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BIGGER THAN ME PODCAST
183. Rick Hansen: Can One Person Change the World?
Aaron Pete sits down with Rick Hansen to explore his transformative journey from a life-altering accident to becoming a global advocate for people with disabilities, the emotional challenges he overcame, the inspiration he drew from Terry Fox, the iconic Man in Motion World Tour, and the powerful lessons of resilience, interdependence, and breaking barriers to create a more inclusive world.
Nowhere in the definition of an athlete does it say you have to use your legs in order to be one. There were a lot of dark years, for sure, before I could say I'd made that transformation.
Aaron Pete:Can you tell us about the lead-up to the man in Motion World Tour?
Rick Hansen:It's not being afraid of failure. If there's anything I've learned from my friend Terry Fox, failure kills some of the greatest dreams that society ever has.
Aaron Pete:Rick, this is an honour. Thank you so much for having us.
Rick Hansen:Thanks, aaron, I appreciate it, would you mind?
Aaron Pete:briefly introducing yourself for people who might not be acquainted.
Rick Hansen:Yeah, yeah, I'm Rick Hansen. I'm the founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, and as a youngster, I was coming home from a fishing trip and I was in the back of a pickup truck that rolled and broke my back and left me paralyzed and that meant that my whole world had changed. Having had the experience of dealing with personal barriers internally and external barriers, I realized that I could still be a whole person and decided to move forward of my athletic career and eventually tried to pay it forward of my man in Motion world tour, and our foundation was then set up afterward to continue to chase a world without barriers for people with disabilities, so they could achieve their full potential. And so, as a leader, I continue to chase that ultra marathon of social change.
Aaron Pete:I love that. The piece that I want to hone in on a little bit more is the challenge of overcoming adversity at the time. We're in a time right now where depression, anxiety, people's sense of self might be strunggling, and you're such an inspiration in that way. But I'd like to humanize you perhaps a bit. What was it like during those early days after the accident? How did you grapple with that and start to change your perspective and look at it as becoming a whole person and reclaiming your identity?
Rick Hansen:Yeah, you know, that's a great point. And you know, as a youngster I think I had inherited all the classic, you know, canadian stereotypes of what it meant in society to potentially have a disability. You really look down on people who had disabilities. You really felt pity and didn't see much ability because in our world at that point there were very few opportunities and usually it was a burden on family. Point, there were very few opportunities and usually it was a burden on family.
Rick Hansen:I also, as a teenager, as you're growing up, you think your identity and your potency as a human is to be physically whole and able and also fiercely independent. So the setting of that environment for a catastrophic injury that left you without the use of your legs was devastating. That environment for a catastrophic injury that left you without the use of your legs, that was devastating, like I mean, I mean I couldn't when I had my injury, I just couldn't imagine my, my life continuing. Like what would it be? You know, everything that I stood for, you know was, was now rocked, and so this deep, dark canvas of despair was really I mean, I had to somehow figure out how to create some borders, you know, you know, and, and a bit of texture, of color and hope and possibility and in a pre-information age. You know that was a huge learning curve and it took a lot of struggle and so, yeah, there were a lot of dark years, for sure, before I could start to emerge, you know, in a way that I could say I'd made that transformation.
Aaron Pete:There's lots of different ways people go about doing that, whether they've been fired from their job or face different levels of adversity. But what were some of the recommendations you would make to others when you talk about reading books? Maybe you had some positive, influential people that you were looking up to. Maybe family members were encouraging you to take a different perspective on this.
Rick Hansen:Yeah, I think the first thing is when you're in that hospital bed and you're strapped to it and you can't move your legs and you've been focusing on trying to wiggle your toes every single day, almost all day, thinking you could will yourself to recovery. And then, after the days, and then the weeks and then the months went by which seemed like an eternity and nothing was happening. You get to a place where you're almost ready to give up the most powerful thing that we all have, which is hope. And for me, my family came in and they were there with me every day. I had incredible medical support encouraging me and there was just something inside of me. I think it was a pivot point when I actually was dropped face down in the hospital bed after I had been getting sick and I threw up and it was like three in the morning. I called the call button and the nurse never showed up and I think they were on shift change. They missed it and I sat there for hours just like looking at that and the enormity of that situation was probably the most dark period of my entire life, and I think that just something.
