S2E13: From the Ice to Inspiring Kids: Hockey Pro Tackles Childhood Dyslexia

Does this sound familiar? You've been told to just push through and work harder, but you're still feeling the pain of struggling with learning disorders. It's time to talk about the real impact and find the support you need to thrive. Let's dive into overcoming these challenges and building a stronger future together.

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Discover the empowering journey of the Sopel Foundation for Dyslexia and its impact on athletes.
• Uncover the powerful role sports play in overcoming childhood trauma for athletes with learning disorders.
• Explore the unique challenges and successes in transitioning from a professional athletic career to real life for individuals with learning disorders.
• Understand the profound impact of dyslexia on mental health and how athletes can navigate these challenges.
• Learn about the essential support systems available for athletes with learning disorders and how they can benefit from them.

Impact of dyslexia on mental health
Brent's journey with dyslexia shed light on the profound impact learning disorders can have on mental health, highlighting feelings of inadequacy, disconnection, and isolation. Understanding the impact of dyslexia on mental health is crucial in providing appropriate support and resources for individuals struggling with learning differences in educational and personal settings.

 

Transcript:

00:00:05
Welcome back to word blindness. Dyslexia exposed. I'm Juliet Hahn here with my co host, Brent Sopel. How are you? I'm the day in paradise, right.

00:00:15
You know my famous saying? Yes. Well, I'm excited about this because we've gone back. You know, the listeners know, we go back and forth of, like, what are we going to record? We have so much stuff that we can record, but we've never gone backwards.

00:00:30
Like, basically me interviewing you, like I do for some of my other podcasts. You'Re just so excited. You just love curious George. Hat is on right now. Oh, it totally is.

00:00:41
I'm so excited. And so I kind of want to take it back. I mean, there's many things that I want to touch on, but I want to take it back and really talk about early Brent Sopel falling in love with hockey. You know, we've talked about all the different times of you hating school, but I do want to go down some of the things because I want it to be in this kind of chronological episode where I know I had to think of that word as I was saying it, but I want it to be a chronological episode that it's really your life and where you are now and some of the things that are exciting that are going to be coming about all this stuff at the foundation. But so I want people, because again, when we talk, a lot of times it's pieces, right?

00:01:25
It's like this happened then, but we haven't done the whole episode. So here we go. So early years. I want to, and I know we've talked about this and you're going to roll your eyes, but I would love to know what your earliest memory, not in school, but like, your earliest memory as a child is.

00:01:50
Oh, that's, uh. Um. Gee, I don't even know. I don't even know where to begin. Hey, chronological order.

00:02:01
Um, you know, it would be, you know, maybe sitting in my dad's yellow Chev truck.

00:02:15
Something on the ice. Yo, I can't. Chronicology. Put that. What?

00:02:20
What was. Yeah, you don't need to. Yeah, you don't know. I don't want you to do the chronological. I'll take care of that.

00:02:25
I want to know just, like, what your earliest memory as a kid is. And so take us in that yellow. So I, dad had a banana. Banana. Yellow, I guess, maybe yellow edition tropical red Bull truck that he used to work, used to install glass.

00:02:48
So I had only two seats. I wasn't even allowed to have a seat. I was in the middle, you know, sitting my little butt there, and, you know. You know, Bond, you know, bouncing away. But I do remember the yellow, yellow banana truck and do the shove, which isn't good either.

00:03:05
We'll talk about that later. Do you remember how old you were? About.

00:03:13
I don't, but I'm gonna have to piece it together. I think I moved. That wasn't Saskatoon, so I want to say I was three or four, you know, kind of somewhere. You know, somewhere in that area. Yeah.

00:03:27
Right. So before you moved to Saskatoon, where were you and where was the family? I was born in Calgary, Alberta. Um, don't really. I think I.

00:03:36
If I remember correctly, we moved to Saskatoon when I was two, three. Somewhere in Irish. So I don't have any memory of Calgary as any other kid, you know, I know I lived, you know, like Bona Vista, and I know there's a lake there and freeze over, but I don't have. I don't have any memories of that. Right.

00:04:01
Yeah. I mean, I feel like when we go back, and a lot of times people will have early memories, but it's a lot of stories that family told. Right? And so then you're like, wait, do I remember that? Or is that, like, something that was, like, in the family world?

00:04:16
But so when you. So I love that you had that Chevy, and, I mean, that image of that yellow. I mean. Cause that's, like, very vivid. Do you remember the first time that you put skates on?

00:04:30
I know you were really young, so you probably don't remember the actual. But, like, how was caring about it? When I got on the ice, you know. You know, growing up, my dad would flood the backyard garden. But also where I was in Saskatoon and on the farm, every.

00:04:48
Obviously, every pond, every dugout, every lake was frozen, so you clean it off. Everybody. We're skating everywhere. And, you know, in Saskatoon, majority of the outdoor. Excuse me, of the schools, had no tour, Rick.

00:05:02
So everybody talks about Canada. Why? Well, we. It's -50 there in the wintertime, so, you know, we have plenty of access to, you know, to. To those ranks.

00:05:15
So. I remember I was two. I don't have a recollection. I remember my dad, he put actually skates. There are actually two blades on there that he'd strapped to my boots.

00:05:26
And then, you know, that's how I started, was walking around, walking around the ice. I don't remember any of that, right. But I know it happened. Now, did your parents go ice skating with you? Or was it, like, do.

