Rick and Amanda Hansen reflect on the “Man in Motion” Tour

0:00This week on Two Blocks from the White House From trade wars to the war in Iran, it's been anything but a quiet summer in Washington. And this fall shows no signs of letting up. And so this week we're asking what moments defined American politics this summer and what can we expect this fall? Find and follow Two Blocks from the White House wherever you get your podcasts. And watch us on YouTube, new episodes drop every Wednesday. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway and this is the current podcast. I can see a new horizon on the people's places. Sky, I'll be ready, equals by an iron and higher. But I'll be a man in motion on the need to spare a breath. Take the web of view to the lion's sand, there's no spire. If you are of a certain age, chances are you know that song from one of two places.

1:01Either you're a big fan of the Brat Pack Classic St. Elmo's Fire or you're a fan of this man. I would really come over well with all the battles that burst in my head. For more than two years, Canadian Rick Hanson pushed his wheelchair around much of the planet to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. Now more than 40 years later, a new documentary looks back at that tour. Man in Motion, the Rick Hanson story has its world premiere today at the Toronto International Film Festival.

2:02And Rick Hanson and his wife Amanda are with me in studio. Good morning to you both. Good morning. There's a moment in the film in which part of your crew says that they're tired of hearing that song. Man in Motion, you get sick of it? You know, it always brings back really powerful memories. It's an anthem for us. And who would have imagined that that song would have been created simply by talking to Terry David Mulligan and having him send a tape to Chris Erthy, the good friend of David Foster. And then he and John Parr write this song and it's not really about the movie, but it's ours. So cool. You were 15 years old when you were left partially paralyzed by a car accident. And how did you see the wheelchair then? This is something that comes up in the film and it kind of runs through the thread through this film. You know, I was a typical person growing up in the 70s. I was a product of the culture of the times and I didn't know anyone in a wheelchair. You know, the image of it seemed like if you were, you were to be pitted. You were disabled and there was no hope.

3:03So I had to stigma about it and I tried to avoid it with everything I possibly could and it was one of my greatest handicaps at that time. So given that, why did you do this? Why did you decide that this was something that you thought you could do, but also that you wanted to do to roll yourself around the world? When you're in the battle of your life at 15, to try to redefine what's important, you realize that the pain isn't coming from your legs. You can't feel them. You know, it's coming from usually your mind and your heart and the precepts that you have and when you battle them and you try to remove them and redefine them so that you're liberated and free and then you battle society when you then realize that nowhere in the definition of an athlete, it says you have to use your legs or to be one and you travel the world and you now see the wheelchair as your vehicle for mobility and freedom and for all of your potential. Then you can't help but feel grateful and you want to pay it forward and you want to do it only the way you know is through your own life experiences. For me, it was those battles

4:06inside and out and my talent as an athlete and my deep passion to make a difference, really wanted to make a difference. So that's kind of how it all unfolded and I needed a lot of inspiration along the way, of course. Did you know what you were getting into? One of the things that's neat about this film is that there are these tapes that you recorded at the time. We just heard one on that opening day in which you said if you looked ahead more than 18 months down the road, I can't use the word. You would not have been of right mind. Did you know what you're getting into? Not a chance. I thought I was. I was a world champion, Paralympic gold medalist in the wheelchair marathon. I thought, yeah, I can do this for sure. You know, what's so hard about this and I don't list for a decade and then you know, putting it all together like the injuries. A year earlier, I crashed and dislocated my shoulder. I hadn't fully recovered. I changed from racing to this ultra marathon technique and complications. The trying to connect the world with a message and pre-information age, you know, like

