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| Human Interest | |
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General Interest | |
| Awards and honours | In 2012 and 2013 he was named Most Outstanding Athlete in Road Racing by the Ottawa Lions club in Ontario, Canada. (ottawalions.com, 11 Nov 2013, 26 Nov 2012) In 2008 he was inducted into the Saugeen Shores Hall of Fame in Ontario, Canada. (joshcassidy.com, 16 May 2008) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Motivational Speaker |
General Interest | |
| Other information | MOVIE ROLES In 2015 he worked as a stuntman on the superhero movie 'Suicide Squad' when it was being filmed in Toronto, ON, Canada. "It was just a small stunt role, but a very exciting and a very new and unique experience for me." He starred as one of the principal characters in the 2020 film 'Swept Up by Christmas', which was directed by Philippe Gagnon. "I'm used to performing on a different type of stage so there's a lot of crossover but definitely this was something that's a new challenge. Anyone who knows me knows that I love new challenges, so I wanted to give it a shot." (bostonglobe.com, 17 Apr 2016; shorelinetoday.ca, 11 Dec 2020) GRAPHIC NOVELS He has spent a number of years writing and illustrating graphic novels. He was fascinated by superheroes as a child, which he says inspired him to create fictional stories of his own. "Characters like Daredevil or Wolverine, you have these people with flaws and overcoming things and doing things to help others that resonated with me. I started this graphic novel at the end of my university career and it kind of went on the back burner. [Then] I was gaining all this life experience, travelling the globe on my own spiritual journey, I just got deeper and deeper into the writing part when I was on the road until it became like three books." (inspirenorth.com, 03 Feb 2021) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Guelph, ON, CAN |
| Higher education | Visual Arts - Sheridan College: Oakville, ON, CAN |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Canadian ice hockey player Patrick Roy. (paralympic.ca, 15 Aug 2015) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "There's nothing I can't do." (joshcassidy.com, 30 Aug 2012) |
Impairment Information | |
| Classification | T54 |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | He met the then Canadian national team coach in a restaurant by chance and was inspired to begin competing. "I fell in love with the sport watching the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and Canadian wheelchair racer Jeff Adams was extremely successful. That inspired me to give the sport a try." |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He took up the sport at age 15. |
General Interest | |
| Impairment | He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of cancer, in his spine and abdomen in the weeks after he was born. Doctors initially thought that he would not survive but he was declared cancer-free after five years of remission. Both of his legs are partially paralysed as a result of the effects of the illness. (thestar.com, 05 Aug 2015; joshcassidy.com, 30 Aug 2012) |
Impairment Information | |
| Origin of Impairment | Acquired |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | He struggled with a shoulder injury while competing at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (ottawalions.com, 15 Nov 2019) |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Facebook page, 14 Oct 2019) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning the 2012 Boston Marathon in the United States of America. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019) |
| Hobbies | Reading comics, drawing, writing. (inspirenorth.com, 03 Feb 2021) |