00:05:41
Like, did they. And this is when you were, you know, older. Did you like, sit and you could like, remember them sitting in like, chairs watching you, or did they get out on the ice and kind of do. It with you, I think Morton so you're really asking me, am I a gen, what is it, ZXP or they are now? Or the parents got to be there and watch them holding their hand?

00:06:01
No, my fair to go get your ass out there and do it. So I don't have any recollection of my parents. I know later on, my dad was my coach, you know, a number, you know, a number of years. I remember maybe 8910 somewhere in that area. I remember some practices, but I don't know.

00:06:23
Again, I think things were a little bit different back then. There was throw your ass out there and, you know, go figure it out. More than nowadays in the world, right? Right. And I know, I remember, yeah, you come in at dark and all that wonderful stuff.

00:06:38
Drink out of the hose. Now, some kick goes for the hose. You're gonna die, right? But the chemicals in that plastic hose, totally. That's all we used to drink from.

00:06:47
So was there conversations with ice hockey that there was any expectations for you as you were growing older and as you were playing? No, there was never, you know, not not that I know. I remember there was, I guess, you know what the difference is now? Youth sports aren't a sport, orange sports anymore. It was a business, you know?

00:07:13
So back then, it was a sport, and it was about me and my friends. It's me and my teammates, you know? And I think, you know, it's different the way it is now. It's not about the kids. It's not about how can can Johnny get better so he can go get this contractor.

00:07:29
It's not about the kids, you know, it's not about the kids anymore. Alan, the sport has been taken over business. So to answer your question, there was no expectations. We were all out there together. It was about us, you know?

00:07:43
Did it cause no. Did it cost a lot money then? Yes, absolutely. But not to the mountain cost now, right? And we weren't breaking things.

00:07:51
We couldn't break things. It was, you know, the stick was a two x four. You know, I could barely lift it for the first five years of my life. It was heavy. So long and short.

00:08:00
There was no expectations. It was about us and whoever was on that team to go out and have fun and let the parents drink and party on the weekends at the tournaments, right? I love that. Well, one of the things that's funny is cause I know here when it snowed and. Or when it snows.

00:08:20
Um. Even when my kids are older, wherever we lived, it was like in elementary school, if you want your kid to go out at recess, you have to pack, right? Snow boots, snow suits. I mean, sometimes it was like ridiculous. I'm like, can't they just go out?

00:08:32
And whenever, like, why do they need. And like, who's putting this on? But it was always this big deal. So when you guys were in school and it was like you had the outdoor rinks, did everyone just bring their skates? And it was like.

00:08:43
Or did you have to wear like the snow suits and all of that? Do you have any recollection of that? Of, you know, was it just like recess? Like normal? You know, obviously growing up different.

00:08:52
I think, um, now we're going Celsius. You know, the school bus stopped running at -42 you know. But still, school was always open. There's no snow days. So there was never cold.

00:09:07
You know, there's never snow days. It was never too cold. So we weren't allowed. If I remember correctly, we weren't allowed to skate during school time. Like no recess or lunch.

00:09:20
Everybody was on the ice with their shoes or boots or whatever. So for us to have a snow. Snow pants and boots, that was normal. Because I don't remember one Halloween as a kid without having 2ft of snow. So that's, you know, that's how we live there.

00:09:42
That's. That's how it goes. Like I said, we had a polar vortex that came through here in Chicago seven, six, eight years ago. Camera Ralph are shut down. The.

00:09:53
That's half the winter in Saskatchewan. So that would just dressing that way. It's just a normal. A way of life. But you know, there's something called, you know, ring at girls.

00:10:04
There wasn't girls hockey. Which ringette? Broomball. Yo. So everything.

00:10:11
Curling is massive. Actually. That's my favorite sport. So we have all these, you know, the bon spiels. We.

00:10:18
We spend as Canadians a great portion of time on the ice. Knowledge. Is that figure skating? Is that playing girls hockey? Is that playing ring at.

00:10:26
Is that playing broom ball? Is that curling? All of us know pretty much live on the ice. No matter where you are in Canada. Yeah.

00:10:34
So that's interesting. Right? So it wasn't like. Yeah. And do you know what Canada's national sport gaos lacrosse.

00:10:40
Uh huh. Good girl. I do know that. And people are always like, wait, what? I thought I was an anatomy.

00:10:46
Yeah. I mean, I know that cause I played it. But. Yes. I mean, I don't remember when I realized that and I was like, wait, that's so interesting.

00:10:52
That's a bar bet. You'll win every time. That is a barbet. I know. Some trivia.

00:11:00
You got a lot of useless information. Not head, too. I do. I feel like. That's right.

00:11:05
That's a very normal thing for us dyslexics. Um, okay. So now I'm going to take it to not such fun stuff. Very nice. And that is school.

00:11:15
And we don't have to get so much into this because it was, you know, we. We touched on this. But what is your earliest memory in school? And I know there's a lot of stuff that you blocked out, but, like, what is your earliest kind of picture in your head of school? Pre assessed.

00:11:35
No, I don't remember. Obviously, grade three, throwing a desk at a kid. I remember the dentist coming to school. We sat in a dentist chair at school. I don't know if you had that.

