Skip to content
Menu
  • English Selected
  • Français

 

Header secondary

  • Sign up for eNews
  • Donate

Header

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Our Programs
    • Leadership Team
    • Board Members and Committees
    • Donors
    • Annual Reports
    • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
    • FAQ
    • Work With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Champion's Circle
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • About Rick
    • About Rick
    • Rick's Story
    • Man In Motion World Tour
      • Man In Motion World Tour
      • The Dream
      • Tour Timeline
      • Tour Gallery
      • Tour Team
      • 35th Anniversary
    • Rick’s Work and Vision
    • A Conversation with Rick
    • Awards & Honours
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Get Involved
    • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Legacy Giving
    • Fundraise
    • Help make Canada accessible
    • Everyone Everywhere
    • National AccessAbility Week
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Become Accessible
    • Become Accessible
    • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating & Certification 
      • Rating Request Form
      • RHFAC FAQ
      • RHFAC v3.0
    • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Professional Training
      • Accessibility Training and Education
      • Tuition Grants
    • APN 2023 Conference
    • Accessibility Resources
    • Accessibility Professional Network
      • Accessibility Professional Network
      • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
      • Login
      • RHFAC Professional Directory
    • Post an Accessibility Job
    • Accessibility Advisory Services
    • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
    • Leaders in Accessibility
    • B.C. Accessibility Grants
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Schools & Communities
    • Schools and Communities
    • Create an Inclusive School Year
      • Start with Awareness
      • Concentrate on Kindness 
      • Boldly Take Action
    • Resource Library
    • Ambassador Presentations
      • Ambassador Presentations
      • Book a Presentation
      • About Our Ambassadors
    • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Awards
      • Difference Maker Winners
    • Supplementary Resources
    • Our Partners
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • News & Stories
    • News & Stories
    • Blog
    • Media Centre
    • Newsletter
    • Disability Reports
    Hero
    Passionate about accessibility? We need your help
    Get Involved
  • Search

Breadcrumb

  1. Rick Hansen Foundation
  2. News & Stories
  3. Blog
  4. Currently selected Conversation with George Stroumboulopoulos
Interview with George and Rick Hansen

Conversation with George Stroumboulopoulos

Rick By Rick On May 1, 2014 Leadership

Rick Hansen: You’ve interviewed people from around the world who have made a difference. Is there someone who stood out for you and why?

George Stroumboulopoulos: I like interviewing people who recognize their responsibility to others. I’ve interviewed Michael J. Fox several times. He has found a way to communicate his reality to people in a way I’ve never seen, it’s incredible. And of course you Rick have always been fantastic—so interesting, so thoughtful—I’ll admit right now I had a poster of you up on my wall when I was a kid, you’ve always inspired me. I also had a very moving interview with June Callwood, a beautiful soul, just a week before she died. That is available online; that’s an interview I’ll always remember. The more ‘interesting rooms’ I’ve been in, the more the commonality and threads become interesting. Of the really common threads of groundbreakers is that they are people who make their lives about service to others. People who do this are by far the most fulfilled, interesting and happy people I’ve come across. Never mind the fact that it’s just good to do it—your life is actually so much better if you spend less time focusing on yourself. I’ve been interviewing people for 20 years now and I would say that those who serve others are unquestionably the most enriched and least lonely.

RH: Who has impacted you during your life most? Who would you consider to be your difference maker?

GS: My mom. I was raised by a single mom in what we jokingly referred to as ‘complicated neighbourhoods.’ There are a lot of things we don’t agree on but what she gave me was this idea of doing everything with love. She hammered it into me to always operate from a position of love and gratitude. She was a teenager when she was pregnant with me. She had no education and three jobs—she delivered the Toronto Star at 4 am and would come back and make me breakfast and send me off to school and go work at this really sketchy greasy spoon in the deep fryer area. She’d grab shifts at Baskin Robbins when she could. In the summertime she couldn’t afford a babysitter so she would take me into the library and ask the librarians to keep an eye on me. At lunch she would come get me and we’d eat together, and then before she’d head off to another job she would take me to the Central Park Lodge, an assisted living home. She’d tell me to find an elderly person and to keep them company—just by being in the room, just by listening. This is the stuff she would keep beating with love into my head, that your only real value in this world is based on how you are to others. “Listen,” she told me once, “You’re special to me but you’re not special—and that’s good. You want a good name people respect through your action. You’re not better and not worse than anyone.” And she was right.

RH: What is it that calls to you to apply your celebrity status and talent as an incredible talk show host to make Canada and the world a better place?

GS: I don’t know that I think of it in that sense. You get a lot of undue attention when you’re the face of something. There’s a whole team and a lot of luck that goes into it. I’m largely uncomfortable with the celebrity focus. It’s a white hot light and if you don’t deflect it you will burn up under it; you don’t need it. I simply believe it’s my duty to be there for others as a part of the species—it’s the right thing to do as a human.

