Tyler Smith

TYLER SMITH BIOGRAPHY

Tyler Smith has no memory of the worst day of his life, something the 21-year-old considers “a blessing in disguise.” On April 6, 2018, Tyler and his junior hockey team, the Humboldt Broncos, were on their way to a playoff game when a semi-truck struck their bus. He lost 16 of his teammates, staff members, and coaches, while he and 12 others survived.

After Tyler Smith physically recovered, Tyler returned to the Broncos. He made it back for ten games, and although his body felt fine, his mental health was starting to catch up with him. Tyler didn’t feel like himself and knew he needed to step away from the game and prioritize his mental recovery. Tyler Smith has made progress with his recovery, but the battle that Tyler is facing is an ongoing one – some days are better than others, and some will always be challenging, but he now feels better equipped to handle the difficult moments when they come.

For him, he never understood mental health or anything that related to it for that matter. Courage, vulnerability, bravery, Tyler Smith would have never attached those words to mental health before the accident. He never understood the power of a conversation. The power a meaningful conversation can hold in your healing journey. He was so used to artificial surface-level conversations and taking for granted the support system he had in his life. He never wanted to struggle or come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t doing okay.

As much as the physical injuries took their toll, it was the mental injuries that he should have focused on from the start. Understanding and acknowledging that you are struggling takes a lot of strength and courage. And Tyler Smith finally did that, he put himself first and allowed himself to take care of him for the first time in his life and what a relief that was now that he reflected. He accepted his emotions and had meaningful conversations with those who loved him.

He continually made small steps in his healing journey and now took advantage of self-care tools like counselling. Because he never thought he would be the one opening up to a complete stranger. Bottling things up and chucking them on the back burner of his mind was the easy way out for him and it was something he was so comfortable doing. He knew a journey was ahead, and he was okay with that now.

Public speaking was never something that Tyler imagined himself doing, but it’s now one of his true passions in life. Tyler Smith has seen the value of sharing his story and of hearing personal stories from others, which is why he is so passionate about sharing his story and being a mental health advocate. Tyler will dive deeper into his personal relationship with strength and struggle and the many misconceptions he had previous to embracing his own mental health journey. Tyler likes to take things day by day, but he knows that he wants to continue public speaking, advocating for mental health, and sharing his stories with those who may need them.

Tyler Smith shares his experiences navigating mental health and grief in the face of tragedy. He shares details about his life over the last five years, the experiences he’s gone through, and the lessons he’s learned along the way. Along with the public speaking space, Tyler has found two other major passions in his life which both happen to be in the world of mental health.

Tyler Smith co-hosts a podcast with NHL veteran Riley Sheahan of the Buffalo Sabres called ‘Speak Your Mind.’ With Speak Your Mind, Riley and Tyler hope to continue to normalize conversations around mental health with a wide variety of guests starting with the sports world, entertainment space and many more. Most recently Ty Smith and Kat

Tyler Smith has found his mental health awareness clothing line called ‘Not Alone Co.’ Not Alone is all about helping facilitate meaningful conversations around mental health with the messaging that is presented on Not Alone’s variety of apparel. Not Alone donates portions of the proceeds to different charities and foundations across Canada including Jack.org. Tyler hopes to build a lasting community with Not Alone that focuses on vulnerability and conversation.

Most recently, Ty Smith and his girlfriend Kat Kastner became participants in the Amazing Race Canada Season 9. Together Ty and Kat are racing for everyone they lost and for everyone who was impacted by the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. They want to inspire Canadians to find that light through the hard times, and to make the 16 souls watching over them proud. They are on a mission to bring more awareness to individuals who are suffering from mental health, PTSD and Trauma to create safe places for breaking the salience, reducing the stigmas and creating places of healing.