Bio

My name is Steve Archdekin.  I was born 6 weeks premature with a condition called “Hyaline Membrane Syndrome.”  I was supposed to die within 24 hours of being born.  I fought for over 72 hours until I got out of the danger zone.  I amazed doctors with my determination to live.  Aside from some minor things here and there, I was a strong and healthy kid.  “Run-jump-play” flowed through my veins.  Athletics was all I really cared about, and all I wanted to do.  It all came to me naturally, and I loved every bit of it.

In September 1993 a major shift in my life began.  I got a cold that progressed to the point where I could barely move by Christmas time because I was in so much pain.  It turned out that I had just developed a rare form of arthritis called “Reiter’s Syndrome”.  I was told I would be like that for life because there is no cure.  It scared me hearing those words…especially since I was only 19 turning 20 at the time.

I have been through a world of excruciating pain since then.  I have developed another form of arthritis, “Ankylosing Spondylitis,” and I also have a number of other health issues as well.  It all comes down to this:  The only place on my body that doesn’t hurt is my nose, and I have long since forgotten what it is like to simply “not hurt.”

Despite my pain, and everything I have been through, I absolutely refuse to give up my athletic nature.  A year into my illness I told myself I would someday do a triathlon.  In 2003 I made that dream a reality.  Regardless of how much it hurt to do, I got instantly addicted to the sport.  When I race, the more it hurts the more I get set free from my pain—as long as I don’t quit!  Quitting is where the real torture lies.

Doctors have told me that it isn’t a good idea for me to race, that it will take time from my life.  I have fought family and friends about it as well.  I tell them that they might as well save their breath because they are wasted words.  I totally acknowledge that living my full-on active life in the body I have is taking time off my life, but I don’t care.  To me it is a simple thing that I see like this:  I would way rather live a short good life doing what I love, than live a long empty life just to try to buy a few extra years at the end of it—years that aren’t even guaranteed anyway.  Life is for living, and that’s what I choose to do despite what my pain has to say about it. 

Through it all, I have refused to give up being who I am.  I am a genuinely very happy person.  I have learned to smile from my soul rather than just from my face, and you can tell that from looking in my eyes.  I live by myself where I have to walk up a mountain through the snow to get to my house.  I have the best dog ever.  She comes with me everywhere I go.  One of my favorite things to do is walk with her to the meadow down the path from my cabin deep in the bush, and just watch the mountains be mountains.  I love being in nature, so I choose to live totally surrounded by it.  I love to make wild-craft creations with driftwood, feathers, pinecones, dried flowers, etc.  I also love to draw, read, write, and do about a zillion other things.  Mountain Waters Spa where I have worked for the past 5 years has been my home away from home.  I first went there for healing, and just kept coming back because of all the amazing experiences I kept having.  It didn’t take long before they gave me my own keys.  I became the pool, painting, and all-around guy.  I love it there, and I recommend it to anyone who lives in, or visits Nelson, BC.  My passion will always lie within sport though. 

Aside from what my triathlon racing has done for me personally, it has had quite an impact with many others.  When I finished a triathlon in Kelowna, BC in 2006 a man with AIDS told me I just made him realize how lucky his life really is.  That statement made me realize the true impact my racing was having with others, so I decided to totally dedicate myself to triathlon starting with the 2007 season.

The results of that decision immediately started to have an impact.  I got nominated for an award from Toyota Canada from my first race, and won the “Spirit & Determination Award” at my second race.  By my third and fourth races I had developed a fan base spanning across BC and into Alberta.  It only grew from there.  By the end of the season I had been in the newspaper several times, won awards, presented awards, been on the radio, and given speaking engagements.  I also did a fundraiser to buy a trophy to donate to my local triathlon in Nelson BC for the athlete who transcends adversity to race…  My “International Triathlon for Kids” is my only focus now, and I am using the 2008 triathlon season to help prepare me for it where I hope to do 18 races in 24 weeks.