Kim Anthony (00:00:00) – The views, thoughts and opinions expressed by the host and guests on this podcast are their own and do not represent the views, thoughts and opinions of UCLA Athletics, UCLA gymnastics, or the Bruin Gymnastics alumni community. The content of this podcast is strictly for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice.
Mark Caso (00:00:20) – Because what we have is the we have the monkeys that are loose in our brain telling us, oh, don’t do that. Oh, you’re tired, you should probably sleep more or whatever. All this stuff that just, you know. Is irrelevant. You need to. You need to cage. Put them away. And not listen to them. It’s just try to keep it simple.
Kim Anthony (00:00:49) – Welcome to the Bruin gymnastics edition of the Resilience to Brilliance podcast, where you’ll be inspired by riveting behind the scenes stories of UCLA gymnastics legends. I’m your host, Kim Hamilton Anthony. Here we go. We’re closing out the Bruin Gymnastics Alumni edition of the Resilience to Brilliance podcast, with two episodes honoring the 40th anniversary of the UCLA men’s gymnastics team winning the 1984 national championship title.
Kim Anthony (00:01:21) – For this episode, I caught up with co-captain of that national championship winning team, Mark Caso, and he shares his resilience to brilliance story, which includes him breaking his neck while training, which almost permanently paralyzed him. Mark was a member of the US national team from 1981 to ‘86, and we actually competed in the 1984 Olympic Trials together. Mark won medals around the world as he represented the U.S. and graced the podium many a time during his storied career at UCLA. Let’s listen to the fun but very moving conversation we had together. Mark, thank you so much for joining me today and I’m excited to jump into your story. So in 1980, at the age of 17, you were one of the top high school recruits in the nation. So first I want to know why did you choose UCLA?
Mark Caso (00:02:24) – You know, that was that was not the norm. That was a UCLA was a school that nobody ever heard of for gymnastics. It was just, you know, there was Nebraska, there was all these other schools, and UCLA was not one of them.
Mark Caso (00:02:39) – However, I met this amazing human being named Peter Vidmar at the high school National All Around Invitational. Peter was one of the top all around gymnasts in the country. And so we were in Chicago. And I met him and I hadn’t decided what university I wanted to go to. But I had met his coach, Makoto Sakamoto. And he said, hey man, where are you going to school. I said, I don’t know. He goes, well, why don’t you come to UCLA? I said, well, nobody’s ever, you know talked about that. So he said, I’ll call Coach Sherlock right now. He called Coach Sherlock, and Coach Sherlock had heard about me and he said, yeah, I’ll bring him out. Yeah. For sure. So then, you know, I, um, took a trip out to UCLA, and I fell in love with the place. And the rest is history. Peter and I, we had the same goal. We wanted to make the 1980 Olympic team, Makoto Sakamoto.
Mark Caso (00:03:54) – It’s really a hard, uh, hard coach. Really, really, really hard. And so he said, if you guys listen to what I’m going to tell you to do every day. I can guarantee you’re going to make the team.
Kim Anthony (00:04:10) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:04:11) – So it was funny because we were at the Air Force Academy and it was the National Sports Festival, and we are up in the top of this mountain. And we were doing this morning exercise training that we were going to do. And Makoto said. I want you guys to make a vow. You know what a vow is. Ah, sure, I’ll make a vow. I don’t care. You know, no vows like a marriage vow. It’s really a it’s a serious vow. You can’t just make this. You know, this is a lot of thought. Needs to go into it. Okay, so what’s the vow? That you’re going to vow to do morning training. Until you retire. Every single morning except Sundays, because Peter’s Mormon can’t do anything on Sunday.
Mark Caso (00:05:05) – Okay.
Kim Anthony (00:05:07) – Sacred day.
Mark Caso (00:05:08) – So do you think it can do that? Sure. Yeah. Okay. So we’re all going to shake on it and we’re all going to do it till you guys are retired. And I can commit that I will be with you the whole way until you’re done.
Kim Anthony (00:05:26) – Oh my goodness.
Mark Caso (00:05:28) – So, you know, I guess I just thought it was just like an agreement or something, but it isn’t really like something that’s, you know, I didn’t really think I really understood what that all meant.
Kim Anthony (00:05:43) – But in his eyes, it was like a marriage vow.
Mark Caso (00:05:46) – It was a marriage vow.
Kim Anthony (00:05:47) – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:05:49) – Okay. And it would be like, you know, you don’t do the vow. You’re cheating on me. Okay.
Kim Anthony (00:05:54) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:05:55) – Okay, so, um. But anyway, I did the vow. Peter did the vow. We all three did it together. And then when we got back to UCLA, Mitch had, um joined the team too.
Kim Anthony (00:06:09) – And buy this.
Kim Anthony (00:06:11) – Mitch Gaylord. Yeah.
Mark Caso (00:06:13) – Yeah. And then, uh, Makoto said, uh, because Mitch was wondering why Mark and Peter are always getting up, running every morning. We’re like, because we made a vow. Well, I want to make the vow too.
Kim Anthony (00:06:25) – Really?
Mark Caso (00:06:26) – Mitch. You really want to make. Mitch is a guy that likes to sleep in.
Kim Anthony (00:06:30) – Okay.
Mark Caso (00:06:32) – So, anyway, Mitch wanted to make the vow too. And so. He made the vow.
Kim Anthony (00:06:40) – So the three of you. Peter Vidmar, Mitch Gaylord, and you came in together as freshmen at UCLA. What a freshman class. Oh my goodness.
Mark Caso (00:06:51) – So that’s what kind of kicked everything off. It was like this, this thing, this unit that we all had the same idea and we all agreed that we were going to do it together.
Kim Anthony (00:07:03) – Hmm.
Mark Caso (00:07:04) – And, um, yeah, it was it was really remarkable.
Kim Anthony (00:07:10) – So a lot of gymnasts have the dream of becoming an Olympian, but of course, not all get that opportunity.
Kim Anthony (00:07:17) – Very few do. And and and because of it taking place every four years, you have to peak at a certain time. And all of that, things just have to align. And you were right there. You were right in that space at UCLA. You made this vow. You’re you’re going to do it, and you have the capability to do it. And you have the coach who has promised that if you commit, he can get you there. But early on in your career at UCLA, something happened that would change everything.
Mark Caso (00:07:57) – Yeah, actually it was like. The vow happened in August. I made the vow in August and then December of 1979. It was a ‘79, ‘80 season because the Olympics was in 1980 and January 31st, 1980. I had my injury and I had already qualified for the first Olympic trials. So it was, um. It was pretty devastating to me.
Kim Anthony (00:08:41) – Can you take me back to what led up to the injury? There was a skill that you were working on.
