When Vince Danielsen extols the virtues of health, it comes across as much more than a sales pitch from the Managing Leader of INLIV.

Danielsen’s words are laced with pure passion, hitting home with the brute force of a kick in the teeth or a smash-mouth collision of two 300-pound linemen on the gridiron, Danielsen’s former “office.”

At age 15, Danielsen was given a 50-50 chance at life after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer. He has a constant reminder of that ordeal, sporting a scar on his neck from the surgery.

He not only won the battle against cancer but also played out a dream in storybook fashion, starring for eight seasons in the Canadian Football League as a receiver with the Calgary Stampeders and going out in style with a Grey Cup champagne bath as the team won the championship in his final game.

As a professional athlete and business leader, Danielsen never forgot his toughest fight as a teenager, building his career on the foundations of health.

And now, as a leader promoting health in the Calgary community, Danielsen, believes the same values of health can breed champions in companies, families, as well as in individual’s personal lives.

Who’s to argue with a two-time Grey Cup champ who outran cancer?

1. What inspired you to initially become involved in the fitness and personal training business back in 1998?

“I think having that major health scare and struggle at 15 and going through all the chemotherapy and spinal taps gave me a health perspective that was really mature. I also received my kinesiology degree from the University of British Columbia. So I was able to use my degree, my sporting background and my perspective of health and put it into the fitness industry so I could help people stay in great health long term.”

2. How receptive has the Calgary market been to your team’s approach to preventative health?

“There’s a great market in Calgary of people who are very successful and health driven and who want the most out of their lives. The market that we really cater to are the people who want to invest in their health and also companies who want to invest in their executives health. It is an approach that has people focus in the present on prevention and healthy living. We want all our client’s to live amazing lives in the now and to do this for many years to come. I love our core purpose which is “inspire amazing lives” and to know all our team gets out of bed in the morning to inspire this for our clients makes me very proud.

3. Can you explain your approach to promoting healthy lifestyles, particularly in the corporate world?

“We don’t just tell people how they can get healthy, but how they can practically get healthy. The biggest reason why people remove health out of their lifestyles or quit their resolutions is because it is starting to infringe on their careers and family lives. Life is so busy that the first thing they drop out of their life is their health, if it’s not practical. After we screen each client, whether through medical, fitness or wellness, it is then our focus to find every custom way we can support the individual’s health progress. So we give people practical ways to incorporate exercise every week, nutrition or medical advice. We do that with accountability. We tell people to come in and book an appointment with our team and treat it as another appointment in their business or family schedules. But this one’s an investment in themselves. We tell people: ‘Why go through life as a CEO or leader of family and achieve success . . . and then at age 55 when you retire, you can’t enjoy it because your body and health is deteriorating or you might not be around?’ ‘Your body is the vehicle for enjoying life.’ It’s hard to enjoy your money or relationships when you’re hooked up to a bunch of machines because of years of working too hard, too much stress, not eating properly and never exercising.”

4. What’s your vision for INLIV?

“We have a service and a product that can truly impact people’s lives and company’s success. It is a life altering environment driven by a culture of passionate teammates that care about our client’s growth. If you look at our health-care system, there needs to be an improved focus in society on preventative health strategies and how this in the long term can improve the strain on the public system. At present a lot of investment is going to health care that is fixing people after they’re sick. We want to be leaders in the community that focus on prevention and helping people and companies invest now in their health. It is not just an investment in the future because great health in our lives gives us a chance to truly enjoy the now with our family and in our careers.

5. What do you say to people who say they don’t have time to make health a priority?

“I say there’s no excuse for not investing in yourself. And I say this to myself also as we all live lives that are so busy with so many priorities that demand our time from family to work. I struggle with finding the time also and am not scared to tell people that we all are in the same position in making health a priority. We all need to search for the passion of health inside of us and make sure this passion is genuine and strong. If you’re just loyal to inches and pounds, there is a great chance you could quit, but if for instance it is so we can be around to enjoy our children’s lives, or be more productive at the work we are passionate about in our lives then it is harder to quit when times are challenging. The biggest area that can lack in people’s lives is their support network that cares and holds them accountable to weekly health time. If you have a membership at a big gym, who calls you if you don’t show up? Potentially no one. At INLIV we make sure that our support is engaging and caring whether it is a Doctor calling to follow up or a personal trainer that is keeping you on track in your exercise regime. Support through a health team that cares is a big key to success long term.”

