Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to Life and Limb, a podcast from Thrive magazine, all about living well with limb loss and limb difference. I'm Jeff Thiessen, publisher of Thrive magazine and your podcast host.
My guest this episode is Greg Westlake, known to many in Canada's Paralympic community and particularly in para ice hockey circles. As captain Canada.
Greg was the longtime captain of the Canadian para ice hockey team, a five time Paralympian and a four time medalist. He's worked as a CBC broadcaster and was the host of AMI's level playing field program which showcased para athlete stories.
Greg had both legs amputated below his knees when he was just 18 months old.
Now a dad of two, a video production company owner and a spokesperson for a number of organizations, we're going to chat about what as a seasoned amputee, he still is. Learning about disability, learning about himself, and learning about other amputees too. So Greg, welcome. How are you?
[00:01:05] Speaker B: I'm doing awesome, man. Thanks for the kind introduction and good to chat with you.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Well, that's, that's your bio, that's all, that's all learned.
Let's start with your family and yours now with, with two kids, one, one very young. And I'll let you talk about your kids as, as much as you would like to and let's get into parenthood and, and what you're learning from, from that really about yourself and, and as a dad with a disability. Take it away.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Geez. I mean, that's a, that's a very loaded question. And it's, I appreciate it because it's fresh, you know, like I played my entire career as pretty much just a single guy. Love being, love being an athlete, playing sports. And so, you know, all the media I've done, I've never been a dad when I was doing all my media runs and all that stuff. So it's, it's a lot different now. So it's been a blast. I definitely am happy that I kind of timed it where it was kind of at the end of my sporting career. And I could definitely be home more because as you would know yourself, being a three time Paralympian and the amount of time on the road and the amount of travel that you do and you know, for us it's not short trips, it's 14, 15 days in Europe or Asia and you know, it's never just a weekend getaway. So I think first and foremost I'm just very happy to be present and, you know, be useful and helpful and maybe if my wife was on this, she would argue the Opposite, but I think I'm useful and helpful and no, just really enjoying. I have a two, two and a half year old son, five month old daughter and just kind of, I guess you could say we're in it right now is what they say, but having an absolute blast.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Any challenges though? I mean, I've spoken with so many people that were ready to become parents who, who have an amputation or, or some sort of disability and there's always that wonder, well, able to do this or will I be limited because of that and that meaning their disability. Did you experience any of that?
[00:03:00] Speaker B: Well, yeah, and I think I, I will as I progress here as my kids get older and stuff. I think off the top of my head, I think the very first thing as, as it pertains to kind of limb loss or disability and being a father. I remember I had a great chat with a former teammate of mine, Billy Bridges, and he has an older daughter, I think, eight or nine years old and, and he was just, you know, talking about, she runs downstairs and you know, he gets out of his chair and it just takes him longer to, to catch up to her and stuff like that and, or she takes off running in the park and he's, he's chasing her.
And so he was kind of telling me his challenges and I, I think when you're part of a, a community like we are, which is that disability community, there's so many great people to chat with. And so I've had lots of chats before I became a dad about kind of what to expect and what would some of the challenges be.
And for me it's, it's more just about, I think my whole life I was able to live very, not selfishly, but you know, I've heard a lot of amputees on your show talk about their, their leg energy or that, how they manage. You know, I want to be able to walk or do this tomorrow, so today I'm going to take it easy. And so really I spent, you know, 35 years of my life really just managing my energy and everything was about me. And everything I did, every decision I made was all about so I could play golf tomorrow, so I could go to the gym tomorrow, so I could have fun and walk around and great.
And then I, I think it, it's a wakeup call with two young kids where it doesn't matter if I feel good or bad, that baby's crying that that kid needs something from the kitchen. You get up, you strap in and you go.
So for me it's you know, kind of related to being an athlete where it's just, you're needed, you don't have a choice. You, you just go.
And so that's been the biggest adaptation for me is just going from living a life of, of really luxury where I can really time everything to now it's not on my time anymore. It's on their time. And so that's been the biggest adjustment where it doesn't matter how I feel, things need to get done.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Yeah, but you did say that, you know, resting or conservation of energy and, and your friend Tyler Turner, who was, who was on the show, he talked about that. So you're an extreme athlete. But he says he spends a lot of time using his wheelchair. No shame in it because that gives him, allows him to do what he wants to do with the energy he needs. Right, right.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: And I listened to that episode. It's a great episode. And you know, I don't, I don't really use a chair.
