We recently connected with Kerry Gruson and have shared our conversation below.

Kerry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

“ThumbsUp International” was named as a reflection of my positive attitude to life, to conflicts, to our problems and challenges. We added “International” to reflect the ambition, the dreams of my co-founders and I to take our nonprofit’s message around the world, to foster global change.

The story of our origins is compellingly told in the multi-award winning short film “May I help you?”, available on YouTube. This documentary is one of the basic tools in the ‘Race2Educate’ presentations we use to implement our mission: expanding attitudes to all limitations.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Today, I am 76 years old, severely disabled as a result of a strangulation attempt by a former Green Beret I was interviewing on a 1974 stopover in Hawaii, en route to report on the last days of that war. The vet left me for dead. Fifty years later, I’m completely dependent on others for everything I do. I m not angry at the man who, in that one moment, completely changed the circumstances of my life. I consider both of us victims of war. I take the obstacles I face as opportunities to find a new, a better pathway.
The belief that we are all (inter)dependent that through teamwork AND trust, underlies every action, every even. Together, our ThumbsUp teams, melding the disabled and able bodied of all ages, tackle races from 5ks, half and full marathons, to Ironman triathlons and beyond. With Caryn Lubetsky, a widely known endurance athlete, my soulmate

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 1974, while traveling to Vietnam to report on the end of the War as a 26 year old journalist, I was strangled and left for dead during an interview with a veteran, a Green Beret. I survived and continued to work as a journalist though increasingly disabled with Traumatic Parkinson’s. Today, I am effectively quadriplegic, my neck has a permanent rightward crick and my voice barely rises above a hoarse whisper.
Regardless, I choose to live out loud. I never allow my obvious disabilities to define or deter me. And I refuse to be angry at the man who, in that one moment, completely changed my life’s circumstances. I see us both as victims of war. The attack has brought an enhanced commitment to and appreciation for the gift of life, also for all of its many challenges. I found a home in the world of sports. I have raced sailboats at world-class events. I scuba dive. And now fulfillment comes as an endurance athlete, which I see as a metaphor for human endeavor – and our survival – in general.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I believe one of the basic lessons of my life is that we all have different interests and different (dis)abilities, but through teamwork and trust TOGETHER WE CAN attempt to achieve the impossible. My cofounder, Cristina de Molina Ramirez approached me in 2014 and proposed we do the South Beach Triathlon together as a duo (able/disabled) team. I jumped at the opportunity. Our effort became the seed for ThumbsUp International, a 501(C)3 non profit. We are a group United but a common call to expand our possibilities by helping each other reach for our highest potential and beyond.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thumbsupintl.org
• Instagram: @thumbsupintl
• Facebook: /ThumbsUp International
• Youtube: ThumbsUp International
• Other: Https://www.thumbsupintl.org/

Image Credits

Julio Mendez