Making the Wild More Accessible to All with Jeremy McGhee

SummaryOn this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Jeremy McGhee, Founder of The UNPavement, a movement that’s helping everyone get off the pavement and into the wild to heal our hurting culture of Nature Deficit Disorder. Jeremy is also Founder of JPM PRO, the US distributor of Sport-ON, off-road handcycles, providing adaptive mountain bikes and accessories to disabled riders, including options for paraplegics and quadriplegics. Additionally, Jeremy is a pro athlete, YouTuber, blogger, podcaster and consultant that partners with public, private and nonprofit land managers to design safe and fun universal trail systems. Throughout the episode, James and Jeremy discuss his business venture distributing off-road handcycles, his mission of ensuring disabled athletes have full access to the outdoors and how he is pioneering trails for everybody.
Thanks for tuning in!
Show Notes(0:52) Introduction to Jeremy McGhee(5:11) About The UNPavement(9:02) Jeremy’s Work as a Trail Consultant(10:57) About JPM PRO(18:17) Jeremy’s Discovery of Bentonville(25:13) Jeremy’s Move to Bentonville(29:08) #BecauseBentonville Story(35:31) Advice for Overcoming Insurmountable Odds(41:48) Closing Question
‍LinksJames Bell Bentonville Economic Development Jeremy McGheejeremymcghee.comJPM PROThe UNPavement
Quotes“The UNPavement is a movement of all of us off the pavement and into the wild because we’ve got these cool devices that we’re on all the time, and they allow us to accomplish so much in life, but we’re on them so much that it renders us that much more in need of a relationship with nature.” - Jeremy McGhee, (5:13)
“The major emotional thing I miss in life when I’m back in San Diego, is I watch my friends grab their board, run across the tracks and go catch a couple waves at sunset. That’s not in the cards for me anymore…But being [in Bentonville] and being able to just jump on my bike right out of my garage, literally across the street to Coler [Mountain Bike Preserve]. I get to fulfill that desire in a different way. I get to jump on my bike and jump on a trail.” - Jeremy McGhee, (26:46)
“The adaptive element to whatever I want to do is my mind. That is my greatest disability, and I have a feeling that a lot of people out there can relate to that. So whatever obstacles are in front of you, that’s going to be the hardest thing to overcome. So my advice is to do the things that help that. Taking care of ourselves is really important” - Jeremy McGhee, (35:44)