5:09the snail mail and carry-peer pigeons to get the word out and it was impossible and every day was a struggle every day. You were out what 6am until 7pm or so. Yeah, yeah. Every day. Yeah. There's a scene towards the beginning where you're going through this mountain range and it's difficult to watch you kind of go. Just describe what it took to do some of this. Yeah, well, because date two, the winds were out of the south. It was blowing like 60 kilometers an hour and a raining and zero degrees and and I was injured already. I attended I just the risks and I had to actually ask Amanda my physiotherapist to come out on the road because not that far down the road was the sissky mountain range and I had to do this like almost 5,000 foot summit and this was the first massive challenge and I was already injured and I was like literally completely filled with fear, uncertainty and I needed some big time support. It was a big dose of reality and that

6:13summit was like the first massive challenge and I knew that if we could get up that one, maybe there was some hope. It was so emotional. Yeah, it was overwhelming naturally to to get to that point but I surely realized that I couldn't do it alone and Amanda was a huge part of this. You started out as a physiotherapist. How did you join the man in motion tour? Yeah, I met Rick just prior to the tour starting. He had disc, he referred to dislocating his shoulder and he came into the rehab center and he basically, you know, said, okay, this is what I got to get done. This is what I have a head. This was competitions. He was talking about. He said, oh and also I'm thinking about wheeling around the world. So I really need this to be healing up. When he said that, what as a physiotherapist, what did you think? Well, you know, he had that sort of brash bravado about him. So I took it with a grain of salt but by the same token, to no rickus to realize that when he says something and you learn it very quickly, he means it. So I wasn't really that sort of blown away.

7:17I don't think I'd either knew what it would entail, you know, it was so massive. Yeah, so I helped him through that injury and it went very well. Then he said, okay, I want you to help me plan this trip and get me ready for that. So after he was no longer, you know, my patient, I joined up with the team of medical professionals that came together to think about what needed to be done to make this physically possible for him. And we weren't anticipating he'd get injured right away. But when he called me day two and said, I'm in trouble, can you come? I took a two week holiday from work, went down and then we decided this was silly. Someone needed to worry about this every single day for him, went back and left my job. Part of this is about the physical toll that it was taking on him, but you're also providing a lot of emotional support as well. You say in the film that you were kind of struggling to keep your head above water every single day, what was that, what was that like for you? Well, it was a privilege position quite honestly because it was clear that Rick did

8:22need somebody to talk to at the end of the day. He was carrying the weight of the responsibility of setting out on this journey. He had all of us along with him and the expectations of a lot of people back in Vancouver. That's an enormous amount of worry for anybody. So I saw myself as not only his physical therapist, but that I was an emotional support person. And yet that took its toll on me too, because you know, you can only handle so much. You're going through your own struggles. It was it was a tough journey for all of us. What did she give you? You talked in the film about how when you started out and maybe still I mean you were kind of a macho guy. And you get really emotional and speaking about what she was able to kind of unlock in you. Oh my god. That sense of belief that she gave you. Yeah, it's unbelievable. I mean, I was so fortunate. I mean, I crashed dislocated the shoulder and there she was assigned to my shoulder. And when you're again, someone's telling you the doctors are telling you your your your Olympic dreams are are done.

9:25And this crazy idea of willing around the world forget it. And she says, hey, I don't know what that you know what that prognosis is. Let's just take it day by day and see how far we can go. Yeah, it was unbelievable because you you build this trust, this intimacy and the ability to communicate and to display all that you are, you know, fears and the flaws and the foibles. And yes, of course, the hopes, the dreams and the strengths. But a lot of doubt as well. And a lot of and so that trust was absolutely everything. And her perspective, she helped me see things that I couldn't see. And she made me actually respond to that feedback in a way that I really didn't want to respond. I just wanted to believe that it was all about me, you know, the pain and the frustration. And she said, look, you know, you have to think of it differently. And that was challenging, you know, in a relationship. We were starting to date before I left a little bit. And so I was incredibly attracted to Amanda. And with each passing mile, I grew more and more