Mark Caso (00:08:49) – Yeah, yeah.
Mark Caso (00:08:50) – It’s actually it’s interesting because, um, it was called a one and a half twisting one and three quarter Arabian or they called it the Kurt Thomas because he did it in the, uh, 1978 World Championships and he won the gold medal. I think it was 78. I’m not sure. Um, but. So. Peter, I’m sorry, but I have to be honest. Uh, Peter. And and he’ll tell you, too. He was not the best tumbler in the world. So. But, uh, he wanted to do the Kurt Thomas because he felt like he couldn’t do a couldn’t do a full in. But 1 in 3 he might be able to make.
Kim Anthony (00:09:35) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:09:36) – So, um, he was working on the.
Kim Anthony (00:09:39) – For those who may not know what a 1 in 3 is and a one and a half, one and three, Kurt Thomas. Um, can you describe what that skill is?
Mark Caso (00:09:49) – Ah, okay.
Kim Anthony (00:09:50) – So that we can just picture it in our minds.
Mark Caso (00:09:53) – Yeah. So what it is, is, um, you’re doing a roundoff back handspring is the first three tricks or two tricks, and then you do a backflip in the air with a full twist.
Mark Caso (00:10:07) – I can use around my fingers. Okay, here we go. One of my toys. We make toys here, so.
Kim Anthony (00:10:12) – There you go.
Mark Caso (00:10:13) – So it’s a back flip with a full twist. Okay, now you don’t land yet. You don’t land yet. You do another half turn and then you dive out of it.
Kim Anthony (00:10:26) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:10:28) – So it’s a one and a half twist with one and three quarter rotations.
Kim Anthony (00:10:33) – So you’re coming down on your hands instead of your feet and you’re rolling out.
Mark Caso (00:10:38) – Right. Right. And there’s very little room for error because if you land on your head. Or come a little short, you’re going to break your neck. And so. So, you know, that trick is is worth zero today for women’s gymnastics.
Kim Anthony (00:11:00) – You are kidding.
Mark Caso (00:11:01) – It’s worth zero.
Mark Caso (00:11:02) – So nobody does it because you get zero credit for it. Zero anything. Go ahead. Do it if you want.
Kim Anthony (00:11:07) – Yeah.
Mark Caso (00:11:08) – You get nothing.
Kim Anthony (00:11:10) – Mhm.
Mark Caso (00:11:11) – So that’s how you get rid of a trick.
Kim Anthony (00:11:13) – I see the rationale behind that.
Mark Caso (00:11:15) – Yeah
Kim Anthony (00:11:16) – I won’t fight it. So take me to that day when you had a life changing thing happened.
Mark Caso (00:11:23) – Yeah.
Mark Caso (00:11:24) – So I was a freshman and I felt really like um yeah, I’d already qualified for the first trials and myself, Mitch, and Peter, we were like, on the rankings way up there. And we were just like, yeah, we’re gonna do it. And, um, Makoto put us the way we trained for the Olympics was we made it, pulled out a calendar. We had a calendar. We had a show up one day and bring your calendar. Okay, now the Olympic trials is on this day on the calendar. Flip to this page. That’s Olympic trials. Okay? We know what we’re doing that day. We’re having the meet.
Kim Anthony (00:12:02) – Right.
Mark Caso (00:12:02) – And we actually know what we’re going to do the day before the meet. Probably light whatever. And even the couple days before that meet, there’ll be a travel day in there. So we worked all the way back using the calendar. And we knew when we wanted to do a lot of repetitions, a lot of routines and get into serious routine strength. And then when we wanted to come down and let our body recover from that, and then when we wanted to go up again and, and really load up again, and then when we kind of and then we wanted to taper down into the meet and be only refining everything. So that was the strategy. And he said, this is the way this is the I can guarantee you’re going to make the team. And we did that for our first Olympic Trials qualification thing. We all did that and we were like, I never felt better. I never felt I really felt like I could never miss was never it never even came into my mind that I could miss anything because I was in just such unbelievable shape.
Mark Caso (00:13:14) – But on this day we were in the deepest trough of the of the loading up. So we were so exhausted. And, um. So. We were so tired that we didn’t warm up anymore. We, um. We just took off our sweats and we just saluted. And just because we were actually at that level where we really didn’t need to warm up, we could just wing it. And.
Kim Anthony (00:13:47) – That’s amazing.
Mark Caso (00:13:48) – So we were doing it like that, and, um, we would be able to just make routines that were kind of sloppy, whatever. But we were getting through them. And. You know, I just, uh. Bit off more than I could chew on that day. And so I, um. I was so tired. And we did have this we did have this, uh, this saying the saying was all or nothing. Okay, either you’re going to go all out, you’re going to, you know, or you’re going to just say, hey, I’m going to get hurt and you just bow out and and, you know, decide you’re not doing it.
Mark Caso (00:14:31) – So that was the that was always the option for everybody. And you should be honest.
Kim Anthony (00:14:37) – Hmhmm.
Mark Caso (00:14:39) – But none of us ever did it. We never once did it. Because ah 18 years old. Seven. You know, we just didn’t do this.
Kim Anthony (00:14:53) – I can do this. You’re invincible.
Mark Caso (00:14:54) – Your voice.
Mark Caso (00:14:57) – So I think it was a guy thing. I don’t know.
Kim Anthony (00:15:01) – A guy thing.
Mark Caso (00:15:02) – Maybe not. So I just, uh, went down there, did my first pass, did a full in, and then I did my second pass. I did a just a nice little full twisting dive roll rested up, and then I just went down to do my third pass and, um. I just felt like. I felt like there was gravity just someone turned up the gravity. You know, I’m running down there trying to get it my body going. And, um, I did my roundoff back handspring, and I just felt like I was actually not even moving forward as almost as if I was going backwards. And I took off in the air and I knew I wasn’t.
Mark Caso (00:15:41) – And when I took off, I knew, oh, man, this is not good. And I just tried as hard as I could to get around, and I just landed right on my head and. Yeah. So and, um, and everything went black and I, my, my chin went into my chest and I and I.
Mark Caso (00:16:07) – Uh. All the like everything shot through my body. And and it’s like when you go get paralyzed, it’s like your body. All your whole body tingles, you know, like when your foot’s falling asleep.
Kim Anthony (00:16:22) – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:16:23) – Okay. That’s what it’s like. But it goes so super intense, if you can imagine that sort of tingling getting so so cranking up that so much that all of a sudden you can’t move anymore? Well, a lot of times when you, when your foot falls asleep, you almost can’t move it a little, a little bit.
Kim Anthony (00:16:41) – Right. I’ve been in that state.