00:11:50
There that we did early on. Yeah. You know, it's. I don't know. Everybody's like, I got a retainer from them, I think, or supposed to.

00:11:59
They didn't feel any feeling. I don't. You know, obviously the squirrel just ran across the board. But I remember grade four throwing jello. Jello on the ceiling.

00:12:10
Again, I don't. There is a lot correlations with school other than activity. You know, was that trying to make that. Trying to high jump this, because this, you know, but actual class work. So, you know what's interesting?

00:12:32
And I do have memories of. And I remember very vividly with Montgomery where, like, he was excited for school and then when it wasn't anymore. Right. And I actually. What grade was that?

00:12:46
It was. It was kindergarten. Kindergarten? First grade. Yeah.

00:12:49
And I remember for myself. I do. And I don't have, like, a vivid, like, I can't say the actual time, but I. You know, like, I talk about a lot of memory feelings and then memory memories, like, where you can visualize the memory, but then there's also a lot of things that. There's the feelings.

00:13:06
So, like, you could take yourself into third grade and be like, ooh, why do I feel so shit? Or. Right. And I do a lot of work with that because I think that is one of the things that's really important. And I do have memory feelings of remembering when school wasn't fun for me anymore because I was, you know, like, mongering, like, social.

00:13:23
So I loved being with my friends. It was something neat. It was something new. I loved recess and doing all of those things. And I remember very, like, that feeling, like, strong.

00:13:32
Like, I can remember sitting there and realizing, wait. And that was probably more first grade. Cause I was in a private school for kindergarten. And I do have, like, I can remember that. So there was definitely stuff that wasn't good there.

00:13:46
And I had to, like, stay after school and they had to do extra help. And there was things. And I have, like, I can feel it and I can kind of remember. I remember my teacher from pre k, misses Masher. She was the best.

00:14:00
She like, took me under her wing. She felt. She felt. Isn't that crazy? I remember my first grade teacher's name, too.

00:14:05
And that was misses Hume, those two teachers. And I don't remember, I think I didn't have a great one in second, and I don't think I had a great one in third. And I don't remember their names. Those two I remember because they took me under. Like, they were like, okay, there's something off.

00:14:20
And so they really tried to help me. Misses Hume was the one that used to come over and I talked about that she would come over when she would see that I wasn't paying attention or that I, like, lost, whatever. Like, why is everyone taking their paper out? Like, that's why I can really remember that. She would come over and just put her hand on my shoulder and just say, yeah, we're going on.

00:14:38
As she was talking to the rest of the class, she was really in tune to me. And she's pretty cool. Yeah. And misses Masher, she was amazing. I think I remember one teacher's name from kindergarten through grade twelve.

00:14:54
I don't know. What was their name? I think his name was Mister Prefontaine. Wow. The only reason I know that was there's that movie of that runner, Prefontaine.

00:15:09
Right.

00:15:12
I'd have to go back. I remember I had nothing from kindergarten. Nothing from grade one. No. Grade two, I almost, they talked about failing me, I think.

00:15:27
Then I switched schools. I think that's why I said St. George, you know? And then, yeah, I think that's when I switched schools. And I think for grade three is when I threw the desk at the kidde.

00:15:40
But no clue what their names, what the names are. But you have flashes of things that you did that weren't great. It wasn't like there was not a positive memory that you have from. Again. My kindergarten, grade one, grade two, I don't remember anything other than, like I said, I remember them talking about failing me.

00:16:09
And I remember the outdoor rink, the boards. So I don't remember, you know, any, um. Anything else, like, in gym class, like, do you remember things? And I don't know if your gym class was the same, because, again, you guys can. But, like, did you have the games where it was like, you got picked, right?

00:16:29
It was like they had a captain, and then it was like, you. You pick things. And. And so, like, did you excel in Jim, or did you kind of just still. Just, like, trying to kind of, like, hide altogether?

00:16:40
I excel. You know, Jim, when you talked about kickball or. Yeah, you know, something of that kind of nature. I still don't remember what. Again, the first kindergarten one, too.

00:16:59
I don't remember anything at school other than the. The outdoor board, the rank. The outdoor boards. I don't remember gym class. I think is maybe kickball or something, but I was the thing.

00:17:10
Yo, there's only so many sports that you can do when you're in that position, right? Yo, was a kickball. We never played baseball. Cause we get hurt. Right?

00:17:27
That's where the kickball came in, with a rubber. Did you guys do dodgeball? I honestly. I'm sure we did. You know, just like, we're gonna game lawn.

00:17:36
Lawn darts. Yeah. I want to find some lawn darts. Like. Yes.

00:17:43
Steel milk pegs, throwing it up. So I've guaranteed we played dodgeball for sure. Because back when we grew up, we were. You know, we were allowed to buy. That's what it works.

00:17:52
Like, we. Oh, Johnny, you're gonna get boo boo. There was none of that. You better get. You better get your ass kicked.

00:17:58
So. But I don't remember playing it.

00:18:05
I remember being outside when started freezing, trying to walk on the water pond was freezing and falling in and causing shit. You know, things like that. Nothing. Nothing good, you know? And it's interesting because.

00:18:19
So that. And I don't think I ever shared this on here, and I know this is your interview, but of course, I have to chime in. So gym class, I was always picked first because I was the fastest out of the boys and girls, so I was really quick, and so I would always get picked because they knew. Okay, she. So as much as I sucked there, it was like in school with everything else, it was like, oh, okay.