10:32fond of her and eventually was in love with her. And and so that relationship trying to forge and form at the same time you're trying to see the world in this dream and try to reconcile it as a 27 year old. You're running an organization. And there's dynamics between the home office and the team and people who want you to be here at this time and do this for this reason. And it's also complex and it's all wanting to blow you apart. And you have to find your compass and know who you are and what you really believe in and what you're not willing to compromise on. And Amanda provided that that strength and that resilience and the perspective. And I'm incredibly grateful. You're traveling around in this camper van. And in the van in the corner is a little statutory for me. Yeah. You met Terry Fox and you're playing wheelchair basketball? I did. Yes, I recruited him. I ended up hearing about Terry through a friend and I called him up and yeah, he he came into our team. This was a dream team. It was formidable for all of us and and formative because we were,

11:37you know, challenging each other. We inspired each other. And we all found our way to pay it forward. And so Terry was a gift, you know, from the divine presence of whatever. And I just feel so grateful to have known him as a friend. And then of course, to have cheered him on on his journey. And he inspired all of us here in Canada and around the world. He told you about this idea that he had that he's going to run across the country. What did he teach you about ability? Yeah. Terry told me about this on a rainy rainy evening Sunday evening driving back from Washington state from a wheelchair basketball thing where we're quite a tournament there. And he he said, I'm thinking of running across the country for cancer research. What do you think? And I said, it's incredible, man. You you have a purpose and you should do it and make sure you have a great team. And ultimately, we all know what happened with Terry's journey. But what he teaches me is

12:37and always the biggest part of it is that we all have dreams. And the biggest thing is the fear of failure can kill your dreams. And you'll never know until you take the first step. And so for me, I had that that miniature statue of Terry at Thunder Bay because his mom and dad gave it to me when I left on that day in Oak Ridge. And every time every time I came into the motorhome for a break, it was there. And yeah, when you think about quitting, you find you find your you find your purpose, your compass. Why? Why am I here? When you think about quitting, you think about, you know, well, Terry wouldn't have quit. And you think about no regrets. And one more stroke, get out of the motorhome, get into the cold steel chair, put on the wet slimy gloves, push out again, see how far you can go. Don't make the decision here. And if you have to quit,

13:38no regrets. And Terry's inspiration was was there with me through the entire journey. Yeah. And is today. Hi, Steve Patterson here, host of the debaters, the part stand up part quiz all Canadian comedy competition. This week we're back with a brand new episode to kick off our 21st season. We want to know when it comes to camping, which camper you in tent or RV. This episode really brings the tension when two of Canada's top comedians go ahead to head on their favorite way to get into the wild. So for an episode that goes off without a trailer hitch, tune into the season premiere of the debaters, wherever you get your podcasts. It's not just the physical effort of this. I mean, you are wheeling around the world at a time when accessibility wasn't top of mind for many people. Was Mindy maybe thought of at all. How difficult was it? Me even you talk about going to Europe and it was a gong show in terms of accessibility or lack thereof. How difficult was it to get around the world in a wheelchair? Yeah, like they would have events and then it would be

14:41stairs everywhere. You couldn't even actually get on to the stage to tell people about what you were doing. You had to get football players to lift you up and into a hotel if you were lucky enough to get one and you couldn't even get into the room. You have to get out of the wheelchair and crawl across the floor and then the washroom. Oh wow, well, I didn't think about that. So the world was built not for people with disabilities. It was built for an average person. And so this was the beginning of what I think is a global movement. You know, we're hundreds of millions of people say that's not good enough. We're building a society for all of us and it was yeah, a struggle. And the logistics of it were massive. I want to play a moment that kind of captures all of this and captures the toll that it was taking on you. This was when you were in China trying to get up the Great Wall of China. Have a listen. At the end of the wall, this big fraction lot. Right away, there were 30 stairs. We don't want an edited piece coming back to quite a close Canada with,

