“There’s the man with the Santa Claus beard,” said the photographer, as he reached the top of the stairs to Bosun’s, an intimate little restaurant/café at the Rodney Bay Marina in the mountainous, green and intimate island of Castries, St. Lucia.
Ensconced at a table on the covered patio was a seafaring figure—I couldn’t tell if he was man or boy—and a beautiful, gem-like young woman seated across from him. There was nothing ambiguous about her—this was Julie—and the seafaring figure was Colin, her fiancé, and I had come all the way from Toronto, Canada to meet them.
They were on an expedition—called Expedition Canada—all in the goal of making history and becoming the first two people to circumnavigate the globe by human power. They had stopped in St. Lucia to await my arrival with some much needed supplies that were integral to the reminder of their arduous rowing across the Caribbean ocean to Costa Rica, from where they would bike across land back to Vancouver, Canada.
They had completed the toughest part of their long and incredible journey, making it across the Atlantic Ocean over a four-month period—taking turns rowing about four hours at a time, totalling between 16 and 20 hours a day. And Colin had the battle scars to prove such a feat—calloused palms that burned when ocean water got into it.
Julie, the consummate gem, neither showed signs of being as weather-beaten as her other half, nor of being on such a “mad” and incredulous journey. She had long, curly, flowing hair, and a very nice, even tan. Compounding her beauty and her seeming ability to remain beautiful in a stranger’s eyes despite such a tough and challenging achievement, was her demeanour. She was soft spoken, intelligent, easy-going, and very genuine. I got the sense that she was no ordinary woman. Yet she seemed uncomplicated, revealing with ease a genuine human spirit.
They made me to understand that the ocean is a very hostile environment, unforgiving, and has no regard for status or any such ubiquitous human limitations or qualities imposed on land—so common in the workplace, families, personal relationships, governments, etc.
Thus, I realized that Julie and Colin are on an expedition categorized by a real life journey, wherein they encounter dangers often unimaginable by most. As a result, I felt honoured to meet them—to be a representative of Truestar Health Inc., the health and wellness company in Toronto, Canada which is one of the sponsors of this amazing voyage. But Truestar has more than simply sponsored this team. They are playing a very integral role.
As I mentioned, I flew into St. Lucia where Julie and Colin were awaiting my arrival with supplies—Truestar vitamins and supplements, which are proven top-quality nutriceuticals to aid in the rejuvenation of their energy and depleting muscles and joints, inevitably taxed by the countless hours of rowing and sheer exposure to the elements.
Dr. Jean-Jacques Dugoua, Director of Naturopathic Research and Development at Truestar, prepared a vitamin and supplement plan for the couple to follow to maximize their benefits from using Truestar products.
Their plan included TrueSTRENGTH, a natural vanilla flavour Whey Protein. It was a perfect recommendation since the product supports muscle mass and repair after exercise. This they both felt was really tasty—having mixed it with milk. They expressed that they might not be able to follow the directions of one to two servings per day!
They also received TrueMSM , a collagen and joint support formula for the constant physical activity; TruePROTECT, for basic antioxidant support, which is perfect since they cannot consume nearly the right amount of fruits and vegetables to help rid their bodies of toxins; TrueRELIEF, a natural anti-inflammatory formula for natural relief of pain and inflammation, which is a very common and present issue on their voyage; TrueCoQMelt, an obvious inclusion as it’s for cardiovascular support.
Needless to say, when I delivered these products and explained their benefits, they were both overcome with relief and joy, because they had yet another 21 days on the ocean to Costa Rica.
Another point of joy and true appreciation was the laidback Truestar attire I brought them as well: sweaters, track pants, shirts and T-shirts. Julie was the perfect model, pulling off a multitude of poses as she showed off the clothing bearing the Truestar logo.
Clearly, meeting Julie and Colin in St. Lucia was two-fold: delivering the products to provide the necessary nutritional support, and providing them with the tools to effectively and adequately recognize Truestar Health Inc. as a sponsorship entity and partner on their expedition.
Also, I provided them with a conspicuously-sized Truestar logo for placement on the side of Ondine, the name of their boat.
My trip to St. Lucia was planned in such a way that I would have just enough time to deliver the products, and to take some promotional pictures with Julie and Colin, using the services of a hired, professional photographer.
I landed in St. Lucia on Saturday afternoon, 4 p.m. St. Lucia time, and, only after a brief pit stop in the countryside to enjoy some local fare of roast pork and roasted dumplings and of course a couple of cold local beer called Piton, I was off to my hotel to check in. And then I was off to the Marina, where the couple were waiting for me.
Finally, clipping the heels of our photographer, Kirk, I reached the top of the patio, and there they were, just as excited to see me as I was to see them.
We embraced as though we’d known each other; in fact, we had a brief introduction via the phone the day before I flew in, facilitated by their dear and close friend Christine Leakey, who is the expedition’s media contact, and a Truestar employee, as well. Christine saw that this would be an excellent and exciting sponsorship opportunity for both Truestar and Colin and Julie, and as a result made the collaboration a reality.
Kirk snapped pictures of us three in Truestar gear as I delivered the vitamins and supplements and explained their benefits. But this photo op was only a taste of the complete photo shoot that was scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. the next morning on the water in the morning sun and with Pinto Island as the backdrop, while Julie and Colin rowed Ondine in Truestar gear and assumed a series of poses with vitamins and supplements.
Needless to say, this went off without a hitch, and I took this opportunity on the water in a water taxi (in which the photographer was stationed) to enjoy the sun and cool, ocean breeze. It was pretty much paradise!
My opinion of the entire experience was paradisiacal, not only from a personal level, but interestingly enough, from a business point of view. I think it was a perfect match—a perfect merging between Truestar and the expedition itself.
The fact of the matter is that Truestar’s fundamental message is one of promoting health and wellness through Nutrition, Exercise, Vitamins, Attitude, and Sleep. I believe these five elements tie in precisely with the very message Julie and Colin are promoting: health and wellness. Although it seems that they are going to great lengths and extremes to promote such a message, I believe that promoting health and wellness by circumnavigating the world by human power in and of itself carries a very powerful message that if the human spirit can face, conquer, and endure such a feat despite its inherent dangers, then we as individuals deserve to promote our own health and wellness.
I was touched and changed by these two people, a man and a woman who are also in love with each other and are attempting to make history. They have invested a whole lot of personal preparation (emotional and physical) into their plan to help make this venture a success in everyway. But admittedly, as much as a personal experience (motivated by personal motives) this is for Julie and Colin, they could not have got this far without corporate and other financial support. I’ll further add that these are people who are interested in protecting the environment, and ensuring that it is protected from those who would contribute to its destruction advertently or inadvertently.
In conclusion, I believe and know to be true that Julie and Colin are altruistic people, who are promoting not only personal health and wellness, two essential elements in effecting a human spirit as powerful as their own, but are also helping to bring awareness to a world that must be preserved—through health, wellness, and the occasional time away from the hustle and bustle of life to reflect on nature, be it through expeditions as theirs or simple meditation.
I was honoured to be a part of history in the making—the history of joining health and wellness with lessons that are inherent in Julie and Colin’s example of what the Power of the Human Spirit can achieve.
Garie McIntosh
January 24, 2006
