Ian Gregson

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Ian Gregson is a disabled activist in British Columbia, Canada.

He was born to John and Barbara Gregson in St Helens, Lancashire, England on September 2, 1962. For his first fifteen years Ian lead a perfectly normal life for a working-class English school kid. Growing up in the seventies, he enjoyed music, football and the things that teenagers got up to back then. Ian excelled at running, he won his school cross-country championship and competed at the Lancashire Junior Track and Field championships in 1978.

However on May 17, 1978 during his school lunch hour, Ian was involved in a terrible accident that resulted in the loss of his right leg above the knee. Undaunted by this physical setback Ian continued his involvement in track and field by taking up shot put and weight training.

In September 1981, in "an effort to escape Thatcher-ism", Ian emigrated to Canada with his parents and brother.

1 Paralympian
2 SFU
3 Bad managers
4 Disability issues
5 Now at SFU
6 External links

[edit] Paralympian

On landing in British Columbia, the Gregson's found themselves in the middle of economic downturn. Unable to secure permanent employment, Ian gained national media attention in the fall of 1982 after completing the first ever Terry Fox Run in Port Coquitlam.

Shortly thereafter, Ian began to focus on competing in disability sport events and in 1983 became Canada's top amputee athlete. In 1984 and 1988 Ian represented Canada at the Paralympics, in 1986 after receiving a 4th place at the World Championships in Sweden he became the first athlete with a disability in Canada to receive a post secondary athletic scholarship. In 1987 Ian received the Chevron Canada Award for Post Secondary Sports.

[edit] SFU

Whilst competing for Canada Ian returned to post-secondary education at VCC Langara and then later to receive his BA in Communications from Simon Fraser University. Ian was the first person in his family to receive a degree.

[edit] Bad managers

After his years in academia, Ian moved on to work in the real world with Canada's largest communications company Rogers. After, three years and his own realisation that Canadian management in the 1990's resembled the methods "Charles Dickens" wrote about, Ian formed his own company GB Communications. With this company Ian began freelance writing, web design and desktop publishing.

[edit] Disability issues

It was in this period Ian wrote for numerous magazines ranging from regular columns in Canada's leading disability magazines to a controversial article on disability and sex in Larry Flynt's Hustler. As a result Ian gained a reputation as a writer who was not afraid to tackle uncomfortable issues.

Ian's book Irresistible Force - A History of Disability Sport in Canada was published in 1998. The book took a serious look at the highs and lows of the Canadian disability sport movement over the last fifty years.

[edit] Now at SFU

After that he worked for Axion Internet and then in 2000 Ian returned to SFU to work for the Office of Research Services. Ian currently works in the Archaeology department at SFU. Ian currently lives in the Adanac Co-Op in East Vancouver with his partner, textile artist Heather Cameron.