Mark Caso (00:16:43) – It’s kind of. So that’s what happens. It goes so far to then it turns up and vibrates so much that it’s then it’s gone.
Mark Caso (00:16:50) – There’s nothing. And then, you know, you. You’re trying to think, okay. I, I can’t, I can’t even make a connection to move. It’s not there. And so that’s terrifying. And so that’s that’s what it was. And, uh. That’s what it felt like. And. And I was just really worried. Um, you know, I knew I broke my neck, I knew it, and then I thought. You know, everything going through my brain, you know I. Why did I do this? You know, this is if this is the way I’m going to be. This is what I have to live with. You know, if if this is the way it’s always going to be now, I mean.
Kim Anthony (00:17:39) – Oh my goodness. Mark, I can’t imagine.
Mark Caso (00:17:41) – It was just it was just very terrifying for me. And and everyone was really shocked. And, um. And then. You know, Jerry came over and he held my head and.
Mark Caso (00:17:57) – And um. Got the ambulance to come and. Um, and. They took me to the hospital. And then they did all their. They did all their tests and everything. And as I got in the hospital, their things started to come back. I started to feel again.
Mark Caso (00:18:24) – But. It was really. It was a time period that I never, you know, I never wanted to ever have that again. And so. Just a little interesting thing. So everyone finished practice that day and two guys after me that had to do all their routines. Peter didn’t do his one and a half, one and three because he needed to do another routine. And Mitch decided he was going to go anyway. He wanted to do his. So he did his. And then, um. Um. Makoto shows up at the hospital. And. He walked into my room and I didn’t recognize him and I’m like. Because he shaved his head. And he said, Mark, you notice that I have a haircut? Yeah. Do you know what it is? No.
Mark Caso (00:19:27) – It’s to symbolize safety.
Kim Anthony (00:19:30) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:19:34) – Yeah. So.
Kim Anthony (00:19:36) – What did he mean by that?
Mark Caso (00:19:38) – He. He took it upon himself that he felt responsible for me. Mhm. And he. He couldn’t forgive himself for not stopping me. And so he. He needed me to know that. He’s taking responsibility for it. And so he shaved his head and.
Mark Caso (00:20:18) – Yeah. And, you know, I want to tell you something. I didn’t know. I mean. Yeah, I, I didn’t ever blame him. I blame me. Because I’m the one that did it. It’s not him. He didn’t do it, I did it. I never blamed him. Ever. I never blamed anyone from UCLA for what I did. You know, I did it, I wanted to. Um. But. I was talking to Peter Vidmar. I don’t know, this is years. I mean, like, it was maybe two months ago or three months ago. No, it was actually last fall. And Peter said, I saw Makoto, you know, and he was talking about you.
Mark Caso (00:21:06) – The the one mistake he ever, always made and he can never forgive himself for is you in. And I said, really? He’s holding on to that. I said, I need to call that man. So I called him and I said.
Mark Caso (00:21:32) – I need. I said to him that I need you to know. That I never blamed you. It’s 100% me. And you just need to promise me that you will let go of that.
Kim Anthony (00:21:50) – Mm.
Mark Caso (00:21:52) – So, He said thank you.
Mark Caso (00:21:54) – So.
Kim Anthony (00:21:58) – That’s beautiful. Mark. I mean, all these years later.
Mark Caso (00:22:02) – All these years I had no idea he was holding onto that because I wasn’t holding on to.
Mark Caso (00:22:07) – And I was living a comfortable life. I would just everything is. And then I told him, I said, do you know what’s the best? It turns out it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
Kim Anthony (00:22:18) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:22:18) – Because it changed me. I would never be who I am. Had that not happened. I could never be me.
Kim Anthony (00:22:28) – That’s amazing. Yeah, that is amazing. I can’t imagine what he must have felt as your coach. Feeling responsible for his athletes and I. And I can understand, um, how he could blame himself. Um, not saying that he should have blamed himself at all, but I can understand his care for you. His care for all of his athletes.
Mark Caso (00:22:55) – We made a vow together.
Mark Caso (00:22:56) – You know, like we talked about from the beginning. It was sacred, you know.
Kim Anthony (00:23:02) – Mhm.
Mark Caso (00:23:03) – And so. And he, he feels like he made a promise to me that I was going to make that team and I was unable to um, and he always says, you know, he’s whatever he says whatever. But it is what it is and I’m and and and I honestly believe that, thank God I didn’t make an Olympic team. Thank God that none of. Yes, thank God. Because really I will I mean. My life is so rich. So everything. I’m just so happy. The way it all turned out is more than I could ever have wished for.
Kim Anthony (00:23:47) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:23:49) – And it’s not about Olympic team or gym. That taught me, taught me so much that I can give my what I learned from all that experience to my girls, you know?
Kim Anthony (00:24:03 – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:23:04) – And I can, you know. I know what they’re going through. I understand all of it.
Mark Caso (00:24:10) – You know.
Mark Caso (00:24:11) – So.
Kim Anthony (00:24:13) – Uh.
Kim Anthony (00:24:14) – I am very emotional, as you can see and feel. And I think.
Kim Anthony (00:24:24) – There are so many things that you said, Mark, that have just really touched me at a very deep level. And one of those things I think I mentioned earlier, how as a gymnast, the goal is usually to make the Olympic team, but you just said the opposite. You said, I’m glad I didn’t make a team, and I’d like you to just kind of lean into why you’re glad. I mean, you you talked about how you’re a different person because you went through all of these things. You’re now a different person. How did that accident change you?
Mark Caso (00:25:08) – I learned how to confront demons.
Mark Caso (00:25:13) – Okay, I learned. I learned so much about. You know, I chose my major after all the psychology. I had a degree in psychology at UCLA. I made a decision. I wanted to continue doing gymnastics because I hadn’t finished what I set out to do. And I figured, um. I wanted to end the whole thing on my terms. But to to answer your question. The biggest thing I learned, and I think that everyone deals with this on a. Is. That. I don’t care how successful you are, it all has to deal with this whole mental health, okay? When you go through a serious injury like that. And you decide to go back into the thing that almost killed you. You have these thoughts that does lightning strike twice? Is something going to happen to me? Can it happen to me? So some days. I call it the monkeys that wreak havoc in your brain. These little monkeys, they’re just. They’re going here telling you all this false information.
