Izzy Boring was born in a small town north of Spokane, Washington. Izzy began playing basketball when she was four years old – in part because she was the only girl in a family of four brothers. Life took a turn for Izzy, when as an eight year old, Izzy’s father was sentenced to six years in prison for theft.  

Growing up in a town of 500 people, Ethan experienced a tight-knit family and community. In his words, his no-stoplight town, Pateros, WA, “revolved around sports.”  “My basketball team was like one of the things that brought a lot of people together, because we were pretty dang good.”  In Ethan’s freshman year of high school, […]

Meet Ethan Wall. If you’ve been around the Only7Seconds world in the past few years, chances are you’ve probably heard a bit of Ethan’s story. But in this episode, Ethan shares about the experience that led to inspire his mom, Kristin Wall to start Only7Seconds. He reflects on what he’s learned about friendships, the importance of asking for help, and navigating differences in friendships.

n her early years as a middle and high schooler, Mariah describes herself as a mean girl. Having the upper-hand gave her the sense of security she desperately needed, but often left her disconnected and unsatisfied with her relationships and connections. As she shares her story, she shares how she learned the importance of being open-minded towards others, because you may never know what is going on their lives.

From experiencing racism, to having a major sports injury, losing a close friend to suicide, and then having covid end his freshman year of basketball at his dream college, Danny Rigsby shares how he’s learned to overcome the adversity life has faced him with so far.

Born and raised in Kalama, WA, thirty mins north of Vancouver, WA, Mac grew up in a busy family. “We did everything in Vancouver, everything. My dad worked in Vancouver. All my siblings went to school in Vancouver. I went to school in Vancouver. I went to a blindschool. We did extra extracurricular activities in […]

“I wish somebody had told me that it’s okay to almost give up, because I think I would’ve realized in that moment that I’m almost giving up right now and it’s okay. I can almost give up and I can start fresh.”

Meet Mac & Hailey Potts, our double storytellers this month for the I KNOW LONELY Project. Born totally blind, Mac discovered his love for music as a young child. While music quickly became a big part of his life, he shares that he often felt like a kid who struggled to find a place of belonging. But when he discovered he could just be authentically himself, he also discovered music could be used as a tool for connection. That connection with music is how he met Hailey, his now wife.

Meet Vik Chopra, our third storyteller for the I KNOW LONELY Project. Vik shares his journey with addiction that led to the loneliest and darkest place of his life. He recounts how his story begins as a straight-A student in high school to experiencing a successful career in his early twenties and then eventually becoming someone he couldn’t recognize in the mirror. Being trapped in a cycle of opioid and meth addition eventually led to crime as a way of survival. When Vik was arrested and charged with 26 felonies, he decided this was a chance to change how his story ends.

“It’s all small choices. Every day you are presented with a series of choices. You can make the decision one way or the other, but sooner or later, those start stacking up. Those start leading you down a certain path,” Vik Chopra says.

Mario Gonzalez was born in Mexico and moved with his family to the United States when he was three. Up until first grade, Mario lived in California. “My first memory is living in California as a four year old, so the United States is all I’ve known. My parents were immigrant workers, so everywhere that there was work, we were there.”