Meet Brian Tobias

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brian Tobias. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brian, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I got my resilience from not letting my past define who I choose to be. On November of 2014, while i was an active duty military service member, I had a traumatic motorcycle accident where i almost lost my life and led me to losing my leg. And from there I decided that my life a as meant for more. There is a reason I am still here. My mother once shared with me the story of how I was born. While in her womb, I had a certain amount of antibodies, that her body no longer recognized me and her body did what a natural body would and tried to get rid of what was deemed foreign. I like to believe that was merely my resilience forming. So, from literally day one of my life, I had to be strong, resistant to what would break me down. When life is lifing, I life back harder. There isn’t a challenge I’m faced with that I cannot conquer or overcome. Being an amputee, I am faced with constant difficulties and it is ultimately my choice whether those obstacles become what my day looks like. As an avid video gamer, a challenge means I am close to leveling up, and that is what I do. I continue to rise each morning a newer version of myself with a better outlook on life.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I model, I workout and I meditate. Recently I was given the opportunity to showcase myself in a fashion show. A friend of mine had broadcast on social media that a local artist, whose now also a good friend of mine, wanted his art work to come to life. This show was the beginning of it all, and soon after I was another show, and now another. Resilience turned into confidence and now I carry my head high. I like to keep myself active, and truth be told, being an amputee has given me the drive to do so. Amputees have to stay active, I wouldn’t use the term fit, for some or most don’t gym like I do and that’s okay. We do have to stay active, other wise our everyday challenges will get the best of us. We have bad days too, I do my best to not have that many. During a bad day, I like to meditate, get my mind, body, and soul right for the next day or for that present moment. I may have a cool robotic leg, my body is still human, and so I do what I can to keep up. There are good stresses and bad, and the bad ones I used to avoid. I learned the hard way, you can’t avoid everything. Some uncomfortable situations will show you who you really are as a person and how you chose to respond. So I take every lesson and grow.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I learned mindfulness and still learning this skill. Its okay to.be not okay. We are human, not machines. We have feelings and need to be aware and present for these emotions are they’ll erupt violently out into the real world and cause chaos. Setting aside a moment to create peace within yourself so you can master this. Secondly, I learned patience. It all takes time. I’ve had to learn how to walk 3 times. Once as an child, twice as an adult and each time is a humbling experience. You don’t put one foot in front of the other expecting to get it right a way. You have to fall and fail a few times before you finally get it. And patience is an everyday teacher. So be patient with yourself and know that this to shall pass and you’ll achieve your goals and dreams. Honest and realistic communication with myself. I had to constantly remind myself that in the current moment I’m either struggling and trying to heal and that that is okay. Reminding myself that it is okay period. I’m probably going to fail a few times. Im going to fall and when I do, ask myself what did I learn? What has this failure taught me? What will I now do differently? Being okay and making friends with my internal and external enemies has brought me closer to myself.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I would like to collaborate with folks that appreciate raw authenticity. As a black, transman, and disabled veteran, there are other out there that are like myself. And sharing that they’re not the only ones who want to do what I do. Or be where I am. I would love to work with those that can capture who I am, so that there’s more representation. It is a fun learning opportunity that I want to share with the world. We are the same and want to exist while living our passionate dreams.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: oi_b_walkin