Rick Hansen:The next day after, they gave me something for the fever and the pain. I just kind of ended up asking the question okay then, what can I do, you know, can I do something? And the answer? The answer was yeah, I can still move my arms. So I asked a nurse and physio to bring a set of rubber bands and strap them onto the side of the bed, because I was still strapped in the horizontal position, and I started exercising my arms. And it's interesting how you know, one baby step, one moment of thinking, it's something I can do. All the things I couldn't do, all the pain, all the suffering were real. But I turned to the right a little bit with some hope that maybe, just maybe I don't know what how maybe it will be better, maybe it will get better, maybe it will get better. And, interestingly, over time then little steps continued and I started to feel better, stronger.
Rick Hansen:But that wasn't enough, because I needed to hear from others, role models, someone who had been there before me to come into my life and show me what was possible in this new world. And I had an incredible role model named Stan Strong who came into my life and he made me realize that everything I saw in him was this sense of like, his whole face, his persona was pure joy and wholeness and I said I want to be like him. Why? And I realized that for him it was simply that he refused to yield to those circumstances. And what he did is he saw the love in life and in people. He saw that there was still beauty in the world he was in. He saw that there was still beauty in the world he was in, even in the muck and the crap, and he still also saw purpose. And he ended up manifesting that every day. And that's how he became who he was, in spite of the fact he had more of a disability than I did.
Rick Hansen:And I thought okay then that's the key, right? It's not so much what happens to you, it's what you do with it that counts, and it's attitude and mindfulness. And I had to start continuing to start to populate the canvas of possibilities. And he kind of helped encourage me to think and realize that nowhere in the definition of an athlete does it say you have to use your legs in order to be one.
Rick Hansen:So you know, it's like almost like these traps we set in our mind right the sense of pity that came from society, a stereotype disability as opposed to ability. You know now, all of a sudden, that was shifting. And then my own internal everything had to be perfect shifting. And and then my own internal everything had to be perfect, physically whole, versus just the wholeness of who I was. And and then, secondly, you know you look at these views of being fiercely independent versus interdependent, and that was the other part for me. Going home was trying to start to adjust to those. You know more social realities, you know, in the context of who I was like, accepting help, yeah okay.
Aaron Pete:So the other piece just on that note that I'd like to explore a little bit further is how you go about taking in information, because you mentioned society during that period that had very kind of a clear perspective on it and maybe people think they're doing the right thing, maybe they make comments and they go oh, like your, your world's changing. You're like they may be like pushing their perspective onto you and to not let that in, but to let certain voices that are giving that spark of information and inspiration in, it's hard to figure out who to listen to in those moments. How did you go about doing that?
Rick Hansen:Yeah, I almost I think I stumbled into it. You know, I don't think I had any kind of formula, but I think what I would do is I would actually start to source back pain. Where's the pain coming from? And you know, and of course you know, the biggest pain that was coming from me was that I didn't see hope or possibilities and I had to learn what was possible. And I also had views that I had to be independent, or independent of my own world, but that created a trap.
Rick Hansen:And my pain wasn't coming from the fact that I couldn't use my legs, it was that I was sitting in a pickup truck, you know, on a beautiful, warm summer day, having having drove my friends to a little place we love to swim, and they went down a trail and had a great time, while I sat in the truck, pouting because I wouldn't accept help to go down that trail with them and experience that great moment. And that pain was where it was coming from my attitude and my view, not the fact I couldn't go swimming. I had to accept help and I had to be okay with that, and I had to realize that everyone needs help. We're all interdependent on each other and it's not a burden. It's actually an ability to give someone a sense of meaning and purpose, because we all are human and we want to help, we want to make a difference and to be given. That opportunity is empowering. And so the burden shifted to a sense of agency, being the CEO of my world and being able to ask for help, and that was powerful.