Mark Caso (00:26:33) – That’s not true. It’s just not true. Okay, because I’ve already stack the deck with all these things that I know that are safe, and I’m doing safe things that pull it to my feet. I’m not going to land. And so I, I learned how to how to. Somehow take all those monkeys that are running loose in my brain and just wreaking havoc and and terrorizing me and somehow. Lock them into a cage and shut them up for a while so that I can focus. And so I learned. Sometimes there’s different parts of your brain. There’s like the part that you dream with that’s very creative, that can really beat you up when it wants to. And then there’s like lower brain. You can go down to a place where it’s so unsophisticated. It’s reptile. It’s, it’s, it’s lower brain. It’s breathing, it’s heartbeat. So. I learned that I’m going to focus on my breathing. If I really focus on my breathing, where do I breathe at all these different parts of the routine? Focus on that because that’s reptile stuff, okay? And the monkeys don’t get they can’t come out of the cage if you’re down there.
Mark Caso (00:28:06) – And so. And then what are you doing? You’re just letting your body do what it already knows how to do. The problem is, the monkeys want to micromanage every little split second of every skill that you’re doing, and all of a sudden you have the twisties or you have whatever, and you you don’t know what to do anymore. You’re afraid to let go because something bad might happen. This one’s saying you’re going to land on your head again. You’re gonna land your head again. And you know, but if I think about, well, I’ve done it a thousand times and I’m just going to work on how do I breathe before this, you know, I dismount my my high bar dismount was a triple back, and it’d be like, that’s a scary thing at the end of a routine, because once you let go and you’ve committed, you’re at the point of no return, right?
Kim Anthony (00:28:56) – Absolutely.
Mark Caso (00:28:57) – You actually have to do three now.
Kim Anthony (00:28:59) – Yeah, three it is.
Mark Caso (00:29:00) – So. Right.
Mark Caso (00:29:00) – So I decided that on my Giants before I know where I exhale exhale exhale let go.
Mark Caso (00:29:08) – And I would just do that. And I. It would just. All of a sudden I’d land on my feet and there I am.
Kim Anthony (00:29:16) – And you did it.
Mark Caso (00:29:17) – So those things I learned. I learned, you know, that some things that you can control these negative thoughts. You know, they don’t need to be there. And because they’re it’s. It’s just, uh, you have to learn the difference between what is what is a realistic fear and what is not realistic. And so I fear self-doubt, all these things. And the other thing I noticed is that I’m not afraid to work hard. I’m not afraid to start over again. And I think the most important part of of life and being an adult, is to fail, or have to start all the way over again from the beginning, and then just to be able to. I’m not afraid of that. It’s only work and I know how to do that.
Kim Anthony (00:30:18) – So let’s let’s talk about you starting over. First, I’d like to hear what the doctor said about you and what were the risks you were facing going back into that gym.
Kim Anthony (00:30:31) – Well.
Mark Caso (00:30:33) – It was a consensus Mark. You need to retire.
Kim Anthony (00:30:39) – Okay.
Mark Caso (00:30:42) – These are all the the neurosurgeon people. These are all the neuro people. You realize that once you put someone into a halo and a traction and all that stuff, and you had paralysis.
Mark Caso (00:30:57) – Not wise, not wise.
Mark Caso (00:30:59) – You are at a higher risk for something like this again. So, um. But there was one doctor who told me that he thinks that. He did a good job, Doctor Feynman. I don’t know if you had Doctor Feynman too.
Kim Anthony (00:31:20) – Yes. Yes.
Mark Caso (00:31:22) – Okay. We all did right?
Kim Anthony (00:31:23) – Mhm.
Mark Caso (00:31:24) – He put us all back together.
Kim Anthony (00:31:28) – Oh yes.
Mark Caso (00:31:29) – So, um, he said, you know, I fused you’re really good, you’re fused. And I think that it would take an injury similar to what you did before in order for this to happen again. Similar. But the outcome would be much, much worse for you.
Kim Anthony (00:31:52) – Mhm.
Mark Caso (00:31:53) – So I translated that into it’s the same risk as everybody else has every single day.
Kim Anthony (00:32:00) – Okay.
Kim Anthony (00:32:01) – So how in the world did you translate it into that.
Mark Caso (00:32:05) – Because I would have to land on my head again and I don’t plan to.
Kim Anthony (00:32:07) – Okay, okay.
Mark Caso (00:32:10) – And neither does anyone else plan to land on their head.
Kim Anthony (00:32:14) – True That’s true.
Kim Anthony (00:32:16) – That is very true. I’ve landed on my head many times and it was never part of the plan.
Mark Caso (00:32:24) – So. And then I always thought, well, I’m just going to do everything to my feet. And I’m also going to stack the deck on my side. So I did things that, um, that would really. Make it so that it could never happen again. And number one was I bounce trampoline like crazy. I was going to have the best air sense of anybody ever. So I will always know where I am and I just bounce, tramp and bounce tramp and lots of tramp. And coach Sherlock was in there and I had twisting belt on and I just had fantasy time, and we did everything. I did triple twisting triple layouts.
Mark Caso (00:33:11) – I did whatever I could think of.
Kim Anthony (00:33:12) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:33:13) – Let’s just try it all, you know? So I know where I am and I know where I am. I can even look and spot and see and and all this stuff. And so I knew always where I was then, and I was able to do a lot of that. And then I thought, second thing I’m going to do is I’m going to make it so that my arms are as strong as my legs. So if I ever have to come in for a head landing, I will stop it in a handstand.
Kim Anthony (00:33:41) – I love it.
Kim Anthony (00:33:43) – I love that. I’m totally picturing you like boom, right? Handstand.
Mark Caso (00:33:49) – You know that’s impossible. You do know that too. So anyway. But that’s what my plan was. So I did, you know, at the dorms, you know, there’s the elevators, right? You lived at the dorms.
Kim Anthony (00:34:01) – I did.
Mark Caso (00:34:02) – So I was always doing whenever there was an elevator wait for I did. I always cranked out 20 or 30 pushups.
Mark Caso (00:34:09) – And then every night we, I mean, I did pushups and handstand push ups and hands and push ups and push ups. I was just going to make my shoulder strength and my and my triceps just like like a life support system for triceps. You know, they were just going to support my whole body.
Kim Anthony (00:34:25) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:34:26) – And so anyway and then I figured if I have those two things then what can go wrong?
Kim Anthony (00:34:32) – You’re such the optimist. I love that. I like it, I like it, and and that’s having that kind of attitude seems like it is what propelled you forward and enabled you to work past the twisties and all of the other fears that may have popped up at the time. Was there ever a time when you felt discouraged or wondered if you should give up?
Mark Caso (00:34:58) – Well, you do realize that what I’m telling you is the plan. Okay?
Kim Anthony (00:35:02) – Okay.
Mark Caso (00:35:03) – But you know how plans work.
Kim Anthony (00:35:06) – Mhm.
Mark Caso (00:35:07) – You have a good intention to start the plan, but then things don’t always. Days are different.