15:43you know, China, the Great Wall just me being carried up the wall. That's not anything near what was one presented and that's what we're doing. What was that like? Oh man, I'm reconcelling the disappointment and still finding the beauty in the moment and not yet satisfied with what it is and where it could be. Of course, all I could think about when I was about to wheel in the Great Wall was that I planned this. It was a picture out of National Geographic. I could do that. Get to the highest point, great symbol. Of course, then no one showed me the stairs. There's no ramp. And I was literally paralyzed by that discrepancy and I was in that little van they had with curtains and people were warming around trying to look inside the van and Matt is saying, they're waiting for you and let's get going. I can't. There's stairs there and this was the only place on the entire tour that I would need help to do my wheeling. And yeah, so I know, at the end of the day, thank God

16:47for Amanda because what did you tell me? What did you say? Well, at this point, I'm thinking, you know, he's got to get out of the van. We got to get going here. I was quite blunt with you. I mean, I just sort of said, look, you're worried about the team carrying you up the stairs. We've been carrying you since the beginning. So this is nothing. This is nothing new. This is just a representation of the team being there for you, doing whatever it takes to support you. And we should look at this as a symbol of exactly what it is. That's going to be hard for you to see as well. It was hard. The days and a lot of people didn't see the struggles that Rick went through because for him, to plant any seed of doubt in anybody else, could be there undoing. So he had to keep that inside. And I knew when he was. So it was really tough. And of course, my fear was, what if he gets so badly injured, it stops? Then that's my job and that's my responsibility and somehow I've failed.

17:52So I was always worried about that. And I don't think I appreciated the emotional component until we were thick into it and how dangerous that was. Part of that emotional component comes from the fact that there were some days, I mean, we need to look at back on this now as this roaring success. You did this thing. You've raised tens of millions of dollars. People look at you as a hero. There were some days where you made no money at all. There were no donations. People, you would go to town. Nobody knew who you were or what you were doing or why you're on the road. Yeah. Some people honking, you know, giving me the finger. And yeah, there were some really rough moments. And so there are points in which you think enough, I'm going to pull the plug on this. And this is one of them. This is a moment that you had in Miami. I'm ready to fucking in. Shut the whole operation down. All I want to do is get this thing over with. This one thing, you know, is just to do it and to have the dream of how it should be done.

18:54But the real challenge is just accepting reality, you know, how it turns out. When you see the way it should be, it could be. And then you have to accept the way it really is. That's the hard part. That is not the Rick Hanson that we know from... That's an AI simulation. My lawyers will call you. You told a man that you were done. Yeah, that was so raw. Yeah. I mean, come home after all this incredible momentum in Asia. And I'm in my mind for sure thinking, this is it. Finally, you know, we're going to have this crescendo coming up the Eastern Sea Ward across the country. And, you know, the dream's going to come true. And we came back to the States, you know, over a year later. And it was basically the same. We couldn't get the word out. People at New cared. But nobody knew. And I was done. I was just done, man. What did you say to him to keep him going? Because he could have pulled the plug. Well, I mean, we had a lot of conversations around this. And honestly, the whole

19:55crew, every single one of us had those moments, too, where we were ready to pull the plug. And we could have slid away. But Rick was the tour. And this was his dream. And it didn't matter that maybe the response wasn't there. He had earned the credibility of taking on this challenge. And he had done it. And we were almost home. We were almost home. And it was really just about staying the course and not giving up. And that he could do one more stroke. What kind of told us it take on you? And on your relationship, a relationship that I mean, was still kind of under the surface. People didn't know that you were a couple. And eventually they did. But for a long time, you were keeping it quiet. And it weighs on him, but it has to weigh on you as well. Absolutely. Yeah. It was not easy. Being in a relationship and being on the road. And also being in secret. Because we needed each other.

