Brian Williams is one of the best sportscasters and hosts that this country has ever produced. In this entertaining podcast, Brian turns his attention to his planned coverage of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 for CTV and what competing at the Games means to the competitors. Well worth a listen and certainly as the last word before the start of the Invictus Games.
What is it about participating in the Invictus Games that is meaningful for government partners? We get to find out in this fascinating podcast with The Honourable Eleanor McMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport for the Province of Ontario. We also have the chance to learn about Minister’s personal journey through tragedy and how that mirrors those of many of the competitors coming to Invictus Games Toronto 2017.
A first in Invictus Games Radio history – a bilingual podcast featuring two Invictus Games Toronto 2017 Team Canada competitors: Denise Hepburn and Gaetan Lortie. For both competitors, the chance to compete at the upcoming Games has been a positive way to focus their lives.
The training is only part of the story, in this podcast we hear about the fast friendships that are formed because of the Games. Gaetan decided he wanted to acclimate himself to his competitive situation at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, where swimming will take place among other sports. He let Denise know and the two came to the pool together with families in tow and shared how and why they support one another.
The competitors speak about the bonds that they formed in service and how they get the chance to recreate those relationships through their participation in the Invictus Games.
The Ukrainian Canadian community in Toronto is very much looking forward to the arrival of Team Ukraine and have been planning for about a year. In this podcast with community leader and organizer Renata Roman, we get an inside look into the Team, their preparations and what their Canadian friends have in store for them.
The podcast started with a story of a little boy coming to the home of Leah Cuffe and Team Canada competitor Mike Trauner on their first Halloween after returning home. The boy was riveted by Mike’s prosthetic limbs and kept telling his Mom that Mike was a real-life Transformer and wouldn’t be dissuaded. Leah told the little guy that if he was a very good boy, he could come back another time to see Mike ‘Megatron’ transform into a car and they both smiled at the memory.
How do families cope with an injured soldier? In Mike’s case, his injuries were catastrophic from am IED blast in December 2008. He shares in the podcast that he was conscious after the explosion and overheard that there were two casualties: a person with shrapnel and another with double amputations. Mike had no idea they were talking about him. He goes on to share the realities of his life now. Leah also talks about how her life changed in December 2008 and why she has taken a leave of absence from her job in order to help Mike.
This riveting podcast lays bare the power of the human spirit, and connection in the relationship between these two. They met on her birthday in 2002 and 15 years later, they are still going strong despite having spent 11 of those years in recovery and rehabilitation mode.
It`s always fun to get the chance to speak to someone who feels passionately about what they do. Jaguar Land Rover Canada`s President, Wolfgang Hoffmann is just that kind of person. His passion for cars started in Germany and in this podcast, you will hear about the cherished luxury cars in his childhood car collection which included an E-type Jaguar. A full circle moment to then become the President of Jaguar Land Rover Canada.
In this podcast, we hear from Wolfgang and what it means to spearhead the presenting sponsor`s efforts to support the Invinctus Games Toronto 2017. Just where do sports and cars intersect gets covered as well? If you are a fan of two of the most well-respected car brands: Jaguar and Land Rover, you will learn a few things you didn’t know including Wolfgang’s three-word limit to describe each.
Life is about finding that perfect balance which is even more important after a curve ball the likes of which can get thrown at a soldier in service to their country. Corporal (retired) Bruce Matthews had an 18+ year career starting with the Canadian Army and then ultimately the Royal Canadian Air Force. Quiet and confident, this is a man who already had a great sports career before coming to the Invictus Games with trips to World Championships in three different ‘ball’ sports. At Invictus Games Toronto 2017 presented by Jaguar Land Rover, he will be competing in 5 disciplines across three events: powerlifting, rowing, and athletics.
This is Bruce’s first trip to the Invictus Games and in this fascinating podcast, we learn about why this focus to his life matters and what he thinks the Games has to do with recovery and rehabilitation.
Making sure that everything stays on track in Canada’s largest city and the fourth largest in North America, comes down to a team led by one man: John Tory, Mayor of the City of Toronto. With almost 2.8 million people, Toronto is the most ethnically diverse city in in the world with at least 140 different languages spoken.
How does the spirit of Toronto fit in with the upcoming Invictus Games Toronto 2017 presented by Jaguar Land Rover? That’s just what you will learn in this dynamic conversation. We get the chance to hear why Mayor Tory thinks the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 will be good for Toronto, what he thinks people should come and what makes the city a great host city. Mayor Tory also shares a memory from an historic Toronto event he attended as a child.
