GUELPH - At seven-foot-two, and born without part of his left arm, Greg Stewart stands out in a crowd.
But as the two-time Paralympic shot put champion told a gathering of students at Bishop Macdonell Thursday morning, the only limitations in life is yourself.
The 38-year-old from Kamloops, BC, had roughly 200 students from St. Ignatius, Mary Phelan, St. Michael and St. Paul engaged through an hour-long motivational presentation, one of four delivered over the last couple days.
It was raw. It was open. Stewart didn't hold back.
He remembers feeling “angry (and) scared” waking up two days before competition day in Paris last summer.
He remembers feeling the pressure of a nation, looking down on the red coloured bib he had to wear, indicating he was the defending gold medallist from Tokyo. But he also remembers channelling that into a positive and taking care of the task that lay before him.
Stewart, who was born without the lower part of his left arm, has turned into a motivational speaker, teaching people how to be vulnerable and being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Three key words highlighted his presentation: trust, ownership and integrity, something he said applies to all of us, all the time.
“As a young child, in Grades 6, 7 and 8, they’re just experiencing, they’re just learning to understand what that experience is right now," he said.
"The (Grade) nines, 10s, 11s and 12s, it’s something that they’re now consistently practicing.”
For adults, Stewart said those three words are still good to hear as more of a reminder.
“The message is the same: how to be trustworthy, how to take ownership, how to (have) integrity,” he said. “It just depends on what stage of life you’re in because these are things that will never go away, we will always have them.”
Stewart talked about his childhood and being six-foot-eight by the time he was 14.
He talked about how his feet hang off the edge of a king size bed, being limited to where he can sit on a plane, wearing a size 16 shoe.
He didn’t find shot put until age 30. Beforehand, Stewart played basketball and volleyball.
He was one of the top defensive basketball players in the country, winning the Canada West defensive player of the year award twice in 2010 and 2011 at Thompson Rivers University.
Stewart would also win three world championships with Canada’s para volleyball teams.
But when he tried shot put in 2018, he quickly rose through the ranks and was the top ranked athlete in the F46 men’s shot put.
Stewart began his presentation by walking toward the door, one he had to slightly duck to get through.
It’s a regular occurrence in his life.
Stewart is very aware of himself, and has been down a mental health journey for over a decade.
He sees a counsellor every month, and knows that when he makes changes mentally, big changes can happen around him.
“I think there’s a real importance to us understanding our environment and understanding ourselves,” he said. “When we love ourselves, and we create great things within us, we create great things outside of us.”
Great things like two gold medals, which he had in tow and passed around the crowd.
But he made it a point to say those medals “don’t define” him.
It’s about being a good person, being a good husband, holding a door for someone, being brave enough to ask for help when you need it.
“Those gold medals remind me of when great things can happen,” he said.
“I really learned from his presentation,” said Brandon Nguyen, a Grade 12 student at Bishop Mac, and part of the school’s leadership group that hosted the presentation.
“Being mindful is really important in today’s world, just being aware of your surroundings and making sure that you keep people close to you, and have those close relationships is something that I want to carry on in the future, and ensure it’s very important in my life.”
“What stood out to me is how Greg took something that most people seem bad, and he made something so wonderful,” added classmate Adrian Jesly.
“His experiences just resonate with so many people.”
Stewart is planning on competing at the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
He is also training a new technique to throw even further, and achieving new goals like being a world record holder and winning a world championship in the sport.
He told the crowd to enjoy the process, no matter what you are trying to achieve.
“I started throwing shot put when I was 30,” Stewart told the crowd.
“I’m 38 now, almost 39. Do not give up on your dreams because dreams can still be achieved.”