Teaching how to climb an alternative peak after invisible trauma

Jamie MoCrazy grew up on the ski slopes. By the time she was 18 years old, she had won Junior World Championships and moved to Utah to continue training as a professional slopestyle and halfpipe skier.

However, in 2015, a Traumatic Brain Injury cartwheeled her life upside dow In an instant, Jamie went from being one of the world’s best slopestyle skiers to relearning basic gross motor skills like walking upstairs and riding a bike.

At the time of her crash, Jamie’s sister Jeanee started the hashtag #MoCrazyStrong, which connected supporters globally and developed into the creation of the nonprofit MoCrazy Strong, brand  founded April 13, 2015.  The MoCrazy Strong brand inspires individuals to create their own luck with the motto, “Live MoCrazy” using the sciences of psychology, neurology, nutrition, kinesthesiology, and education. The MoCrazy Strong nonprofit does certified peer to peer guidance and education for TBI survivors and family caregivers.

Eight months after the accident, Jamie started skiing again. Shortly after, she started college and began her motivational speaking journey to give others hope in the face of invisible trauma as well as create awareness and understanding for Traumatic Brain Injury.   According to a study by Finkelstein and colleagues, the  cost to society from traumatic brain injury is 76.5 billion dollars annually. Acquired brain injury is the second most prevalent disability in the US estimated at 13.5 million Americans.  A person with brain injury is at risk for developing significant disability for three reasons; because awareness and understanding about brain injury remain fairly limited. Because brain injury is frequently not identified, and because treatment is not readily available. Jamie’s story gives a voice to the invisible.

In one of Jamie’s presentations, the audience can expect entertaining, funny, and motivational storytelling that helps participants:

1. Understand the invisible deficits from brain injury
2. Learn how complimentary medicines all lead to the best result in recovery
3. Set attainable goals to reach growth goals
4. Think creatively and take unexpected paths to get to the destination
5. Stay positive as language matters
6. Climb an alternative peak

Past clients and peers applaud Jamie’s dynamic and motivational speaking style, as well as her ability to connect with her audience.

Mathew Garcia of Booking.com says, “Jamie has a beautiful story that is still unfolding—a story about empowerment, and circumventing life’s challenges through the power of human perspective. Her project, Alternative Peaks, transcends the ski industry and has the ability to connect with all people as they stop to reflect on their own path throughout life. She is a gifted speaker with an amazing bubbly personality and is a perfect fit for the world of motivational speaking. The future sparkles with possibilities for Jamie and her path of sharing the Alternative Peaks message. We can’t wait to see how it unfolds.”

Kimberly Gorgens, a Ph.D. in Psychology, adds to this sentiment. She says, “Jamie is an extraordinary speaker. She sustained a severe brain injury and can boast the most extraordinary recovery which she credits to her family. She is paying her fortune forward and is now changing lives on the broadest possible platform. She is simultaneously informative, genuine, and vulnerable—the latter really makes her story about injury and rehabilitation come alive. Her brain and her skiing career are just two of a million remarkable things she has to offer.”

Since recovering from her accident, Jamie has spoken in front of audiences ranging from 20 to 1,000 people and presented at nonprofit galas, business conventions, wellness conferences,  higher education, and medical schools all over the globe.