Via Flickr:
I took the family to Heart Lake Conservation area for the afternoon. After a tiring longer-than-planned nature walk, I let the kids cool off in the splash pad area. As I sat down to relax and read my book in the shade I noticed this man playing guitar and singing. I read for a little and as he was packing up I told him I liked his music and he told me he'd only been playing for a few weeks.
I'm not certain exactly what prompted him to offer up more about himself, but when he told me he was a professional sports coach, I was all ears and quickly introduced myself and opened up the idea of a photo and the 100 Stranger project.
Chris was full of stories, most of which revolve around boxing and his side job as a movie stunt double. Chris is originally from Guyana and moved to Canada when he was 12, he lives in nearby Brampton. He excitedly showed me lots of pictures of his current boxer along with celebrity shots with the likes of Gretzky, Jamie Fox, Mr T. (who he doubled for, mohawk and all), and most impressive, Muhammad Ali. He'd even met Princess Diana during a charity event.
But boxing is Chris' passion. His uncle, brother and cousin were all Olympians, with his cousin Troy Ross/ being his training focus today. Troy is Canada's top professional boxer, current Commonwealth Champion and 3rd ranked in the world today in the cruiserweight class. Chris has crossed paths with many famous boxers and grew up with and worked with Lennox Lewis.
He was at the park with his daughter and we talked a little about meeting people and the relationships and connections that can be made. My wife came over and Chris didn't tire of telling telling us stories and sharing his excitement for life. We touched on photography briefly and Chris said he still enjoys his Nikon D50. I took a few shots, but asked him to take his sunglasses off for a shot - and I'm really pleased with this boxer's stare down shot ! I just finished reading his Ringside Report interview online and found out that he is also a mechanic for CN. Wow, he really does have a lot going on in his life, but as he says in closing, "Whatever I’m doing I give it 100%".
Almost of an afterthought, Chris says to my wife, "look up Valerie Amos". Valerie Amos is another famous cousin of Chris', she is Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator for The United Nations. How many more connections and stories does he have ?
I'm so pleased I made the simple gesture of complimenting him on his music which opened up into meeting such an interesting man. I hope I'll have the chance to meet him again one day, maybe take a few shots of Troy and definitely hear more of his stories.
Chris is #98 in my 100 strangers project.
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