I was a chubby kid who loved junk food. Fortunately, my mom pushed me into every sport she could to get me moving. It did not take long for that to change. I fell in love with sport, became competitive, and eventually won national championships and competed internationally.
Alongside athletics, I was academically inclined. School came easily and quickly became something I genuinely enjoyed. I often found myself drawn into the wonder of science, curious about how the body worked and how performance could be improved. That curiosity led me to complete a PhD in three years, publish extensively, and earn university tenure early in my career.
I began my professional life in academia, building a world-class research program and reputation as a scientist. As a professor at St. Francis Xavier University, I taught courses in sports nutrition, exercise physiology, and metabolism, and trained students who went on to excel as scientists and in professions such as medicine and dentistry.
Then I discovered business.
Business was always on. It was dynamic, demanding, and filled with complex problems that had no clear answers. In 2008, I made the decision to leave a tenured university position and enter entrepreneurship, despite having very little formal business training. I launched a sports nutrition company focused on protein powders, energy products, and creatine supplements designed specifically for professional athletes.
The brand was the first to offer supplements certified as safe for athletes competing in drug-tested sports. That positioning helped change industry standards, and today, safety certification is widely expected across the category. Over five years, I grew the company from a $50,000 loan into a category leader across Canada and the United States, before successfully exiting the business following its acquisition by Nutrivo, based in Chicago.
Following that exit, driven by curiosity and a desire to solve meaningful problems, I co-founded a sustainable technology company with former NHL hockey player TJ Galiardi. The company focused on upcycling fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be sent to landfill. Working with farms, food brokers, and grocery partners, we transformed late-life or cosmetically rejected produce into nutrient-dense, long-shelf-life powders for use in natural health products. In just three years, the company scaled from concept to an operating business with multiple manufacturing facilities in two Canadian provinces.
After building and exiting multiple companies, my role began to shift.
Rather than operating businesses day to day, I found myself increasingly drawn to mentoring founders, students, and leaders navigating early decisions, uncertainty, and scale. I had made many of the same mistakes they were facing and understood how costly those mistakes can be when guidance comes too late. This transition was not accidental. It was intentional.
That focus led me to my role as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, where I work directly with founders, students, and research teams as they move ideas toward commercialization. My work is practical and grounded in real operating experience, with an emphasis on strategy, validation, execution, and building responsibly in the real world.
Alongside this, I serve as an Industry Professor at McMaster University, supporting researchers and innovators as they translate science into applied solutions. This role allows me to bridge academia and industry and reinforces my belief that great science has its greatest impact when it reaches people outside the lab.
Most recently, this work has come together through the co-founding of Headstrong, a brain health and performance company. With Headstrong, I mentor and advise professional hockey player Evan Nause as he builds his first company. My role is strategic rather than operational. I provide scientific guidance, business strategy, and long-term direction, and I am an equity owner as a result.
Headstrong reflects where my interests now converge. Science, performance, mental resilience, and responsible company building. It is designed not just for athletes, but for high performers of all kinds who operate under pressure and care deeply about protecting their most important asset, their brain.
Today, I continue to build, advise, and mentor at the intersection of science, performance, and responsible innovation, helping others turn complex ideas into practical solutions that last.
To learn more about my background and current focus, read my latest article on Darren Burke in Halifax.
