In 2010, I was forced to retire as a hockey player because of two herniated disks and an almost total lack of meniscuses in my two knees. I gained a lot of weight. Many athletes have this problem. As a professional athlete, you are weighed daily, your body fat is measured and you are always on a diet. Once retired however, you relax until you burst! Luckily for me, this little crisis lasted only for a year. When I played hockey, I weighed 255 pounds and, at my worst moment, I reached 320 pounds. I had to shop at BOVET’s, how humiliating for a former athlete. This also proves that it is possible to gain a lot of weight even as a vegan, without eating any animal products. Thanks to veganism and Vega products, I have however succeeded to heal my body and regenerate my joints. I do not suffer from back aches nor knee problems and this, without any surgery. I eliminated all my asthma and high blood pressure symptoms and, above all, I do not need any medication.

As a result, today, I am more active than ever and that is fantastic. The competitive spirit that drove me in the NHL, is there when I play other sports. I am now a running enthusiast and this even though I weigh 270 pounds. Even though I’m a heavy weight, I participate in many 10 k, 21 k races and even marathons. I am conscious that I am the only elephant in my category that races such distances, but I love challenging myself and improve my time every time out. Each year, I participate in the Montreal‒New- York Challenge, a race where 300 participants run at least 90 km over 3 days. I am also a big fan of bike racing, so much so that the Trek team gave me an exact copy of the three bikes used during the last three Tours de France won by Lance Armstrong. With my strong legs, it is easy to understand that bike racing is one of my strongest points unlike running which will always remain a challenge for me. I still play a lot of hockey. Of course, several charities use hockey games for fundraising. I willingly accept their offers and play in garage leagues as well. I still figure skate too and, each year, I participate in year-end shows for many clubs. I say it and say it again: figure skating is physically and mentally more challenging than hockey. Finally, my favourite sport is still soccer. I love to play it so much that often, coaches invite me to play against their own team; that spares them from another routine practice. I join the amateur team and we face the pros. The first beating we ever endured was during a match we played against the national women’s team: 9 to 0. No worries. We had fun. We’re still waiting for a rematch. Lol. My dream would be to participate in an Ironman triathlon, but in order to do that, I would have to learn to swim. At the moment, I swim like a rock. Looking forward to seeing some of you at one of the many races I participate in. See you soon.