Jack Choros: No Matter What Make An Impact, Part 3

Last week in Part 1 of my conversation with Jack Choros, who was born with a physical disability called cerebral palsy, Jack shared with us his goals for 2015. In Part 2 he shared his big dream of working with a professional team in The National Hockey League (NHL). 

Today Jack share his amazing story climbing the 1776 steps of the CN Tower and an important lesson he learned from a chance meeting with a former professional ice hockey goaltender on a Go Transit train ride.

Tell Us About Your CN Tower Climb

In the spring of 2010, I decided to climb the CN Tower for the World Wild Life Fund. A few months before that I had been going through a difficult time while trying to find a career after graduating from university.

I wanted to do something that would light a fire under me and inspire me and also make a difference to others. I thought in my head that it would be a pretty cool idea to climb the CN Tower not only to raise money, but because growing up I had always been labeled as somebody who couldn’t walk.

So to climb 1,776 steps of the CN Tower and have the accomplishment broadcast on TV and in newspapers was just my way of trying to inspire others. It was also a feel good moment…It felt really, really awesome doing something good!

I figured if people saw the story maybe they would stop saying things like I could not walk. Self-confidence is a big issue for persons with disabilities, especially when they’re young and in school. While most adults probably won’t admit it to themselves, the exclusion and the teasing that comes with growing up actually stay with you into your adult years and convince you that you’re not good enough.

So when people watch my CN Tower climb, especially kids with disabilities I want them to know they can accomplish any goal they set their minds to. Most importantly I want children with disabilities to know that what other people think of them doesn’t have to be their reality and they should be confident and have big dreams.

Tell us the story about Shawn

I was on a Go Transit train heading towards Oshawa getting ready to ring in 2014 on New Year’s Eve with my best friend and company. On the train I met this guy named Shawn. He looked big and athletic. At first glance he intrigued me.

It just so happened that I was really excited thinking about all of my New Year’s resolutions. I wanted to get more involved in the sports industry in 2014. I had my headphones on and my nose buried in a Sports Illustrated magazine reading a feature on Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

After a few minutes had passed I noticed that Shawn was in a pretty steady conversation with the Go Transit operator, whom to this day I actually still bump into once in a while at Toronto Raptors NBA Basketball games. They were both talking about how they were involved in sports. Initially I could not hear what they were talking about because I was in my own world. However, I overheard the Go Transit operator talking about how he has a part-time job doing security for the Toronto Raptors and that the team once took him on a road trip. Within a few minutes I hear Shawn talking about how he used to be a hockey player and that he played professionally.

With 2014 approaching and being excited about getting involved in sports I thought to myself “this must be the law of attraction at work.” At that point, I decided to get involved in the conversation. As I got talking to Shawn I realized that something didn’t add up. He was a professional ice hockey goaltender and who had made it to a hockey league in Europe. Yet he was sitting inside the wheelchair accessible partition on the Go Train and when he would speak to me I noticed that he would stutter repeatedly then apologize after every sentence he finished. Because I grew up with a physical disability I normally don’t like to ask people about their own physical challenges as I understand how annoying it can be to be asked on a regular basis, but in this case I couldn’t help it.

Shawn told me that one day in the middle of his playing career, he got attacked by two strangers with a sledgehammer and that he nearly died. The attacked left him with permanent brain damage. Shawn was actually coming home from a regular hospital visit when I met him on the Go Train. Since his attack he has had constant issues with bleeding in his brain.

I will never forget Shawn and even after meeting him I sought him out on social media and realized that he was just as confident and enthusiastic as any athlete I’ve ever been around and yet his whole life changed and he became so quiet, so humble and in the way so remorseful for having been through so much as if it was his fault.

I think about him all the time how lucky I am to be able to speak and pursue my goals. Shawn reminded me that if you know you have the physical, mental and vocal ability to send a message to the world it’s your responsibility to use everything you’ve been given and make the impact you were meant to make, and become the person that you are meant to become.

What inspires you?

What can you do to inspire someone?

What message do you have to share?