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Mark Breton
Change before life changes you
Mark Breton does not deny it: before his car accident, he did not like his life all that much.
I tell myself there is a reason why I lost my arm. Had it been only broken, I would have
ended up turning back into who I was before the accident.
In 1996, after a tough weekend of work and an evening of playing music, Mark fell asleep at
the wheel and smashed into a metal guardrail. The Charlesbourg resident woke up a month and a
half later, his right arm amputated. I had been saying for a long time that I wanted a
change in my life
, says he, half in jest.
He wished for that change because somewhere along the way, Mark had let go who he was, who he
wanted to be. At 13, I was dreaming of the Olympics in cycling.
In the juniors, he had
finished 26th in the Tour de l’Abitibi, a cycling race well known among the
international pelotons.
His accident put him back on two wheels! Before my accident, I had quit cycling, I had quit
sports. I had quit trying to outdo myself.
It is through the Défi sportif that Mark Breton came back to competition. I can still
remember as if it was yesterday. It was my first paracycling race. I was happy to see that the
event had a certain scope.
A year later, Breton qualified for the Athens Paralympic Games
and he was also into the great Beijing meet in the next cycle.
Humour serving the message
As a speaker, Mark Breton likes to meet teenagers because he believes that he has the greatest
impact with them. You know, at that age, they sometimes have their first contact with
alcohol, with drugs. They drive, and fast. They play with people’s lives, not only with their own.
I keep telling them that they hold the key. They decide what they will become. They can’t let
outside elements rule them. For me, my accident was a huge barrier, but I still made it to the
Paralympic Games
he maintains.
If in the beginning his talks had accepting the difference as their theme, today, the message is more direct: change before life changes you. People don’t all have to go through the ordeals the 36-year old cyclist went through to bring positive change to their life. Breton firmly believes that we have the capability to amend our ways.
I would like to go to École de l’humour some day, he says. I always go
around with a recorder or a notebook. I record funny moments. In my talks, I always try to be
humorous. I think my message flows better that way. Today, I look at life with humour
,
says Breton who is very vigilant about keeping his dreams alive.
Visit Mark Breton's Official Website
