Saskatoon StarPhoenix Staff
Tyler Smith doesn’t remember the horrific collision in which 16 people died and 13 were injured, but it’s still had a profound effect on how he’s approached the rest of his life, the Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor says.
“Believe it or not, that day that fundamentally changed me as a human being and led me here is a day I have zero memory of,” Smith, 26, recently told a captivated student audience at Mitchell (Ont.) District High School during an engaging 45-minute presentation focused on mental health.
As you can imagine, that’s been a hard thing for me to grasp because, when you lose people in this life, as excruciating as it is, you want to remember the last smile, the last memory, the last laugh, the last everything.
“I can’t . . . and I’ve had to come to terms with that, and I realize it’s a major blessing in disguise now because the mental and emotional trauma from that day is something I cannot even fathom.”
On April 6, 2018, a westbound semi blew through a stop sign and collided with the Humboldt Broncos team bus. Those who survived have various physical, mental, spiritual and emotional injuries from it, Smith said.
Since that fateful day, Smith has become the founder of Not Alone Co., a mental-health awareness clothing line dedicated to encouraging conversations around trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and related issues.
He also co-hosts the podcast Speak Your Mind, with NHL veteran Riley Sheahan, normalizing discussions about mental health with guests from the sports and entertainment world and beyond.
He also competed on the ninth season of The Amazing Race Canada with fiancée Kat Kastner, winning the reality-TV competition.
Smith, who travels around the country as a motivational and inspirational speaker, is taking part in a Saskatoon lunch event on March 20 at Wanuskewin, hosted by the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association with a focus on the importance of mental wellness, resilience and teamwork.
Mental health affects everybody, no matter how old you are, Smith said recently.
“This wild world of mental health is weird, it’s difficult, it’s unique, it’s odd and it’s so uncomfortable to have those conversations sometimes,” he said.
Thinking and talking about leadership, communication, resilience, perspective, connection and conversation is a goal he strives for during every talk, Smith added.
“Sometimes we get in our own little bubble, and we think we’re good, but sometimes we need a refresher or a reset,” he said.
Smith, who was 19 at the time of the Broncos bus crash, said one of the key reasons he was able to cope after the incident was the closeness of the players and staff on that team.
“I will never sugarcoat this. It was the greatest group of people I ever met in my entire life,” he said, noting two of his Humboldt friends are members of his wedding party.
“I wish everybody got to experience what we had in that room.”
Smith said the first line of their team covenant was “Family First,” and it turned out they needed one another in the wake of the tragedy.
“We had so much fun together,” he said, describing how he and his teammates would fight for prime spots on the sofa to watch The Bachelor every Monday night. “Any chance we got to be together we took.”
His first bout with mental health occurred well before the crash, when he went mute and emotionless at the rink one day. His teammates noticed and talked to him about finding out what was wrong, he said.
“It made me understand that I am appreciated for what I bring to the table,” he said, calling himself the social “dressing room” guy on the team. “That’s all it took.”
His physical injuries paled in comparison to what others suffered that day, he said, but he had no concept yet of the layers and magnitude of mental health.
“I now attach mental health to courage and bravery and strength but, at the time, it was fear and weakness,” he said.
Leaving the hospital after spending 13 days in recovery, Smith said he initially thought he would simply heal and move on with his life.
“Mental health is not a battle to be won,” he said. “It is a journey to continue walking. I had so many misconceptions. . . . I’m going to put this figurative mask on and nobody’s going to know I’m struggling. I was suffering in silence every single day. My fiancée told me there’s no right or wrong way to do this, but you’ve just got to start somewhere.”
It took him nine months to finally get help, and it led to his current career as a public speaker and advocate for mental health.
“Show up for your people,” he said.
“Send those texts, make those calls. You are never, ever alone and it’s okay. I’m not here to tell you it’s all rainbows, butterflies, sunshine and lollipops. I want you to get to a place where you can embrace the good in your life and embrace the change in your life, and sometimes you can also embrace the bad. Your story can be the spotlight at the end of other people’s tunnels.”
