“I was running through a building, down a ramp with polished cement floors, and I somehow ended up falling down on one knee.

With my high momentum I managed to slide all the way down the ramp (it was very long) and then kick myself back up into running again.

It all happened completely smoothly and it felt like an action scene.”

“I went on a snorkeling trip off the coast of Kauai.

There was a newlywed couple there that I could tell weren’t good in the water. We’re out in the water and they’re off by themselves and I can see that the wife is crying and the husband has a panicked look on his face.

Turns out they didn’t realize that skin contracts in water and he lost his wedding ring off his finger. I scan around for a while and find it 30 feet down or so. I run down and get it and give it back to them. They were thrilled.”

“Chucked a piece of cardboard at a recycling bin at work, it was about 30 feet from me.

A draft caught it and took it 40 feet up and it did a double loop before slamming directly into the bin. One old lady saw and went “wooow!”

Felt like a f**king champion all day”

“Little League baseball. Late 80s, early 90s.

Our coach was fantastic. All of the team played and rotated through every position.

This one game it was my turn to be second base.

There’s runners on first and second. The score is tied for the moment, but the game’s close to over and we’re getting tired. Plus it’s mid-July and it was hot.

The other team had a kid who was older than should have been on (but his dad was the coach, so…) and he had a mean swing.

He belts a line drive over the pitcher – I just start running. I snag the ball from the air a few steps into the grass towards center field, then make a u-turn and run back, tag second base (second base runner is out) and tag-out the runner who was trying to get back to first.

The adrenaline surge was enough to get us the win in the next inning.

We ended up being undefeated that season.”

“I saved my husband’s life using the Heimlich maneuver, on the first try, never having done it before.”

“Start of UK lockdown my dishwasher broke down and since shops were closed, I was looking at minimum three months of doing the dishes by hand.

F**k that.

Went to YouTube, watched a bunch of videos, took the pump apart and found a piece of broken glass which was f**king it up.

Put it back together, worked perfect, f**k you entropy and washing dishes.”

“I share mine with my dog. Did the adrenaline pumping, car lift thing.

My idiot neighbor was trying to change his own oil, and didn’t have the jack in the proper place. Whatever metal it was on, bent, and the car lowered onto him. Him which had his body positioned perfectly so the front tire would crush his dumb a**. My dog was out back and started going insane barking, so I bolted outside, wondering what could be wrong (he only barks when something’s wrong, like my kid left the yard or something).

I see my neighbor’s legs sticking out from his freaking tire, race inside screaming for my brother, then bolt back out and try to lift the car. My brother comes out and as I somehow manage to lift the car just enough, he pulls the neighbor out. I was expecting him to be dead, but he stood up, coughed a few times, and said thanks.

We called EMS to get him checked and they took him to the hospital. He had some internal injuries, but survived and recovered fully. What I remember most is flopping to my butt in the driveway, thinking, “S**t. That guy is an IDIOT!”

It was my brother that said I’m a bada**. And as the real hero, yes, doggo got all the pats and scritches and treats.”

“I got lost alone in Yellowstone, after sunset.

But I’d come prepared with a headlamp, kept my cool & found my way back to my car alive. My detour added several miles to the route, and it was & still is the most I’ve hiked in a single day, probably just under 14 miles.

I could barely move when I got back to my car. I had to just sit for about 20 minutes before I was able to drive. But I got the most amazing view of the Milky Way of my entire life along the way. Totally worth it for that alone.

Any mishap you survive becomes an adventure.”

“I was at a party and apparently some guy had a problem with me (I didn’t even know him).

I was sitting with friends and from across the room he yelled something to me, but with the music I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

So I said “What??” And he yelled it again. But again, I couldn’t hear him. So I stood up and said (more forcefully) “WHAT?!” His face dropped, he shrunk back a little, said “never mind” and sat down.

My friends laughed their a**es off. I genuinely thought this dude had a question. But I had inadvertently backed him down. My bada** moment was an accident.”

“Back in the day, I trained a few years in judo. A few regional tournaments convinced me that I am a fairly mediocre martial artist.