Mark Caso (00:35:12) – Things can happen. And so, you know, you have ups and downs. But guess what? You also have friends. And I had really great friends. They were all teammates. They all knew what I went through. They were all there when it happened. And they were they were like, Mark, if you’re doing this again, I got you back.
Kim Anthony (00:35:40) – Okay.
Mark Caso (00:35:41) – Okay. So I would have people like Mitch and then Tim Daggett came along. He was a and so they would it didn’t matter if I was at Olympic trials or at the USA Championships or whatever, because we all spotted each other in the gym. And I would say, Tim, having a little bad day here. Don’t seem to want to do my triple. Can you just stand there for my. You know, I know that just for just one. You know, it’s it’s the warm up for USA Championships.
Kim Anthony (00:36:17) – Right.
Mark Caso (00:36:18) – He’s like, yeah, I got you. No problem. You stood there.
Kim Anthony (00:36:20) – I love it.
Mark Caso (00:36:21) – You know? So these are my friends that take their time out of their meat and their. For me.
Kim Anthony (00:36:29) – That’s pretty special.
Mark Caso (00:36:30) – So this is this is what UCLA the UCLA I remember. It was really a magical place.
Kim Anthony (00:36:39) – Mhm.
Mark Caso (00:36:41) – And and then, you know, I just want to say that. It isn’t just the men’s side of things. It was the women’s side of things too, like Jerry Tomlinson.
Kim Anthony (00:36:54) – Who was my coach, my head coach.
Mark Caso (00:36:57) – Who was your coach. And do you know, he had nothing to do with men’s gymnastics, right? He did spot us every now and then, but there was a time, and this was just the most incredible, special thing that ever happened for me. Um, I, I felt that I was ready to qualify and and and make the the national team again. It had been one year since my injury. And UCLA men’s team was going to Japan. The whole men’s team. All the guys on the team had already qualified for USA Championships, so they were all set and they were just going to go have fun in Tokyo and compete.
Mark Caso (00:37:43) – And I hadn’t because I was just now ready to to. That I could probably qualify for USA Championships. So. There was one more qualifying meet left, one more, and it was up in Berkeley, California. And Coach Sherlock and Makoto said to me, Mark, you should just take this year off, okay? It’s been a lot. Just take the year off and go to Japan with us and just enjoy the trip. And I said yeah. But I think I can qualify for the USA Championships. And they’re like, well, who? What are you going to do? We’re going to be in Japan. And I said, well. You know, I could go up by myself and I could ask someone for a lift in the equipment there, whatever. Or I could ask Jerry. So I asked Jerry.
Mark Caso (00:38:44) – He said, I’m not doing anything that weekend. Sure, I’ll go with you.
Kim Anthony (00:38:49) – Wow. So let let’s go back here you are just one year out from your injury.
Kim Anthony (00:38:56) – And we even skipped the fact that you had to wear this halo with screws in four screws in your head, and that’s how you started training. And not only are you going to this meet to qualify, but you’re taking the women’s gymnastics coach with you.
Mark Caso (00:39:13) – Yes I am. That is correct.
Kim Anthony (00:39:16) – Tell me more.
Mark Caso (00:39:17) – It was just. It was just amazing. Jerry and I didn’t have a place to stay, so we were couchsurfing while we were there.
Kim Anthony (00:39:25) – Oh my goodness.
Kim Anthony (00:39:26) – That was when we had a very high budget, right?
Mark Caso (00:39:29) – Oh yeah. Well, look.
Mark Caso (00:39:31) – I was not on the schedule for anything I was supposed to be, you know, so this was like out of your pocket. If you want to qualify.
Kim Anthony (00:40:37) – Oh, I see.
Mark Caso (00:39:39) – You go do it. Okay. You go do this. So Jerry bought his own airplane ticket. I bought my own airplane ticket.
Kim Anthony (00:39:42) – Oh my goodness.
Mark Caso (00:39:44) – And I went up to Berkeley and, um. We slept on the couch and it was a two day meet. First day was compulsories. Did great.
Mark Caso (00:39:53) – That didn’t need Jerry so much in the compulsory day. And then the second day was optionals. And you know Jerry just pretty much. Watch me go through my thing and gave me a lift to the rings and gave me a lift to the high bar and stood there for my dismounts and whatever. And it turns out that. I, I thought after I landed my final dismount or whatever, that I, you know, I there’s no way I made it. And then when they were lined everybody up, I didn’t I wasn’t very good with the math. And then those days there was no scores. These were like small meets where, you know. There was no crowd, no nothing. And, um, so they announced the people that are that qualified and I was the last person to qualify. And I made it.
Kim Anthony (00:40:47) – Yes.You did it.
Mark Caso (00:40:47) – And so I just started crying. It was so it was so special for me that, you know, I couldn’t believe that I set an idea that I thought I could go do this.
Mark Caso (00:40:59) – So I, I learned that you can have a harebrained idea, okay, but if you believe enough and you just stick with it.
Kim Anthony (00:41:10) – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:41:10) – You know, and just just stick with it. It might happen. And I was. I barely made it, but I made it.
Kim Anthony (00:41:19) – You did.
Mark Caso (00:41:20) – So I got to go to USA Championships. And then because I was at USA championships, I had no pressure in the world. I placed eighth.
Kim Anthony (00:41:31) – Wow.
Mark Caso (00:41:32) – Eighth, I beat Mitch, I beat Tim, I beat everybody except Peter.
Mark Caso (00:41:40) – And it was like unbelievable. And it was like, yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:41:45) – So if that would have been an Olympic year, you would have been on the Olympic team or at least an alternate.
Mark Caso (00:41:52) – Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:41:54) – Wow, Mark. I mean, even just watching you tell this story and seeing the emotion in your face, it’s like it is so inspiring. It is so hopeful. And I, I see your story as one of inspiration and hope and and I my desire is for anyone who is listening, to hear just how much you can overcome, how much you can be resilient through those times when you think it’s over.
Mark Caso (00:42:27) – Exactly. You know, it’s, uh. You just have to be patient, I guess, and not be afraid to work and do the work. And and then you have to. You have to be able to see it. See it crystal clear in your mind that you what you want to achieve, you have to have a clear picture. And I’m not afraid to do anything and I’m not above anything. I’m just me. And I can do whatever. It doesn’t matter which job it is, I will do anything. It doesn’t matter. And I feel like the fact that I broke my neck taught me that you are never better than anyone else, and you’re not worse than anyone either.
Kim Anthony (00:43:21) – Right. So you had this balance of perspective on who you were as a person.
Mark Caso (00:43:25) – Yes.
Kim Anthony (00:43:27) – That’s brilliant.
Mark Caso (00:43:28) – And that is the thing that I, I cherish. I cherish that. I’m not afraid to do whatever it takes. And sometimes it’s not pretty what it takes. Some people only want to do the the fun, great stuff.