I think he's a newer amputee and, you know, probably deals with a few more stump issues than, than I deal with.
I don't deal with as many sores and stuff like that. For me, it's like, it's typical stuff like the weather right now. Just, you know, when it, when you get three 33 degree days in a row and you know, you're just sweating and so, you know, you know, those are hard days, but I still manage it, you know, like when the kids go down at 7 or 8, you know, where maybe in the past that's my free time. It's like, no, I need to. My day's over. I got to shut it down.
So I just find that's been the little changes where when normally I would have my free time, you know, I kind of sacrifice a bit of my free time to get that rest because I'm needed and it's, and it's, and it's the best job in the world. So, you know, I, I love it. I, I was somebody and I think my wife's the same where I think we both always wanted to be parents, even from a young age. Like, I remember being a teenager being like, when I'm a dad, when I'm a dad, like, I always wanted to have a great relationship with my parents.
And so even though it took a little bit later, like I was in my late 30s when I started having kids, it was something that I always knew I wanted. And so for me, I was just so happy to finally get there and get to that Place where I'll deal with the problems later, but let's just get place where I always wanted to be first. And you know, when you have goals and visions in your life, sometimes you don't think about the negatives, you just want to think about the positive. So for me it was just, I always knew I wanted to be in that spot. I got to that spot. I'll figure it out from here.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: You know they turn into teenagers, right?
[00:07:09] Speaker B: Yeah, unfortunately. Unfortunately. I can't just keep these little cute kids forever. Apparently they do grow up. Yeah.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: Let's, let's talk about your sports a little bit. And again, keeping in the theme of, of learning, now you're teaching, coaching with, with national team. You know, and I remember from my Paralympic days there were a lot of lessons learned on the track that yeah, I probably would have learned in, in real life otherwise, but you learn them a little bit differently in those competitive type venues and, and races and competitions. So I mean, how about you. And maybe even taking that back to when you started as a recreational athlete or lessons learned as a high performance elite team Canada athlete that you're sharing now, what did, what, what did sports teach you about yourself?
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Geez. Oh. I mean, how much time do we have? Right? You know, it's been really my whole adult life. I've been a in and around high performance sport really from the time I was 18 till, you know, now I'm 39. So it's been quite extensive.
You know, if I was to think back, I would just say the very first lesson was getting out of that comfort zone of I lived a very able bodied life growing up.
And another theme that I've heard through your podcast and your shows and some of your interviews is kind of that double life with amputees. And for me as a leg amputee, I kind of get that choice as I throw on a pair of pants some days and I walk around with complete anonymity. You know. No, a lot of people just wouldn't guess it and wouldn't know. And so for me, I grew up playing able bodied hockey. I grew up, you know, competing in gym class, having my able bodied friends and I wasn't really other than the champ program and war amps and stuff like that. I really wasn't in that kind of, I wasn't a part of that community.
And so for me to, to see somebody in a wheelchair, see somebody with, with different abilities and think about competing against them, my mind just wasn't there. And so it wasn't until I saw like some of the real good Team Canada players and some of the tremendous Paralympic athletes that are out there, and I saw their abilities, not their disabilities, and I saw what they could do and how hard they shot the puck and how fast they could skate and how physical they were and how in shape they were.
Once I saw that and had access to kind of that high level version of the sport, then I was like, okay, I'm in. I want to do that. And so then I. But then I had to go out and get in the sled and hated it my first time because I felt slow and. And there's all these people with, with disabilities just flying around me and making me look brutal out there. And.
And so that was the very first life lesson, was just like, wow, like these are athletes. It's not just this nice disabled sport that people are doing for fun.
