Entrepreneurship Blog

Brad Cownden: One Man, One Bike and One Incredible Story

I recently attended my first Young Entrepreneurs’ Society (YES) mixer. The group has a nice mix of ages, types of businesses, and a hard working team of volunteers, who organize these excellent events. We were lucky enough to have an inspirational speaker named Brad Cownden. Brad grew up in Victoria, and is currently a fourth year honours student at Uvic.

Brad is an extraordinary young man who inspired us all. Without any outside funding, and limited support, Brad spent two years preparing for, and promoting the journey of a lifetime. This past summer, Brad rode his bike alone, from Victoria, BC all the way to Saint John’s Newfoundland! He traveled 6,800 km in 73 days! He called his adventure the “Brain Storm Ride”. He endured harsh weather, hunger, pain, and total mental & physical exhaustion. He was on a limited budget, so he slept on the side of the road in a tent, and wasn’t even sure if he could make it all the way. What motivated this young man to put himself through this? Brad was inspired by his Aunt Connie.

Brad’s Aunt was rear-ended in a terrible motor vehicle accident, leaving her in an advanced coma, with little likelihood of recovery. Miraculously, she emerged from the coma with her long term memory intact, but many other faculties were impaired. She was incapable of doing the simplest everyday tasks that we take for granted. She was a nurse, who had always cared for others, and now she was not able to care for herself. She was eventually released from the hospital into the 24-hour care of her family. Brad wondered what someone without family support would do if they suffered a similar injury. Brad’s family was grateful to connect with some support from the Victoria Brain Injury Society.

Brad became acutely aware of the lack of understanding for those with acquired brain injury. To the rest of society, they look fine on the outside, but struggle with simplest tasks. Brad also realized that there was a national organization, and many regional groups, but no cohesive national structure to connect them. His efforts have now connected them, and strengthened the efforts of their cause in Canada. While his Aunt Connie continues to recover, she has become an advocate for survivors, and also a member of the Board of Directors for the Victoria Brain Injury Society.

Read more about Brad’s incredible journey. You can also help create awareness by joining the Brain Storm Ride’s Group on Facebook or make a donation directly to the Brain Injury Association of Canada. There’s also some great information on the Victoria Brain Injury Society site: http://www.vbis.ca/.

The lesson from Brad’s journey: One person can make a difference! Brad will continue to tell his inspiring story to raise funds & awareness for years to come. He has already been invited to speak at Brain Injury Conferences all over Canada. A final note: Please be patient with others who seem to be slow or have out of the ordinary behavior, they could be suffering from an acquired brain injury.

About the Author:
Juhli Selby is a sales/marketing/social media expert. Join her Facebook Fan Page to keep up with some of her work and insights.  

Posted by: Juhli Selbi Thursday Oct 21, 2010 15:02
Categories: Inspirational Speaker, YES Mixer | Tags: Brain Injury Association, BrainStorm Ride

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Brad Cownden: One Man, One Bike and One Incredible Story

I recently attended my first Young Entrepreneurs’ Society (YES) mixer. The group has a nice mix of ages, types of businesses, and a hard working team of volunteers, who organize these excellent events. We were lucky enough to have an inspirational speaker named Brad Cownden. Brad grew up in Victoria, and is currently a fourth year honours student at Uvic.

Brad is an extraordinary young man who inspired us all. Without any outside funding, and limited support, Brad spent two years preparing for, and promoting the journey of a lifetime. This past summer, Brad rode his bike alone, from Victoria, BC all the way to Saint John’s Newfoundland! He traveled 6,800 km in 73 days! He called his adventure the “Brain Storm Ride”. He endured harsh weather, hunger, pain, and total mental & physical exhaustion. He was on a limited budget, so he slept on the side of the road in a tent, and wasn’t even sure if he could make it all the way. What motivated this young man to put himself through this? Brad was inspired by his Aunt Connie.

Brad’s Aunt was rear-ended in a terrible motor vehicle accident, leaving her in an advanced coma, with little likelihood of recovery. Miraculously, she emerged from the coma with her long term memory intact, but many other faculties were impaired. She was incapable of doing the simplest everyday tasks that we take for granted. She was a nurse, who had always cared for others, and now she was not able to care for herself. She was eventually released from the hospital into the 24-hour care of her family. Brad wondered what someone without family support would do if they suffered a similar injury. Brad’s family was grateful to connect with some support from the Victoria Brain Injury Society.

Brad became acutely aware of the lack of understanding for those with acquired brain injury. To the rest of society, they look fine on the outside, but struggle with simplest tasks. Brad also realized that there was a national organization, and many regional groups, but no cohesive national structure to connect them. His efforts have now connected them, and strengthened the efforts of their cause in Canada. While his Aunt Connie continues to recover, she has become an advocate for survivors, and also a member of the Board of Directors for the Victoria Brain Injury Society.

Read more about Brad’s incredible journey. You can also help create awareness by joining the Brain Storm Ride’s Group on Facebook or make a donation directly to the Brain Injury Association of Canada. There’s also some great information on the Victoria Brain Injury Society site: http://www.vbis.ca/.

The lesson from Brad’s journey: One person can make a difference! Brad will continue to tell his inspiring story to raise funds & awareness for years to come. He has already been invited to speak at Brain Injury Conferences all over Canada. A final note: Please be patient with others who seem to be slow or have out of the ordinary behavior, they could be suffering from an acquired brain injury.

About the Author:
Juhli Selby is a sales/marketing/social media expert. Join her Facebook Fan Page to keep up with some of her work and insights.  

Posted by: Juhli Selbi Thursday Oct 21, 2010 15:02
Categories: Inspirational Speaker, YES Mixer | Tags: Brain Injury Association, BrainStorm Ride

0 Comments: