Tofino, BC –
Despite his large body, Cpl. Greg Young rarely has to use it while keeping his small community safe.
“I think I’m a pretty light-hearted, soft-spoken person,” laughs Greg. “I think that will help me.”
Long before striving to become an RCMP member, Greg dreamed of becoming a strong man like his father Terry Young.
“He just went into the gym and played around,” recalls Terry with a laugh.
There is a photo of Greg as a young boy stands on a pile of weights watching his father lift.
“I grew up following in his footsteps,” says Greg.
Big strides and including a stop at the world boxer championship, where Terry won gold.
“It was a pretty happy moment for our family,” Greg said, pointing to pictures of his father playing.
Pictures hang on the wall of Greg’s home gym, where they provide the motivation for Greg to work out for up to four hours a day.
“It was constantly challenging,” Greg said. “But it’s pretty rewarding.”
If the best part is starting to realize his dream of becoming a powerlifter like his father, the worst thing is having it crushed by a broken back.
“It definitely hurts,” Greg said. “And resentful.”
Although a series of surgeries (including a spinal fusion) fixed his injury, it left Greg unable to lift like before.
“You can choose to lie down and die,” says Greg. “Or just move in a different direction.”
So, Greg made the tough decision to stop pursuing 3-point weightlifting (squat, deadlift, and bench-press), and start focusing solely on bench-press exercises.
Finally, Greg realizes what he calls “the gift of trauma”.
“I think I can be a pretty good athlete,” he says. “But I think I’ve become a pretty great bench press player.”
“He lifted huge weights that I could never have dreamed of,” Terry said.
When Greg realized that the weight he was lifting in his home gym (up to 580 pounds) was better than what we were getting at the world championships, he took the opportunity and invite my dad to try competing again.
“He originally inspired me,” says Greg. “I think around this time, I inspired him.”
“The coach is training,” Terry laughed.
The father and son have motivated each other in the past world championships so that they both won a spot on the podium, winning bronze, silver and gold medals.
“You get so much fun watching him and being there with him,” said Terry proudly.
And Greg realized that, even better than achieving his dream to follow in his father’s footsteps, was overcoming adversity and walking right next to him.
“I don’t think a lot of people get the chance to do something like this with their dad,” Greg laughs. “It’s a pretty exciting feeling.”
