18/07/2025
“Sharing this so you can get to know me a little better — where I’m from, what shaped me, and what still drives me today.”
Who am I. Part 1 — Where it all began 🇨🇦❄️
I grew up in a tiny French Catholic town called Clarence Creek in Ontario 🇨🇦 — about 1,000 people, where everyone knew everyone. I had the best upbringing. A beautiful family, a twin who’s still my best mate, and an older brother just two years ahead of us.
My parents come from big families — Mum is one of 8, Dad one of 10. I had over 50 cousins all living nearby. We’d see each other weekly. It was wild and beautiful, and I know how lucky I was.
My childhood was all outdoors — skating by age 3, playing ice hockey by 5. Winter was hockey, summer was baseball. I played ice hockey to the highest level I could until I was about 16 years old — I was an aggressive player, and I loved the physicality of the game.
I also played soccer for a couple of years at club level — probably the sport I had the most potential in — but my style didn’t quite translate. I was too aggressive, and it didn’t mix well with the game, so I stepped away from it by age 14.
Outside of that, I spent a lot of time playing beach volleyball and got pretty competitive with it in our area. I loved the mix of skill, grit, and teamwork.
By high school, I was also playing state-volleyball, badminton, and running track & field.
At 14, I started lifting weights in my off-season for hockey. Didn’t have a clue what I was doing, just hitting the gym with mates, trying to get stronger. That’s where my love for strength and movement began.
Me and my brother were obsessed with the outdoors — building tree houses, carving out trails, riding our bikes at sunrise, sometimes 40–50 km before work.
We started working young — I was 12, mowing lawns and peeling potatoes at the local chip stand. By 14, I was on construction sites in the summer, framing houses and doing demolition work — chipping bricks off old buildings so the bricklayers could start fresh. Big days. Hard work. But that’s where I learned to dig in, show up, and earn it.
“Just a little teaser in the second photo — Part 2 coming soon 👉🏼”