These are incredible people that work really hard at their craft, that are proud of what they're doing. And it sold me and it made me want to be an advocate and made me want to be a part of it, and it changed my life forever and set it on a different course. Where all of a sudden I went from somebody who really wasn't in that space and not a part of that community to like, guys, get me an interview, get me anything, put me on any network or television show. I want to go to bat for you. I want to talk about the amazing things that are going on here in this Paralympic realm. And I really kind of overnight went from somebody who was in the dark to please, like, just tell me any way I can help. And that was probably the very first lesson and it was right, right out of the gate for me was just life changing.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: Yeah, it's, it's interesting. I mean, our stories are a little bit the same. I mean, I lost my arms when I was 11 and I was bound in bet to go back and play minor league hockey, peewee hockey, which I did. And when I learned about the Windsor, Windsor Bulldogs Disabled Sports Club, I, I didn't want to be part of that.
I just wanted to get back into the life that I knew. But you know, my parents were always, you're going to try it anyway and we'll decide, we'll decide later. And like you, when I got there, these athletes were fast. You know, jump high as high jumpers, jump long, long jumpers. And yeah, I was really impressed and really gravitated to that, that level of athleticism too. Like you were talking.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: Yeah. And I was always jealous when I've had conversations with teammates who, who acquired a disability later in life, who, who had the opportunity to play able body sports growing up, like, I was always jealous of that. You know, there's guys on the team right now like a Tyler McGregor and a Don Casalino that, that grew up playing rep hockey and, and you know, they, once they got into para, they'd be jealous of the fact that I started a bit earlier than them. And meanwhile, I'm jealous that they got to play rep, standup hockey and all that stuff. And so, you know, you always want what you didn't have, I guess a little bit, but it all comes together in the end.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Good point, good point.
Your work with AMI and level, level playing field as, as the host, you would have met some, I know you met some really incredible people in, in that role. Were there some aha moments for you that you learned from others that, that you interviewed and spent time with?
[00:12:18] Speaker B: Honestly, it kind of goes back to just our last question, talking about, you know, life lessons through sport.
Another thing I learned through my career is just how, you know, underfunded, under, promoted, not just Paralympians, but Olympians and amateur athletes are in general.
And so when I was kind of wrapping up my career and, and really enjoying the broadcasting and really enjoying getting on a mic and in front of a camera, it was a goal of mine, was just to be helpful. And it surprised me just how appreciative with their time the Paralympians and Olympians are. You know, when you're trying to get a lot of pro athletes, it's, here's your 30 seconds, here's your 60 second sound bite. You know, if you don't get what you need, tough luck.
Meanwhile, we're doing this show and our ask is quite extensive. You know, we want to spend two or three days with you. We need to get a 15 minute feature done on you in two or three days. So it's quite a big time commitment that. It's a big ask. And what I was blown away by, by so many of the Olympians and Paralympians was just how grateful they were to be the star of the show and to have the focus on them where they could get their stories out and get their story told. Because at the end of the day, yes, it airs, you know, a couple times on network television, but it's also going to live on YouTube forever and it's going to be there. And now you have this piece of footage that you can share with sponsors that you can share with charities that you can then kind of show a little bit of this is who I am. And so I was very proud of the fact that we're able to help athletes go out there and attain sponsorship and stay in sport and stay competitive and make it their full time job to train full time so that they can accomplish great things for our country. And so probably my biggest aha moment was, you know, we're sending emails and hey, do you mind if we kind of hang around you for 10 hours on the weekend? And everybody said yes.
You know, Tyler Turner, who we talked about, he was, he was great. He just gave us all access for, you know, three, four days.
Brianna Hennessy, amazing kayaker for Canada, a dual sport athlete from Ottawa. She was incredible. Just whatever we needed. And so, yeah, it was just, it was refreshing because in my mind I really want to be a helpful person toward the movement, for the Paralympic movement.
But it takes two to tango. You know, as you would know with interviews and all that, we can have the best idea and creative vision, but we need the other side to come through and be open and be willing with their time and their answers and their, and their stor. And you know, we're asking you to put the walls down a little bit. And it was just so surprising to me to see how grateful people were for that opportunity. And so we never had a problem dealing with kind of stuck up athletes. It was just thank you so much for being here. And it was very collaborative everything we did and I'm very grateful for that.
[00:15:09] Speaker A: Well, what was refreshing though about it, it's also, I should say, not though it really cut through that inspirational or sensational narrative that can be a burden for, for athletes with disabilities. You know, we, we always talk about, we're athletes, we want to be respected as athletes. So that, that show really gave folks the opportunity, like you say, to, to tell their story. And it's much more than just inspiration or sensationalism that the brush we often get painted with.