Mark Caso (00:43:46) – But it’s the grind. That’s that’s where it is. It’s all at the grind.
Kim Anthony (00:43:53) – So, Mark, do you think that your experience in gymnastics and including your injury and what you’ve just described has made it possible for you to move from that place of resilience into this brilliant career that you have now and your post gymnastics career. You’ve done some amazing things, some fun things, and I just hear the sense of humility in that perhaps because of everything that happened, your mind was opened to new ideas to be able to explore things that perhaps you would never think to do before.
Mark Caso (00:44:30) – Yes, I I’ve, I come to the realization that I can do anything. If I am willing. Willing to try, and willing to be patient and willing to be open and learn. Willing is so important. Some people try, but they’re not willing to be open or whatever they want, you know, and I’m willing to do the work. And so, um, I just feel like, uh. Yeah, my I have done some really super fun things and my life is just, uh.
Mark Caso (00:45:19) – And the thing I’m doing now, like, we have a toy company and we manufacture toy trucks, and we’re like.
Kim Anthony (00:45:27) – Very cool toy trucks.
Mark Caso (00:45:28) – We’re like. Probably the most important one in the world. For our category. And, you know, we sell it in every country in the world. And, you know, it’s it’s really amazing. And to be able to create things that children that they they love this stuff and it’s, you know, feeding back into children positive things, you know. And, um. So I’m so grateful. And I feel like I’ve always kind of been connected to toys.
Kim Anthony (00:46:06) – Really?
Mark Caso (00:46:07) – Yeah. Because the Ninja Turtles with this whole Ninja Turtle thing.
Kim Anthony (00:46:11) – That’s true. I forgot about that.
Kim Anthony (00:46:14) – I didn’t know. Okay, so you have to talk about the Ninja Turtle thing. What’s that all about? I know, but we want others to know.
Mark Caso (00:46:21) – Yeah, I was, uh, you know, I did the Ninja Turtles. I was Leonardo in those movies. And, you know, when I.
Mark Caso (00:46:29) – When they first did them, these were like, uh, in the, in the 90s, um, they were the, the, the first trilogy, and they were all, uh, Jim Henson films, and he created the costumes and all this stuff. And, um, I thought that this was, you know, because when I first started doing it, I thought, okay, well, this I’ll do one, and it’s just a fly by night thing. It’s, you know, whatever. It’s just bad.
Kim Anthony (00:47:02) – This little thing.
Mark Caso (00:47:06) – But the toys have been a staple at every toy shelf department since the 90s, and you can always see a Ninja Turtle section.
Kim Anthony (00:47:18) – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:47:20) – And, uh, it’s just, uh, it’s never going away. I know that now.
Kim Anthony (00:47:23) – No, I don’t think so.
Mark Caso (00:47:23) – And there’s these people that contact me and they’re like, you realize that, you know, you’re the first movie I went to see, and I saw it a hundred times, and now my kids are into that, and they love it too.
Mark Caso (00:47:38) – And, you know, so it’s it’s just wonderful. But, you know, the toys is, you know, I’m just a big toy geek. I’ve always loved toys. And, you know.
Kim Anthony (00:47:49) – So nice, so.
Mark Caso (00:47:50) – Perfect for me.
Kim Anthony (00:47:51) – It is perfect. It is perfect. And I remember watching you and I even, um, came in the gym, I was auditioning, I was in the stunt world a little bit. And, um. And maybe one day I’ll share my story about why I exited that world, but, uh, I had to audition for a commercial, and I needed to do a backflip off the wall, and I came in. Do you remember that at all?
Mark Caso (00:48:18) – I do remember that.
Kim Anthony (00:48:21) – That was the scariest thing. So. Yeah. So I appreciate, um, the work that you put in to help me do that.
Mark Caso (00:48:29) – Well tell the story. You can’t leave us yet.
Kim Anthony (00:48:31) – But. But it’s about you, Mark. This is. I don’t want to insert, you know, my stuff into your into your space.
Mark Caso (00:48:37) – But we’re having coffee.
Kim Anthony (00:48:38) – Um, I do have to come back. Okay, you got me. We’re having coffee. Um, yeah, a lot of it is a blur, actually. But I go into the gym and I’m trying to learn how to do a, um, run up a wall and do a backflip. And so you guys stepped in, and you helped me to do that, and, um, it was different. It was. It was fun to learn for sure. And, um, and I was able to do it for the audition, and then they decided, oh, you can’t actually do that in these particular shoes that we’re that we’re, um, advertising.
Mark Caso (00:49:17) – In high heels?
Kim Anthony (00:49:19) – Really? Are you kidding me? And, um. Yeah. So that was that. But it was fun.
Mark Caso (00:49:24) – Yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:49:25) – So thank you.
Mark Caso (00:49:28) – Was my brother there?
Kim Anthony (00:49:29) – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:49: 28) – Yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:49:31) – I think so. I think it was the two of you who were were helping me. Yes.
Mark Caso (00:49:35) – Yes.
Kim Anthony (00:49:31) – And you did compete with your brother.
Kim Anthony (00:49:38) – We haven’t talked about him. Uh, but how cool is that to have your brother in the gym with you?
Mark Caso (00:49:45) – Yeah, it. You know, after I hurt my. He. He never wanted to go to the same place that that I was going to go to school, but I have to hurt myself. He said I can’t imagine going anywhere other than going to UCLA, so I can make sure that you’re safe.
Kim Anthony (00:50:01) – Oh, I love that.
Mark Caso (00:50:03) – So that’s.
Kim Anthony (00:50:03) – Brother love.
Mark Caso (00:50:04) – That’s my brother.
Kim Anthony (00:50:05) – Yeah, that’s really special.
Kim Anthony (00:50:08) – Yeah, that’s really special. Now, I, I mean, there’s so much I want to talk with you about, but then we would talk all day long. So I am going to ask you about more about what you’re doing now. You’re, um, with a toy company and are you a part of the creative side as well as the leadership of the company?
Mark Caso (00:50:26) – Yeah.
Mark Caso (00:50:26) – So we we come up with my wife and I, we come up with ideas and different things. And the factory is in Germany.
Mark Caso (00:50:35) – And so we had the whole North America division. It’s called Bruder. And Bruder means brother in German.
Kim Anthony (00:50:43) – Really?
Mark Caso (00:50:43) – Yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:50:44) – Bruder.
Mark Caso (00:50:46) – Yeah. Bruder. Yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:50:47) – Bruder I’ve seen some of the videos that you guys, but I think those are so fun.