00:18:43
And then for dodgeball, really funny is that in Connecticut they did not. The kids weren't allowed to play dodgeball because it was like, oh, people get hurt when we moved to Louisville, even back then. No, no, no. This is for the kids now. No.

00:18:55
Yeah. Like, it was like you. You were allowed to hit in the face there was no softness. No. When my kids lived in Connecticut and then when we moved out to Long island, the first thing, if they came home, they're like, we get to get.

00:19:09
We get to play dodgeball. And I was like, of course, Long island, right? The whole country. But, no, that's not nice. But Long Island's gonna be like, you're fucking playing dodgeball.

00:19:18
Perfect. Yeah. So. But it is really interesting how kids can't play that anymore. They can't.

00:19:24
No, they don't. I mean, they do it here in Long island, but most places they don't because they said it's not. So what do they do in gym class? Do you remember the game thumbs up, seven upper? I love that.

00:19:33
So we used to play that in the class. We didn't do that. Gym class, yeah. What do you do with gym class? You can't play dodgeball.

00:19:38
When I tell you. My kids, like, they're like, gym is so. No, it's like they walk around on a track. It's. It's really.

00:19:46
I don't. Don't even get. Don't even get me started. I'm gonna go back as a gym teacher. Yeah.

00:19:52
I mean, it's. It is. And I have to say they do get. I think they do play, like, some basketball, something like. But it's, like, very.

00:19:59
You know, they'll play. They do volleyball. It's very minimal, but, like. Yeah, back in our days, like, we played field, like, you got to play and you got to, like, run and. Be, like, floor rocky.

00:20:12
Yeah. Things like that. The balloon. Remember the big balloon? Like that big parachute?

00:20:17
Did you ever. Oh, that parachute thingy? Kind of hated that thing. I loved that. Why?

00:20:23
Because you feel like you're getting high in there? Maybe. Maybe that was right. No, I loved that thing. It's so funny.

00:20:31
So, okay, so. And we don't need to, again, stay on school because we know how that went. But when was really the first. And I know you've always said, like, that you never really felt like you made it, but was there a time early on? So I'm not talking, like, middle school, elementary school that you were like, okay, I actually.

00:20:55
I'm getting some good feels from hockey. Like, I'm getting good feels. Do you have any, like, recognition, like, in that? Obviously, I remember getting good feels. Cause that was the only thing I was good at.

00:21:06
Right, right. You know, I was obviously height wise, taller at a younger age. You know, I think I've been this height since I was 14. Right. Just gone.

00:21:17
Got a lot wider. I think it was when I drafted six, 2165. Now I'm 62 50. So definitely gone wider. I've always had good feelings on the ice.

00:21:32
I was where I was good at, right. That was the only thing I was good at. And it's something athletic or, you know, throwing the ball or kickball. You know, hockey. Right.

00:21:40
You know, softball. That was the only thing I was good at. That's where I, you know, had the good feelings. But had somebody, um. Events asked me the other day because the Stanley cup was awarded on Monday, and he said to me, he's like, oh, bring back any good memories?

00:21:58
And I said, no. Brings back a lot of awful memories.

00:22:04
Really showed how not connected to anyone I was, you know? So that's where the sitting on the rank came. Came into play so vividly or so much of my life, because that was the only place and no, I could be. Yeah, I could thrive. Right.

00:22:30
And then your parents. So your parents. And, like, your parents got divorced when you were, what, 1011? A little bit younger than I think it was. Seven.

00:22:39
Seven, eight. So close enough, you know. Right. And then you. You lived with your dad and did you guys stay in the same area?

00:22:46
Yeah, same, you know, same area.

00:22:50
A couple, you know, a couple miles apart. My dad from elementary school, because I went to the elementary school is where we were, were k to five or, excuse me, k to eight. So there was. I never. I never heard of middle school until here.

00:23:07
I got to the US and my kids are, you know, going to school and, yeah, we're going to middle school. What the fuck's the middle school? The middle. And then some places are, you know, five, six, seven. Some places are seven, eight.

00:23:21
Some are like. And then go to high school. Oh, I'm a freshman. I'm a sophomore. I'm like, grade nine, grade ten, grade eleven, grade twelve.

00:23:31
What are you guys talking about? Yeah, but when I grew up, passing was 50% right. We talked when we said we had a long talk about that the other day. Right. But the thing that always.

00:23:43
And again, it saddens me in this way that it makes me. It also makes me angry, because I know it happens so much often, but as I said, I have some memories of some teachers because they were like, okay, I see that you're struggling, right? You didn't have anyone be like, okay, you're struggling. Let's try to figure this out and help you now. You just had people kind of just not acknowledge it and just let you kind of flail and not be your support.

00:24:15
And even if you were still struggling. You didn't have someone that you. And you've said this, but I kind of want you to elaborate on it, because even though school was still. I was obviously struggling, I can remember, like, people would take extra time to try to help me. I had, you know, there was people there, even friends, that would be like, oh, let me.

00:24:34
You know, I'll help you here. And I don't know if it's because I asked. I don't. I can't recall any of that. Like, was I asking?