Kelly Scanlan is a woman who has always known her mind. From the time, she was 14 years old, she knew that she wanted a career in the military. When she turned 16 years old, her parents signed off on her application to join the Canadian Armed Forces reserves. Scanlan rose to the rank of Corporal in a career that has spanned over 10 years, and which has included a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Over the course of her initial training, Kelly sustained an injury which worsened during her time in Afghanistan. Once home, Kelly found that she was also struggling with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress injury (also known as post-traumatic stress disorder). In this insightful podcast, we discover about what led Kelly to a diagnosis and how participation in sports and the Invictus Games have been instrumental in her rehabilitation. We also learn what it’s like for Kelly to rise to new challenges like her training as a new firefighter.
Capturing the imagination of the public is essential if you want to be able to fill the seats at the Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Chief Marketing Officer Steve Wallace is passionate about making sure that Canadians understand the reasons why it is important to get behind the Games. With a stellar career in marketing that has included stints at both the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/ Parapan Am Games, Steve Wallace is more than up to the challenge. In this podcast hear how the marketing ideas are brought to life in this ‘story behind the story’.
In this podcast, with Kari Mariska Pries, we get the chance to explore the impact that service and injury have on the families. Captain Simon Mailloux, Kari’s husband, was injured in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan in 2007. His injuries included the amputation of one of his legs, but didn’t stop him from wanting to return to serve in Afghanistan in 2009. It is clear from this conversation that military service isn’t restricted to the soldiers, but that the friends and families are very much in the center of all of the decisions and realities of military life.
Invictus Games Orlando 2016 Team Canada Captain Bruno Guévremont sat down for a podcast interview to talk about his journey from injury with PTSD (or post-traumatic stress injury – PTSI as it is sometimes called). The charismatic Guévremont was impacted with his silent injury as a result of overwhelmingly stressful demands in his career with the Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Disposal Team (C-IED Team) during his second tour in Afghanistan in 2009. He speaks candidly about the symptoms and his ensuing journey to recovery with the help of his involvement with the Invictus Games movement.
The 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge happens on April 9th, 2017. Invictus Games Toronto 2017 will be represented in France. For the Vimy Foundation, this is the chance to commemorate and remember those fallen Canadian soldiers and to celebrate this milestone military accomplishment for the Canadian Forces. The Vimy Foundation’s Executive Director, Jeremy Diamond shares his knowledge and passion in this podcast.
To look at Natacha Dupuis today, you might never know her struggle to cope with PTSI (post-traumatic stress injury). Poised, confident and articulate, Natacha recounts her story in this interesting and insightful podcast.
Celina Shirazipour’s fascinating research is focusing on developing a comprehensive understanding of the role of adaptive sport and participation in promoting well-being for military service members and veterans specifically in relation to the Invictus Games. It makes for very interesting listening.
Major Retired Jay Feyko knows a thing or two about coming back from a devastating injury. As part of the first wave of soldiers to be deployed to Afghanistan, Jay was critically injured by an IED causing him to lose the vision in his right eye. In this episode of Invictus Games Radio, we talk about the transition from civilian to military life, creating a ‘new normal’ after injury and working with Soldier On.
Canadian military who served in Afghanistan suffer with PTSI (post traumatic stress injury) at a rate that is almost double that of the general Canadian public. Michael Landsberg is doing everything he can to bring the struggles with depression and mental health issues to light with his #SickNotWeak website and initiative.
Caroline McIntosh’s inspirational story takes us from her family roots of support of the military to volunteering at Invictus Games Toronto 2017. From being part of the group who named Ontario’s Highway of Heroes to convincing the Canadian Mint to produce a commemorative coin, she is a tour de force.
The author of ‘The Dependent, A Memoir of Marriage & The Military’, Danielle Daniel was married to Dr. Steve Daniel when Steve had a life-altering accident as something went terribly wrong during a routine parachute jump. This parachuting accident has left him as a paraplegic. As much as her husband’s, Danielle’s life changed in that instant too. What happens next is truly a study in human courage and perseverance and it is all laid out in this episode of Invictus Games Radio with Danielle Daniel.
Joel Guindon is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and as a result of his service, he has been diagnosed with PTSI (Post Traumatic Stress Injury). He bravely shares his story of how he learned to cope with his injury and what the Invictus Games has meant to him.
The diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues is front and centre in this podcast with Colonel Rakesh Jetly, a psychiatrist and mental health advisor to the Canadian Armed Forces.
Michael Burns weighs in on Invictus Games Radio podcast, the first of its kind as a podcast from inside an international multi-sport Games like Invictus Games Toronto 2017, which takes place from September 23 to 30, 2017.
Funding Parties