[00:15:41] Speaker B: Right, yep, I agree. And for a lot of people it's, it has to be a part of the story because it, you know, it's how you got from point A to point B, you know, for, you know, Brianna Hennessy, she was in a car accident with a cab driver just waiting out on the street.
That is a wild thing that doesn't happen to many people. That has to be a part of the story. But we're not going to stay there for 15 minutes. You know, we're going to stay there for a minute or two and then we're going to focus on the journey that back to the top, because that's where the meat and the potatoes are for me anyways.
And that's the stuff that translates to the masses, because not everybody knows what it's like to go through cancer. Not everybody knows what it's like to lose a limb. Not everybody knows what it's like to go from walking to wheelchair bound. But a lot of people go through personal struggle, and a lot of people go through, you know, triumphs and tribulations. And so for me, that's the stuff that relates to everybody, and so we have to touch on it a bit. But I'm more focused on what are the tools and what are the things that you used to kind of become this amazing person that you are now, and that's the stuff that relates to every single person, no matter what your background is.
[00:16:51] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Certainly got that from the show. It was terrific. I appreciate that, using that as a segue. We've talked about this a little bit already, and you and I in the past have talked about the subject of fitting in as an amputee versus kind of finding your own identity as an amputee. And those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive, of course. So your journey as a kid, who. And I know at 18 months that you probably don't have a memory of that, but as a young person, as a teen, as a. As a young adult, how did you balance that fitting in and. And. And that identity as an amputee? And like you said earlier, you could put a pair of pants on and, And.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: And fit in, and, gosh, did I do that quite a bit. You know, and I would go back and forth. You know, when I was in high school, I wore shorts quite a bit. I was very comfortable.
You know, I think a lot of people with disability, that they kind of find their community and. And, yeah, I was never scared to branch out from that, you know, but, yeah, it's a good question. I think, first off, I was very lucky. I'm the youngest of four kids. So when I went into, like, high school, for instance, you know, I had a big brother, I had a big sister that were both in the school.
I always felt. I always felt very protected and looked after, and so I felt free to be myself in that situation. I think one of the best things my parents ever did for me, going back to being a young kid, was they really took the bubble wrap off at a young age. And I. I spend a lot of time talking with parents of kids with disabilities, and it is Scary because now that I'm a parent now, like, I couldn't imagine just sending my kid out onto the field of play with a bunch of able bodied kids and you know, hoping they, they'll be okay. And my parents were really great with, hey, I want to play stand up hockey. No problem, we'll figure it out. I want to play baseball, I want to do martial arts, I want to play volleyball. I had all these interests and you know, I always wanted to be an athlete and they really never held me back. And so there was, there was a lot of successes and there was a lot of failures and there was teams I didn't make and things I got cut for that, that was heartbreaking for me because, you know, you go home, you lay in bed at night and you're thinking like, man, I'm pretty sure if I had feet, I would have made that team. But you know, like, you can't live in that space. It's like that's a very negative, toxic way to, to go through life.
It's okay to acknowledge it and maybe feel the feelings for a bit and then you got to turn the page and, and try to find something you can be successful in. And so I think I, I dealt with so much failure and I dealt with so much success my whole life and I'm very grateful that my parents allowed me to go through that. And you know, you know, it's advice I give now to, to parents, to kids with disabilities is, you know, it is a big scary world out there and you gotta, you gotta let them kind of go have those life experiences because you can't protect them forever. And so for me, that was the number one thing early on was just I really got the chance to go play and compete and, and do my thing. And ultimately it ended up being the best thing for me because that's where I made my friends. You know, whether I was playing house league hockey, it didn't matter. Like those became, that became my group of guy friends that I was going to birthday parties with. I, I was going to. When I went to a new school, it's okay because I know this guy from hockey or that guy from hock.
So, you know, whether I, I failed or succeeded in kind of the athletic venue, I was making friends and I was becoming a part of the community and, and I was, you know, living a very normal life. And I think that's healthy because, you know, as humans we crave connection and we crave friendships and we crave love and you know, all those great things. And, and I had the opportunity to go, go out there and, and spread my wings and do those things. So from a very early age, that was the number one thing. When I think about kind of my life as a disabled person and kind of my day to day life was just, I never felt sheltered. I never felt like I wasn't allowed to try anything. And that was probably just a massive thing for my development.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll bet it was. I think too. And we do have this in common as, as champs from the War Amps program. And actually we were both ambassadors for their, for their PlaySafe program. So you had that too. You had that as well, that, that community. Right. And I know you speak often so fondly about all that War Amps provided you. So that's more on the identifying with, you know, the, the amputee community at a young age. So again, both worlds, right? But talk about the War Amps involvement.