00:24:41
And that's why it was. Or was it, like, teachers were more in tuned to what was going with me, where it just was like, it seems that you just, like, no one stopped to say, okay, let's figure this out. Why is this kid struggling? And it's just like, again, you're the hockey player, right? But if you're early on, like, they're not going to know that you're a hockey player.

00:25:02
Like, all of these different things. Yes, you were bigger. You were good at these things. But why is it that no one kind of acknowledged you and was like, let me help. And that's what it makes me sad and angry, because I know it happens so much to kids that maybe are not, like, raising their hand, being like, I'm confused.

00:25:20
Or, like, showing that they're confused. Like, you obviously were really good at hiding. Like, I don't know what I'm doing. But then they would get your paper. And so it's like, hey, let's have a little self awareness here.

00:25:29
Teachers. Like, let's see. Okay, he's not doing well. Let's dive in. So can you take us through that a little bit?

00:25:36
You know, obviously, there isn't a lot of recognition or memory. Obviously, growing up, you know, we talk about this all the time, obviously. Just really. Anybody talks about dyslexia now, so go back however many years we're talking. It wasn't, you know, wasn't thing.

00:25:55
I never heard the words dyslexia till I get, you know, till I took Lyle in, you know, which started this journey. Yeah. Which is. Which is crazy. So I'm not gonna throw it back on, you know, aren't any teachers not.

00:26:11
Gonna say no, they might have no idea right where you were, right. You know, there was nothing there. There's nothing there. But as you say, like, and you still say it, that, you know, feel dumb, but then, you know, I always laugh because I'm like, okay, you know more about so many things. Like, when people get to know you, they know, oh, my gosh, you have so much wealth of knowledge, but in the classroom and traditional way of learning.

00:26:37
No, it doesn't seem like that. So you gave yourself that narrative of, like, okay, I'm just dumb. And so the teachers helped you kind of build that narrative because it wasn't like people stopping to be like, well, let me dig a little deeper and see why this kid can't do this. And so you're just like, okay, they don't care. Right?

00:26:56
I don't feel supported. They don't care. So I'm just gonna kind of not care either. I'm misunderstood. Every day, they look, you know, that's where they.

00:27:07
You're just. You're dumb. And they. It's almost easier for them, you know, just to say that. And the hard part is that we think differently, and a lot of times, we get looked down on that, like, great, you're weird.

00:27:24
What? What are you talking about? And there's no acknowledgement is the, okay, there might be something here. Right? Yeah.

00:27:34
I mean, and that's. That's. It's. It's one of those kind of chicken or the egg kind of, you know, in those situations, it's. It is.

00:27:42
And this is why. And I will get, obviously, the foundation when you started it, but, yeah, why. Did Adele cross the road? To see it from the other side.

00:27:54
Okay, thank you, jokester.

00:27:58
But, no, I mean, it's here. Like, there some. And that's why you started the foundation, because there are so many places that don't have any idea of, like, someone struggling. It's not maybe just because they are not smart. Right?

00:28:10
There are people that are not smart that struggle in school because they're. They're low intelligence. Right. But then there's others that are struggling, and it's nothing because they have a low iq, and it's not because they don't care. It's not because they're not trying.

00:28:24
It is because there is, you know, a learning. There's a learning difference. So when you. I mean, I know you went then into high school, and we've talked about this. Take us through, like, that early kind of your juniors hockey.

00:28:39
Like, when was that? Like, okay, I have a chance of going, like, can you take us through that time of your life? You know, um. Crazy part is, there wasn't a day where I ever thought I made it, you know, so, you know, there's drafts, like the Banham draft and this. And I was, you know, I never.

00:28:59
Our hometown team, you know, assassin Blades and WHL. Um, the. It's called AP affiliated. Me, uh, yo made that team at, say, 16, started playing for the home team, hometown team, and obviously was great because I got to stay at home and play at home, live at home, where a lot of this. What's really puts us apart from all the other four, the four major sports are we, you know, we got guys that leave home at 1213, 1415.

00:29:37
You know, I left at 16 after I got traded. You live with another family, you're gone. No other sports have that right. You know, most of them stay at their high school, wherever they are, till graduate high school, then, yes, then they go to college. You know, we don't.

00:29:55
We leave, you know, at such, at such an such young age.

00:30:03
So it really separates us, you know, from that, from all the other sports we get thrown. Basically tossed the wolves at a young age and said, here, grow up. This is what you got. You live in my family, you moved away, and here you go. I traded to a team which was two and a half hours away.

00:30:22
Some guys go, 1012, 2024 hours drives away from where they are at 14, 1516 years old. You gotta grow up fast. Mm hmm. You know, you grow up fast, you know, in a different way than what most kids do. Yeah.

00:30:39
When I think of a typical teenager, like, how you're living with another family, how can you be a typical teenager? You can't. You gotta stuff it. There was no typical teenager. No.

00:30:48
And there's nothing in my life that's typical. Right. So when. But I would love to kind of, if you can bring us back to your family when it was like, okay, there's something here you can do better. Did you have, like, was it your.

00:31:09
Just your own drive that kind of was pushing it? Did you have coaches that pushed you? Was it family members that also helped if they, like, saw you kind of, like, slacking off or was this, like, completely you being like, this is a dream. This is a goal. And having that work ethic down to, like, the nitty gritty, because that's one of the things that stands professional athletes apart, in my opinion.