Rick Hansen:But then every once in a while, someone would come and they would offer help and you'd get a little frustrated, like you're going up a steep hill and you want to get there on your own and just near the top somebody comes up and offers help.
Rick Hansen:And you know, like, once in a while, you know, you say, sure, not that you need it, but maybe you have a sense that that would give that person a little bit of a boost in their life to be able to make a difference. Because sometimes I like to get in front of somebody and open the door for them, right, and that's, you know, it's just the way it is. And so I feel that a shift came from being angry about someone imposing their pity and or hey, I want to help you to being comfortable, seeing it as a learning moment. Don't give too much you know like, because if you do, they think they have to help everybody rather than watch, observe, ask and listen and having that authentic relationship unfold. And then all of a sudden, it's just two people. It's not about the disability, because we all have disabilities, yeah.
Aaron Pete:I've heard that said. I forget exactly who said it, but they talked about how trust isn't about like just assisting another person or checking a box. It's letting somebody into your world and letting them make that difference and then you start to trust them. But they a lot of the times. People want that opportunity to show you that they're gonna show up in your life in a good way and you have to give people that opportunity to show up in that good way.
Rick Hansen:Yeah, and it's kind of moving from the head to the heart and to the soul, and then you start to connect and you can build authentic bridges based on the discovery in the relationship. And then what does disability got to do with that really, exactly? And our human nature then is to you know, is to find common values, find common endeavor and purpose and, as we learn and understand, to express our love and compassion and empathy is to be able to perhaps help remove some barriers so someone can live the life that they actually are born to be able to and that they aspire to.
Aaron Pete:So you go through this like mental transformation on that perspective. But to not only do that is a feat, but to go on and to try and play it out to its most extreme end, to try and make a difference in other people's lives, to turn this into a movement that inspires others when did that further pivot, come in?
Rick Hansen:You know the first thing, I, you know it wasn't like crossing and turning a switch and then you're there. You know it's an ongoing journey, even today. And so you know I have to stay mindful, because I do. We all have our dark days and our challenges, but I think that the reality is I started to realize that I was, by focusing on my own kind of purpose and journey and ability and trying to remove barriers, that it naturally kind of radiated out and I would have people coming to me saying like, wow, how did you do that? And maybe I can do it in my life.
Rick Hansen:And like my phys ed teacher at UBC, dr Bob Highmarsh, he actually had me come and speak to the phys ed class in adapted physical education because he wanted me to tell my story. And I went, wow, like my story, like what's my? I'm just like a student, I'm lucky to be here. And he gave me a chance because he thought my voice and my experience would be helpful. Or if I would adapt something to make my life a little easier, that other people with disabilities would say, oh, how did you do that? Even when I was racing, I was in the innovation mentality and I would adapt the chair so that I had a molded seat to give maximum power. And all of a sudden I excelled to another level and and all these folks went, wow, how did you do that? And and it radiated out. So it wasn't, it wasn't, at first, a purpose to make a difference, it was just doing your work.
Rick Hansen:And then and then having it radiate, and also, when you're trying to do your work, realizing that you're lucky and grateful because so many people were coming to me helping to remove barriers in my life, whether it be grants to get equipment, or Stan Strong, who was a manager of our wheelchair basketball team, who then inspired me to say if you're going to be on our team, people like the great Eugene Reimer from Abbotsford, who is Canada's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year with Karen Magnuson in 72, they were on this team and he said you know, if you're going to be here, I want you to pay it forward, I want you to recruit, get other folks. And so I ended up meeting Terry Fox and recruiting him to come to the team. And then, you know, we needed more money. And then he encouraged me to get involved in raising funds for the team and we were wanting to create awareness.
