Meeting with the Parasnowboard Team

Chase Nicklin

We regularly receive requests for professional photos from organizations and companies, but getting a request from the Canadian Paralympic Committee was an opportunity we could never have predicted.

Having been immersed in sports my whole life, this was an incredible opportunity and an experience I had never had the chance to have before: meeting Paralympic athletes and getting to know them beyond their performances. Away from the conferences, away from the cameras (except ours), we had access to these individuals whose great achievements are matched only by their inspiring stories.

Philippe Nadreau

Although the events themselves were memorable, we cannot overlook the professionalism of Josyanne Morin, who was in charge of coordinating the photo shoot. Often, in large organizations, the human touch can get lost amid streamlined, impersonal processes. In the case of the committee and everyone we met, the human element was not only present but central.

But beyond the impeccable organization and professional setting, it was the athletes themselves who took this experience to a whole new level. They were the ones who breathed new life into our admiration for this competition, which is too often overshadowed by the Olympic Games that precede the Paralympics.

Sandrine Hamel

We met athletes who were humble, generous, and approachable.

What did we talk about? Their careers, of course, but also our favorite sports teams, travel, training, and everyday challenges.

Despite their status as internationally renowned athletes and the medals they’ve won over the years, it was like chatting with a distant cousin we’d never had the chance to meet before.

Tyler Turner

Although every athlete left a lasting impression on us, we had the opportunity to spend more time

with Tyler Turner, whose journey is simply remarkable.Even before his accident, sports were already an integral part of his life. As a skydiver, snowboarder, climber, and surfer, adrenaline and pushing his limits were already at the core of his identity. It was following a skydiving accident that he lost the use of both his legs. An event that could have put a definitive end to such an active athletic life, but not for him.

Instead of giving up, he chose to adapt his sport. He turned to parasnowboarding, a discipline in which he competes in the LL1 category (athletes with significant lower-limb impairments). Over the course of about five years, he went through rehabilitation, significant psychological challenges, and a long process of personal and physical rebuilding.

Then, at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, he reached the pinnacle: a gold medal in snowboard cross. Becoming a Paralympic champion so quickly in such a demanding discipline is nothing short of exceptional.

What stands out most about Tyler isn’t just his achievements. It’s also his resilience and his ability to turn a major trauma into a driving force, to relearn, adapt, and excel. Every answer he gave us served as a reminder that Tyler is no ordinary athlete. He’s a champion on the slopes, but also in life.

It’s not as if they were lacking any, but Tyler, Sandrine, Philippe, Chase, and all the other athletes can definitely count on two new fans who will be watching their upcoming feats in Milan-Cortina with keen interest.