00:31:31
You can have skill, but, like, you have to also have that work ethic and that mindset. If you don't have that mindset, you could be the best athlete in the world. But doesn't matter. You're not going to go as far as someone else. And that's what separates, obviously, you know, pros.

00:31:46
You know, I always talk, you know, talk to kids now. They're like, oh, I work out hard. I'm like, well, I used to ride the bike in the sauna for an hour for my warm up? No. Then I'd work out.

00:31:57
Then I'd go skate. So tell me, how are you working? You know, back to your question is, nobody pushed me. It was the only place I was good at. I sucked at everything else.

00:32:14
It was the only place. So what I was trying to get was my self esteem all day long, you know, so where did I get it from? Was just being on that, on the ice. So did I work harder than everybody? Yeah, I did, because I had no other options.

00:32:35
You know, kids, you again, maybe I'm good at math or I was good at other sport. It was that. So I didn't have any private coaches. You know, I didn't have special camps. It was.

00:32:52
It was all I had was, was this and, you know. So your question, there was no other coach. It was just, don't. That was the only place that I felt okay, so you want to stay, you know, and doing. You always want to stay in the place that makes you feel okay, right.

00:33:13
And did you have, like, coaches that would say, like, good job, this is what you're good at. This is what you're. Or was it you kind of giving yourself, like, okay, I have the good feels on the ice because I see that I'm good. But did you get positive reinforcement from external? So, like, again, I know nothing.

00:33:30
Like where. How did you know you were getting the good feels from? It is, I guess, my point again. I think go back to now, you know, the old school coaches as, you know, you play the crosses, you know, screaming, yelling, motherfucking, right. There wasn't a lot of pat in the backs, but it was obviously helping your team.

00:33:54
Right.

00:33:57
Competing on the ice. So I don't think, you know, I got a lot of external from coaches or parents. I know I definitely got the external when I was playing bad, you know, on all sides, but I think it was just being on the ice and, you know, okay, I, you know, I beat that guy to help do this for our team. It was, you know, I, you know, I think it was those things and, oh, good job. Oh, well, nice play.

00:34:32
Or something from. From on the ice that, you know, and I never lined up with them, so that was the only time I lined up with them. So I'm going to keep going there. I can. And, you know, and keep doing that, so.

00:34:44
Right. So it was, your teammates saw you and they. They counted on you. Really. It was like, they counted.

00:34:50
They knew what you could do, even though they may be like, coaches weren't like, okay, great job. And all these things, because right when we were back in the day, we talk about it. I mean, my coach in field hockey, like, she would pull me out, scream in my face, and then I would go and score, and everyone was like, oh, my God, that was kind of psycho. But that's how I played. Well, when I got yelled at that way.

00:35:08
So it was really your teammates that even though you didn't connect in a way of, like, a friendship stuff, you connected as a teammate. As a teammate. Meaning that, like, they knew what you could bring. They knew they could count on you. They knew that you were going to always work.

00:35:24
I mean, because I've listened to so many things, and everyone talks about your. How hard you work, like, and how hard you worked. You took it seriously, and it wasn't like you were fucking around, you know. And I took it seriously. But, you know, my funeral, well, it's different, you know, growing up in the farm, you know, I love my.

00:35:46
Love the farm, you know, pushing up the tractor up the hill. People like, do. What is wrong with you? I'm like, how much time do you have? Right?

00:35:56
I love that. You know, so there's a lot of things. Did I work harder? I did not. Let me throw this back to you because that was the only thing.

00:36:07
Only place. And you let. I felt good. So was I working harder than John and Jerry and Jimmy because I wanted it more or because that was the only thing that I was good at? And I was just chasing that feeling of being okay.

00:36:32
Big good feels right. That makes sense. So early on in your career, I mean, we. You were on a couple different teams. Can you take us through, like, the first team you were on and where.

00:36:45
How old you were? And that's what people can kind of get that sense also if they don't know your story. Junior, you mean? So, as you know, that was 16 years old. So in junior, it's, you know, the Chls.

00:36:56
There's WHL. Oh, Qhl. Across Canada. Stages 16 to 20, and, you know, didn't connect with any man. My team, actually, remember one of my teammates, we went on, like, a two and a half week or three week road trip, and, you know, they stole, like, my parents gave me three or $400 that I had hid in my suitcase when my teammates stole it.

00:37:26
I know exactly who it is now, you know, but that's how much I didn't, you know, didn't. Didn't connect, you know, connect with, you know, with, you know, with any of them.

00:37:39
Got traded when I was 1617 to 3 hours away. Two and a half 3 hours away. Surf current living with another family and it was a dentist Graves with a party house. So it's perfect. Was always in for curfew because the parties are always at that.

00:37:58
But you know I had some roommates there. I had some guys sometimes living me, they have myself in there. Sometimes they'd be one of the two other guys but you know. And then graduated high school and got drafted at 18 and turned pro at was 1920. And then you got married pretty soon after that.

00:38:25
Yeah, right after, right after that. You know, what's the old joke I've had? You had four kids that have affected me before I was 27. Yeah. I wasn't even married.

00:38:35
Living in New York City. Dude, what were you doing there? We don't need to talk about that. That's for another episode. But.