Rick Hansen:And then I was getting involved because I was in physical education and I wanted to, you know, kind of encourage youth to think positively about people with disabilities, and so it was a kind of slow progression from the internal to the gratitude and to the recognition of how powerful that was to then the purpose. And it didn't happen overnight. And I think if your mind is open and you're thoughtful and reflecting, you start to internalize those things, especially if they're not presented to you as frameworks for living your life early, and you kind of bang up against the wall, you know and it hurts, and you know, and you make mistakes and you kind of wonder, and then finally, hopefully, some lessons come and you just keep going.
Aaron Pete:I'm not a big energy guy, but when I think about, like somebody who's surrounded by, maybe, negative influences maybe they want to be the first to go to university in their family and everybody's like you can't afford that, how are you gonna pay for that? You're not gonna be able to get there like they're all kind of discouraging that person. Can you talk to me about the energy that's created when people aren't trying to be a barrier, they're trying to go like okay, that's an idea. What if we tied it in with this? What if we did like? That's a whole movement in and of itself and you're like you're creating energy by all of your inspiration and desire to make a positive difference. Like did you see that going on in everybody that they all had like a similar value and the direction they wanted to go?
Rick Hansen:You know, I as early as I can remember and I think part of it is. You know, I don't know as early as I can remember, and I think part of it is. I don't know, maybe it's your family environment, with my parents and my grandparents and my uncles. I was surrounded in the first six years in Port Alberni, where I was raised, always on an adventure, always even in the local area, whether it's out there in the garden or going down into an orchard, or down to a creek and fishing, and or out onto a lake or down into the West Coast, you know, on the Alberni Canal or, you know, in Bamfield, and the adventure was always about let's go, and but the going was the being with your, you know, friends and family, family, and then also the journey always faced barriers or challenges you had to deal with, and so there was always that sense of optimism and I believe that it kind of was embedded in me as an adventurer. I was always trying, as a matter of fact, of course, that was the mentality that you know held me as, at the end of grade 10, you know imagine and you know manifest this incredible dream and adventure of having me and a couple of buddies go off to the Bellacula Valley to go on this great fishing adventure, and little did I know on the way home that that would seal my fate for getting in the back of a pickup truck and having the accident. But it's just who I was and and I think it.
Rick Hansen:You know it's who I've been ever since, as I reclaim myself and and I believe that there is a huge difference between positive and negative energy, fear and you know fear is, is a powerful force that should be honored. But if fear is uncontrolled, it can overwhelm and so, taking fear out of the dark and into the light, you know you can shrink fear, not ignore it, but you can assess it because there's really healthy fear and then there's really, you know, debilitating fear. The same would be for negative energy about can't impossible, all the problems, all the issues. There's a time for that, but not in the killing of the dream before it even nucleates and and that's in the process, and there are some times when crazy dreams like, yeah, let's just take a jump outside this building and see if we can fly. I don don't think that's going to work.
Aaron Pete:Can you tell us about the lead up to the man in Motion world tour? What were the steps that brought you to that place?
Rick Hansen:Well, as I went back to school, my phys ed teacher, bob Redford, encouraged me to get back into sport. He introduced me to the fact that Paralympic sport existed. The connection with Stan Strong moved me into basketball and then eventually one of my heroes, pete Klystrow, was one of the best basketball players wheelchair basketball players in the world, but he was so fit because he was always training on the track, building his cardio and his speed, and so I was encouraged to get involved in the track and ultimately, little did I know that that would lead me into becoming a world champion and a Paralympic gold medalist and being part of the Olympic Games in 1984. And so representing my country internationally. I became a wheelchair marathoner and I'd had this dream, this crazy dream in the rehab center of this adventure of maybe going out of my wheelchair with some of my buddies on bikes and we would wheel around the world. And it was tourist kind of adventure.
Rick Hansen:And physically didn't think it was possible then. But a decade later now, as a world champion, physically, yeah, I think I could do that. But it was the purpose. Why would you do that?