Mark Caso (00:50:52) – Yeah. We, um, we have, uh, we do the stop motion, um, videos and, um, our animator, I’m going to brag about him. His name is Justin Rasch, and he won the Academy Award for Pinocchio this year. Last year?
Kim Anthony (00:51:08) – Oh, my goodness.
Mark Caso (00:51:10) – He he was the animator on Pinocchio.
Kim Anthony (00:51:12) – Congrats.
Mark Caso (00:51:13) – And. Yeah. So, um, we’re just finishing up the final episode where we we call these, you know, season two, episode four of our of our, um, series, and it’s, um. Yeah, we, uh, Justin is has somewhat of a gymnastics background too, so when we do some of our, our things with our figures, we always incorporate a little bit of, you know, maybe parkour or some sort of.
Kim Anthony (00:51:46) – I love it.
Mark Caso (00:51:49) – Flippy whatever things.
Kim Anthony (00:51:50) – Flippydo something or other. Well, they’re fun to watch, I must say. Great toys.
Mark Caso (00:51:53) – Awe. Thank you, Kim.
Kim Anthony (00:51:55) – By the way.
Kim Anthony (00:51:56) – I would love for you to tell me about your family. You mentioned your wife and how you’re in business together.
Mark Caso (00:52:02) – Yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:52:02) – And then you have two beautiful daughters.
Mark Caso (00:52:05) – Yes.
Kim Anthony (00:52:06) – Who are semi following in father’s footsteps in terms of the physical activities they do.
Mark Caso (00:52:11) – Yes, yes. So you know, my oldest daughter Isabella, she’s a dancer and.
Kim Anthony (00:52:20) – Beautiful dancer. Yes.
Mark Caso (00:52:21) – Oh thank you, Kim. And so she, you know and I was always praying that my girls would not do gymnastics because.
Kim Anthony (00:52:31) – I prayed that same prayer for my kids.
Mark Caso (00:52:35) – Why is that? That we do that.
Kim Anthony (00:52:37) – I know.
Mark Caso (00:52:38) – You know.
Kim Anthony (00:52:38) – Yeah.
Mark Caso (00:52:39) – Are we hypocrites?
Kim Anthony (00:52:39) – We just we just knew how hard it was and what you go through. And then I just can’t imagine being a parent watching my kid do gymnastics.
Mark Caso (00:52:49) – Yeah. So both of them started as dancers. Isabella started and she was she she caught on.
Mark Caso (00:52:56) – She really loved it. And then Francesca, she loved it, but she also liked to do things that were dangerous.
Kim Anthony (00:53:06) – Oh, I wonder where she got that from.
Mark Caso (00:53:09) – Yeah. So anyway. She, you know, there was a gym very close to our house, and it was, um. Uh, I put her into lessons there, and so I thought, okay, great. You know, she’d just do some lessons and whatever and just get it out of her system. And then they said, well, she’s really good, and, you know, she should. You know, but she was dancing half the week and then, uh, doing gymnastics three days. They said, we want her to do gymnastics full time and be on the team. And then I said.
Kim Anthony (00:53:43) – Okay.
Mark Caso (00:53:44) – Why do you have to be on a team? Why can’t you just can’t just do this for fun?
Mark Caso (00:53:48) – I mean, isn’t that why we do it? We do it for fun, right? And they said.
Mark Caso (00:53:53) – Well, then you should go to a different gym, because we’re not a fun gym we’re, you know, our gym is McKayla Maroney, you know.
Kim Anthony (00:54:02) – Okay.
Mark Caso (00:54:05) – And, uh, we, we create Olympians here, and it’s like the gym was five minutes from my house. I mean, anyway, I just said, you know, let’s just hold off on this idea and we’ll whatever. And then I told my wife, have you ever been to the Olympics? The Olympics is great. You got to see the Olympics. No, I’ve never been to one. So we went to watch the Olympics in London.
Kim Anthony (00:54:26) – Oh.
Mark Caso (00:54:27) – And when we saw the Olympics in London, Francesca said, that’s what I want to do. I want to do that.
Kim Anthony (00:54:34) – Oh. She got the bug.
Mark Caso (00:54:35) – And then I said, okay, if that’s what you want to do. So we’ll talk to the coaches. And I said she wants to do that. And they said, okay, good.
Mark Caso (00:54:44) – So she stopped dancing and she went on to do that but.
Kim Anthony (00:54:49) – I wish our listeners could have seen your face when she when you said she wants to do that, it’s like, oh, she really wants to do that.
Mark Caso (00:54:59) – Well, you know, the you know we’re on the same page.
Kim Anthony (00:55:03) – I understand, I understand. So she has set out to go for her goal.
Mark Caso (00:55:09) – Yeah.
Kim Anthony (00:55:11) – Of being in the Olympics and and how is she doing.
Mark Caso (00:55:14) – My wife’s German. Okay, so Francesca’s German. So Francesca was competing in Germany at the Nationals in Germany. And so she was on the Turn Centrum Cohen, uh, gymnastic team. So we would train here and she would go and do these meets in Germany.
Kim Anthony (00:55:41) – What a great opportunity.
Mark Caso (00:55:43) – Oregon State offered her. Tania and Michael. UCLA Bruins offered her a full scholarship to go there. And so she’s at Oregon State and she’s had an amazing team. And, um.
Kim Anthony (00:55:59) – Great.
Mark Caso (00:56:00) – I just feel like I feel so wonderful because she’s at home with, like, my people.
Kim Anthony (00:56:07) – Yes.
Mark Caso (00:56:08) – My family, you know.
Kim Anthony (00:56:09) – Tonya and Michael. Oh, I love them.
Mark Caso (00:56:11) – Yes, yes. So, you know, I just. I sleep well at night?
Kim Anthony (00:56:19) – Yeah, they. She is in good hands for sure. Well, I think it’s so special that you get to be a part of your daughter’s gymnastics journey. And your family is absolutely beautiful, incredibly talented and gifted people. And I would like to start wrapping up our conversation, but I want to start doing that by asking for your wisdom, or maybe encouragement for someone who may be at the point in life where they have an opportunity to be resilient. Maybe they haven’t faced this life threatening injury like you did, although there are people out there who have and who may be experiencing that. But what about those who may face emotional injuries or other challenges that can be just as life threatening, where they just feel like giving up and like they don’t know if they can press through. Can you give me some advice for that person who’s listening to you today?
Mark Caso (00:57:25) – I think it all starts with making a simple plan, a simple plan, and I think I have a I have a very dear friend. His name is Tom Pace and he helped me when I broke my neck. He had broken his neck a year before I broke mine, and he called me up out of the blue to talk to me. And so we had been friends all these years since since I broke my neck. And Tommy is an adult like me now in business, and he does all this, you know, and. We always talk about. We call each other up and we talk about how we approach. A workout, let’s say, for example, and we have one. He told me there’s only one rule, Mark. We don’t have to compete. There’s no meets coming up or anything. And it’s really quite simple. All you have to do is show up and you get a C.
