. He works with folks who are in the midst of challenge; whether they are physically disabled and part of Paradox Sports, or are taking part in one of his leadership seminars, and he has learned many lessons along the way. A brief background on Timmy:
Hailing from Philadelphia, Timmy O’Neill left after one semester of college to head out and design a life for himself. He quickly became known as the “Urban Ape," scaling buildings around the country, like the Chicago Tribune Tower, without any ropes. Now, he’s a seasoned Patagonia-sponsored climber with a lengthy and impressive resume that includes setting world speed climbing records in Yosemite, and first ascents around the world in Venezuela, Patagonia, Pakistan and Greenland. Timmy is also a world class slack liner, mountain biker and kayaker and recently guided completely blind kayaker, Lonnie Bedwell, down the Zambezi, a class V River.
Outside of his athletic achievements, Timmy is always giving back. He co-founded Paradox Sports, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing inspiration, opportunities and adaptive equipment to the disabled community and provides ophthalmic surgical care in Africa as part of the organization, Cure Blindness, along with Dr. Geoff Tabin. Timmy's vitality and zest for life continues to inspire others as he pushes on to live a life of meaning.
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Read more about Paradox Sports and Cure Blindness