Alberta
German Fitness Trainer Finds Himself Stuck in Calgary – And Making the Best of It!
Cultures collide as COVID-19’s descent on the world leaves personal trainer global adventurer Darian Bessell stuck in Calgary.
Originally from Germany, Darian has been travelling the world for the last year and a half, landing in Canada in February with plans to stay and work for a year. After getting all his permits in place and obtaining a work visa, he was hired by one of the major gyms in Calgary as a personal trainer. Unfortunately, he was immediately laid off after COVID-19 hit the city.
Seeing the situation as an opportunity to strike out on his own, Darian began offering his services as a personal trainer online, offering free consultations by Zoom or in person. His first client, Matt Keay, connected with Darian during his search for a way to improve health and mobility as well as mental wellbeing in his demanding role as a CEO.
“I look over at my two-year-old daughter and she’ll be holding a squat position playing with toys for nearly an hour, totally natural for her,” says Keay, “why can’t I do that?” Keay suffers from sore hips and wrists due to years of abuse from skateboarding and poor diet. This proves difficult, as his role as a leader demands high performance and consistent energy.
“I’ve got training every day with Darian … well, it’s more like all day long,” says Matt, “I’ve heard people say how fitness is a lifestyle, well I really understand that now. I am standing more at my desk, doing more stretches, busting into a squat in the boardroom and the pain I’ve dealt with for years is melting away.”
Darian Bessell, newly appointed Business on Camera Director of Physical and Mental Health will bring health and wellness to high-performance entrepreneurs in Calgary. “The knowing-doing gap is a worldwide common issue,” offers Bessell, “people know that enjoying nuts as a snack is healthier than a chocolate bar, and they know the way they feel physically could be better. Often some simple support tools to improve mobility can have a huge impact on overall fitness and hold the key to a new healthy lifestyle.”
The human body sends signals that it is in poor condition by aching and demonstrating discomfort. The mind also sends signals, for example, feeling depressed or tired all the time. Most people know that they have to change something, but it is all too easy to get caught up in routines and maintain bad habits.
“Most people have the desire to do more for their mental and physical health, so why not just do it then?”
Health and fitness is one of the most flooded industries on the market with new gadgets, diets and methods constantly emerging, leaving no shortage of options when it comes to personal health.
“Choosing to work with Darian was based on the education he had regarding the symbioses between mental health and physical performance, nutrition and mobility. He often referred to a program created by Dr. Kelly Starrett called “Becoming a Supple Leopard,” continues Keay, “a ton of professional athletes and stunt actors are Supple Leopards; I would describe it as intentional and intuitive. For me at this time, the goal is to feel better everywhere, increase mobility, energy, and mood in under thirty minutes a day.”
Darian’s goal is to help individuals overcome the disconnect between desire and action by cultivating discipline and a strong commitment to health and happiness in his clients. “People have to take a huge step to get over the gap between knowing what is good for them and really having the discipline to do it,” says Bessell, “Human beings get used to things so fast and fall into a cycle of ‘I need to do something about that’, then continue to ignore it, and fall into the deep hole between knowing and doing.”
Darian gives people that much-needed kick in the butt. By helping clients reposition their approach to fitness and replace negative habits with positive changes, his program addresses physical and mental wellbeing, leaving clients feeling better than ever. “Other benefits include better sleep, more focus and better work-life balance,” says Darian, “it is all about implementing a holistic approach to health to get your body in an efficient, healthy position, and maintain it with intentional practice.”
Keay is thrilled with his results and excited to see where the program takes him. “I am constantly paying attention to my body now,” he says, “the way I sit, the way I walk, engaging my core, doing a squat instead of bending over to pick something up…it’s really had a tremendous impact on my ability to move properly, and we’re just getting started.”
Darian can be reached by phone at 403-478-3836 or [email protected]
For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.
Alberta
Alberta court upholds conviction of Pastor Artur Pawlowski for preaching at Freedom Convoy protest
From LifeSiteNews
Lawyers argued that Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s sermon was intended to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, but the statement was characterized as a call for mischief.
An Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that Calgary Pastor Artur Pawlowski is guilty of mischief for his sermon at the Freedom Convoy-related border protest blockade in February 2022 in Coutts, Alberta.
On October 29, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Gordon Krinke sentenced the pro-freedom pastor to 60 days in jail for “counselling mischief” by encouraging protesters to continue blocking Highway 4 to protest COVID mandates.
“A reasonable person would understand the appellant’s speech to be an active inducement of the illegal activity that was ongoing and that the appellant intended for his speech to be so understood,” the decision reads.
Pawlowski addressed a group of truckers and protesters blocking entrance into the U.S. state of Montana on February 3, the fifth day of the Freedom Convoy-styled protest. He encouraged the protesters to “hold the line” after they had reportedly made a deal with Royal Canadian Mounted Police to leave the border crossing and travel to Edmonton.
“The eyes of the world are fixed right here on you guys. You are the heroes,” Pawlowski said. “Don’t you dare go breaking the line.”
After Pawlowski’s sermon, the protesters remained at the border crossing for two additional weeks. While his lawyers argued that his speech was made to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, the statement is being characterized as a call for mischief.
Days later, on February 8, Pawlowski was arrested – for the fifth time – by an undercover SWAT team just before he was slated to speak again to the Coutts protesters.
He was subsequently jailed for nearly three months for what he said was for speaking out against COVID mandates, the subject of all the Freedom Convoy-related protests.
In Krinke’s decision, he argued that Pawlowski’s sermon incited the continuation of the protest, saying, “The Charter does not provide justification to anybody who incites a third party to commit such crimes.”
