Photo: Matthew Wagner
The former paddleboard coach, now 39, was diagnosed withRamsay Hunt syndromein 2018,losing some of his mobility, which ultimately affected both his career and his mental health.
Shoremaneventually started volunteering withjack.org, a Canadian organization dedicated to youth mental health, and when he started feeling ready, knew he wanted to do something “newsworthy” to help the cause, he tells PEOPLE.
Matthew Wagner
“Each crossing presented different challenges,” he shares. “Huron was 27 hours, Michigan 28 — they were overnight crossings.” Crossing in the dark with his vertigo and hearing impairment was “exhausting,” he continues. “At 18 hours my body really started to break down. It started to become a mental game rather than physical: how bad do I want this?”
Going into Chicago across Lake Michigan, “there were 20-knot winds coming right at me, I really had to fight for that one.” Thankfully, Shoreman had a team alongside him, guiding him through his lowest points and making sure he stayed mentally and physically competent along the way.
“It’s one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done,” he says, “but it’s been the most rewarding thing I can or will ever do.”
Shoreman’s arrival into Toronto on Aug. 20 was met with much celebration.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It was wild,” he says of the hundreds of friends, family members and fans waiting for him on the shore. “My family is so proud. I feel like I’ve been absent to them in the last year but they understand why. And I’m very grateful.”
To date,Shoreman has raised almost $70,000for jack.org on his mission with a goal of hitting $100,000 as his story spreads.
“This is all for the kids, for young people,” he says. “I felt very alone and helpless in my mental health journey four years ago and I decided I didn’t want young people or kids to ever feel that way. To see them respond is amazing.”
Shoreman had a video team with him on his journey; he hopes to debut a documentary about his experience on the Canadian and international film festival circuit in 2023.
“I’m going to take some time for me,” he says of short-term plans. “Although everyone keeps telling me I should go on theAmazing Race!”
source: people.com
