Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Join legendary coach Mark Gottfried and Bonner Paddock on The Coach Mark Gottfried Show for one of the most powerful conversations this show has ever had.
Bonner Paddock was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child and spent nearly three decades hiding it from the world. Then a four-year-old boy named Jake changed everything. Bonner met Jake at a marathon finish line. Jake's father carried him across. Jake died that same night. Bonner had known him for ten minutes.
That loss didn't just move Bonner. It broke something open in him — and rebuilt him into something remarkable. He went on to become the first person with cerebral palsy to summit Mount Kilimanjaro unassisted, and the first to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. He's raised over a million dollars for children with disabilities through his OM Foundation and is the bestselling author of One More Step.
But this episode isn't really about mountains or finish lines.
It's about what happens when you finally stop hiding who you are. It's about the friendship Bonner built with Jake's father — a bond forged through a marathon, a tragedy, and a shared belief that even in the darkest moments, you can still do greatness.
And it's about what Bonner discovered when he stood at the top of Kilimanjaro, came back down, and fell into a year and a half of depression — only to realize that the poorest person in the room wasn't a villager in Tanzania with a sheet-metal roof. It was him.
Mark and Bonner go deep on vulnerability, purpose, the cost of individualism, and what real community actually looks like when you strip away everything else.
This one will stay with you.
Subscribe for more episodes!
Join legendary coach Mark Gottfried and Bonner Paddock on The Coach Mark Gottfried Show for one of the most powerful conversations this show has ever had.
Bonner Paddock was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child and spent nearly three decades hiding it from the world. Then a four-year-old boy named Jake changed everything. Bonner met Jake at a marathon finish line. Jake's father carried him across. Jake died that same night. Bonner had known him for ten minutes.
That loss didn't just move Bonner. It broke something open in him — and rebuilt him into something remarkable. He went on to become the first person with cerebral palsy to summit Mount Kilimanjaro unassisted, and the first to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. He's raised over a million dollars for children with disabilities through his OM Foundation and is the bestselling author of One More Step.
But this episode isn't really about mountains or finish lines.
It's about what happens when you finally stop hiding who you are. It's about the friendship Bonner built with Jake's father — a bond forged through a marathon, a tragedy, and a shared belief that even in the darkest moments, you can still do greatness.
And it's about what Bonner discovered when he stood at the top of Kilimanjaro, came back down, and fell into a year and a half of depression — only to realize that the poorest person in the room wasn't a villager in Tanzania with a sheet-metal roof. It was him.
Mark and Bonner go deep on vulnerability, purpose, the cost of individualism, and what real community actually looks like when you strip away everything else.
This one will stay with you.
Subscribe for more episodes!