However, defence lawyer Sarah Miller pointed out that that Pawlowski’s sermon was protected under freedom of speech, an argument that Krinke quickly dismissed.
“While the appellant is correct that peaceful, lawful and nonviolent communication is entitled to protection, blockading a highway is an inherently aggressive and potentially violent form of conduct, designed to intimidate and impede the movement of third parties,” he wrote.
Pawlowski was released after the verdict. He has already spent 78 days in jail before the trial.
Pawlowski is the first Albertan to be charged for violating the province’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (CIDA), which was put in place in 2020 under then-Premier Jason Kenney.
The CIDA, however, was not put in place due to COVID mandates but rather after anti-pipeline protesters blockaded key infrastructure points such as railway lines in Alberta a few years ago.
Clean Energy Fuels CEO Andrew Littlefair, Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose, and Mullen Group chairman Murray Mullen attend the opening of a new Clean Energy/Tourmaline compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station in Calgary on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
From the Canadian Energy Centre
New compressed natural gas fueling stations in Grande Prairie and Calgary join new stop in Edmonton
Heavy-duty truckers hauling everything from restaurant supplies to specialized oilfield services along one of Western Canada’s busiest corridors now have more access to a fuel that can help reduce emissions and save costs.
Two new fuelling stations serving compressed natural gas (CNG) rather than diesel in Grande Prairie and Calgary, along with a stop that opened in Edmonton last year, create the first phase of what proponents call a “natural gas highway”.
“Compressed natural gas is viable, it’s competitive and it’s good for the environment,” said Murray Mullen, chair of Mullen Group, which operates more than 4,300 trucks and thousands of pieces of equipment supporting Western Canada’s energy industry.
Right now, the company is running 19 CNG units and plans to deploy another 15 as they become available.
“They’re running the highways right now and they’re performing exceptionally well,” Mullen said on Oct. 22 during the ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the new station on the northern edge of Calgary along Highway 2.
“Our people love them, our customers love them and I think it’s going to be the way for the future to be honest,” he said.
Heavy-duty trucks at Tourmaline and Clean Energy’s new Calgary compressed natural gas fuelling station. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
According to Natural Resources Canada, natural gas burns more cleanly than gasoline or diesel fuel, producing fewer toxic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
The two new CNG stops are part of a $70 million partnership announced last year between major Canadian natural gas producer Tourmaline and California-based Clean Energy Fuels.
Their deal would see up to 20 new CNG stations built in Western Canada over the next five years, daily filling up to 3,000 natural gas-fueled trucks.
One of North America’s biggest trucking suppliers to businesses including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway and Popeye’s says the new stations will help as it expands its fleet of CNG-powered vehicles across Canada.
Amy Senter, global vice-president of sustainability with Illinois-based Martin Brower, said in a statement that using more CNG is critical to the company achieving its emissions reduction targets.
For Tourmaline, delivering CNG to heavy-duty truckers builds on its multi-year program to displace diesel in its operations, primarily by switching drilling equipment to run on natural gas.
Between 2018 and 2022, the company displaced the equivalent of 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of diesel that didn’t get used, or the equivalent emissions of about 58,000 passenger vehicles.
Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose speaks to reporters during the opening of a new Tourmaline/Clean Energy compressed natural gas fuelling station in Calgary on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose noted that the trucking sector switching fuel from diesel to natural gas is gaining momentum, notably in Asia.
A “small but growing” share of China’s trucking fleet moving to natural gas helped drive an 11 percent reduction in overall diesel consumption this June compared to the previous year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“China’s talking about 30 percent of the trucks sold going forward are to be CNG trucks, and it’s all about reducing emissions,” Rose said.
“It’s one global atmosphere. We’re going to reduce them here; they’re going to reduce them there and everybody’s a net winner.”
Switching from diesel to CNG is “extremely cost competitive” for trucking fleets, said Clean Energy CEO Andrew Littlefair.
“It will really move the big rigs that we need in Western Canada for the long distance and heavy loads,” he said.
Tourmaline and Clean Energy aim to have seven CNG fuelling stations operating by the end of 2025. Construction is set to begin in Kamloops, B.C., followed by Fort McMurray and Fort St. John.
“You’ll have that Western Canadian corridor, and then we’ll grow it from there,” Littlefair said.
The Alberta Update: Recap of this week’s top provincial issues
California may lose two more refineries, would have to rely on gas from abroad
Trump’s 19th-Century Solution to Fiscal Disaster
Why Don’t Men Go To University Any More?
Multi-million dollar drug seizure in southwest Edmonton
Indigenous Catholic Priest questions “The murder of 215 Indigenous Children” at Kamloops Indian Residential School
Priming The NHL Coaching Carousel For Another Spin
-
Automotive2 days agoBiden-Harris Admin’s EV Coercion Campaign Hasn’t Really Gone All That Well
-
Alberta2 days agoPreparation, swift response define wildfire season
-
Alberta2 days agoAlberta Bill of Rights Amendment, Bill 24 – Stronger protections for personal rights
-
Business17 hours agoPremiers fight to lower gas taxes as Trudeau hikes pump costs
-
Alberta1 day ago
Heavy-duty truckers welcome new ‘natural gas highway’ in Alberta
-
Economy1 day agoGas prices plummet in BC thanks to TMX pipeline expansion
-
Alberta1 day agoAnother Blow To The Carbon Tax
-
Economy1 day agoOne Solution to Canada’s Housing Crisis: Move. Toronto loses nearly half million people to more affordable locations