Speaker
Briel Adams-Wheatley
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Hanhart syndrome, the birth defect Briel was born with affecting all four limbs, occurs in approximately 1 in 1 million people in the United States.
Briel's adoptive parents had 13 biological children of their own, yet still chose to adopt Briel, who has a significant physical disability.
Briel suppressed her identity due to religious pressure and family expectations from childhood until age 23, when she came out as trans and began to live authentically.
Briel came out publicly as gay at 20, then as non-binary at 22, and fully as trans at 23, having strategically staged each step to prepare her family and community.
Briel now has 9 million followers across all social media platforms, reaching audiences that far exceed the motivational speaking circuits she worked on before COVID.
A brand video of Briel washing her hair received over 130 million views, demonstrating the viral scale of her content without any traditional motivational framing.
Briel gave a motivational speech at a conference in San Diego attended by 10,000 people, even while suppressing her true identity behind a public persona.
Briel has been on hormone therapy for almost three years, which she says has profoundly improved her mental clarity, confidence, and emotional wellbeing.
As a child, Briel was required to go up and down the stairs 20 times in 20 minutes every morning as her household chore, a physical independence training regime set by her adoptive mother.
Briel's first-ever video on what was then called Music.ly got approximately 1 million views by midnight on Halloween, launching her unexpected social media career.
Briel and Adam got engaged after 9 months of dating, with Briel noting Adam was 27 at the time — considered a 'very late bloomer' by Utah standards.
Adam's letter to Briel, read on camera by Paul, describes watching the world fall in love with her and feeling lucky to have the whole her. He credits her with teaching him authenticity, louder laughter, and what real strength looks like: not the loud kind, but the everyday kind — the strength to be vulnerable.
Hanhart syndrome is a birth defect affecting 1 in 1 million people, impacting limbs, fingers, toes, or sometimes the jaw. For Briel, it affected all four limbs and caused a cleft palate. Between the 1930s and 1990s, only 30 cases were ever recorded.
Briel's adoptive mother required her to go up and down the stairs 20 times in 20 minutes every morning before school and breakfast. When she lied about completing it, her mother caught her by timing inconsistencies. The training instilled independence that now makes Briel refuse help even when her mother offers it.
Briel knew she liked boys in second grade at age 8. She confided in her older sisters, who confirmed they knew but warned her the parents weren't okay with it. She was caught with a boyfriend in 7th grade and received a lecture. The secret lived underground for years inside a Mormon household.
Briel was put on a speaking circuit through youth camps, firesides, and church events from a young age to serve as the face of Mormon inspiration. She was simultaneously bullied at home and school. Her siblings told her she wasn't special — yet she was placed on a public pedestal.
Briel came out to her mother via text after being asked to 'pray about it' at church. The message was direct: you know I'm gay, I've always been gay, and you're not God — you don't get to damn me. Her mother came home sobbing, and the next morning both parents apologised and pledged to be in her life regardless.
After being sexually assaulted multiple times and exclusively dating online to feel safe, Briel met Adam on Tinder. His first date was coffee in public — 'I want people to see I'm on a date with you.' After two weeks she asked for space because his kindness overwhelmed her. Her family intervened and invited him to dinner.
Rather than telling people individually, Briel used a trending sound clip that transitioned from 'a story of a boy' to 'a story of a girl' to come out as trans simultaneously to her family, friends, and 9 million followers. News articles published within 10 minutes. Her family had already seen it coming through her content.
Nearly three years into hormone therapy, Briel describes a mental clarity she cannot fully explain. When she's on it, she's calmer, more confident, and happier. When she stops, the depression and anger return. For her, hormones aren't a political statement — they're the difference between feeling herself and not.
Briel and Adam are remarrying three weeks after the recording because Briel transitioned two years into their marriage. The first wedding was before her full transition. This time she walks down the aisle in a dress. 'It's literally going to be déjà vu, but me in a dress this time.'
Asked about the current political climate for trans people in the US, Briel is honest: it's scary, it's not safe, and nobody is winning. But she still has hope, believing society is at rock bottom and must go up. She refuses to bring children into this world as it currently stands.
Briel delivered a scripted fall-and-rise speech written by her father and another person to audiences across the country, sometimes as large as 10,000 people. She blacked out every time the curtain opened. A stranger at a San Diego conference whispered that she seemed to be hiding something — and that moment ended her speaking career.
Briel's birth mother left her in a Brazilian hospital after learning she had no arms or legs. A Mormon family in Utah, already expecting their 11th biological child, eventually adopted her after the adoption agency laughed at the idea — then reversed course in a boardroom moment of collective conviction.
Host Paul surprises Briel by reading a letter written by her adoptive mother on camera. The letter praises Briel's courage, forgiveness, and growth, and reveals that her mother had no idea social media would make Briel's story visible to millions. Briel, holding back tears, says it was 'really cute.'
Bullied by brothers for being adopted, mocked at school for her wheelchair and black pants, Briel never talked to anyone about it. She felt she was already taking too much of her parents' time for physical needs to add emotional ones. She kept conversations to herself — literally talking to her reflection.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Society & Culture 61%
- Health & Fitness 15%
- Arts 8%
- Government 8%
- Religion & Spirituality 8%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
