The Profile Dossier: Kyle Maynard, The Man Pushing the Limits of Human Potential
“You decide what you’re capable of and believe and deserve.”
Kyle Maynard is a wrestler, CrossFit instructor, gym owner, MMA fighter, weightlifter, and mountaineer.
Given that Maynard enjoys extreme sports, it may be surprising for you to hear that he has a rare condition known as congenital amputation, which means that he was born with arms that end at the elbows and legs that end near the knees.
But this hasn’t stopped him from completing physical challenges that are nothing short of extraordinary. In 2010, he embarked on his first climbing endeavor. It was a CrossFit challenge in Georgia that required participants to do a thousand-meter row on a rowing machine and then sprint to the top of Stone Mountain.
It took most of the other competitors roughly 25 minutes. It took Maynard one hour and 46 minutes to bear crawl to the top.
“I tore all the skin up on my arms, but I got to the top,” he says. “I told my friend that night that I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. I don’t know if I can, I don’t know if I can’t, but I do know that I want to figure it out.”
Shortly thereafter, he set his sights on summiting the mountain and made it a reality.
Maynard became the first man to bear crawl to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, and Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.
Maynard learned to live life without prosthetics at an early age. His parents gave him the best gift: they treated him exactly as they treated his three younger sisters. He received no special treatment, so he had to figure out how to get around, eat with utensils, dress himself, and play sports all on his own. This meant failing thousands of times until he finally found a way.
Thanks to his parents’ decision early on in his life, Maynard, now 35 years old, is able to live a completely independent life.
“I think some people look at me and feel sorry for me, but really, truthfully, my life doesn’t look a whole lot different than yours,” he says. “I type on the computer the same way. I use my phone like anybody else. I’m on Bumble like any other single person my age.”
Maynard has lived a life of determination and focus by shattering society’s expectations, rules, and judgements. Through it all, he’s made no excuses and uttered no complaints.
“It’s not about taking on 50 things at once, it’s about taking on one or two,” he says. “How different all of our lives would be if we actually got in action and did something about them. It’s about finding your mountain. Your why. Realize that we can know our limits, but never ever stop trying to break them.”
Here’s what we can learn from the man pushing the limits of human potential.
READ.
On becoming a champion: As a kid, Maynard dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. He decided to take on wrestling, but he suffered 35 consecutive losses. Along with the help of his coach, Maynard created several unusual techniques to defeat his opponents, such as the "jawbreaker" and the "buzz saw.” He continued wrestling all throughout his years in school and finished his high school career with 35 victories and only 16 losses. Here’s a look at how he found a way to pursue his athletic endeavors.
On living with no excuses: What does it mean to live a no-excuse life? Even though Maynard faces obstacle after obstacle in his everyday life, he refuses to complain and see himself as a victim. In his memoir, Maynard tells the story of his battle against the odds.
LISTEN.
On overcoming his fears: The most terrifying moment of Maynard’s life wasn’t climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or stepping into a cage and fighting in the MMA. It was asking a girl to be his date for his senior prom. In this podcast episode, Maynard recounts how he overcame the ordinary fears we all face.
On connecting with his purpose: Every morning, Maynard does an exercise he calls “connecting with my why.” In other words, he reflects on his purpose and the legacy he wants to leave behind. He then makes it practical — launching a business, climbing a mountain, raising awareness about an issue he cares about. Here’s how Maynard’s approach has helped him achieve results that have made him extraordinary.
WATCH.
On his road to Kilimanjaro: In this mini-documentary, Maynard explains how the multitude of his experiences led him to Mount Kilimanjaro. His parents made sure that he was able to live an independent life from a very young age by allowing him to figure out challenges on his own. When he decided to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro, he used the same mindset and will to achieve that has served him his entire life. This is a must-watch.
On becoming an MMA athlete: In this documentary, Maynard seeks an official Mixed Martial Arts match against an able-bodied fighter, which is a highly controversial and dangerous goal. Here’s how he prepares to face even greater challenges in a world that fails to see him as anything but "disabled."
POLINA’S TAKEAWAYS.
Resist the urge to prevent your kids from failing: Ever since Maynard was a toddler, his parents encouraged him to be independent. For instance, when he was learning to eat with a spoon, they allowed him to make mistakes and drop the spoon (and the food) on the floor time and time again. Instead of intervening, they let Maynard figure it out until he finally did. “It was their natural instinct to want to help me out, but I had to go through those failures to learn how to do it,” he says. When he was 14, he learned how to put on his socks on his own for the first time. The first sock took him 30 minutes. The second took him 15. And now, he does it in a matter of seconds. As a parent, it’s heart-wrenching to watch your child struggle, but it also builds long-lasting competence and confidence. Resist the urge to intervene during tasks that the child can ultimately figure out.
Give up on the things that don’t serve you: Maynard says one of the most important realizations he’s had is knowing when to give up. “I used to [say], ‘Oh, never, ever give up,’” he says. “Now I’m like, ‘Giving up is super important.’ And you should give up a lot of things a lot quicker. A job that you hate, a relationship that sucks, give it up immediately.” Giving up on the things that don’t serve you any longer allows you to focus on the things that do.
Remember that labels shape your reality: What do you see the first time you see someone like Maynard? You probably label him an “amputee” — not an MMA fighter or a mountain climber. Our assumptions, judgments, and beliefs color our world in ways that hinder us from getting to know each other in meaningful ways. Maynard isn’t naive to the fact that society will label him in ways that aren’t true. The beauty, though, is that you can’t put someone like Maynard in a box. “I’m not that one thing,” he says. “I’m not a speaker. I’m not an author. I’m not any one thing. I’m not even an entrepreneur. I don’t care. I don’t care to have any label, I’m not an amputee or a wrestler or whatever.” This is the most freeing mindset: Remember, every time you slap a label on someone and put them in a box, you filter what you see. You make your world smaller, simpler, and less reflective of reality. Be curious, ask questions, and leave room for nuance, complexity, and context. (Read more about the danger of labels here.)
Create a special forces unit in your personal life: To be extraordinary, you need to surround yourself with extraordinary people. A special forces unit, for example, is a team made up of elite soldiers who carry out sensitive and difficult missions. The focus is on excelling as a team, not as an individual. Maynard says it’s a similar mentality in business. “The whole idea of being the ‘solopreneur’ and grinding it on your own and the late nights, it’s like, yeah, that can be a good place to go and get started when you don’t have a team and access to people, but even then, it’s kind of an excuse,” he says. “Because you have a community of people that you could tap into in your friends and family that are going to be willing to champion your cause.” Learn how to cultivate a group of friends and peers who elevate your behavior and inspire you to be the best version of yourself.
QUOTES TO REMEMBER.
“I believe that we are all disabled in one way or another, including disabilities of character and personality. My disability just happens to be more visual than some.”
“A mountain—it does not care what race you are, what gender you are, whether you’re in a wheelchair or not. It doesn’t give a shit. Mountain’s like, ‘Zero Fs given.'”
“You decide what you’re capable of and believe and deserve.”
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This is incredible! Thanks for sharing
Pretty amazing story