Dustin Seidler lived in Prince Albert until he was 19, and has been living in Toronto the past nine years. (submitted photo/ CBC)

By Nigel Maxwell

Inspiring people

Prince Albert man fulfills reality TV dream, takes on Ultimate Challenge

Feb 13, 2023 | 4:49 PM

With fond memories of swimming at Prince Albert’s Frank Dunn pool, or playing a host of various sports during his days at St.Mary High School, Dustin Seidler says he hopes he can help inspire more gay youth to get involved in the community.

The 33-year-old paramedic-turned-realtor is among 24 competitors in CBC’s upcoming Canada’s Ultimate Challenge reality show.

Showcasing some of the country’s most iconic locations, six teams of four will be coached through grueling challenges by some of the country’s biggest sports heroes including Donovan Bailey, Clara Hughes, Waneek Horn-Miller, Gilmore Junio, Jen Kish and Luke Willson. Explaining to paNOW how he came to be involved, Seidler figured the show’s producers recognized his competitive nature.

“In one of the interviews it came up that I had been asked not to return to the gay dodgeball league here in Toronto because of my competitive nature and they were like this is just a fun league,” he said.

Dustin and his team members work on a challenge. (submitted photo/CBC)

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The show premieres Thursday evening on CBC TV and CBC Gem (8p.m). Noting how it’s always been a dream of his to be on a reality TV show, Seidler said his family has also been very supportive. He explained his parents, who live in Tisdale, took the news particularly well.

“My mom’s just asking me ‘How many times do you think I’m gonna cry during the show?’ and I know she’s definitely going to,” Seidler said.

Without giving away any results, Seidler explained even with all the reality television he’s watched and all the strength and cardio training he did in the weeks prior, he still found himself unprepared. He explained a big part of the process is team building and working with people you’ve never met.

“We didn’t know whether it was gonne be two to three hour challenges, or whether it was gonna be 30 second challenges, so there was no way to prepare like it was scary and it was very daunting,” he said.

The winning team receives a trip to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to cheer on Team Canada. Noting how proud he is to represent the gay community, Seidler ultimately hopes his time on the show can help inspire others.

“I just hope some gay youth hears this story and is inspired in some way to take part in their community sports or get involved in some way that maybe they were afraid to because of their sexuality,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell