MEET OUR CLIMBERS
WHO: Mark Montico
ACTIVITY: Climbing 110 flights of stairs
WHY: A new goal, and his friends
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My name is Mark Montico, a 47 year-old born and raised in Timmins Ontario, and currently the Operations Manager with OK Tire Mining in Timmins.
My entire life I have battled with weight management. I have tried many different weigh loss programs, and gym memberships to not only try to manage my weight, but also to be a healthier person. I struggled with accomplishing this until a good friend of thirty years, Shane Lebrun, reached out to Kate Durst with concern about my weight. Kate is both a co-owner Discover Fitness/Discover Performance, as well as a personal trainer at the facility. This conversation between Shane and Kate has made an incredible impact on my life today.
I enrolled with Discover Fitness/Discover Performance and have been training with Kate, who eludes a very strong and positive reputation within the fitness industry. While training with her, I have lost weight, but I have also fought battles and had the strength to conquer them. I have gained not only strength, but a lot of confidence, courage, desire and motivation! Today, I have two individuals that have joined the fitness world to face their challenges to better their health alongside me. These two individuals feed off my motivation and energy to help them achieve their success, and I could not have done this with the commitment of my coach.
When I heard Coach Kate talk about a fundraiser called 9/11 Climb, I was curious and wanted more information. Kate gave me the inside scoop and I became excited, knowing I wanted to be a part of this event. This gave me the boost I needed to set a new goal and drive towards my success. I am in the gym training 3 to 4 times a week, striving to be in the best shape for this event. The 9/11 Climb also has a meaningful impact personally, as I have friends who are First Responders. Not only that, but in 2014, I visited ground zero myself – the Twin Towers in New York. Visiting the grounds of the Twin Towers was very emotional - seeing all the names of the First Responders that sacrificed their lives in order to save others. If you haven’t been there or seen photos, the City of New York has done an amazing job turning the bases of the towers into a beautiful memorial of water fountains. The fountains are surrounded by the names of civilians who lost their lives, along with the First Responders and their platoons – all engrave on the ledge around the water fountains.
I would like to thank Shane and Kate for their inspiration and push to help me achieve my personal best, and one day I hope to become a coach that can inspire others to achieve their personal best just like they did for me.
WHO: Majesta Guenette
ACTIVITY: Climbing 110 flights of stairs
WHY: Her daughter
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I’m Maj! I’m a thirty-three year old wife to a member of the Timmins Police Auxiliary, and a mom to a spicy nine year old girl! Being behind the scenes at Discover Fitness/Discover Performance is just one of the many, many things I do.
I started my fitness journey over twelve years ago, with many up and downs, but always finding my way back to my passion. I gained over 100lbs while pregnant for my daughter and have been working at bettering myself ever since! I am a goal-oriented person in every part of my life, so when Kate spoke about the 9/11 Climb, I knew it was something I had to do. Cardio has never been my strong suit - I’m more of a lifting weight kind of girl - so I knew this was just the challenge I needed to push myself outside of my comfort zone.
I come from a family of first responders and married into a family of first responders; from police to fire fighters to paramedics. This is a huge goal for me, and I want to show my daughter that it’s ok to struggle; it’s ok to “fail” but no matter what, we don’t give up and we keep fighting. That no matter what life throws at you, if you put your mind to it, you can complete anything.
WHO: Jazz Desjardins
ACTIVITY: Climbing 110 flights of stairs
WHY: Her daughter
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Hey, my name is Jazz Desjardins and I’m a personal trainer and coach at Discover Fitness!
My fitness journey started in 2016 when I first joined the Biggest Loser program. I made some progress and then everything came to a halt a couple months later when I discovered I was pregnant. Exercise was attempted, but due to the amount of nausea I felt during my first trimester, I decided to stop for the remainder of my pregnancy.
Having a daughter really sort of gave me a kick in the pants, and made me want to change for the better. I wanted to show her what a strong woman was; I wanted to be the best role model for her possible. I started up again when Sylvanas was 5 months old. I tried all the classes, and even went multiple times per day. I was on maternity leave, so why not? I lost weight, gained confidence and made some really good changes.
Throughout my life I’ve experienced trauma and heartache from a young age. I’ve faced many challenges, often alone. I’ve battled addiction, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and obesity. I became a mom at the age of 17, and was a single mom for the first six years of Bailey’s life. All of these things I carried with me, and I carried it well, but life challenges would cause me to lose balance at times. Kate and Lisa really helped me get my shit together! I’ve learned to better manage my emotions, I’ve learned when to say no and when to take time for myself, I’ve become much more confident in myself and really truly love the strong, badass woman I’ve become!
If I were someone on the outside looking in, I’d say I’ve succeeded in being able to show my daughter what a strong woman is.
WHO: Ottawa Fire Services Station 47
ACTIVITY: Climbing 110 flights of stairs
WHY: ​Teamwork and health, both physical and mental, are the backbone of the fire service. We work and train together as a crew. The impact of 9/11 has been felt by our entire fire family across the world and we want to do what we can to support the families left behind, mental health initiatives and our fallen brothers and sisters. Also, Mother Cheryl told us we had to, haha!