6. Do you wonder why young people aren’t educated more about health or active lifestyles in the curriculum?

“Yes. We have kids who come out of school who have amazing book smarts, but can lack in some key life skills such as personal health, personal finances and how to build personal relationships. The problem is the first thing that is cut out of the (school system) budget is physical education, the football program or the basketball program. We seem to be removing important fundamentals on how kids can learn to be team players and work with others, how to set goals, how to run through obstacles, how to deal with tough coaches and everything to do with sport. The education for healthy and active lifestyles has to start early in school and at home so we can create new health leaders in society.”

7. What was your boyhood dream?

“I wanted to be a professional football player. Empire Stadium was just down the street from us where I grew up in East Vancouver, and my brothers and I would hop the fence and go play football on the B.C. Lions field until they chased us out. The dream started early for me.”

8. How did your battle with cancer shape your life?

“It made me understand how fragile life is. A lot of people don’t experience that until their 40s or 50s, and then they get scared. But I worked at being healthy from the time I was 15 because I don’t ever want a doctor to tell me that (a 50-50 chance of surviving) again. It gave me a different perspective of obstacles in business and in sport because I’d already beaten something that was very large to me. I happened to have an experience where I was able to win and be a champion in defeating something that was going to take me down. Now, when I go into business situations or when I was in a Grey Cup before 70,000 people where the stakes are high, I know where my drive comes from. I know I’m stronger. I have that edge now, a personal edge that I think I got when I was a child fighting cancer.”

9. How did a visit from B.C. Lions star kicker Lui Passaglia to your home when you were ill with cancer affect you?

“You realize how much of an impact a professional athlete can make. When you see kids as a professional athlete, or if you have a chance to mentor a child or anyone in your life make sure you give them the time and advice as it can truly have an immense impact. As humans, we often feel we can’t have an impact on someone in such a short period of time. But what Lui taught me with his visit so many years ago is that you can. So that inspired me when I joined the Calgary Stampeders in 1994 to create a program for kids (with cancer) called Every Yard Counts. We bring kids struggling with Cancer from the Alberta Children’s Hospital to every Stampeder game with their family members, they get autographs, they get to meet the players in the locker room and get pictures. It takes their minds off the chemotherapy, the blood counts and all they are facing for a short period of time. It lets them be a kid again for a day amidst so much challenge. Lui Pasaglia did this for me many years ago so it is great to pay it forward.”

10. How has the time you spend visiting kids in the cancer ward at Alberta Children’s Hospital influenced your life?

“We can all lose perspective when we get wrapped up in our businesses and our lives. When I visit a kid, it brings me back to earth and infuses me with what is important. Charity is not just for the people you give it to. It’s for your self. That’s when you know you’re involved in a passionate charity – when you get a lot out of it. Our entire team at INLIV is involved visiting the kids every year, hosting them at the football games, and raising money with our charitable causes. I am really proud of all their efforts in the community and with kids.”

11. Who was your hero?

“My dad (Per, who died of stomach cancer in July of 2001) taught me so many things about being able to communicate with people. To be able to say your father is your hero is a beautiful thing. Heroism must be deserved and to me it has to be someone who impacted me my whole life, as my dad did. He wasn’t a man of many words, but you learned from his actions. He was a (public relations) guy and he knew how to walk into a room and make everyone feel special. As a kid, I remembered how he touched people because of his demeanour, his communication skills and genuineness.” (Danielsen dedicated the 2001 Stampder season to Per Danielsen, whose name is engraved on his 2001 Grey Cup ring).

12. What do you most cherish about your football career?

“It’s the championships that are most memorable. That’s why you work so hard through the injuries and tough challenges that you face in pro sports. And it teaches you so much about life, because you can’t win championships every year. I went through eighteen years of football and I won three championships (one in high school and two Grey Cups). When you have that experience, you learn and understand what it takes to build a business and family. Nothing good comes easy. If you win the lottery, that’s a blessing, but it’s not life. “

13. Who’s the person you most admire in sports or business?

“I admire people that start from scratch with nothing, no one gives them a chance and yet they can always prove people wrong. The person that comes to mind is my good friend Jeff Garcia (star quarterback in National Football League). At every level he reached in sport they told him he was not good enough, too small, but he always proved people wrong with his inner drive to succeed. I love that inner drive of people who can go into pressure situations and come out on top year after year after year. Those same traits can be used in business and life.”

14. What do you need to do to become more successful leader in business?

“I need to continue to surround myself with great people and continue to push myself into growth environments. One of our company’s values is growth and I believe that to search for growth truly gives us our great experiences and learning for the future.”

15. What’s your favourite escape from work?

“I enjoy spending time with my family (wife Colleen and two kids) and enjoy the outdoors with skiing, fly-fishing and other things that place me in nature, as I find this keeps me balanced and the stress levels in check.”

-Shannon Oatway, Business Edge