After graduation, his sport brought him to Calgary in 1993. He had the amazing privilege of representing his country for 12 years as a member of the Canadian Speed Skating team. After failing to make the Olympic team in 1994, 1998 and 2002 he never gave up and shifted his mindset from just trying to make the Olympics for personal reasons, to focus on the difference and contribution he wanted to make to society, his community and the world in general. His persistence, dedication, commitment and perseverance enabled him to win an Olympic silver medal in 2006 at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.Even though this shift in mindset allowed him to reach the pinnacle in his sport, it wasn't the medal that he cherishes most. His most prized experience was the fulfilment and responsibility he felt every time he wore the maple leaf to represent his country. That is a feeling he wishes every person could experience.
This belief in contribution and the difference he wanted to make in the world led him to share the many lessons he learned along the way on a grander scale. He became a Professional International Speaker in the spring of 1994 and has shared his message of "Unlocking Your Olympian Within" and "Olympify Your Life" and has inspired well over 50,000 people around North America including over 30 schools. He loves inspiring others to want to achieve more.
His experiences both on the competitive stage and the platform have left a deep mark on Jason and has led to his desire to continue his contribution and leave a mark of his own, closer to home which is a big part of the reason he chose to serve his community in 2013 as a member of council.
When Jason isn't sharing his message on stage, he loves helping people and has his own small business as a Lifestyle coach where he helps people to live a more balanced and healthy life. This passion has stemmed from personal struggles with his own life early on including being bullied in school, overcoming a weight problem, and missing multiple Olympic Games due to sickness.
This drove Jason to create a program in 1999 that has now helped athletes to win over 120 Olympic medals in the last four Winter Olympics alone and has now grown to include over 1,000 elite, professional and Olympic athletes. He has switched his focus from High Performance Athletes to working more with upcoming athletes and the everyday person as he feels like he is able to make a bigger impact with them. After learning that the "Millennials" (children born after the year 2000) are the first generation expected to live shorter (by 5 years) than the previous generation, Jason has a mission to help reverse this statistic through educating parents on the need for learning how to live healthier and be positive "health models" for their children.
In 2010, Jason's life had it's most drastic positive change as he and his wife Kristen entered the realm of parenthood! Jason's absolute passions are his daughter, Shelby and 3 year old son, Kayden. His desire to raise a family in the best community possible was a strong motivation for him stepping up to become a councillor for the M.D. of Foothills in 2013. Now, 4 years later, Jason is more committed than ever to ensure that Division 3 stays as the absolute best place to live, raise a family and retire.
