Greg Stewart: From student to Paralympic champion
By Élise Fenwick
How do we choose a career? Do we follow in our parents’ footsteps, chase a hobby or roll with what we’re a natural fit for?
Standing 6-foot-8 when he was. just 14 years old, two-time Paralympic gold medal winner and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) alum Greg Stewart had always been associated with sports like basketball and volleyball.
Despite being a ‘natural fit’ for basketball and playing all the way from high school to varsity level with the TRU WolfPack, Stewart never felt fulfilled by the sport.
“The majority of my life, I’ve been in a place of trying to prove my value to people,” Stewart says. “That’s because I was raised like everybody else, but I’m not like everybody else, I have one arm and I’m 7-foot-2.”
Born without the lower part of his left arm, Stewart struggled with his identity and acceptance of being a disabled person.
Through his studies at the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with a major in human resources (HR) management, and through a deep dive into personal empowerment training, Stewart recognized his non-athletic strengths and saw himself for who he was, not just how others saw him.
“I was finally in a place of fulfilment and realization that my differences are incredible and are what make me, me,” Stewart says. “It’s when I finally identified as a disabled person.
A natural fit
While Stewart has always been a people person, it was his BBA that helped him hone in on this natural disposition and better recognize the benefits and importance of understanding people.
“My degree in HR has been a big help connecting me with others,” Stewart says. “It really gave me the tools to learn how to support and work with people at another level and help them advance.”
As the owner of two small businesses: automotive recycling business Para Metals Contracting and motivational speaking company The Mindfulete, Stewart is putting his degree to good use.
“On a regular basis, I’m using my degree in terms of building relationships, understanding people and helping them move through things,” he says.
Even as a motivational speaker through his business The Mindfulete, Stewart finds himself applying his understanding of human resources by helping people access and achieve their highest potential. He also relies on his background in HR when sourcing out clients for Para Metals.
“It reminds me of my classes on recruitment,” he explains. “I apply those lessons in a way that can help me get hired or contracted out.”
Stewart feels he gleaned more from his studies at TRU Gaglardi because of the sense of community he experienced in the smaller and more personal class setting.
“I didn’t just feel like a number like you would at a giant university,” Stewart says. “The professors gave me a sense that I played a larger role and that brought a feeling of connection into my experience.
Throwing happiness
Before opening Para Metals Contracting in 2020 — in response to a surge in metal prices due to the pandemic — Stewart launched his motivational speaking business while also juggling his new athletic passion: shot put.
“I did it (shot put) because I enjoyed it,” Stewart says. “I chose to throw because I was happy and it gave me a sense of purpose and fulfilment.”
In his rookie season in 2018, Stewart was ranked number one in the world in F46 — a para sport classification for field athletes with limb deficiencies or the absence of limbs — shot put. He went on to set records and win medals, becoming the only Canadian shot putter to win back-to-back gold medals in the Paralympic games, which he secured at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Today, Stewart is focusing on motivational speaking and mental health by sharing his own unique story, which he recently penned in an autobiographical children’s book titled Stand Out: The True Story of Paralympic Gold Medallist Greg Stewart.
His resounding message?
“Learn to trust yourself and take ownership of your emotions and actions; align yourself with your integrity,” Stewart says. “When we align with all three principles, we become vulnerable and create a life of love and success.”