Rick Hansen:In the middle of your athletic career and and and seeing Terry Fox do his journey across the country for cancer research and see the way people started to respond not as his purpose, but to respond to him and others and see not disability but ability. I went yeah, I've been fighting this all my life attitudes internally, attitudes and barriers in society and my gift is in wheelchair marathoning and this dream can become a purpose. And I decided to put it together and nucleate it and eventually, you know, the most powerful thing that happened out of all the tour was when I actually uttered it from inside my head, out of my mouth, to a dear friend and I said you know, I'm thinking about wheeling around the world and once it's out, you know. And then you say I'm going to wheel around the world and all of a sudden it's a commitment. And that was the beginning and, you know, the man in Motion World Tour unfolded.
Aaron Pete:There's so many questions that you leave me with with such insights. The one piece I do want to touch on is there's this balance you have to find with having a dream and knowing that to some it's too crazy, to some they would immediately be like stop that that's crazy, don't think. But then there's like it builds and it starts to grow and you almost have to nourish it like a plant, recognizing that it doesn't, it's not fully fledged yet, it's not there, it has work to do. How do you go about kind of growing an idea in a good way to make sure that you have good influences, kind of contributing to it?
Rick Hansen:I think you have to be open to uh, you know, perspective, and once you have a dream and you put it out there, you know, and even internally in the analysis, you're naturally going to go to what is it going to take to get there? And then you're going to start thinking about all the risks and all the problems and barriers and and those are, those are things that should be honored and and identified in your plan and your framework, and there is a difference between taking risks and being reckless, and being reckless is not looking at some of those really fundamental barriers and or fears and determining that that's a bridge too far. However, there's something in the obsession between that in the planning that wants to have it all buttoned down and the reality is, you know, is we can never button it all down. There's always going to be uncertainty and at some point we have to make a commitment to, in some ways, a perilous and uncertain future, not knowing if those fears are going to happen or not and not having a clear understanding of what the pathway or the specific outcome will be. But it's enough that you know it's not reckless. It might be a challenge or a risk and it's not being afraid of failure, because failure, if there's anything I've learned from my friend Terry Fox failure kills some of the greatest dreams that society ever has. And can you imagine if, if he decided not to take that moment, you know, you know, in Cape Spear and dip his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean and turn westward and take that first step, imagine what wouldn't have happened in this world. And even though he never completed his journey physically, look what's happened. You know, because he had the courage to try and to take that first step.
Rick Hansen:And failure is an important understanding in this world today, especially in this social media driven world, where all you see is the perfect images you know, everyone puts their best face on. It's not real, I mean, it's a moment in reality. But the reality is that we all fail and, as a matter of fact, failing is, is part of learning and growing and being accountable and responsible. And and if you're not failing, you're not trying, you're not pushing, and if we all feel that we have to be so safe that we can't fail, then what's going to happen in our world? And and, as a matter of fact, I just think that for me, the lucky part of that is I knew that it was going to be a challenge and there was a good chance that I could fail. But I just decided I was going and I was going to give it my absolute best.
Rick Hansen:And I said to myself no regrets, no regrets. So that meant every time I would come out of the road, you know, and it would be freezing, cold rain, I'd have an injury in my shoulder and I'd be sitting in the back of the motorhome with the ice packs on and I'm thinking there's no way I can't get out there. There's no way I can't get out there. I'm done, I'm done.
Rick Hansen:And and then that little commitment I made no regrets. It comes back in it and it gets you and it makes you think okay, is this? Is this where I should be making this decision? In a nice, warm motorhome? Do I have one more stroke? And I shouldn't be making a decision in here? I got to get back out there and let's just give it one more stroke and see how far it goes. And that one stroke led to another, to another, to another kilometre, another three, four, five, six hours, and then, at the end of the day, I was celebrating another victory, still in the hunt for my dream. But that wouldn't have happened if I didn't say no regrets. You know, and and it. Yeah, there were times when I was really close to packing it in, but I know that I would have. I can imagine a like Terry if I had have succumbed to those moments and the the outcome of my journey would have never happened. And and I I just am so grateful that I just gave it one more stroke.
