Steve O’Brien has recently embarked on an incredible journey that defies human restrictions and presses fourth to accomplish a groundbreaking feat in the spirit of legends such as Terry Fox — who have bravely gone before him.
O’Brien stopped in Hope during his Cross Canada Tour from the West Coast to the East Coast in dedication of and to raise funds for children across Canada. His unique vision of crossing the country in a style that was complimentary, but differentiated him from idol Terry Fox was part of the message he gave to The Hope Standard.
“Our vision is to enable youth to complete their education; our mission is to provide the tools required to help youth achieve their educational goals and our motto is to reach for the sky,” O’Brien said of his foundation’s promise.
The enthusiastic ex-olympian and French Canadian started the Steve O’Brien Foundation in honour of the educational pursuits of children across Canada and mentioned the secret behind his interesting relay style of cycling, running, walking, rollerblading, longboarding, wheelchair cycling and even using a scooter to go the distance.
“I asked kids around the country how I should complete my journey, and aside from a pogo stick and a jump rope, I pretty much used them all,” said O’Brien.
The relay style journey is all about the kids — he originally set up the foundation to help school drop out rates and facilitate the continued and successful trajectory of school kids across Canada to achieve higher learning. Passing the baton from school to school and engaging kids during his trip is all about making them part of the success of his tour.
“It’s about the kids — they get to pass the relay baton and complete the journey with me,” he said.