Posted on May 4, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with one comment

 

Vertigo derailed a successful professional downhill mountain biking career. Now, this Victoria. B.C.  resident is making heads spin in the business world.

Meet Andrew Mitchell.

As a child, he started exhibiting signs of fearlessness that would define him in his teens. At the tender age of three, he won his first BMX race. While he played and excelled at several sports including soccer, lacrosse and hockey, it was mountain biking that gave him his biggest thrills. His parents, Susan and Michael, were understandably concerned when he announced that he was dropping all of his other interests to pursue biking.

He started racing professionally at the age of 15, and in the ensuing years became a four-time Canadian champion. In his second year he suffered a head injury at the first race of the year in California. The ensuing vertigo plagued him for several years. A very serious ankle break caused him to ponder his future. His doctors were convinced that he would never race again, but his trademark tenacity had him riding after a stint doing construction work.

His goal had always been to be world champion but the reoccurring dizziness finally took its toll, and at the age of 23 his body told him it was time to move on.

During one of the hiatuses on the racing circuit, he did a year of Business Administration at UVIC.  The time away from biking gave him the opportunity to ponder his exit strategy from racing. When he finally packed it in, he sat down with his mother and they started working on business strategies. He knew that he would apply the same tenacity in business that he demonstrated on his bike.

Ultimately, he decided to look at the courier business but from a very different perspective. He decided that his business, Geazone Eco-Courier would be 100% emissions free. He now owns a fleet of bikes, cars and trucks that run entirely on human power and electricity. The business has doubled its revenues every year, having been in existence less than a half decade.

His goal is for Geazone to be a global company. “I am committed to environmental stewardship locally, but want to expand this around the world.”

According to his friends, this goal is achievable. One of his lifelong buddies said that “Drew is incredibly determined. He attacks problems as if they’re the beaches of Normandy. He never backs down or runs from a problem.”

Asked how he would like to be described fifty years down the road, Andrew said “I want people to know that I went for it in everything I did. I would rather die trying than not try at all.”

Although the climb to the apex of the mountain will be littered with obstacles, the view from the top will be sublime. Just don’t expect Andrew to hurtle back down on a bike … not that he wouldn’t be sorely tempted! http://geazone.ca/

http://youtu.be/WOcKxywUxfY

 

Posted on May 2, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Peter MacDonald photo

 

So. Here you are, wondering what to get for Mother’s Day. Well, wonder no longer.

As a shout out to all mothers ( and fathers, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews…. you get the picture! ), I am offering all three of my wildly successful (?) books of short stories for the low, low price of $40. + shipping, for those of you not fortunate enough to live in Antigonish. And ( drum roll ), the first five people who order the set will receive, free of charge, a Week45 baseball cap, surely to become a collector’s item.

You can purchase them on line. Simply go to my website at www.week45.com and click on the books tab. Scroll to the bottom where you’ll find details of the deal. Or stop me on Main Street when I get home and insist that you receive your copies forthwith! Let me know who the books are for and I will sign them with a personal note.

Are you new to Week45 and aren’t sure about investing such a large sum of money without having read my stuff? Check out this story just to give you a flavor of what’s in store. http://www.week45.com/lous-last-laugh/

Mother will thank you… and so will I.

After a month of dog sitting on the West Coast, I return home later this week. I regret missing two of my granddaughters’ birthday parties ( we Facetimed so it wasn’t too bad ) and the opening of the lobster season, I did not regret missing April in Nova Scotia. The weather in Victoria was wonderful and I remain gobsmacked by all the flowers in bloom. This is a very special place. If you’ve never been here, may I strongly suggest that you add this to your bucket list.

There will be no Faces in the Crowd this Thursday as I will be in transit.

Congrats to all of the university grads and their parents.

Have a great week.

Posted on April 28, 2016 under Faces in the Crowd with one comment

They came to Nova Scotia to further their education. They discovered a positive, accepting community in Antigonish and have decided to call it home.

Meet Cathy Lin and Melvin Tan.

Cathy hails from Canton, China where education is treasured.  “Study, study, study…” was the mantra in her community. “Education was everything,” she says.  She learned 3-D design in university and, when she decided to do a Masters degree, she discovered an internationally recognized university of the visual arts thousands of miles away: NASCAD, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Melvin grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was a good athlete and musician, learning how to sing, play drums, guitar and piano. With three uncles living in Toronto, his parents sent him off to Canada to finish high school. When things didn’t go as planned, he returned home. His parent agreed to give him a second chance and he made the most of it, completing his high school at prestigious Kings-Edgehill in Windsor, Nova Scotia where he learned discipline … and snowboarding. He played on KES’s 2004 provincial volleyball championship team.

Melvin was very interested in the food business and completed the hospitality and hotel management course at Compu College in Halifax. He worked in a restaurant, and his new friend (and future wife) Cathy ended up working in the same restaurant.

At the time of their wedding, Melvin was holding down three different jobs. One of his duties was making sushi. Bento Sushi told him about an opportunity at a large grocery chain in Antigonish. Neither he nor Cathy had ever been to the small university town. Their initial scouting trip occurred in July of 2012, shortly after their son, Ethan, was born. They were flabbergasted at the volume of traffic on the outskirts of the town, only to discover that this was due entirely to the road construction associated with the twinning of the Trans Canada highway!

They found the tree lined streets of the town “relaxing” and felt a positive vibe watching so many people out strolling. They were concerned about moving to a small community, having been city people for so long. They didn’t know a single soul but they had a gut feeling that this was a good work opportunity and they took the plunge.

The first year was tough, as they rented a house adorned with its own hornet’s nest inside, and didn’t meet any new people. Cathy’s mom came for a visit. “You don’t have any friends, “she said and immediately took to the streets to rectify the situation. She walked into Tim Horton’s and started to chat with some of the patrons. Not long after this, Cathy and Melvin made some new connections, none more important than Fran Wittgens, who introduced them to the International Potluck.

Cathy has established herself as a top -notch graphic designer in the community. And the sushi business is thriving.

But this young, energetic and entrepreneurial couple is dreaming big, and hopes one day to expand their food business by operating a food truck specializing in Asian food. They see great potential for Antigonish as a destination.

That’s food for thought.