RH: You are a great study of people and character, what are some of the qualities you admire in people and would like to share with others?

GS: Humility. Gratitude. I really value calmness. I think that people are pretty wonderful when they’re calm. There’s value in frenetic energy too but someone who can remain calm and focused is someone really connected. All I strive for in my life is to be present. When you see it in others it’s really valuable. In dire situations you don’t just need empathy, you need to BE there.

RH: You are about to make a big career transition to host Hockey Night in Canada. Congratulations! What are you most excited about for your new role?

GS: If you were to tell me 40 years ago I’d have been the host I’d have laughed. I’ve had ten seasons of my show and now I’m ready to start something new. I didn’t ever want to be defined by my job and I felt that that may have inadvertently happened. I needed a change of some kind but I didn’t want to leave my show because I love it. So I thought to myself... where is TV even going? Then I realized the one thing I’ll always keep cable for: hockey. Sports are cultural. I actually started out as a sports reporter, so in a way it’s all full circle.

RH: Thank you George, it’s been such a pleasure speaking with you. Good luck in the new job, we’ll be watching!

Related articles

Side profile of Rick Hansen fishing from the back of a boat.
Rick Hansen and a Love of Fishing
Black and white photo of Rick Hansen surrounded by a crown of people as he pushes up the Great Wall of China.
Stories From Our Founder: A One-On-One Conversation with Rick Hansen
Rick and Doramy
Looking Forward to 2021: A Q&A with our CEO Doramy Ehling 
Connection and Inclusion in a World Facing COVID-19: A Message From Rick Hansen
Thumbnail

About the Author

Rick Hansen is founder and CEO of the Rick Hansen Foundation and Canada's Man In Motion.

Back to top

Next Story

Conversation with David Suzuki
Rick By Rick
Read More

Stay in Touch

Receive Foundation emails to stay up-to-date on our impact and programs.

Contact Us

1-800-213-2131
info@rickhansen.com

Rick Hansen Foundation
300-3820 Cessna Drive
Richmond, BC
Canada V7B 0A2

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

About Us - EN

  • About Us
  • Our Programs
  • Leadership Team
  • Board Members and Committees
  • Donors
  • Annual Reports
  • 2021-23 Strategic Plan
  • FAQ
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Champion's Circle

About Rick - EN

  • About Rick
  • Rick's Story
  • Man In Motion World Tour
    • Man In Motion World Tour
    • The Dream
    • Tour Timeline
    • Tour Gallery
    • Tour Team
    • 35th Anniversary
  • Rick’s Work and Vision
  • A Conversation with Rick
  • Awards & Honours

Get Involved - EN

  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Legacy Giving
  • Fundraise
  • Help make Canada accessible
  • Everyone Everywhere
  • National AccessAbility Week

Become Accessible - EN

  • Become Accessible
  • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating & Certification 
    • Rating Request Form
    • RHFAC FAQ
    • RHFAC v3.0
  • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Professional Training
    • Accessibility Training and Education
    • Tuition Grants
  • APN 2023 Conference
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Accessibility Professional Network
    • Accessibility Professional Network
    • FAQ: Accessibility Professional Network
    • Login
    • RHFAC Professional Directory
  • Post an Accessibility Job
  • Accessibility Advisory Services
  • Buildings Without Barriers Challenge
  • Leaders in Accessibility
  • B.C. Accessibility Grants

Schools & Communities - EN

  • Schools and Communities
  • Create an Inclusive School Year
    • Start with Awareness
    • Concentrate on Kindness 
    • Boldly Take Action
  • Resource Library
  • Ambassador Presentations
    • Ambassador Presentations
    • Book a Presentation
    • About Our Ambassadors
  • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Awards
    • Difference Maker Winners
  • Supplementary Resources
  • Our Partners

News & Stories - EN

  • News & Stories
  • Blog
  • Media Centre
  • Newsletter
  • Disability Reports

Legal

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Ethical Reporting Policy
  • Complaints Policy
  • Imagine Canada Certification
  • Accessibility Commitment
  • Diversity and Inclusion
Imagine Canada

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under license by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Charitable Registration Number: 10765 9427 RR 0001 © 2023 Rick Hansen Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Back to Top
Hero

Our programs and initiatives work to create an accessible and inclusive world where people with disabilities can live to their full potential. 

Learn more
Hero

When Rick set out to wheel around the world in 1985, he had three missions: to raise awareness about the potential of people with disabilities, create accessible and inclusive communities, and find a cure.

Read more
Hero

Receive updates from RHF on the impact we’re making for people with disabilities across Canada.

Subscribe
Hero

Have your site rated and certified for meaningful access for people with physical disabilities. Make your community more welcoming and inclusive for all!

Get Started
Hero

Receive free educational resources that teach youth about the importance of access and inclusion.  

Learn more
Hero

Browse the latest stories about access and inclusion from Rick and our team of bloggers. 

Read our Blog