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In this episode of Bend Into Balance, host Adriana Mariño sits down with Kipp Wesslen, an adaptive athlete and instructor with Oregon Adaptive Sports, to explore how movement, access, and community can radically transform health and wellbeing. Living with a rare progressive neurological disease and multiple spinal cord injuries, Kipp shares how discovering adaptive sports later in life reshaped his relationship with his body, his mental health, and his sense of purpose.

From mountain biking and alpine skiing to coaching others on the trail, Kipp reflects on the power of adaptive sports to build confidence, foster connection, and create a more inclusive outdoor culture in Central Oregon. This conversation highlights resilience, joy in movement, and the importance of designing spaces—and communities—where everyone belongs.

Watch this video to learn more about Kipp and OAS!

LISTEN NOW:

Watch this video to learn more about Kipp and OAS!

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LISTEN: Bend Into Balance: Kipp Wesslen 🎧

by The Source Staff, The Source - Bend, Oregon
April 2, 2026

<h1>LISTEN: Bend Into Balance: Kipp Wesslen 🎧</h1> <p class="byline">by The Source Staff, The Source - Bend, Oregon <br />April 2, 2026</p> <p>In this episode of Bend Into Balance, host Adriana Mariño sits down with Kipp Wesslen, an adaptive athlete and instructor with Oregon Adaptive Sports, to explore how movement, access, and community can radically transform health and wellbeing. Living with a rare progressive neurological disease and multiple spinal cord injuries, Kipp shares how discovering adaptive sports later in life reshaped his relationship with his body, his mental health, and his sense of purpose.</p> <p>From mountain biking and alpine skiing to coaching others on the trail, Kipp reflects on the power of adaptive sports to build confidence, foster connection, and create a more inclusive outdoor culture in Central Oregon. This conversation highlights resilience, joy in movement, and the importance of designing spaces—and communities—where everyone belongs.</p> <p>Watch this video to learn more about Kipp and OAS! </p> <p>LISTEN NOW:</p> <p>Watch this video to learn more about Kipp and OAS!</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ts0_swS6H0 </div> </figure> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.bendsource.com/podcasts/listen-bend-into-balance-kipp-wesslen-%f0%9f%8e%a7/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.bendsource.com&quot;&gt;The Source - Bend, Oregon&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cropped-Untitled-design-4.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.bendsource.com/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=82376&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.bendsource.com/podcasts/listen-bend-into-balance-kipp-wesslen-%f0%9f%8e%a7/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/bendsource.com/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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