00:38:44
Right, so you had to grow up really, really early and you had to kind of navigate life on your own and figure it out. And one of the things that you have talked about often is that the real, the fear of the real world was bigger than any injury that you got because you went through a lot of injuries. And I mean that's, you stayed in the league for 18 years because of being like, okay, what am I going to do after? And that's one of the things with professional athletes. And as you said, hockey, you are going, you're not going to college, you're not getting any, any additional skills.

00:39:26
So you really enter life at 40 having to grab like, be like, okay, this is the real world after having, you know, four kids, you know, being married, then being divorced. And then you said something and I, anyone can listen to the rest of, you know, your story, they can find it in a million different places. But now I want to take it to something that you say that I get goosebumps every single time, but you say that you knew hockey, but what you know more is the world of dyslexia. So take us through when you started the foundation and why you started the foundation. Yeah, obviously you mentioned, you know, I played pro for, you know, for 18 years.

00:40:08
And you know, drinking is a big part of hockey. You know, I started drinking it, you know, at a very young age. That's, that's what you do. That's what hockey is all about.

00:40:22
Once I left the game, hockey, you'll, the real world is, you know, we've spoken on here many times. You go to college, you leave college with 20, 21, 22, you know, you enter the real world then, right. I entered at 40 with no work experience, no education, and learning disorders. I started drinking heavily and doing drugs. You know, I was on a mission to kill myself at 440 checkout and, you know, got thrown into rehab, got an intervention and thrown into rehab.

00:40:56
And now actually, you know, what are we talking about? You know, would we say today's what now? 49, 94 months sober today? And that's where the foundation came into play. Yo, I've gone through a lot and realized your traumas.

00:41:15
Childhood trauma is what leads you to drug and alcohol abuse. And I had to go back and be okay with my struggles with learning disorders and primarily dyslexia. That's where the foundation came into play. Biggest thing is that I never want a kid to feel the way I do. You know, it's, uh, thinking you're dumb every day, not connecting, um, with anybody for 46 years.

00:41:43
Um, that's not a way to live. And that's why I never want a kid to feel that way. And that's what the foundation is about. That's why I started it. So can't get to get to one and one kid at a time and trying to change your life for.

00:41:57
If we can find out you got dyslexia at seven or ten or twelve or 14 or 16, better than 32, you're going to be okay. You've got a partner. You're going to crime. Partner in crime here. Somebody who knows it.

00:42:11
Just don't want them to see and feel the pain and struggles that I endured. And seven years also for the foundation. So seven. And so we're going to be coming out with something very fun with this, because it's seven. Seven.

00:42:26
There's a lot of sevens that we've been saying in the foundation. Hockey stick, right? Oh, I didn't even think of that. Look at that. And, you know, my unicorn, it's like, wait, all these sevens.

00:42:39
We have to do something. So stay tuned. When this episode comes out, I'm sure that's already going to be in the works, but that is. I mean, it's really powerful if someone stops and thinks about. And thinks about your journey and thinks about what you've been through and then how you still want to help.

00:42:58
And there's so many quotes that I read and I get the chills because it is like, people that have been through it that have really been through it, and they can come out on the other side even when they're still in it, but want to help others are people that should not be forgotten and should not be let go and should not be, like, dismissed, because those kind of people are what are going to change the world. And what you're doing for dyslexia and for kids. I mean, every day you'll send me a text message, like, look at this, you know, message I got from this family. Look at this that I got from this person. And it is.

00:43:39
It is, it is really. It's really. I mean, it's really huge. It's really huge. You know, Rome wasn't built overnight.

00:43:47
Right? You know, um, you know, the things that we talked about with the foundation, the tasks that we're trying to do, are they massive? Oh, yeah. We're obviously dyslexia. Big picture thinker.

00:44:02
You know, what drives me, um, daily is never wanting a kid to feel the way I didn't know. I do every day. You know, pain is real.

00:44:16
I just, like said, if I can prevent one kid to not feel this, no, that's the purpose. And, I mean, you don't get emotional. You're not someone that I know. You do it behind closed doors, but that's, you know, someone listening to this and watching this can. I mean, this is anything that is that important to someone and where you can feel and see your heart because of what you've been through and what you go through every day and how many times you've been kicked down by creating this foundation.

00:44:58
But you keep getting up. Some days you get up a little slower, but you keep getting up because you know that you're not going to give up on those kids that are sitting in that chair and that are feeling what you have felt in your life. And that's why this foundation and what you're doing is so important. That's why, you know, when I stalked you to start this podcast, oh, finally. How many years later it's taken you to.

00:45:24
Finally.

00:45:27
You said those words, so I'm just giving it to you. But that is because it's so important. And, I mean, I can feel you so much right now. I mean, it is.

00:45:41
This means everything to you. Yeah. You know, you and some y'all. I knew hockey, played that for 38, 39, 40 years. But I've never struggled so much, you know?

00:46:01
You know, I'm 47, so I've been struggling badly for 47 years. So I know this world better than I knew, know the hockey world, been around it longer. Um, hockey, I could get away from it. Not this struggle. There isn't a day where I'm away from it.

00:46:21
Some days are easier, some days are more prevalent, but, uh, there's many days that I ask myself, why? Well, because days that, like, you have, you've been going, going, going, and then you get defeated. Because it's like, okay, people don't understand what I'm trying to do. People don't see the big picture that I'm trying to do because it's not important. And we talked about it.