Ten years later a big, athletic guy (outweighed me by probably 80 pounds) took a swing at me outside of a bar, and I threw him with a massive shoulder throw with basically zero effort or thought. I started to lock his elbow on the ground, but realized he was mostly knocked out, so I just stood up.

I left as quickly as I could, but I saw like a dozen guys with open mouths saying things like, “Did you see that s**t?”

I pulled over to throw up on the way home.

A few years later, I related this story to a friend who works in military special operations, including the embarrassing part where I barfed. He said something that I’ve never forgotten: “That’s not a big deal man, a lot of guys get sick before every big mission. Bada** motherf**kers are guys who do bada** things. Sometimes, you are terrified, and you push through it to do bada** things anyway.”

I am in no way, shape, or form anything resembling a bada**. But I like my friend’s definition of courage. Who cares if you are the cool guy in the movies who walks away from explosions? What matters is if you pulled the girl out of the car before it blew up.

Doing what is necessary even if you are scared (especially when done for the benefit of other people), is the real definition of bada**ery.”

“I went to a shop to buy a new bike… and I went there on my old bike.

I came back home riding my new bike and by holding the old one with one hand. Everything was going fine, until the bikes abruptly turned sideway and sent me flying over the handle bars.

I ducked forward, landed on my shoulder and in a continuous roll, I got back on my feet and did a thumbs up to appease a startled passer by.”

“Watched a late 1990s Ford Explorer (I thought) over correct and roll off the interstate. The vehicle had rolled and came to a stop about 100 feet away and down a hill near the underpass.

I was in a work truck with 2 of my co-workers, followed by another work truck with 4 workers. We sprang to action like some sort of emergency team. Numerous vehicles were pulling over and 3 of my co-workers stayed behind to call 911 and prevent people from getting too close. The wrecked vehicle was 2 adults, a toddler, and an infant. The infant was completely fine and still in a carrier, so one co-worker unclipped it and took it closer to the road to be safe and await medical

. The woman was thrown from the vehicle one of my co-workers was keeping her still and watching for breathing as she was in and out of consciousness. My “task” with my other co-worker, was to attend to the man and the toddler still in the vehicle. The man was pinned by his door and the steering wheel, and was pouring blood and screaming “my baby, my baby”.

I sent the co-worker to help him after we disconnected the car battery. I pulled the toddler out of the vehicle, the little boy was completely unconscious, bleeding from his mouth, nose, and maybe eyes, and not breathing. I made sure the mouth was clear and started compressions, compressions for 5ish minutes until help arrived.

Everyone lived, I still have nightmares, but “d**n, I’m a bada**.””

A note: a little blood is a lot of blood, and an actual lot of blood is terrifying.

“I was running through a building, down a ramp with polished cement floors, and I somehow ended up falling down on one knee.

With my high momentum I managed to slide all the way down the ramp (it was very long) and then kick myself back up into running again.

It all happened completely smoothly and it felt like an action scene.”

“I went on a snorkeling trip off the coast of Kauai.

There was a newlywed couple there that I could tell weren’t good in the water. We’re out in the water and they’re off by themselves and I can see that the wife is crying and the husband has a panicked look on his face.

Turns out they didn’t realize that skin contracts in water and he lost his wedding ring off his finger. I scan around for a while and find it 30 feet down or so. I run down and get it and give it back to them. They were thrilled.”

“Chucked a piece of cardboard at a recycling bin at work, it was about 30 feet from me.

A draft caught it and took it 40 feet up and it did a double loop before slamming directly into the bin. One old lady saw and went “wooow!”

Felt like a f**king champion all day”

“Little League baseball. Late 80s, early 90s.

Our coach was fantastic. All of the team played and rotated through every position.

This one game it was my turn to be second base.

There’s runners on first and second. The score is tied for the moment, but the game’s close to over and we’re getting tired. Plus it’s mid-July and it was hot.

The other team had a kid who was older than should have been on (but his dad was the coach, so…) and he had a mean swing.