Aaron Pete:That's inspirational. Would you mind telling us about starting the Rick Hansen Foundation?
Rick Hansen:Yeah, when we finished our tour, like gosh, you know, like two years, two months, two days, 40,000 kilometers of wheeling, 34 countries, four continents, we'd created awareness, we'd raised like far greater than we'd ever imagined, like $26 million, you know, to continue to remove barriers. And I broke through you through, because I'd volunteered all this time and I'd had a dream that I was going to get back to my athletic career and maybe go to the Olympics in Seoul, korea Paralympics. And so I broke through the banner and above and behind me was a sign that said Welcome Home, rick. And there was a little slogan there that said the end is just the beginning. I went, well, like crazy marketer, eh, like I'm done.
Rick Hansen:But you know, we had this reality that you know that the tour was over and, yeah, sure, we'd accomplished something, but against the reality of the dream, like it was, we were just starting. And so we established our foundation and the foundation, you know, decided that it needed to continue to move forward on that dream. And, you know, and, and for all these years since, uh, you know, we've been constantly working towards that vision and we're we're a small little organization, organization we're here, based in Canada, but we want to change the world. You know, we didn't wheel across BC or Canada or North America. It was around the world and that was where my inspiration was forged as a Paralympian and and the barriers that we're tackling today here in Canada. They have a chance to be movement-based solutions that can be adopted by other people to connect the world and ultimately make life better for people with disabilities.
Aaron Pete:The last question that I have that I wanted to touch on is it seems like we're hungry for inspiration right now it seems like that's an area that I see when I just look at Canada or the world is that we're in need of a reminder that that one person can make a difference, that that that is possible, and I'm wondering if you could leave us with some advice for young people to get inspired again. Disconnect from social media. What would your advice be for young people?
Rick Hansen:I would say, for me, the most important thing is what I've gathered in the years that I've been on my journey is that there's a lot more goodness out there in humanity than there is bad, that we need to look for it more these days, because the bad seems to come up to front and it tends to make us feel a false sense of being disillusioned. It creates anger and frustration and I would say let's look for the good and I would say everyone can make a difference. You don't need to look for a celebrity superstar to be a role model or a hero. It's in your family, your friends, your community and we all need inspiration. But there's no perfect person and people need to earn your respect.
Rick Hansen:And you know, because you know it's not about what we say, it's about what we do and ultimately, if you believe in yourself because every human being is sacred and if you have the belief that you have ability, then follow your path.
Rick Hansen:And there's no absolute comparison because, at the end of the day, your path is your path and you can live out your values. You can manifest whatever goals and dreams you. You can live out your values. You can. You can manifest whatever goals and dreams that you think are important and you can contribute to help make your family or your community or your country or your world a little better. And that and big, massive movements or accomplishments are they are actually always, always the aggregation of thousands, if not millions, of tiny acts of contribution as team members, and so you don't have to always be a leader. You can be a team member and really have a powerful impact. And so I believe that you know, in this world, today more than ever, we need to be able to see that hope and of a world that's healthy and inclusive and respectful and inclusive to everyone who happens to have difference, because in the core of it, in our humanity, we're all the same.
Aaron Pete:You're absolutely an example of that. Thank you so much for being willing to do this. It's been an absolute honor.
Rick Hansen:Thank you, I appreciate it.
Aaron Pete:Aaron, can you tell people how they can connect with the work you're doing in Follow Along?
Rick Hansen:Yeah, if they want to join our movement, they can look us up at rickhansencom and we're always looking for barrier busters, people who can get involved or people who can actually demonstrate the fact that you can live positively with a disability and be an ambassador and make financial contributions or be a partner. So we really look forward to the future. It's never been a more optimistic, brighter period and I believe my best work is still in front.
Aaron Pete:I couldn't agree more. We have so much more to discuss in the future. I hope to have you back on to discuss fish conservation and all of that work, but thank you again for today.
Rick Hansen:Yeah, thanks, aaron.
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