REGINA - A transport truck driving around Saskatchewan has a unique design, with Special Olympics Canada athlete Aaron Higgins on full display.
Aaron’s family, including his mom, Rose Higgins, and dad, Doug Higgins, were first informed about the potential marketing idea from Jay's Transportation Group Regina around a year ago.
"It was basically a friend of a friend's [whose] cousin saw Aaron's achievements on social media, and I guess that's her role at Jay's in the marketing [department] and stuff. And so, she reached out to her cousin, who then in turn reached out to us and said my cousin has an idea]. 'What do you think[of this]?' [So], she just sent a little mock-up," said Rose.
Rose pointed out Aaron is quite well-known in the city through his achievements and volunteer work with the Sask. Roughriders. So, seeing him be sought out by others "is pretty cool," said Rose.
In the past, Jay's had done other marketing on their trucks for TeleMiracle, breast cancer, and other causes, said Rose.
Even though the family was excited about the opportunity to have Aaron featured on a transport truck, it took around 9 to 10 months before Jay’s reached out to them again.
Doug noted it was likely because they needed permission from Special Olympics Saskatchewan before they could move forward.
Once the Higgins got the call from Jay’s, they were "caught off guard," said Rose. "We kind of forgot about it [and] it just fizzled off, you know, it was an idea that didn't really go anywhere, but then it resurfaced again, and [I was like] okay, this is [really] happening."
Aaron did a photoshoot for the company, and then they finalized the design and did the wrapping.
The Higgins were informed the transport truck was ready and they could come in and see it. Instead of telling Aaron about it, his family decided to keep it a secret. Aaron had thought he was going to a meeting. However, he was about to see himself on a transport truck with his family and members of Special Olympics Sask. in attendance.
The design on the truck shows Aaron lifting a couch over his head and wearing a singlet on his belt, which helps with comfort and performance during lifting.
Seeing himself on the transport truck, Aaron started getting emotional from 小蓝视频 recognized for his achievements and his perseverance.
According to the family, the truck will be driven around the province, and Aaron will remain on it for years to come.
Destined to be a powerlifter
鈥媁hen he was younger, Rose described Aaron as an "athletic kid." She added, "Like at home, we used to have a chin-up bar in one of the doorways, and he would just go up and down on that chin-up bar real easy, and then he'd do push-ups, and just for fun, you know."
At the time, Rose thought powerlifting would be a good sport for Aaron, but she believed there were no special programs that offered it to disabled people.
That was until "[we started] talking to someone, [who] said, 'I think there is a program with Special Olympics Sask.]' So I contacted them, and they were halfway through the, I don't know, 10 weeks that they were running the program. And [they said] yeah, sure, Aaron can join," said Rose.
Even though Aaron had only just started in the program, a coach saw potential in him.
Neil Tkatchuk, who was the owner of Trench Fitness, approached Aaron once the program had ended and was willing to train him one-on-one.
Rose thought it was great to see someone recognize the potential Aaron had. She also praised Tkatchuk and Trench Fitness for taking him under their wing and making him part of the powerlifting community.
After training for a while, Aaron entered his first powerlifting competition, which was at a hotel in Regina.
Preparing for his first event, Rose said, "we knew nothing about a competition. Like, you have to do an equipment check, and socks can only be a certain height for certain lifts, and, you know, it all has to be approved equipment. So we were scrambling because we didn't have the right socks and [had to] borrow somebody's. And so it was a[n] eye-opener about how that whole process works."
Since his first competition, Aaron has gone on to win a lot of achievements. In 2023, Aaron flew with Team Canada to attend the Special Olympics happening in Berlin, Germany. There, Aaron won four medals. He also won four medals in the 2018 Special Olympics' National Summer Games.
In terms of records, Aaron holds over 10 provincial powerlifting records.
If you asked which achievement Aaron is most proud of, he wouldn’t pick a specific one, but Aaron is overall proud of what he's been able to do.
Because of his accomplishments, Aaron was inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame last year.
As for what’s next for Aaron, he has the Trench Open coming up in April and provincials coming up this summer in Saskatoon. He is also committed to reaching a goal of powerlifting 660 pounds.
