Born in the multicultural city of Montréal and raised in an English-Italian household, I was the youngest of three children, perpetually shy, and always wanting to prove that I “could do it”. Never giving-up on a personal challenge, starting from childhood I’ve had to overcome a speech impairment (to now being able to speak three languages), bullying and abuse that spanned more than two decades, struggle with the enormous loss of my grandfather (who was also my best friend), deal with massive depression after a car accident left me jobless and penniless, and chose not to let physical injuries and chronic pain dictate my life or stop me from doing such things as summiting Arthur’s Seat in Scotland.