[00:21:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, so I did two commercials with them as a kid and it was a blast. Maybe that's where I got my early start for loving being on camera and all that stuff. But I did have one line in my second commercial, so whatever game you play, play safe. There we go. I still got it. Still know it.
[00:21:48] Speaker A: Still got it. Yeah.
[00:21:49] Speaker B: But no, they were incredible. I think, again, I think at a young age, as a kid, you don't really know what's going on.
So I remember going to some of those seminars and seeing people that look like me or arm amputees or leg amputees. And I, I, I definitely remember the seminars, but I remember going swimming and like eating food and, and hanging out. Whereas I think that those are tremendous resources for parents because they get to see kind of the champs and the people that have grown up and they got their life together and whether they're married or just have a good job or whatever, I think it's great for parents to see that their kid's going to be okay. And it's not a life sentence of misery.
It's okay. And that's one thing that they provided for me and my family at a young age was just being around successful amputees and people that had their head on. Right. And we're just living the right way. And I think it kind of made my mom realize especially that I'm gonna be okay and, and that it's not gonna, this life isn't going to be all doom and gloom and, and so I think that's, it's just a great example of what mentorship can do. For you.
And then another, another thing that they do, which is just incredible. But I have to talk about just they're so willing. When I was trying to compete in able bodied sports and, and do all those things, they were so giving with artificial limbs. And so if I needed a special set of legs for hockey or a special set of legs for swimming, or a special set of legs for whatever, you know, they came through for me time and time again. And for a lot of families it is expensive. And if you don't have the right coverage or if you don't have, you know, the right setup, I don't know how people afford it. Like, it's insane. My legs are so expensive right now. And without that program and without their support, I don't know if I would have had half the experiences that I had. And so I, I am internally grateful and I send them an email every time I get a new set of legs, even to this day. And I just say thank you and I tell them if there's anything I can do for them, if they ever want me to speak or anything, just ask me. It's going to be a yes. They haven't come calling yet, but I'm going to keep offering.
And yeah, I'm internally grateful for them.
[00:24:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And so are so many others too. I mean, they've helped tens of thousands of, of young amputees. And you're absolutely right. The cost, the, the access to those kind of, you know, adaptive prosthetics so you, so we could play. It's, it's incredible what they do for sure.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: 100.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: Have you taken that, you talked about mentorship? A little bit. So have you taken that into your adult life and have you been a peer support or offered peer support to, you know, new adult amputees as well?
[00:24:36] Speaker B: A little bit. I mean, we, we get some of that through the Canadian Paralympic Committee. I get some of that through Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada foundation.
And then I get some of that from the Holland Blur View Children's Rehabilitation Hospital. So that's where I still go right now to, to get my legs tuned up and all that. So every time I'm over there, I always just tell them, hey, if, if there's ever you know, a young amputee or somebody who looks like me, I'm always happy to meet them.
I have a kid right now named Maddox who, who's just an awesome kid and I just met him by chance at Holland Blurview. And I, my, my mom still stays in touch with his mom. I still stay Stay in touch with him. And you know, I feel like we kind of accomplish it on, on all the levels where my mom's become a bit of a mentor for her and I know that she reaches out to my mom and, and she's done, my mom's done that for a few different families now of, of young child amputees where it's kind of like, hey, this was Greg's experience growing up. And it's almost better that conversation because I feel like she's more, she's more open than maybe I would be because I'm, I'm somebody that's like, ah, you just, everything's great, you just work harder. It's, it's, life's great, everything's gonna be fine. Whereas my mom's a little more like, no, no, no, no, no, Greg, Greg did struggle a little bit here. He was frustrated as a 10 year old when this didn't work out. And so, yeah, I, I do still do it. It's become a bit of a family thing. My mom and dad are very active. I'm very active as well.