He belts a line drive over the pitcher – I just start running. I snag the ball from the air a few steps into the grass towards center field, then make a u-turn and run back, tag second base (second base runner is out) and tag-out the runner who was trying to get back to first.

The adrenaline surge was enough to get us the win in the next inning.

We ended up being undefeated that season.”

“I saved my husband’s life using the Heimlich maneuver, on the first try, never having done it before.”

“Start of UK lockdown my dishwasher broke down and since shops were closed, I was looking at minimum three months of doing the dishes by hand.

F**k that.

Went to YouTube, watched a bunch of videos, took the pump apart and found a piece of broken glass which was f**king it up.

Put it back together, worked perfect, f**k you entropy and washing dishes.”

“I share mine with my dog. Did the adrenaline pumping, car lift thing.

My idiot neighbor was trying to change his own oil, and didn’t have the jack in the proper place. Whatever metal it was on, bent, and the car lowered onto him. Him which had his body positioned perfectly so the front tire would crush his dumb a**. My dog was out back and started going insane barking, so I bolted outside, wondering what could be wrong (he only barks when something’s wrong, like my kid left the yard or something).

I see my neighbor’s legs sticking out from his freaking tire, race inside screaming for my brother, then bolt back out and try to lift the car. My brother comes out and as I somehow manage to lift the car just enough, he pulls the neighbor out. I was expecting him to be dead, but he stood up, coughed a few times, and said thanks.

We called EMS to get him checked and they took him to the hospital. He had some internal injuries, but survived and recovered fully. What I remember most is flopping to my butt in the driveway, thinking, “S**t. That guy is an IDIOT!”

It was my brother that said I’m a bada**. And as the real hero, yes, doggo got all the pats and scritches and treats.”

“I got lost alone in Yellowstone, after sunset.

But I’d come prepared with a headlamp, kept my cool & found my way back to my car alive. My detour added several miles to the route, and it was & still is the most I’ve hiked in a single day, probably just under 14 miles.

I could barely move when I got back to my car. I had to just sit for about 20 minutes before I was able to drive. But I got the most amazing view of the Milky Way of my entire life along the way. Totally worth it for that alone.

Any mishap you survive becomes an adventure.”

“I was at a party and apparently some guy had a problem with me (I didn’t even know him).

I was sitting with friends and from across the room he yelled something to me, but with the music I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

So I said “What??” And he yelled it again. But again, I couldn’t hear him. So I stood up and said (more forcefully) “WHAT?!” His face dropped, he shrunk back a little, said “never mind” and sat down.

My friends laughed their a**es off. I genuinely thought this dude had a question. But I had inadvertently backed him down. My bada** moment was an accident.”

“Back in the day, I trained a few years in judo. A few regional tournaments convinced me that I am a fairly mediocre martial artist.

Ten years later a big, athletic guy (outweighed me by probably 80 pounds) took a swing at me outside of a bar, and I threw him with a massive shoulder throw with basically zero effort or thought. I started to lock his elbow on the ground, but realized he was mostly knocked out, so I just stood up.

I left as quickly as I could, but I saw like a dozen guys with open mouths saying things like, “Did you see that s**t?”

I pulled over to throw up on the way home.

A few years later, I related this story to a friend who works in military special operations, including the embarrassing part where I barfed. He said something that I’ve never forgotten: “That’s not a big deal man, a lot of guys get sick before every big mission. Bada** motherf**kers are guys who do bada** things. Sometimes, you are terrified, and you push through it to do bada** things anyway.”

I am in no way, shape, or form anything resembling a bada**. But I like my friend’s definition of courage. Who cares if you are the cool guy in the movies who walks away from explosions? What matters is if you pulled the girl out of the car before it blew up.

Doing what is necessary even if you are scared (especially when done for the benefit of other people), is the real definition of bada**ery.”

“I went to a shop to buy a new bike… and I went there on my old bike.

I came back home riding my new bike and by holding the old one with one hand. Everything was going fine, until the bikes abruptly turned sideway and sent me flying over the handle bars.

