Who Says I Can’t the reality TV series

“Who Says I Can’t” is a television show that tells the story of brave and determined men and women as they overcome disabilities and become athletes. The program will feature the “up close and personal” style of Olympic features combined with the heart-warming community elements of “Extreme Makeover” and mix them with the excitement of “The Amazing Race.”

The “sizzle” piece for Who Says I Can’t the TV series

Positive and Inspirational

“Who Says I Can’t” will be hosted by Jothy Rosenberg, a cancer survivor, entrepreneur, and extreme athlete. Jothy lost a leg and then a lung to cancer as a teenager. With an experimental treatment, he beat the odds and survived to become an avid swimmer and biker. He also earned a PhD in computer science and has started various high tech companies. Jothy is a true renaissance man.

In each hour episode Jothy will introduce three different characters on location and tell their story using interviews with them, family members and doctors. Family photos and videos will help tell the story. Jothy will then participate with the subject in whatever athletic endeavor they are undertaking. Whether it’s climbing a mountain, open water swimming or mountain biking, Jothy will say “Who Says I Can’t” and give it his best shot.

Along the way Jothy will relate his own experiences while encouraging the subjects. He was a 16-year-old high school student when diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor that usually develops during adolescence. He had an above knee amputation. Three years later, while in college, the cancer metastasized and part of his lungs had to be removed. A doctor told Jothy no one had previously survived this type of cancer once it spreads to the lungs.

So, Jothy headed to the Rocky Mountains. His plan – “Ski till I die.” Well, spring came, the snow melted and he was still alive. He lived because of an experimental treatment. Jothy went on to get a PhD in computer science and become a successful tech entrepreneur and never stopped skiing, swimming, riding, rafting and trying new things every time he was challenged. He’s swum the Alcatraz Sharkfest event 17 times, rode the 192-mile Pan Mass Challenge Bike-a-thon 8 times and works out just about every day.

Profiles in Attitude

Maureen McKinnon	Kelly Bruno	Hugh Herr

One person profiled in the pilot is Maureen McKinnon. She fell in an accident while innocently walking her bike along a seawall. Within seconds, after she fell 13 feet onto the rocks below, she knew she would require a wheelchair for the rest of her life. While paralyzed from the waist down, Maureen has been anything if held down. She discovered sailing as a way to rebuild her body and her confidence. She doesn’t just sail, she races and wins at sailing and was the first woman to win gold in paraolympic sailing in Beijing. For this episode, Jothy had to compete against Maureen on a brisk spring day sailing in Boston Harbor.

Also profiled in the pilot was Kelly Bruno. Born with a birth defect caused by a yellow fever vaccine her mother took while pregnant, Kelly has never known anything other than being a below knee amputee. Like many other people faced with a disability, she never gave in and never gave up. In fact, by the time she was in high school, Kelly was setting records in amputee track events. She went on to win gold in triathlons, was a participant on the TV show Survivor: Nicaragua and is now a medical student. In her episode, Jothy had to compete with Kelly in a mini triathlon.

Hugh Herr is another story to tell. He lost both legs below the knees from frostbite while climbing Mt. Washington. Herr became a professor at MIT focusing on robotics. He’s developed and patented special microprocessors for knee and ankle prosthetics. He also runs a camp in Florida for disabled kids. And since he is one of the best rock climbers in the world (not best amputee rock climbers, best rock climbers period), Jothy had to try rock climbing with Hugh for the first time in his life.

“Who Says I Can’t” will also feature special editions focusing on injured returning vets as they fight to fit back into society after their sacrifice. Soldiers like Luke Murphy who joined the Army while still in high school and returned from one tour in Iraq without a scratch. Just 20 days before an honorable discharge, he got orders to go back to Iraq. Eight months into his second tour Luke was in Sadr City after midnight in April 2006 when his Humvee got hit by an IED. He lost both legs but has become an avid skier.

“Who Say I Can’t” will be a show to encourage, to cheer, to laugh and to cry with. It will be about men and women with character who reach down deep inside themselves and pull out of their disability. The show will celebrate their strength and courage and inspire and teach all of us how to never give up.

The program will be a positive vehicle in a marketplace full of negativity.

---

Plans for Series

Can Do Productions, LLC has been formed and will be the new organization to bring this TV series to the air. A small fund-raising effort to fund the filming and production of the pilot has been very successful and the pilot was completed in December 2011. Look for the series to air in early 2013.

Host

Jothy Rosenberg, in addition to only having one leg and one lung, also has a PhD in computer science, was on the faculty of Duke University for 5 years, authored 3 technical books (as well as Who Says I Can’t), and founded 7 high tech companies. His charity athletic events include the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike-a-thon supporting the Dana-Farber cancer institute 8 years, and the Alcatraz Sharkfest swim 17 times to support Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. Jothy lives (and swims, and bikes) in Newton, Massachusetts.

Producer

Steve McCarthy is a director and Emmy Award winning producer with more than 30 years experience in network TV News and documentaries. After staff jobs with 60 Minutes and Dateline, McCarthy started his own production company “McCarthy Productions, Inc.” Besides producing for 60 Minutes, Dateline, Discovery, the NBC Nightly News and the Today Show, McCarthy also produced and directed the independent film “Finding Paddy.”

Publicist contact: Mara Stefan, EmergePR mstefan@emergepr.com