20:59We had come to depend deeply on each other. We were a team, a micro team within the team. But I had moments where I wondered if I was maybe not being as helpful as I could be because of the dynamic, the relationship dynamic, because it didn't always go smoothly because we had our disagreements. And it was close quarters. And there were other people around. And yeah, so no. Camp revenge, not very big. No, it's not. And I felt for the other crew members sometimes, because I think they thought, well, you've got this honored position. You're in with the boss type thing without perhaps understanding the the toll that that takes as well. And we were so young. Really, we were just figuring life out. We didn't know ourselves from anybody. Yeah. It was a lot of growing up and a lot of learning. But because we were so committed to each other and also to the dream,

22:00just kept working at it didn't give up. Everything changes when you get back on Canadian soil. You end up in Newfoundland. Yeah, she talks me off the limb. And I don't declare to the team we're done. And yeah, the next thing I know we're home to Canada. And oh my god, like, I'll never forget the response on the welcome home. What was that like? There's a moment in the film. It's not, you mean, in Newfoundland, the crowds start to build. You get to Montreal and you drop the puck at the forum. Yeah. Yeah. For a happy. Oh, man. It was the crowd goes crazy. Yeah. Well, it has a kid who grew up with hockey and hockey legends. And here I was, you know, at these games. But most importantly, it was the humans, you know, across the country from coast to coast, like literally coming out, taking time to say, hey, we're with you. You know, we get it. Keep going. And yeah, it was magic. It really gave me a sense of this country, how people yearned to come together,

23:00how the values that we have. And they went, yeah, this is not right. Let's go. Come on. And it was overwhelming. Yeah, just I'll never forget it. And I'm incredibly grateful for that. What was it like rolling back into Vancouver? The dream and reality, the same or beyond, you know, who would have imagined that in my wildest dreams, yeah, I had a glimpse of it for sure. But boy, yeah, it was, it was magic. I, yeah, I just can't believe it. You can't believe it. Yeah. It seems like like I was living in a dream, yeah, for sure. Who would have imagined that that would have become not just a wheel around the world, but a life mission and the ultra marathon of social change. And it changed me for sure, fundamentally. And you know, how can you not be changed by going through that crucible and being surrounded by the best?

24:03One of the things that comes up in this film is he still gets really, really emotional about some of these moments and what he did and how hard it was, but also how it, how it changed him. What is it like to see for you? Well, it's the Rick I know. So I'm not surprised by it. I think some people are, you know, because he comes across as this really strong, referenced it, you know, macho guy, but he's got the softest, tenderest heart. And yeah, he, and he's not afraid to show his emotions, which is the other thing. It's a beautiful quality. It's been a beautiful quality in a partner, but also witnessing him as a father to daughters, three daughters, and now our five grandsons. So, you know, it's, it's beautiful. I think that we all benefit from the fact that he's not afraid to show his emotions. One of the things that I love about this film is that there's a scene that you raise a lot of money and awareness and talk about ability, but there are these moments where the crowd would grow towards the end. And when the crowd grows, there's a kid who's in a wheelchair

25:08who gets squeezed out, right? Because everybody stands in front of the kid who's in the wheelchair. What would you do? Well, every moment I could, I would, I would move to them. I would acknowledge them personally if I could, you know, because that's what this tour is about. It was about giving hope and encouragement and hoping that others would then rally and remove barriers in their lives, like they did with me on my tour and in my life and pay it forward. That's what I wanted. And, you know, and whether they were in a chair or had another kind of disability or, you know, it was also the searching for those that had the invisible challenges, the barriers that weren't so visible and and also be there for them as well. That process was what was so all consuming because, you know, I knew that I couldn't control how many people came, but if there was one person, I was there, you know, and I tried to give radiate from my heart the essence of what I was trying

26:10to do, my authentic passion and and drive, you know, to help and to make a difference. And so, you know, all you can do is just do the best you can. And that's what I did. Yeah. And so, I didn't want to leave anybody behind. You didn't. What an amazing story. It's so great to have you both here. And this film is wonderful. We, perhaps, no bits and pieces of the story, but those who think they know will learn a lot from this film. Thank you both for coming. Oh, thank you so much, Matt. Appreciate it. It's a honor. Rick Hansen completed the Man in Motion tour, along with his wife Amanda and their team more than 40 years ago, man in motion, the Rick Hansen story, premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon.