Tag: Amputee

Some guests bring a great story. Others bring a perspective that challenges the way we think about the world around us. Angelina Martinson brings both.

In this episode of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, I sit down with Angelina, the creator of Adaptive Amputees, a biomedical engineer, athlete, and one of the fastest-growing voices in the limb loss community online. Born in Russia with a limb difference and adopted into the United States at a young age, Angelina has spent much of her life redefining what it means to live fully after limb loss.

But this conversation goes deeper than accomplishments. We talk about growing up different, the role movement and sport played in building confidence, and how she unexpectedly found herself becoming a voice for amputees on social media. Angelina also speaks candidly about something that doesn’t get discussed nearly enough: the criticism and comparison that sometimes happens within the amputee community itself, and how navigating the internet has complicated the way amputees see each other. It’s an honest conversation about identity, resilience, advocacy, and the realities of living with limb loss in a connected world.

About The AMP’D UP211 Podcast

The AMP’D UP211 Podcast is where I sit down with people from across the limb loss community to talk about life, adversity, and what it really means to move forward after losing a limb. Some stories are inspiring, some are difficult, and many are unexpectedly funny. But they all share one thing in common: real people finding their way forward.

If you or someone you love has experienced limb loss, these conversations are for you.
-Rick Bontkowski

Twenty days. That’s how long Chef Zack Wannawong lay in a medically induced coma while surgeons fought a rare and aggressive infection that was tearing through his body. When he finally woke up, his right leg was gone. Just months earlier, Zack was a rising force in the culinary world, leading kitchens, creating award winning dishes, and building a future that felt certain. Overnight, that certainty disappeared. What followed was not just physical recovery. It was an identity reckoning.

In this episode, Zack and I talk honestly about what happens after survival. The depression. The financial strain. The anger. The quiet fear of wondering whether the life you built is simply over. We talk about fatherhood when your child is watching how you respond. We talk about discipline, pride, ego, and what it means to rebuild when there is no blueprint. This is not a highlight reel comeback story. It is a real conversation about loss, resilience, and choosing who you become next.

If you are new here, welcome to The AMP’D UP211 Podcast. I am Rick Bontkowski, amputee, entrepreneur, and someone deeply committed to honest conversations about life beyond limb loss. This show exists to move past surface level inspiration and explore the real human experience of rebuilding after trauma. Whether you are living with limb loss, supporting someone who is, or navigating your own unexpected life changes, this episode is for you.

What if the future amputees have imagined for decades is no longer theoretical?

I’m sitting down with Dr. Chris Duncan, Chief Medical Officer at BIOS, Biologic Input Output Systems, a company working at the frontier of neural interface technology. What they are building sounds like science fiction, but it is very real, very deliberate, and moving forward.

For years, prosthetic innovation has focused on materials, fit, lighter components, better mechanics. But BIOS is asking a more radical question. What if the real breakthrough isn’t in the device, but in the connection?

In this conversation, we explore the possibility of direct communication between the nervous system and a prosthetic limb. Not just movement triggered by muscle signals. Not just improved control. But true, bidirectional integration where intention flows outward and sensation flows back.

But this episode isn’t just about technology. It is about people. It is about the amputee community and why our voices matter in shaping what comes next. It is about hope balanced with realism. It is about progress that must be thoughtful, accessible, and grounded in lived experience.

If you have ever wondered what it would mean to move a prosthetic limb as naturally as you once moved your own, or to feel something again where there has been silence, this conversation will challenge and expand your thinking.

The future of limb loss may not just be lighter or faster. It may be neural. And it may be closer than we think.

Listen to the full conversation on The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, available NOW on YouTube and all major audio platforms. Subscribe, follow, and share the episode at http://www.ampup211.com
 and join a global community that is redefining what is possible after limb loss.

What does it take to lose everything, and then earn it all back?

In this episode of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, Rick Bontkowski sits down with Deputy Sheriff Matt Swartz, a military veteran, law enforcement veteran, instructor, and amputee who returned to full-duty police work after a catastrophic crash and leg amputation.

Matt’s career spans decades of service, beginning with the New York Air National Guard in 1990 and continuing with the New York State Police, where he served as a Patrol Trooper, Field Training Officer, Firearms and Rifle Instructor, Tactical Unit member, and FBI-certified Sniper/Observer.

In 2004, an off-duty crash left Matt with multiple skull fractures, brain trauma, and a crushed leg that ultimately required amputation. What followed was a long, brutal recovery and an outcome few thought possible. Through sheer determination, Matt became the first amputee New York State Trooper cleared for full, unrestricted duty, returning to the road with no accommodations and no limits.

Today, Matt serves full-time as a Deputy Sheriff in Florida and speaks to amputees, first responders, and survivor communities about trauma, identity, and the mindset that carried him forward: I will win and overcome, no matter what the odds.

The AMP’D UP211 Podcast amplifies real stories from the limb-loss and disability community, stories rooted in service, grit, and lived experience, not inspiration clichés.

This is a conversation about duty, loss, and earning your way back.

In this episode of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, I sit down with Gini Thomas, a creator, advocate, and unapologetically real voice in the amputee community.

Gini is best known for her transparent, often humorous look into life as an amputee. Through social media, she educates, challenges assumptions, and brings much-needed visibility to topics many people shy away from, most notably osseointegration, body image, identity, and what it actually means to live with limb loss day to day. No filters. No inspiration clichés. Just honesty.