I ducked forward, landed on my shoulder and in a continuous roll, I got back on my feet and did a thumbs up to appease a startled passer by.”

“Watched a late 1990s Ford Explorer (I thought) over correct and roll off the interstate. The vehicle had rolled and came to a stop about 100 feet away and down a hill near the underpass.

I was in a work truck with 2 of my co-workers, followed by another work truck with 4 workers. We sprang to action like some sort of emergency team. Numerous vehicles were pulling over and 3 of my co-workers stayed behind to call 911 and prevent people from getting too close. The wrecked vehicle was 2 adults, a toddler, and an infant. The infant was completely fine and still in a carrier, so one co-worker unclipped it and took it closer to the road to be safe and await medical

. The woman was thrown from the vehicle one of my co-workers was keeping her still and watching for breathing as she was in and out of consciousness. My “task” with my other co-worker, was to attend to the man and the toddler still in the vehicle. The man was pinned by his door and the steering wheel, and was pouring blood and screaming “my baby, my baby”.

I sent the co-worker to help him after we disconnected the car battery. I pulled the toddler out of the vehicle, the little boy was completely unconscious, bleeding from his mouth, nose, and maybe eyes, and not breathing. I made sure the mouth was clear and started compressions, compressions for 5ish minutes until help arrived.

Everyone lived, I still have nightmares, but “d**n, I’m a bada**.””

A note: a little blood is a lot of blood, and an actual lot of blood is terrifying.

“Obese most of my life. Worked really hard, lost 100lbs. Took up running, and decided to run a marathon. I’ve never felt more like a bada** than when I crossed that finish line.

The training and the race itself were the hardest things I’ve done in my life, and there were many times throughout where I really wasn’t sure I was going to make it.”

“When I was like 9 years old, I choke-slammed the neighborhood bully, full WWE-style.

It was directly under a streetlight, and there were people all around to witness it, because I think someone was having a party. I ran away because I thought I would get in trouble, but the adults (actually teenagers, but being 9 I thought of them as “adults”) just wanted to give me high-fives.

And don’t worry, the kid was totally fine other than being shaken up.”

“Leaving work at a big box store a little after 1am and I’m next to my car in the parking lot and changing out of my work shirt into a t-shirt.

There’s a couple benches outside a few random people around. I see a car swerve toward one woman and then brake hard and knowing a couple people out there I figured it was just a very bad joke.

But then I see the car lurch forward and brake hard again and can see a woman in the headlights with a terrified look on her face so I start running as fast as I can toward them. A ridiculously muscled guy gets out of the car and starts moving toward her.

I wasn’t the first person there. The first was a 14-year old kid who was very short and skinny. The kid shoves the guy and then the guy knocks him down and gets right on top of him. The guy hits him three times before I get there and hit him in the back of the head.

This dude was hella dr**k and got off the kid to take a couple swings at me that I was able to avoid. One of the others in the crowd yells that the cops have been called and he books it out of there.

Thankfully the cops got him before any more damage happened. He pled guilty and went to jail for a bunch of charges. I don’t think I was the most bada** because the kid took those hits like a champ and saved the girl, but I still felt pretty awesome.”

“Possibly saving a life. I saw a motorcycle crash in a parking lot late at night. No one but me went to check on the guy, everyone else was just standing around looking.

Dude had a compound fracture on his leg and blood was pouring through his jeans onto the ground. I used my belt to tourniquet the leg. The ambulance didn’t arrive for another 2 minutes so I might have saved him from bleeding out.”

“At a concert in between sets, saw this lady go down. I had just found a seat along the barrier between pit and general seating.

I went up to the girl and her boyfriend and told them I had a seat in the wall if she needed to sit down a minute. She was pretty out of it but the boyfriend said thatd be a good idea. We walked her over and flagged down one of the vendors to get her some water since she was really dehydrated.

Right about now the headliner (Rob Zombie) came out on stage and then a huge mosh pit started right in front of us. Myself, the boyfriend, and another guy formed a protective wall around her, myself at the very front cause I’m the biggest. Most of the people were respectful and following mosh etiquette, but there was this one dr**k dude who I guess saw what we were doing and decided itd be fun to try and knock me down onto her.

