Patrick’s Biography
My name is Patrick Rubio. I was born deaf, and grew up in South California. I have always been very athletic. Played baseball/softball for many years at my school and outside of school. I was lucky enough to have the experience of playing sports at California School for the Deaf in Riverside. I had full access to communication while playing sports with my Deaf teammates, which is very different from playing sports with my hearing teammates. Communication with my hearing teammates wasn’t smooth and gestures were made to try to communicate. We may have only shared very little communication during the game, but that did not affect my skills in playing baseball/softball. I ended up showing my hearing teammates how well I played, and that being Deaf does not matter at all. Play smart is the important skill to have while playing baseball.
After playing baseball for so many years, I became bored with the sport. I wanted to do something more challenging. I decided take a look around and talked to some friends about my options on what to do next. A friend told me about mud obstacle race, at first I was skeptical about it; I didn’t think getting dirty was fun or challenging. I decided to research more about the obstacle course race; The more I saw on the Internet, the more I wanted to sign up!
I signed up at Gladiator Rock’N Run at the Rose Bowl with a friend and it was our first mud run! We ran for 5k, and felt very out of shape. We ended up walking a lot, but I passed all the obstacles without fail. I set goal for myself to start training and overcome my weakness, which was running and going uphill. I signed up for my second race at Mud Factor, and that obstacle course turned out to be too easy for me. I decided to sign up for something bigger, more challenging and picked Tough Mudder. On the day of the Tough Mudder event was very cold at 44 degree and 5 mph wind in Vail Lake (Temecula, Ca). That race really hit me hard, physically and mentally. I ran for 4 hours and halfway through, my legs got cramped up. I failed on some of the obstacles. All the Mudders that were there really motivated me to keep going. I saw many of the Mudders finished the race with teamwork. I realized this race is not all about me, myself, and I. Tough Mudder taught me a lesson- start being more thoughtful of others and to be more humble. Having that experience really change my life. I want to train more to get stronger, and I still haven’t arrived to that goal yet! I ran for Spartan Beast Race recently, and that race took me 7 hours to finish! My knee injury slowed me down, but I still kept going until I got my MEDAL! I will keep training harder to do better for any future races. I will NEVER QUIT!
My girlfriend, Alexis Goldstein, watched me do Tough Mudder, and after the race she told me that she wants to join the next mud run with me due to being inspired. She made me realize that if this inspired her just by watching me do the race, then how many more will feel the same way and join us? People usually feel scared or nervous about not being able to do the challenges, but it is not about doing this race alone. Teamwork is really important, and going with a friend will motivate you to push harder and go further to where you never thought you would go. Being in the baseball world, drama was always there and I never felt very inspired or motivated like I did in the mudder world. The mudder world is about supporting one another and I have always felt good about accomplishing the race. I have not seen any drama or anger in the mudder world, only laughter, accomplishments, and pride. Along the way, people who found out that I am Deaf were impressed, and this is why I want to show the world that Deaf people can do anything. I want to join with the rest of the world and show them all what I can do, or rather what WE can do!
My girlfriend and I decided to set up Deaf Heart Active on Instagram, FaceBook, and YouTube to share with the world our videos and photos. In doing so, we hope to encourage and stir some confidence for the Deaf to join us and not only that, we also are trying to spread awareness on what the Deaf can do! GoPro camera is really awesome tool to have to motivate people! For those who have joined us loved seeing themselves and cannot wait to do more with us in the future.
We are in the process of making our team name, Deaf Heart Active, on our T-shirts for any future Obstacle Course Race. If you recognize us, please come up and say HELLO!
DEAF HEART ACTIVE
NEVER QUIT!
Thats my boy!