Episode 12 - What's Your Comeback Story? IRONMAN Triathlon

July 24, 2025

Hip replacement doesn’t end your story—it can become the reason your greatest comeback begins.

Life After Hip Replacement: How to Create Your Comeback Story and Reclaim an Active Life

Hip replacement recovery, life after hip replacement, hip replacement success stories, and returning to an active life after hip surgery—this episode of The Hip Replacement Podcast is about turning surgery into a comeback instead of a setback.

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, host Chris Bystriansky, a double hip replacement patient and Ironman triathlete, shares how hip replacement surgery became the catalyst for reclaiming—and ultimately redefining—his life. Rather than letting hip replacement define him,

Chris chose to write a new story—one built on strength, confidence, purpose, and action.

If you’re recovering from hip replacement surgery, preparing for hip replacement, or wondering what life after hip replacement can really look like, this episode offers a mindset shift that can change everything.

Chris walks through how hip replacement recovery doesn’t have to be the end of your identity. Instead, it can be the beginning of a powerful comeback. From struggling to walk before surgery to crossing the finish line of multiple Ironman triathlons years later, Chris explains why your comeback story doesn’t have to be extreme—it just has to be meaningful to you.

This episode explores:

How to mentally move past hip replacement surgery
Why hip replacement recovery requires active participation
How to rebuild confidence after hip surgery
The importance of starting small and staying consistent
How to reclaim your identity after hip replacement
Why many people create a better life after hip replacement than before

Whether your comeback means walking without pain, returning to golf, gardening, yoga, traveling, exercising, or simply feeling like yourself again, this episode helps you identify what matters most—and how to pursue it intentionally.

Hip replacement surgery can feel like a low point, but it doesn’t have to define your future. With the right mindset, consistent action, and a willingness to take responsibility for your recovery, life after hip replacement can be stronger, healthier, and more fulfilling than you ever imagined.

If you’re looking for real-world hip replacement motivation, honest recovery insight, and proof that an active life after hip replacement is possible, this episode is for you.

New hips. New you. Let’s go.

Thanks for joining THE HIP REPLACEMENT PODCAST.

-Chris

LINKS & RESOURCES

Download my Top 12 Tips for Hip Replacement Patients here

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The Hip Replacement Podcast website

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Episode Transcript

Episode 12 –
Making Your Comeback After Hip Replacement Surgery

Welcome to The Hip Replacement Podcast, where recovery meets motivation and healing leads to a whole new lifestyle. I’m Chris Bystriansky, your host. I’m an author, athlete, and double hip replacement patient. I’ve been through the surgeries, the setbacks, and the comebacks—and I’m here to help you do the same.

Each week, I bring you tips, tools, expert advice, and inspiring stories to help you take back your life one step at a time. Thanks for joining The Hip Replacement Podcast. New hips, new you. Let’s go.
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Welcome back to the Hip Replacement Podcast. I’m Chris Bystriansky, your host. I’ve had two hip replacements—one about 10 years ago and the other about 12 years ago—and I’m here to share my experiences with you.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about making your comeback.

We are the authors of our lives. We are the authors of our story. And the real question after hip replacement surgery is this: What do we do next? How do we take our lives back? How do we rewrite our story so that hip replacement surgery becomes something firmly in the past?

Hip replacement surgery can feel like a massive low point. The pendulum swings hard in one direction—pain, limitation, frustration, uncertainty. But we have the opportunity to force that pendulum to swing completely to the other side.

We get to decide what comes next.
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A comeback doesn’t have to be some huge, dramatic achievement. It can be any positive life event—especially something you may never have pursued if you hadn’t gone through hip replacement surgery.

For me, the truth is this: I’m a better person because of my hip replacement surgery.
Before surgery, I was comfortable. Complacent. Life was fine, but I wasn’t pushing myself. The hip replacement gave me a sense of urgency—a wake-up call—that pushed me to do more than I ever would have otherwise.
I didn’t just reclaim my life. I created a better one.
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Years after my hip replacement surgeries, I completed two Ironman triathlons. Before surgery, I thought Ironman events were insane. Why would anyone do that?
But after surgery, I broke it down. Step by step, it became possible. And honestly, part of the motivation came from people feeling sorry for me—treating me like I was broken because I had a hip replacement.

Eventually, I decided to prove—to myself and everyone else—that I was back.

That was my comeback story.

But your comeback doesn’t have to look anything like that.
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Your comeback could be:
• Gardening again
• Practicing yoga
• Taking the trip you thought you’d never take
• Playing with your kids or grandkids
• Golfing, walking, exercising
• Rebuilding relationships
• Re-engaging with life in a meaningful way

What matters is that it’s important to you.

The hip replacement surgery doesn’t define you—unless you let it.
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So how do you write your comeback story?

First, you actively move past the surgery. You don’t live in it. You don’t let it become your identity. You take responsibility for your recovery and become an active participant in getting better.

Second, identify what’s important to you. Big or small—if it matters to you, it matters.

Third, start small. A walk comes before a hike. A stretch comes before a workout. Progress builds momentum.

Fourth, be consistent. Confidence grows through consistency, not perfection.

Fifth, take action. Do something. Then do a little more. Keep moving forward.
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Your comeback is about getting knocked down—and choosing to get back up.

At one point in my life, I was known as “the guy who had his hips replaced.” Later, I became “the guy who did IRONMAN Triathlons.” Two very different identities.

You get to choose yours.

Hip replacement surgery doesn’t define who you are. What you do after it does.

Thanks so much for tuning in to The Hip Replacement Podcast. I hope this episode helps you reclaim your life and rewrite your story with confidence and purpose.

Until next time, I wish you the best recovery possible. Take care.

Episode 12 - What's Your Comeback Story? IRONMAN Triathlon

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