Gordon's Path

People often talk about passion like it’s a single thing as if you only get to choose one lane in life. For a long time, I tried to convince myself that I had to pick between being a high-performance athlete and growing Sneakers Canada, the business I started at 13. But the truth is, I’ve never been someone who fits neatly into one box.

Both sport and business shaped who I am, and honestly, both tested me in ways I didn’t expect.

Let’s start with the obvious: balancing both is hard. There were days where I’d be up at 5:00 a.m. hitting swim practice, exhausted before the sun even came up. Then I’d go home, clean up, and switch gears to sneaker drops, marketing campaigns, fulfilling orders, and tracking packages across the GTA. It was nonstop. My schedule didn’t have breaks it had priorities.

Being an athlete taught me discipline and how to push through discomfort. There were times I didn’t want to train. Times when I was sore, mentally drained, or just burnt out. But showing up anyway? That’s what separates good from great. That same mindset spilled into business. There were long nights packing shoes after double swim practices, moments where I missed out on social events, and times when an order went wrong and I had to fix it fast. But I kept going. Because I cared.

That said, it wasn’t all perfect.

One of the biggest negatives was the mental load. When you’re chasing two big goals, it’s easy to burn out especially when you have ADHD and dyslexia. I had to work twice as hard just to keep up with school, manage my energy, and still find focus. There were moments I fell short in both worlds. Times when a swim meet would pull me away from business, or when I stayed up late finalizing orders and underperformed in the pool the next day. I wasn’t always winning.

But what I realized over time is that you can’t give 100% to everything at once you have to get strategic. I started learning how to prioritize based on what mattered most at the time, instead of trying to do everything at once. That shift in mindset was huge.

Despite the struggles, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Why?

Because I’m passionate about both. Swimming gave me structure, resilience, and the confidence to keep going even when the odds were stacked against me. And building Sneakers Canada gave me creativity, independence, and proof that I could build something from the ground up, even while people doubted me.

I was told early on I wouldn’t make it through school, let alone university. I was told my learning differences would hold me back. But swimming taught me that dedication and consistency are what luck looks like. And reselling sneakers taught me that passion, when paired with hustle, can literally pay off (it’s how I funded my degree).

So no, I didn’t choose between sport and business.

I chose both. Because I’m built for both.