He came at me a little harder than everyone else, I just pushed him back in, then he came at me a little harder and I started to get a little angry. The third time he was almost rushing me, I gave him a decent shove and told him “come at me like that one more time motherf**ker”.

He did, I saw him coming and this time I stepped forward into him and shoved my palms into his chest. He stumbled backwards clear across the other side of the pit and looked terrified.

I shouted “try again and I’ll knock you the f**k out, a**hole”. He didnt come in our direction again after that. Felt pretty cool protecting that girl and checking that a**hole.”

“My brother and I had some friends over at my parents’ house while we were home for a visit. We were hanging out in the backyard and at the end of the night I was alone with one of brother’s friends.

He started coming on to me, grabbing me, being way too forward and gross. I told him repeatedly to stop and to leave but that just made him more aggressive. He eventually knocked me down and had me pinned on the ground, broke my glasses and was laughing in my face about what he was going to do to me while I screamed for help but no one could hear me. I eventually managed to choke him out just enough that he fell over then kicked him a bunch of times.

He got up and came at me again. I shoved him back over and over til we reached the end of the driveway, the whole time he is still trying to grab at me and laughing at me. Eventually I just swung at his face and ended up breaking his nose, I felt it crack on my hand and blood went everywhere.

It was sickening but also kinda euphoric. He ended up running away after that.”

“So I was in high school, got a pass to go to the restroom.

On the way there one of my friends sisters is being held against the locker by a couple of dudes and being groped by another couple. I was a 6 foot 400lb teen, I just ran as fast as my fat legs could take me and barreled into a few of them. Screamed at her to go get her brother.

I proceeded to get the ever living s**t kicked out of me. I had bruised/broken ribs, a broken hand, fingers, nose, concussion. But I consider it to be one of the most bada** things I’ve done.”

“I’m a relatively petite woman and I changed my flat tire without any help in a snowstorm.

It was a struggle, and my hands were scraped and bleeding by the end, but I felt really proud of myself.”

“My girlfriend took me.over to.meet her grandmother one day.

She was a super nice lady and while we were talking she said something about how she wishes her record player still worked because she just missed listening to her old albums so much. I’d always been a big audio guy so I asked if I could take a look at it for her.

I spent about five minutes working my magic and was able to make an old woman cry because she was so happy to hear the music she and her husband used to dance to again for the first time in years.

I ended up marrying that girl and when grandmother passed away she had made sure that I got her old record player.”

“Being an untouchable and unbeatable b**tard at dodgeball.

If it was an Olympic discipline you would all know my name by now.”

“Someone pulled a g** on me but the shop was shutting in 5 minutes and I really wanted beer so I told the guy to f**k off and kept walking.”

“I saved a life as a 911 dispatcher.

“My address is [address], my name is [Ms. Patient], and I think I’ve just developed a penicillin allergy.”

The call started off normal enough, 50s female took penicillin and was now breaking out in hives. As the call went on, she got harder and harder to understand, both because her tongue was swelling, and because she was getting more and more confused.

“I’m in the basement. Will they be able to find me? I don’t know if my door is unlocked. I’m gonna go unlock it.”

“NO. Stay in the basement. I’ll tell the paramedics you’re down there. They’ll find a way to get in.” I wrote a note to my partner, who was dispatching the ambulances: Patient in basement, door may be locked

“Why did you call me? Can I hang up?”

“You called me, Ms. Patient. You’re allergic to penicillin. You called 911, the ambulance is on the way.”

As the paramedics called on scene, I heard a clunk and the tone of a button being pressed. That’s not good.

About one very long minute later, the paramedic picked up the phone. “It’s me, we’re here.”

The crew transported to the hospital, no lights or sirens. Interesting! I was expecting an emergent return. When they got done, the paramedic called me.

“If we hadn’t have known where the patient was, if we would have been one minute later, there’s a good chance she would have d**d. Thanks for telling us where to go.”

Yep. My bada** call taking skills saved a life.”