This month, the 15th annual Bloorview Research Institute Symposium featured one special guest speaker: Nathan Gaba. Born with cerebral palsy, Nathan and his family have been part of the Holland Bloorview community since he was an infant. Throughout his childhood, Nathan volunteered in many studies as he and his parents understood that families are vital participants in finding new answers and supporting future generations of youth with disabilities.

“I’ve always been so appreciative that researchers were taking the time to explore the fine points of what it’s like to grow up with a disability,” Nathan says.  

His involvement at the symposium is a natural extension of his outreach role for Holland Bloorview, where Nathan spreads disability awareness and anti-stigma messages in schools, workplaces and community organizations.

“There is so much power in talking about our lived experiences with disabilities,” Nathan says. “Holland Bloorview has been a family for me all my life, with staff I looked up to like they were superheroes, always there to help. And they’ve inspired me to do the same.”

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Nathan’s inspiration to change the conversation about disability also extends to his Black heritage, which shaped his lived experience as both a person of colour and as a young man with a physical challenge.

He was 15 when two police officers pulled up to him and a friend and began questioning him about why he was in possession of a walker. Though the officers didn’t know he had cerebral palsy, Nathan knew what was being insinuated.

“When I told them the walker was mine, that it was a mobility aid that I’ve used my entire life, they didn’t believe me,” he says. 

While rattled and upset, Nathan stayed calm while the officers asked Nathan to walk for them, and prove he needed it. “I’m not ashamed of who I am, but that was clearly wrong.” 

After telling his mother – herself a member of the police service – what happened, they called the station and requested a meeting to discuss the incident.

At the meeting, Nathan told the officers how they had made him feel intimidated and unsafe. “I asked what they were thinking when they saw me, and they said it didn’t seem like I had a disability because of my posture, how I held myself strong.”

The officers apologized, said they were grateful for how Nathan handled the situation, and offered him any support he needed.

Nathan, empowered, knew that he wasn’t going to make his entire identity about his physical complications. “Still today, people have a hard time accepting that a strong confident Black man needs an aid to walk,” says Nathan. “It’s a pervasive notion that someone with a disability must live a less fulfilling life, must be weak or insecure. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

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Nathan understands that the stigma associated with race and disability is a consequence of the subject not being discussed enough – and that’s what he now seeks to change.

At age 18, on the suggestion of a photographer friend, he began to do some modelling. When a social acquaintance wondered how he could model if he needed a walker, it was the final match to light Nathan’s fuse. 

“Enough was enough,” says Nathan. “I decided that since so many people are curious about me, I could strive to be the role model that I didn’t have growing up, and do something with purpose.”

He decided to help change perspectives on race and disability through his modelling pursuits. He looked to Roots, an iconic Canadian brand, and was floored to see the company had already signed Holland Bloorview’s Dear Everybody agreement. Soon, through that initiative, he was doing photoshoots for Roots as well as Adidas.

“That simple pledge by Roots to ensure diversity and inclusiveness in their advertising can have such a huge impact on somebody’s life, as it did mine,” he says. Through modelling and speaking, Nathan continues to highlight the message that while disability is sometimes a hardship, it is not something in need of fixing.

Now a sociology student at McMaster University, Nathan wants to stay versatile and pursue his passions wherever they go. At the moment, that includes building a clothing brand with his friend – one that he says reflects acceptance and positivity.

Nathan also has his sights set on the ultimate success story.

“A doctor told me years ago that if I did enough intense physiotherapy I may be able to walk again independently,” he says. “Right now, my biggest goal is strengthening muscles so I can walk on my own, and show the world what can be done.”
 

Watch his powerful keynote speech.