A powerful story about mental health, addiction recovery and personal growth.
My name is Nathan Wheeler, I am 39 years old and I am the owner of Wheeler's Bicycle Repair and the current president and social media manager of the Baseline Mountain Biking Club. They are my biggest passions and things that I couldn't have imagined I would have in my life, especially from where I came from so young and how they both came into my life.
Early Years and Struggles
At the age of 15, I was already into mountain biking for 5 years but not as dedicated to it as I am now. Also at this time, I was having some really hard times mentally which led me to find out and get diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. This new hurdle left me lost and misunderstood by a lot of people who would attempt to bully me or misjudge me. Within 6 months, I was kicked out of grade 9 at my local high school.
The following year I enrolled in the local alternative high school for troubled youth. The school and teachers were incredible there, but I got mixed up with some bad kids by 17 and they got me into and addicted to meth, which I kept hidden from my teachers and parents. Mountain biking started getting more and more prevalent in my life with racing and as an extracurricular activity. But the overpowering addiction to meth was still there, where I would be awake for days but still performing my student duties and races.
My two teachers at the time, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, saw what was going on with me but chose to not say anything that would tip me off that they knew. They went and took some steps helping me get a work experience job at the local bike shop Red Bike and getting me into a summer program called the Junior Forest Rangers, which set me on a path that to this very day I am forever grateful and appreciative of. These two things were a natural and unintentional drug detox that helped me get clean through a positive outlet that truly let me actually start focusing on my mental health. The guys at the bike shop introduced me to Baseline, and I fell in love spending every available moment there training on my downhill racing and riding with friends.
Finding My Way
Fast forward 5 years to the age of 22, I have now been heavily in love with the sport of biking, racing downhill mountain bikes and anything outdoors. At this time I had to start thinking about getting a better paying job as I wanted to buy a house, which bike mechanics wasn't able to help with. This led me to want to try getting into welding with the end goal of building bikes at a big Canadian bike company. At this time as well, I was still learning so much about my mental health and the full scale of Bipolar Disorder but not fully taking care of it like I should have as I pursued welding. So I set forth with welding still chasing my dreams of racing downhill.
Welding taught me so many skills - work ethic, tons of different types of book smarts, and many different kinds of people skills in the 4 years getting my journeyman/red seal ticket. But it did not get me closer to the biking industry as my boss told me I am either a welder or racing bikes, as I was always away doing the race circuit. So I chose welding, as it paid for my house and biking wasn't.
The Darkest Times
At the age of 26/27, I had a life-changing event that sent me even farther away from who I wanted to be. That life-changing event was a home invasion caused by a drunk and high person. This left me as a person shattered and angry at the world. No longer biking, I didn't have that mental outlet helping me find peace. After a couple of failed suicide attempts, I took a year or two off from welding to go do counselling and therapy, only having part-time jobs here and there which resulted in me needing to apply for AISH as I was having a hard time supporting myself in this healing process.
After feeling like I was able to go back to full-time work, I landed a full-time welding position on an out-of-town crew installing overhead doors all over Alberta. This was okay. I slowly started spiraling deeper and deeper into extreme depression and anxiety until one day I took a hard look at myself and where I was. I was so far away from what I ever wanted to be doing in life. I no longer was biking, I was far away from my family, I was far away from my dog, and I was far, far away from who I wanted to be in life. At that moment, at the age of 29, I had to change my life. I called my boss and told him I was coming home and needed to quit as I mentally was not doing well. I quit my job and immediately started going after my passions for biking and the great outdoors.
Finding My Purpose
That very change set me towards my dreams where I am now. I got a job at the local bike shop and started biking again. My friend at the shop took me back out to my stomping grounds of Baseline and got me to meet the new locals and some old familiar faces.
A year into that, I left that shop and started my business, Wheeler's Bicycle Repair, with the support of all my new friends at Baseline and my family. At the same time, I saw that the newly formed club Baseline Mountain Biking Club needed help getting their voice heard. I asked the president at the time, Rory Johnson, if I could make them a social media page on Facebook and Instagram. This gave me passion and fire to be a part of a community and something so much bigger than me.
Living My Dream
I am now 9 years into Wheeler's Bicycle Repair and being a part of Baseline Mountain Biking Club. These two things have given me purpose and a feeling of being a part of a community. Wheeler's Bicycle Repair now hosts tons of events where I am a community leader for so many in this area. Baseline gives me friends that are now family, mental stability and outlets, another sense of community, and most of all, pride that I am living my wildest dream. These two things saved me in my lowest and hardest times over the last 9 years, and I couldn't imagine not being here now.
My name is Nathan Wheeler, and I love bikes and believe in positive mental health!!!
-Nathan Wheeler
Wheeler's Bicycle Repair Bicycle Repairs from flat tire repair to full tune ups with 25 years experience. We have every type of part, accessory, and apparel available or to order. The Official Moose Bicycle Dealer of Alberta.
📍 105 - 5589 47 Street Red Deer, Alberta T4N 1S1
📞 1-403-986-660 @wheelersbicyclerepair | @wheelerbikerepair
Baseline Mountain Biking Club
Baseline Mountain Biking Club is a nonprofit club given stewardship of Baseline Mountain, building and maintaining trails to the Whistler Trail Standard and building for sustainabililty.
📍 40 min east of Rocky Mountain House, AB on Hwy 752