00:46:47
Like, why is it? There's foundations out there, and not just about foundations. Topics like cancer, you know, multiple scrotches, all these different things that raise money. And dyslexia is not always. There's, it's so broken in so many different areas.

00:47:09
There's not this togetherness. There's not like, it's in different states. It's so many things. And we, we brainstorm and talk about this all the time because it's like, how can we get it top of mind? How can.

00:47:22
And I'll let you speak. And then, no, it's just to your point is that the hardest part is how much embarrassment that comes with this.

00:47:37
People always say, oh, you just need to get this celebrity or that celebrity to endorse you or do this. Do you know the amount of people that have this, that are so embarrassed, that will not even think about donating? They might be worth billions. They will not donate a dime to dyslexia. Like, that's rude.

00:48:02
That's the embarrassment that's wrapped around this. Oh, it doesn't, they don't have to do it publicly. You still, you know, I only seen that, the video that post the other day. How many times a day you read? You know, and I came across this thing you and I were talking about, this Robin Williams, know, his father's days.

00:48:23
Recently, his son said, dad, I can't believe you're gone, you know, ten years this year or something. Yeah. And, you know, his son's all, you know, got a couple companies and mental health. But what is it? His dyslexia kicked off everything to do with his mental health.

00:48:46
Nobody talks about it. Right. I mean, and one of the things I said to you is because then we speculate, right? Your favorite thing is when I assume and speculate, but there's so much talk about the positives. And yes, there's a lot of positives when you're dyslexic and you think outside the box and you do these things.

00:49:06
However, that is such a small percentage of people that have dyslexia. You know, 50% of prison inmates are dyslexic. 50%. It's not like it's 10%, 50% there's people, as you said, like yourself, like, you didn't have any of the education behind you. What are you supposed to do when you get out of school?

00:49:26
And I mean, get out of hockey at 40? And it's like, okay, no direction, nothing. And it's like half of the. As you said, how many times you have to read. I sat down because I saw when you did that video and I started counting, and then I was like, I mean, I said to Penelope, I was like, how many times?

00:49:48
She's like, you read all day. And I was like, right. I was like, you're right. And then I was like, okay, I'm gonna take it through, like, my morning. And then I literally couldn't keep up with how many times.

00:49:59
Then I was like, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted just thinking about how many times I have to stop and read. Today in the car, fuel doors opened. I was like, someone. Someone's front door is opened.

00:50:10
We all open our front door. And then I was like, why isn't it going off? And then I was like, oh, because it says fuel, not front. I mean, it's so many different things. And someone just like, oh, you weren't paying attention.

00:50:21
Right? You weren't paying attention to the word, but it's not. And something has to change in it. And I truly believe, and I've said this to you a million times, you are going to be the person that does it. And as many times as you get kicked down and you have to get back up, I know that all of the shit that you've been through is what is also going to continue to push you forward.

00:50:47
And that's why I've said to you, like, that's why we started. That's why I started this. I wouldn't have started it with you if I didn't believe in you and what you're doing, because what you're doing is exactly what I've always said needs to be done. But, like, back in my, you know, when I was like, I don't know how I'm going to get this done. And that's like meeting you, I was like, oh, my God.

00:51:04
Okay. If we can keep grabbing people and tumbleweeding these people and putting people together, it's going to be small, little changes, but it's so important because it's a. It's the future. I mean, mental health is, you know, is through the roof, and we need to get to the bottom of it. And when you start peeling back, as you say, those layers, okay, let's find out what is.

00:51:31
What is happening with this person. Every one of us has mental health. Every. Every one of us. Everyone has got through.

00:51:38
Some of us yell more. Every single person's mental health is the worst and the most hardest desperate thing because it's your own.

00:51:49
But it's understanding what that mental health is to cracked it. And that's why I talk about it openly and how my straws are fucked up. You know, my life has been, and for a reason still is and still going on. And it's something that I try and work every day and I got hours and years and to try and crack mistakes. There's probably not enough lifetime in my world, in my life.

00:52:20
I hope not that long to crack down my mistakes and still trying to fix things. But if I can just get one kid not to make that mistake, you know, it's a win. It is. Thank you. I know this is not what you want us to do today.

00:52:40
Dive into. But I'm good at that. I'm good. Here's George. Yeah.

00:52:47
But thank you for doing what you're doing. And you guys check out the sobelfoundation.org because there's a lot of stuff coming. We also need your support. We need your support. If you're listening to this and you're like, how can I get a sport financially?

00:53:02
There's always spots. When you have a foundation, when you're doing big things, you need the financial backing. And it can't just be on one person's shoulders to do that. So if you know people that want to get involved, it's a 501, three c and sopolfoundation.org, comma. You can also reach out to Brent on any of his socials, IG and LinkedIn.

00:53:24
And he's not on TikTok. I will say that word blindness is, but Brent is not. So thank you for, you know, thank you, Brent, because I know, again, that wasn't. It's not easy. It's not easy thinking and talking about it, but it's important because people seeing your heart here is just going to continue to spread your message.

00:53:47
Yeah, no, always, you know, always here. That's why I try and spread, you know, try and talk candidly for, you know, for a reason. Because I'm not the only one struggling. It's true, you guys. You know what to do, like rate, review and share.

00:54:02
I share. I say it every single time. Because you don't know who needs to hear this. And we will see you for another episode of word blindness dyslexia.