Finding Your Superpower In A World of Adversity | 17-time Paralympic Medalist, Oksana Masters

Oksana Masters (0:00)

My story has been written for me as a girl with a disability, as an orphan, as an abused orphan, as a female in sports, and being a smaller statue built and stuff, and I wanted to rewrite my own story.

Michael Gervais (0:23)

Okay, welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade in training a high-performance psychologist. And I'm really excited to share a conversation I recently had with Oksana Masters. Oksana is a 17-time Paralympic medalist. That's 17 medals at the Paralympic Games. She has competed in the last six Paralympic Games, both summer and winter, and has brought home medals in four different sports. Rowing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, and cycling. That is legit. And following the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2022, Oksana became the most decorated US winner Paralympian or Olympian ever.

This could have been a conversation focused solely on Oksana's Paralympic triumphs, but that would have missed the true depth of her story. And she has an unbelievable story. It's a story of a girl who spent her earliest years growing up in three corrupt and abusive orphanages.

A girl who was born with radiation poisoning from Chernobyl and lost both her legs. A girl who was saved by a heroic mom. And the story of a girl who, despite so many adversities, and perhaps because of them, has become a remarkable woman, living to the upper limits of her potential. This conversation is so rich.

There's so much in it. And I'm honored to have this conversation and to share it. We explore her journey, how she navigates setbacks and challenges, the mental skills she uses both in life and as a world-class athlete.

I think everyone will have something valuable to learn from Oksana's story. And more importantly, her insights. So with that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with the legend Oksana Masters.

Oksana, I am so excited to sit with you and have this conversation. I read your book and I couldn't put it down.

It was overwhelming in parts and inspiring in equal ways. And I'm just, I'm in awe on how you've navigated your life. And you are literally to me a living emblem of how to deal with shit. Like in some cases, like your mom is an absolute badass. You are badass. Like how you've organized your inner life is incredible. The deep insight you have on how to deal with I don't want to say, let's call it what it is. Like for me, it's dark. Like some of the human behaviors that you've been through have been dark. And, you know, we all have our own unique dark parts of our life. Our own scars, our own battle wounds. And you have written a story that's remarkable. And you faced some incredible things and then squared up with them. And you also have this sense of peace in your life. You're a kick-ass athlete and a complete human in the sense that you are...

you're amazing. And so I just want to start by saying that. So thank you.

Oksana Masters (3:56)

Thank you. First of all, you're way too kind.

You're way too kind. I'm just a person. Just a girl with no legs, really. But thank you so, so much. I'm so excited.

Michael Gervais (4:06)

I'm just a girl with no legs.

Oksana Masters (4:09)

Sometimes I'm 5'8, sometimes 4 Sometimes just curl up and ball.

Michael Gervais (4:14)

You are too funny. OK. And I saw that on your Instagram handle.

And what is the handle just so folks can go check it out right now? What is your handle?

Oksana Masters (4:22)

Oksana Masters.

Michael Gervais (4:24)

Yeah, so O-K-S-A-N-A Masters.

Oksana Masters (4:27)

Yep, M-A-S-T-R.

Michael Gervais (4:29)

And that's literally what you say on there. Sometimes on this site and sometimes on smaller.

Oksana Masters (4:33)

And that meaning depending on the day, so sometimes there's days where you're just like 5'8 with my bad boys on or girls. I don't know.

My my better half, my fiance is like, excuse me, but my legs are my better half. And then, yeah, for foot without my legs on when I stand on my taller leg, because I had to fight that fight to go down a water slide. I was I climbed I crawled all this way like these 20 flights of stairs on my hands and knees to just get up it. And they're like, oh, you're you're under four feet. And I I like stood on the knee of the taller one. And I'm like, no, I'm four foot and you couldn't say no.

So I mean, oh, my God.

Michael Gervais (5:13)