And again, for me it's more so through like the, the children's rehab hospital. And whenever I get a chance to go in there and meet a young family who, dealing with amputation, I feel like I'm in a place now where I'm very proud to go in and just say, hey, listen, I'm a double leg amputee. I have two kids right now I'm working like life is, life is right where I thought it was going to be.
Your kid's going to be okay. And nine times out of 10, the kid is the happiest kid in the world. And it's the parents who just give this sigh of relief that, okay, you know what? My kid is going to be okay. He's gonna, they're gonna date, they're gonna drive a car, they're gonna do all those normal life experiences and, and then they just feel a lot better about kind of what's coming.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: Yeah, like what you said about your mom remembering things differently. You remember them too.
[00:26:52] Speaker B: Get her on here. She'll tear me down real quick.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: Yeah, you do a lot. And I mean, you use your celebrity, which I think is, is fair to say for good as an ambassador and an advocate, spokesperson for corporations and charities. So obviously there are so many benefits for those that you work with, but I'm interested in the benefits for you. And I'm not saying you're doing this for selfish reasons, but you give a lot of Time and energy to that. So the rewards for you. What keeps you going? What's. What's the drive to continue to, to help and support others?
[00:27:28] Speaker B: Well, I'll try to answer it in a way that doesn't get me emotional, because I, I, it's.
I, I think I grew up, and I didn't really know anybody with a disability. I didn't have that. And I think that if you can provide that for somebody, it's just a pretty special thing. And I've always had a very, very soft spot for kids. I love working with children more than anything.
And, yeah, I just think that, you know, kind of like I said right off the top when you asked me about being a dad, and I said, you know, I always wanted to be a dad, but you got to accomplish a few things before you can do that. So you got to meet the right girl, you got to date for a while, you got to do these things, and, and then when it all lines up and then it's still, you know, you got to be lucky enough to. To have a child, and you go through the trials and tribulations of getting to that point, and then you get there after. You know, for us, it wasn't an easy process, but it finally all worked out for us. And so I think on the mentorship side, again, I think I always wanted to give back, but you got to get to a place where you can. And so for me, at 18, 19, I wasn't in a place to be given life advice, but I could get on the ice with a group of kids and play hockey and just have fun for an hour. So you start there. And then as I accomplish more things and can do more things, the more I'm able to give back. And so I just kind of view it as this cycle of the better version of me I can be, and the more that I can accomplish and do, the more I can give back and the better resource I can be for other people.
So that's kind of where it's at, and it's still at that same place right now where I'm trying to grow and get better on my own so that I can be a better resource for other people.
But I will always have a. Just.
I don't know if there's any reason behind it other than I just. I love working with kids. I remember as somebody who's pretty much a congenital amputee, you have all these what ifs in your head, and for, for me, there were so many what ifs, like, will I be able to drive a car, you know, will I, will I date. Date girls in high school? Are they, are they going to say no because I have two artificial legs, you know, will I be able to be the athlete I want to be? And you just have, you're just. I was just filled with so much self doubt for so much time in my life.
And then you get to the other side of it. You gain some wisdom and some maturity as you get older and you realize all those concerns, all those nights I laid in bed wondering all those things, they weren't so bad.
It didn't turn out so bad. First time I went to drive a car, it was no problem. I asked out girls, they said yes.
I tried sports. It worked.
You know, so all of a sudden you realize, why did I spend all that time filled with, with negative talk or self doubt and all those things? And so I, I like to think that if I can kind of guide and help somebody a little bit so that they have a little bit less of that restlessness, then that's a great thing. And maybe you build a little confidence and you just make them feel a little bit better, that everything's going to be just fine.
And I think that at the end of the day, you know, you get one life to live and, and I really just want people that I'm around to, to be as happy as possible.
[00:30:39] Speaker A: Yeah, you segued right nicely into my last question.
And, you know, I was, I was going to say we, you know, as amputees, our stories are all different, right? And we're different in how we identify with it and, and how we manage it. And I was going to ask you for some, some takeaway advice, which you just gave, maybe more for someone that has recently lost a limb and, you know, hasn't established a relationship with the prosthetist and doesn't know what that, how that role works or returning to work, you know, stairs in the, in the community that, you know, people gawking that they didn't experience before. So add on to what you just said. For somebody that is really new to this.
