Gary Reed | Giving Back in Vancouver | Infinite Real Estate Agent

In case you weren’t aware, one of the real estate agents at our affiliate brokerage, Infinite Real Estate Services, is Gary Reed. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because you were probably cheering for him at one point. Gary’s athletic track record (no pun intended) is impressive to say the least, retiring as the Canadian record-holder in the 800-metre run with a time of 1:43.68. He’s also a 6-time Canadian Champion and a Team Canada member at two Olympics. His top performances include a 4th place finish at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, and a silver medal at the 2007 Word Championships.

With his track days behind him, Gary has taken everything he learned from succeeding at the highest level of athletics and now puts that skill-set to use in two avenues: as a Vancouver real estate agent at Infinite Real Estate Services and as the leader of the Reed Athletics Fund.

Recently, Gary was interviewed by Media Planet for a special section of the Vancouver Sun, titled “The Art of Giving”. We wanted to congratulate Gary on his philanthropic achievements and to share this fantastic interview with our readers.

We’ve pulled a couple of our favourite excerpts from the interview and included them below:

Media Planet: “What were your toughest hurdles to overcome while pursing your dream of becoming an Olympic athlete?”

Gary Reed: “Apart from the mental and physical challenges of staying consistent with a grueling training regime year after year, the hardest part was trying to make it financially. I did not come from a well-resourced family. I grew up in B.C. with a single mom who worked numerous casual jobs to try to make ends meet. I often sold belongings to attend training camps and worked many odd jobs throughout high school and after leaving home in an attempt to make enough money to train properly.

Media Planet: “What inspired you to start the Reed Athletics Fund?”

Gary Reed: “While I trained with many talented athletes from different backgrounds, one thing was fairly consistent:most of them were struggling financially. As athletes, we trained six days a week, twice a day. In between training sessions,we did recovery work to prepare for more training. Canadian athletes need more financial support to reach their full potential and the Olympic podium. I lived and witnessed this first hand and knew that upon retiring I would find a way to ease these struggles and give back to the sport that gave me so much.”

You can click through to the full article from the Vancouver Sun here: Overcoming Obstacles and Giving Back.