We've been fans of Misty Diaz for a long time. A kick ass athlete who has finished over 200 races and half marathons, we couldn't think of anyone more fitting to kick off Knix's first Week of Movement. Misty also holds a US Powerlifting Associations World Record and 4 Adaptive Athlete records for Spartan Racing. An advocate and mentor for kids with Spina Bifida, she's only just getting started. Meet Misty.
📸 @robiee.zee
Hi Misty, tell us about yourself!
I'm Misty Diaz! I’m a model, adaptive athlete, powerlifter, obstacle course runner and dog mom to an amazing dog Lola. I was born with a condition called Spina Bifida which is a birth defect where the spinal cord doesn't develop properly. There are four types of Spina Bifida, and I have Myelomeningocele, which happens to be the most severe. It’s resulted in me having over 28 operations, using forearm crutches full time, and leg braces.
What does being an adaptive athlete mean?
To me, an adaptive athlete is someone who has to adjust and make modifications based on their disability. Each person, including myself, is able to make different adjustments to accomplish their own goal!
How and why did you start racing? Do you have an event that’s most memorable to you?
I started racing after my 28th operation during a very hard breakup. I started by walking just a block… which seemed like a marathon. I kept up that consistency daily and soon enough, realized I had made it to the beach that was blocks away from my house.
I didn’t want to stop so I signed up for a charity walk. And then a few months later I was introduced to a 5k run. I honestly got so tired of sitting on the sidelines watching my life go by, so I took action. Uncomfortability truly led me to take action. A little over 250 races later, a handful of powerlifting events later, here I am! 
There are so many memorable events, but one that really sticks out to me is one in Canada where I raced with a mom who has a child with SB. A few kids who have Spina Bifida waited for me at the finish line as well. Now that was amazing!
You are the 1st woman on crutches to run the Red Bull 400 course, which is known as the most intense 400m run in the world. What motivated you to participate in that?
Honestly, I saw this guy running the course on Facebook, and I thought it looked fun! I reached out to RedBull to see if they had anyone ever accomplish the event on crutches, and sure thing... NO!
I made some modifications and started training by doing rowing, ski rig, sled pulls, and rope climbs. I knew I needed to use all of my upper body, so I made adjustments and adapted. This helped me condition my upper body to pull. I finished under 30 mins! I also created a solid team— one person to give me my crutches when I needed, and another to tell me a joke when I felt like giving up. I kid you not, I had someone telling me jokes!
You’re the founder of Adaptive Beauties. Tell us about it! What’s one thing you’ve learned since you started it?
I’ve learned that there are so many people who are adaptive who still haven't met someone with their same condition. So many amazing adaptive friends still think they're the only ones who have such conditions. I noticed a lot of these girls simply just need a bit of encouragement and connecting with others via social media has been great in helping them be reminded that they’re not alone.
When it comes to accessibility, what do you hope the future of athletics is like?
Acceptance. Acceptance that there's more than one way to reach the finish line. I can’t tell you how many races, where they've tried to separate me in a start line and I've had to speak up and say NO! I run with everyone else.
What are you the proudest of?
I’m most proud of creating a community for my Spina Beautiful girls (a hashtag I created #spinabeautiful), and using my voice for greater things beyond my wildest dreams. Seeing my Spina Beautiful kids go above and beyond is super rewarding— because they've seen there big sister push past negative labels.
Misty in the Catalyst Front Zip (featuring all her medals!)
Thanks Misty! See what Misty is up to next and follow her journey here.