Mark Caso (00:58:32) – You just show up and you get a C. You do just a little bit more. Just anything, just a little bit more and you get a B.
Mark Caso (00:58:42) – And if you actually try to do something, you really put a lot of effort in that day. You can give yourself an A. And sometimes when you’re when you’re having when you’re injured or something’s not, you get a C for not doing anything because that’s the right thing to do. So. So it’s if you just. Just know that you show up and you get a C. Oh. You can. And what does that mean? What does show up mean? It means just put on your workout clothes. There. Guess what? You put it on. And I’ll bet you if you put your workout clothes on that you go outside. I’ll bet you do. And if you just go outside. Who knows, you might just run to the end of the block. Okay. And then if that was way more than you thought, then you got to be for today. For that day. And so it starts with that. Just keeping it really super simple. And then. If you make a plan.
Mark Caso (00:59:51) – Okay. Where do you. Where? What would you like? What do you want? Have a clear idea of what you want. And then just. Show up for yourself every day and just do one little thing towards that. Doesn’t have to be a lot. But it just has to be something and you can apply that to everything. You know, just keep because what we have is the we have the monkeys that are loose in our brain telling us, oh, don’t do that. Oh, you’re tired, you should probably sleep more or whatever. All this stuff that just, you know. Is irrelevant. You need to. You need to cage, put them away and not listen to them. But I think that’s, that’s it’s, it’s just try to keep it simple.
Kim Anthony (01:00:49) – It’s great advice, Mark. Because.
Kim Anthony (01:00:52) – Anyone can do it.
Kim Anthony (01:00:54) – I was that’s exactly what I was about to say. Anyone can do it. And it can be done for any situation.
Mark Caso (01:01:03) – And another thing that’s really important is there is nothing.
Mark Caso (01:01:07) – And I I try to think about this. There is nothing in this lifetime that we are doing that can’t be improved by good breathing. You know, if you’re nervous or whatever breath, it might help it.
Kim Anthony (01:01:26) – Yeah. Yes.
Mark Caso (01:01:27) – Breathe. Right. If we always go back to just breathing. If no matter how overwhelmed you can be. Take a breath.
Kim Anthony (01:01:38) – Good stuff.
Mark Caso (01:01:39) – And then let it out. And it just. It’ll get better. Just keep breathing and show up.
Kim Anthony (01:01:49) – Keep breathing and show up. Thank you. Mark. There is a question that I ask every person that I’ll be interviewing for this podcast, and it’s related to what I call brilliance mode. So brilliance mode is something that I defined as a state of being where you are able to tap into your gifts, your personality, all those things that make you, you and you perform at the highest level. Doing what is special and specific to your makeup. So my question for you today is what does brilliance mode look like for Mark Caso?
Mark Caso (01:02:35) – When I’m fully living in the moment, when I’m now not self-aware, but I’m out there, I’m outside of myself and I’m just living moment to moment.
Mark Caso (01:02:52) – Because usually, for example, for this podcast, I kept thinking to myself, oh my, I’m so nervous about this or whatever, but you know what I tell myself?
Kim Anthony (01:03:04) -What?
Mark Caso (01:03:05) – I’ll know what to do as soon as Kim says something to me because I’m going to listen to her. And she’s going, I know what to say. I’ll know.
Mark Caso (01:03:15) – I’ll, I’ll. Me will come out.
Kim Anthony (01:03:17) – Yes.
Mark Caso (01:03:18) – So I think that when I’m outside of myself, not focused inward, but focused outward, and I’m living moment to moment. That’s when I can really be at my best.
Kim Anthony (01:03:38) – I understand what you’re saying. It’s. It’s a little like what you described when you talked about how you came back. And there were things that you had to, to focus on the breathing versus all the other things that are swirling in your mind. So what I hear you saying to me is that brilliance mode for you, instead of inhibiting yourself by thinking too much, it’s you just allowing yourself to be you.
Mark Caso (01:04:08) – Yes, exactly. It’s almost as if you don’t have to think, because everything just it’s more reacting to the moment.
Kim Anthony (01:04:16) – Yes.
Kim Anthony (01:04:17) – And it just flows.
Mark Caso (01:04:19) – You know, I could be playing a game, I could be doing whatever. I could be doing my work, I could be in a business meeting and I’m engaged in the what’s going on and what did they say? And oh, that was a and then, you know, I just allow all of it just to.
Kim Anthony (01:04:36) – Yes.
Mark Caso (01:04:38) – Yeah. What you said.
Kim Anthony (01:04:39) – Okay. Great.
Kim Anthony (01:04:42) – Well Mark, your resilience to brilliance story is absolutely, unbelievably inspiring. And it is definitely a story that offers hope for those who may feel like they’re they have their back against the wall and that there’s no way out. So thank you for showing us that there is a way out and that they, just like you, can overcome whatever challenges they may face. So thank you for rising in the face of adversity again and again, and for being living proof that we can do it too.
Mark Caso (01:05:15) – Oh, that’s so sweet. Thank you. Kim.
Kim Anthony (01:05:18) – You’re welcome.
Kim Anthony (01:05:25) – What a story. My key takeaway is how Mark didn’t even let a life threatening injury stop him from living and pursuing the dream that he had had for so many years. He refused to allow fear to guide his decisions. He wanted to go back to doing gymnastics and finish what he started. And he enlisted some psychological strategies and exercises that strengthened him mentally so that he could come back to the sport that almost took his life. Now, if that’s not resilience, I don’t know what is. How many times do we find ourselves giving up on what we’ve set out to do? Because something maybe not as physically challenging as what Mark went through, but something somehow causes us to be paralyzed emotionally, and it prevents us from moving forward and finishing what we’ve started. I know I’ve been there. And in all honesty, I might just be there right now if this is the case for you as well. Let’s think. How can we translate what Mark did to become stronger and more spatially aware as an athlete, to help us become stronger and more aware of what we need to do to help us successfully navigate adversity and finish the race.
Kim Anthony (01:06:51) – Mark’s story. It emphasizes the fact that no matter what we go through, we can choose to be resilient even if the challenges we face ahead look impossible. So what would resilience look like for you when you’re facing the impossible? Thanks for listening. If you want to learn more about Mark Caso, check out our show notes on InBrillianceMode.com/podcast and to connect with Brewing Gymnastics alumni on Instagram. Follow us @UCLAGymAlumni. Any use of this podcast without the express written consent of BrillianceMode LLC is prohibited,
