Cam used his dynamic personality and a can-do attitude to succeed as an athletic gold medalist in his running career, as an inspirational speaker and as a social innovator. Through his motivational speeches, Cam has inspired audiences throughout New Zealand, England, Japan and the United States of America. His audiences include Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand, New Zealand Post, Hemophilia Foundation and Auckland University of Technology to name a few. He is a proud ambassador for Toyota New Zealand, YES Disability Resource Centre and many more. Cam’s substantial contributions were acknowledged with a Paul Harris Fellow recognition by the Rotary in 2006 making him the youngest recipient worldwide at the age of 21. He has since been recognized once again as a Paul Harris Fellow.

What life lessons did you learn as an athlete?C: Sport…music…any kind of extracurricular activity teaches us so much about life with lessons that are universal. This is about turning up to EVERY opportunity we are presented with, chances are when we turn up we know what we’re going to get, we’re going to train hard, we’re going to study hard, we’re going to be at work etc. But when we don’t turn up we don’t know what we’re going to miss out on. For me turning up at the athletics day when I was far from been seen as an ‘athlete’ inspired me to train and then compete all over the world. For me turning up to give a speech when I could have allowed my ’speech impediment’ to disable me, led to me now speaking throughout the world.

Which is your most memorable project so far and why?C: December 3rd is awesomely recognised as ‘international day of persons with disabilities’. There is a lot of ‘awareness’, fundraising and celebration of the achievements of people with disabilities. In 2010 a group of young people (including myself) decided to showcase people with disabilities giving back. We knew everyone was going into Christmas and that too many go hungry during the festive season due to poverty. To help feed the hungry we created YES iCAN and position outside a local food bank. We would have people donating cans and as they did we got them to put a photo and message on social media beginning with the words YES iCAN… this encouraged others to get involved, fed the tummies of the hungry, and inspired the minds of everyone. We collected over 15,000 cans in 7 hours that day.

What inspired you to start the Carabiner Mentoring program? Who can benefit from this program?C: As a 21 year old I’d represented my country in sport, become the president of my local Rotaract Club, become part of a small but connected team which raised NZ$4 million to build a disability resource center and was beginning the journey to becoming an inspirational speaker. Achieving these had come through; hard work, passion, commitment…all that good stuff that we’ve always known about and should never take for granted. But in parallel to that were my mentors / my giants in life. People who knew what it took to dream, believe and succeed, people who I could seek advice from in pretty much ANYTHING. I realised I was ‘lucky’ to have these mentors and thought how cool would it be if there was a mentoring program that asked young people with disabilities (extra-ordinary challenges) not what do you need to live a normal life? Because what is normal? But what do you want to do and can we get you there? 

What message do you like to convey via your motivational speeches?C: My goal is to contribute towards a world where everyone is inspired to embrace THEIR opportunity and our physical being is no barrier in succeeding with our dreams and opportunities. Briefly, I see events that I'm part of as a place for people to come together, strengthen networks, get the information and resources they need to be better at what they do and become more connected to their company / visions / goals. My role is to then bend perception of what is possible and inspire people to go on and exceed expectations. To achieve this I cover the themes of goal setting - shaping the big picture, attitude makes the difference, communication and networking, competition brings out excellence, be your possibility, personal accountability, people, people, people - get this right and achieve anything! I get people thinking personally and professionally about what an awesome life looks like and simultaneously create a channel for people to be motivated to go on from their event and achieve more! 

What challenges did you face during your school days? How did you motivate yourself to face those challenges?C: Despite common assumption bullying was never a problem. I knew I was the 'different kid’ and that people are only afraid of what they don’t know. Also people can be taught not to ask questions, not to risk upsetting someone and therefore the only option is to make assumption. To avoid assumption, to build rapport, connection and friendship I would step outside everyone's comfort-zone to create the comfort zone. I’d say things like "I can’t skateboard because Cerebral Palsy effects my balance, but I have this scooter and can go to all the same places”, from there on we had a common focus to connect on. Today as a friend, lover, speaker and businessman the rules are no different…it’s MY RESPONSIBILITY not to be rejected. When I hear of kids / people getting bullied I ask “have you done all you can not to be bullied?” Maybe this perceived a little tough, but the world is tough and challenging in parts and if the individual has done everything they can, and still getting bullied, then change the environment before it changes you. So my challenges during school days were similar to everyone else, how the heck do I pass calculus. 

Can you tell us about your other hobbies?C: I enjoy doing things that take me outside my comfort-zone as this is where AWESOMENESS takes place and is found. So I’ve done athletics, archery, skiing, mountain biking, driving, bungee jumping, sky-diving and in June 2019 I summited Mt Kilimanjaro . At 19,000 feet it's the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. None of these have ever been part of my ‘bucket list’ (I don’t have one of those) but the reasons for saying yes have always been way more awesome than the reasons to say no, I then create ways to stay motivated.

What is your favorite place to visit? What do you love about that place?C: I travel a lot, last year 145 speeches throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Europe, America and the Pacific Islands. I’ve visited the flashes of the flash and the worse of the worse when it comes to the aesthetics of a place and had positively unforgettable experiences in both. What it always comes down to is the people and my goal is to inspire as many people as possible, visiting a place or a person is never complete if that not been achieved and inspiration can be as simple as a “hello” and a smile.

What is your suggestion for families of children with disabilities to empower their children?C: When things go well for someone, when they showcase what is possible, others can be quick to seek justification, logic, the reason for their “luck”. In my experiences of meeting with achievers all over the world luck is a reflection of what people see, do, and create, even with the lottery one has to buy a ticket. People are quick to say I was lucky to have great parents and yes I was, but what made them great is that they wanted to be parents, and when things didn’t go to plan (as in when I was born with CP) they didn’t let that get in the way of what it meant to be parents; they loved, they challenged, they allowed me to climb, they didn't worry when I fell, they continued to live their lives and created a lovely home for me to build my life…that would be my suggestion for all parents looking to empower all children. Become a parent because you want to, and then focus on the good, the opportunities.

What tips/advice do you have for those in our community who want to overcome adversity?C: Think of all those times you’ve been inspired, you’ve had a dream, you have a vision, a mission and you’re like “YES I CAN DO THIS!” Then you get back to your perceived reality and start looking at all the reasons why it can’t be done. Think of all those unopened dreams because you haven’t want to take a risk, you haven’t wanted to do what’s different, you’ve got comfortable with comfortable. Everyone of ALL abilities who inspires us, who changes the world for them, for others, or both steps beyond their comfort-zone. As the person who is different we have to be the ones to step outside our comfort-zone to build a comfort-zone, we have to recognise that challenge is part of life for everyone, but it’s also what makes us resilient and often can be where awesome answers to the meaning of life come from - back yourself

Any special message for our community?C: Have a dream, speak the dream and never give up