The Heroic Minds Podcast

John Young is the only person with Dwarfism to complete an Ironman. Not only that he also regularly races in triathlons, and marathons. John Young was raised in a foster home with a strong female influence. John is also a teacher and basketball coach… yes a basketball coach. He shares funny stories of how he deals with the social situation when people may judge him and what his mindset is when he’s mid race. We also discuss a mindset on handling pain and how his quote “Be The Hammer” came to be.

John Young Instagram

John Young Twitter

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Dr. D.J. Cook is a neurosurgeon and owner operator of OtterCreekFarms. In this episode he tells the story of working on the farm and 10 minutes later in surgery to save someones life. That is the life of Dr. Cook. We talk about decision making as a brain surgeon, how he approaches problems on the farm just how he approaches problems during surgery. Dr. Cook is fascinated by the resilience of the brain and how performance of the brain can now be seen through specialized imaging on stress induced patients. Dr. Cook is one of the most humble people I have ever met; a life saver, a farmer, a hero.

Heroic Minds Forum

Heroic Minds Mind Manual

Gerry Dee is one of the best comedians of our time. Known for his hit show Mr. D, his stand up comedy, Gerry Dee Sports Reporter and his various role’s in main stream movies. Gerry’s journey to comedy is exactly why I wanted him on the show. He still remembers the arguments his parents had when he was a kid over whether they had enough money for food and gas that week. While doing his second degree Gerry had four jobs, one of them being comedy, which grew into what it is today. The interesting thing is that it was never about chasing the money, it was about doing something and trying to be the best in the world at it… the money would be a by-product of that. Gerry’s comedy career took flight in 2002 when he became the first Canadian to win the San Francisco International Comedy Competition (which had past winners such as Ellen DeGeneres, Louis C. K., Dane Cook, and more.) We talk sports, society, failure, goal setting, schooling, comedy, and more. "Don't listen to people that say you can't, go find out for yourself." - Gerry Dee

Gerry Dee Website

Gerry Dee - Words that end in “an”

Gerry Dee - My Italian Neighbours

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A feel good story about a dog born without eyes that has changed and saved peoples lives. Many years ago Joanne had a foster dog that could not find a home. People thought Smiley could not live like a “normal” dog. One day Joanne decided Smiley would go from a foster dog to her own. Through an incredible journey Smiley turned into a source of hope, a saviour, and a hero. Smiley’s story teaches us how to treat and approach people that may be different, how to adapt to our surroundings and how easy it is for anyone to make someones day…without knowing that it could get them out of a rut or even save their life.

For The Love of Smiley Instagram

For The Love of Smiley Book

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Suicide. A conversation I never thought I would be having with my hockey coach. Like anything in this world that we don’t understand talking about it will only make us better and more equipped. In this episode I sit down with Troy Smith head coach of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League. Before coaching Troy played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1995-1999 with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings/Plymouth Whalers organization. We start by talking about Troy’s brother who completed suicide. We move into other topics of how to support someone that doesn’t want help, how to talk to someone that may be having mental health issues, and how mindfulness and meditation aren’t the only way to support your mental health. We even talk about the night I had my injury and how Troy almost got in a fight in the hospital which provided some comic relief, lastly Troy reveals his hobby of playing fortnight and the ulterior motive as to why he plays.

Troy Smith Twitter

In this episode I bring to light something missing in the concussion conversation. Athletes may have to stop playing the sport they love one day… and that is okay. Athletes are never told this nor do they talk about it or plan for it. Once an athlete sustains a concussion they are expected to go against the grain and not play through injury which has been a habit developed from a young age. It is not “tough” to play through injury, it is habit. What is tough is accepting where you are, regardless of how terrible it may feel and acting in accordance. Athletes may have to second think their return to sport and make the tough decision of moving on from playing. You can live just as happy if not happier without sport. This needs to be talked about more to enable athletes to make this decision. It was conversations like this that helped me to accept where I was and the decision I needed to make. I can live without sport… I never believed I could.

Chris Miranda, ex-golf pro and golf course owner “had it all” until one day noticed tingling in his hands. He went from shooting a 71 to a 91 on the golf course and had trouble standing up on his hockey skates. He was told by the doctor he had 6 weeks to live. Initially thought to be a rare form of cancer Chris was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves. This has rendered Chris without the use of his hands or feet. Raising two young kids, with a full time job and constantly around a game he can no longer play like he used to, Chris has found a way to get back to “having it all”.

Brock McGillis is the first professional hockey player to publicly reveal he is gay. He played professionally in both the United States and Europe. At age 19, McGillis was ranked on the NHL draft list, but his prospects were derailed by a series of injuries, from cuts and concussions to mono and knee surgeries. Brock has become an influential advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. His story has been highlighted in newspapers and blogs across North America, and was most recently featured on CBC The National. This year he will be featured in a novel about hockey heroes and is working on a TV show. He’s also starting a foundation and hoping to speak at every elementary and high school in Canada. In this episode we venture well outside the issue(s) around homosexuality and homophobia to social issues that everyone can relate to. The messages in this episode should be shared with many sports teams and organizations.

Brock McGillis Twitter

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Wali Shah is a Pakistani, Muslim, Canadian, public speaker and poet. Wali came to Canada in 1997 with his mom. After years of dealing with assumptions and name calling, hate crime and more, a small altercation escalated leaving Wali in hand cuffs. It was at that point he realized the immense power that is in our narratives. The way we speak, the stories we are told and the manufactured ideas we believe make for conflict and anger that could be easily avoided. In this episode we talk his journey from hand-cuffs to the stage of 100's of different schools. We talk about the word terrorist, we talk about cultural misunderstanding, we talk about the heroic initiative we can all take to understand different people better. It is simply educating ourselves that can literally make this world a better place. We don't have to like each other but it would make this world a better place if we respected each other.

Wali Shah on Twitter

Emily Kaplan is an ESPN journalist and ex Sports Illustrated journalist. Her writing is different than the average athletic story. She interviews and writes in a way that the human side to each athlete shines through. It is her type of writing that is so exciting because it allows everyday people, young, old, athlete or not to relate to the story.

We start with Emily's journey in the male dominated world of sports journalism where 11% are female. We move into a number of athlete's journeys, the reason for the culture of hockey and how it can be applied to other "groups", the social issue of concussion, past interviews with athlete superstars and more.

- Dream Job

- Male vs Female Reporter

- 11% of sports journalists are female

- In the change room

- Football to Fire Fighting

- Empathy in athletes

- Hockey players don’t say “I”

- What will the team think?

- How to tell a story

- Whats bigger than the game?

- Improving the game beyond the ice

- Biggest regret in journalism

- Nick Saban & Vladimir Tarasanko

Emily on Twitter

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