Our conversation goes beyond the content people see online. We talk about the responsibility that comes with having a platform, the emotional weight of sharing your life publicly, and the balance between advocacy and simply being human. Gini opens up about why she chose visibility, how education became a form of empowerment, and the moments when showing up authentically is both exhausting and necessary.

I’m Rick Bontkowski, below-the-knee amputee and host of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, a show dedicated to real stories from the limb-difference community. This podcast exists to educate, challenge outdated narratives, and amplify voices that help others feel seen, informed, and less alone.

If you’re an amputee, newly navigating limb loss, curious about osseointegration, or simply interested in honest conversations about identity and resilience, this episode delivers insight, clarity, and a refreshing dose of truth.

Listen in. Learn something. And stay curious.

On this episode of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, host Rick Bontkowski; amputee, advocate, drummer, and storyteller, sits down with one of the most unexpectedly extraordinary people you’ll ever meet: Mark Watson.

Mark isn’t a celebrity. He isn’t a decorated athlete. He isn’t a world-traveling motivational speaker.
 He’s an everyday guy who survived a life-changing moment, and then quietly rebuilt his life with grit, humility, and a sense of humor that’s impossible not to love.

This conversation peels back layers that most “inspiring stories” never touch. Mark opens up about the amputation that reshaped his identity, the dark private battles that came after, and the fierce determination it took to reclaim joy, purpose, and forward motion. You’ll hear the moments he almost gave up… and the surprising things that pulled him back.

If you’ve ever wondered what real resilience looks like, ordinary, honest, unpolished resilience, this episode will stay with you long after you finish listening.

The AMP’D UP211 Podcast is dedicated to sharing the stories of amputees, survivors, creators, and everyday warriors who remind us that extraordinary lives are often built from the most unexpected moments.

Subscribe, share, and join us on this journey of courage, humor, and the relentless pursuit of living fully.

She didn’t just rewrite the rules, she built an entirely new playbook.

 Viktoria Modesta, the world’s first amputee pop star and one of the most iconic creative forces in modern culture, sits down with Rick Bontkowski for a rare, revealing conversation. From medical trauma to global stages… From silence to self-invention… From prosthetic necessity to prosthetic art…

Viktoria shares the raw, unfiltered truth behind her rise, her reinvention, and her mission to push culture forward through creativity, technology, and unapologetic individuality. This episode explores identity, confidence, disruption, disability representation, and what it truly means to design the life you want — even when the world isn’t designed for you.

About the Podcast:
The AMP’D UP211 Podcast is created and hosted by Rick Bontkowski, an amputee drummer, storyteller, and builder of community. The show spotlights extraordinary people rewriting what’s possible, one story at a time.

What if a retired prosthetic could be more than a memory?
What if it could become a knife that honors a veteran’s story… or fund a child’s new leg… or even help an amputee climb a 14,000-foot mountain?

In this inspiring episode, Rick Bontkowski sits down with Jason Dickens, founder of ReDefined Prosthetics, a nonprofit redefining what it means to give back to the limb-loss community.

Jason’s mission is simple but powerful: take old prosthetics and transform them into tools, art, and opportunities that continue the story of resilience. Through partnerships with makers, veterans, and amputees across the country, ReDefined Prosthetics funds pediatric prosthetic care, and hosts free events like the 14,000 Ft Peak Challenge..

This episode dives deep into creativity, advocacy, and the kind of quiet strength that fuels real change. Whether you’re part of the amputee community or just someone searching for perspective, Jason’s message will move you.

Rick BontkowskiRBKA

Creator & Host

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On this episode of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, host Rick Bontkowski welcomes Katy Grainger, a sepsis survivor whose life changed forever in the span of just a few days. What began as a small cut on her thumb quickly escalated into septic shock, organ failure, and a medically induced coma. When Katy awoke, she faced the unimaginable reality of losing both legs below the knee and the tips of nearly all her fingers.

Her journey, however, is not defined by loss, but by the strength and purpose she discovered in its wake. Today, Katy is one of the nation’s most passionate advocates for sepsis awareness, a leader in the amputee community, and a living example of how resilience can turn tragedy into a mission.

In this powerful conversation, Rick and Katy explore the critical moments that saved her life, the emotional and physical realities of being a multiple amputee, and the urgency of knowing the signs of sepsis. This is more than an interview, it’s a wake-up call and a testament to the power of grit, hope, and purpose.

What does it take to return to one of the most physically demanding jobs on earth, after losing your leg? In this unforgettable episode of The AMP’D UP211 Podcast, host Rick Bontkowski sits down with Michael Laughlin, Canada’s first amputee firefighter, whose story is as courageous as the job he’s reclaimed.

After a devastating motorcycle accident resulted in the loss of his leg, Michael faced a question few could answer: Could he ever return to the firehouse? With grit, heart, and relentless determination, he not only returned, he made history. Rick and Michael dive into the mental and physical road to recovery, the battle to be seen as capable in a world full of doubt, and what it means to redefine strength on your own terms.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever been told “you can’t.”

The AMP’D UP211 Podcast is where amputees and adaptive warriors come to tell the truth, and Michael Laughlin’s truth will leave you fired up.