Chris Spring living the van life, hoping ‘fourth time’s the charm’ at Beijing Olympics

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This article was published 13/02/2022 (1305 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING Announcing his impending departure to a fourth career Olympic Games a while back, bobsledder Chris Spring put up a post on Instagram with a hopeful hashtag: “Fourth time’s a charm,” was the gist of it.

“I’m pretty sure the saying goes, ‘Third time’s a charm,’” Spring said in a recent interview. “But I’m not really one to follow the rules a lot of the time when it comes to my career.”

That’s the intriguing thing about Canada’s No. 2 bobsled driver, who’ll compete here in the two-man and four-man events this week at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre.

On one hand, he’s an Olympic lifer at age 37, first competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics for his native Australia before receiving Canadian citizenship in 2013 and attending Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing wearing a Maple Leaf.

On the other hand, he’s a fascinating study beyond the track. A medal contender on his best day, Spring recently completed his commercial pilot’s licence with an eye toward a post-athletic life in aviation. And when he hasn’t been living out of a suitcase in Europe during World Cup season, he’s spent large chunks of the last quadrennial living out of a van — most recently a converted school bus, to be specific.

Spring said he chose the van life because he loves being outside in nature. But the choice goes beyond an appreciation for a nice campsite. He said a while back he made a conscious choice to pare down his material possessions in the pursuit of a simpler existence.

“I have a lot of difficulty with my mind. It constantly runs, and I can’t shut it off. And I found the more things I had in my life, the more it would be running,” he said. “I live now with very little clothing, very few possessions. The less I have, the more room I have to enrich my life with the things I find valuable, which are being outside in nature, quality relationships with friends and family.”

Not that the lifestyle is without drawbacks. Spring said there have been moments when he has felt “ashamed” of his lack of a fixed address.

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“In the past the hardest part was telling people that I lived this lifestyle and seeing the reaction on their face. A lot of times, people would judge you straightaway for it,” Spring said. “I found that very difficult to live with, because I’m someone that likes to please people.”

Which is not to say Spring is an anti-social hermit. He got married last year. He understands the van life won’t jibe with matrimonial living. His short bus might now be reserved for vacations. But he remains steadfast in his belief that society is too quick to push young people onto the conveyor belt of conventional career paths.

“A big part of my story, and what I want to share with others, is that you can create your own path,” he said. “No matter what it is you decide, there’s lots of time later in life to do whatever it is you do want to do. I only just finished my commercial pilot’s licence. I’m 37. I started that when I was 35. When I left high school, I didn’t have this dream of being a pilot. I knew I loved sports, and I pursued that. It wasn’t until later on that I developed this passion for flying. So I went after that.

“There’s this huge push to push children into something they may not necessarily want to do. And I think we need to change that narrative.”

Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @dfeschuk