[00:31:27] Speaker B: Well, really new. I think what's great right now is, I think with the Internet, with podcasts, with all this information that's out there right now, you can find mentorship without even making that connection.
You know, we can find podcasts like yours and find the episode with the person that they relate to or assimilate with the most. But yes, I do a lot of mentorship, but I also view myself as a pretty big connector, you know, when I meet somebody that has different needs than I feel like I can provide. I connect them with somebody in the community that will be able to, to give them the info that they need. And, and so I think that's a big thing too is I, I, I take some pride in knowing what I know and also knowing what I don't know. And if I meet somebody that lost a limb to, to cancer, well, I know like seven amputees from cancer. I'm going to connect them with one of them instead of pretending like I have all the answers for them because I never went through it. And so I think mentors, and I think that you will be able to find a mentor that's like, in your realm, in your situation, that's been there, done that, and come out the other side. And, you know, if I can relate it back to the Paralympics a little bit, it really is one of my favorite things about the Paralympics and the reason why I'm so big on supporting the movement is, you know, bad things have happened to, to all this group of people and they've all come out the other side choosing to be, you know, high performance, choosing to be leaders, choosing to be advocates, choosing to be mentors. And it's just the most amazing group of people I've ever met in my life. And so for me, it's like I still draw motivation. And I know some people hate the term inspiration, but I don't really care because I draw from it.
They inspire me every day. And so I don't mind saying that. And if they don't like it, I don't care.
But yeah, find that mentorship.
And even if you feel so alone and disconnected, there is podcasts, you can go on YouTube and type in whatever you got going on. And I guarantee you, you will find someone somewhere in the world that has been through what you've been through and you know.
But don't ever feel alone. Yeah, that's not a good question.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: Great point. Yeah, we are not alone. That's for sure. Feels like it. And like I said, our stories are different, but there are, are huge commonalities of course, too. Hey, before we wrap up, Evergreen, your new company, talk about that a little bit. And in terms of connection or referring, if folks want to get a hold of a view for whatever reason, sport business inspiration.
[00:34:05] Speaker B: Yeah, just flowing with inspiration. Yeah. No, I mean, Evergreen Productions has been awesome. It's.
I'm partners with two guys who worked for AMI for a long, long time and they just have such an extensive history working in that accessible space and they've been to multiple Paralympic Games. They've worked on tons of projects, whether it's corporate documentary style filmmaking and we're storytellers and we are people that love to shine light where, where people aren't getting a lot of attention and a lot of love and we try to find those people and find those stories that, that are worth sharing with the masses that maybe don't get the attention every day from mainstream media. So, you know, Evergreen Productions ca check out what we're up to. I'm very proud of a lot of those projects and if anybody wants to get a hold of me, just grab my socials. G Westlake12 and I am pretty darn responsive on that thing.
[00:35:01] Speaker A: That's awesome. And for full transparency, I have worked with your company and the, just this, the sensitivity and the sensibility about disability is, is so cool. It's just natural to you, to you guys and that, that was really refreshing and a great, great working experience too.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: I appreciate that. Good to hear, Good to hear.
[00:35:22] Speaker A: Listen, Greg, thank you so much for being so honest and sharing all the, the good in, in your life as it relates to both sports and amputation and others you connect with. This is, this has been a, an awesome, awesome time with you.
[00:35:39] Speaker B: I appreciate it, I appreciate it. I'm going to give one more plug here because I never know when to stop talking. But you know, it's a Paralympic year this year so we got Milano Cortino coming up. So if you're a fan of sport in general, please follow along all the amazing athletes who will be going and representing country, representing Canada and competing this year at the, the Paralympic Games and.
[00:36:00] Speaker A: We could probably start seeing the development of those teams through World championships or other qualifying competitions as, as we get closer, right?
[00:36:08] Speaker B: Absolutely. It's all, it's all starting to come out now, all the promo works being done and yeah, let's share some love and support these great people.
[00:36:16] Speaker A: You are the consummate ambassador and spokesperson and with that this has been life and limb. Thanks for listening and thank you Greg. So, so great to have you on on the show.
You can read about others who are thriving with limb loss or limb difference and plenty more at ThriveMag CA and you'll find our previous pod episodes there as well. Until next time, Live. Well.
