Leaving Prestige for Purpose: A Journey to the Inuit North

Pat welcomes Guillaume Saladin, a global circus performer and the founder of ArtCirq, an Arctic Circus, who left the spotlight to reconnect with the Inuit community that helped to raise him. After performing on stages around the world, Guillaume returned to Igloolik to empower the next generation through the arts. In this episode, he shares his inspiring journey of blending performance and storytelling to connect cultures, foster community, and honor his heritage. It’s a story about choosing purpose over prestige and embracing one’s origins.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Guillaume’s upbringing in the Canadian North and his connection to Inuit culture influenced his journey.
• The transformative power of performance and storytelling in building connections with people and with community.
• The importance of honoring your roots and how it leads to discovering purpose.
• How to overcome the belief that it’s "too late to start."
• The illusion of control and the power of surrendering to life’s flow

Social Media:

• After Peter Pan Podcast: 
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
• Gauillaume Saladin:
  • ArtCirq
  • GoFundMe to contribute to the rebuilding of the BlackBox
  • Foret o Cascades - Art in Nature and Camping

Chapters

• 0:00 Hook & Intro
• 1:24 A Home Steeped in History and Ancestors
• 3:45 Growing Up Between Two Worlds
• 6:04 The Power of a Name: Becoming Ittuxardouat
• 20:05 Discovering Circus at 23: A Life-Changing Audition
• 26:00 Touring the World with Cirque Éloize
• 36:38 Returning North: Founding Artcirq in Igloolik
• 47:59 Cultural Exchange and Community Healing
• 1:07:15 Life After the Arctic: Art, Nature, and Legacy
• 1:13:09 Ikigai, Loss, and What Guides Us Forward
• 1:20:48 Outro

Transcript

Guillaume (00:02)
I would dream that I would be an the world crazy hunt and expeditions beautiful people and...

Now I look at my life and that's exactly what I did. All the dreams I had when I was a kid, somehow without planning anything, they all became even nicer than what I was dreaming when I was a I think I'm trying to follow something deep inside that can be called feeling or intuition or...

The light,

Pat Tenneriello (00:37)
Welcome to After Peter Pan, the podcast all about growing up and finding purpose. I'm your host Pat Tenerello. And today I'm thrilled to sit down with Guillaume Saladin, an international circus performer from Cirque Eloize who walked away from the glamour of the stage to reconnect with his roots and make a difference in the lives of the community that shaped him. We dive into his extraordinary journey growing up in the North, way North.

being shaped by deep connections to Inuit culture, and eventually returning to Igloolik to work with the next generation, using performance and storytelling as tools for connection and transformation. This episode is about choosing purpose over prestige, honoring where we come from, and using creativity to bridge cultures and create community. Enjoy the episode.

Guillaume (01:24)
So that's very interesting to do

the interview here because that's where everything started.

Pat Tenneriello (01:28)
Tell me about it.

Guillaume (01:30)
That's where I grew up.

Pat Tenneriello (01:31)
So you're in Quebec City right now?

Guillaume (01:32)
Mm-hmm,

in my childhood house.

where I grew up with my dad.

And so all my early childhood memories from this place. So this is the house.

Pat Tenneriello (01:45)
beautiful. That's a very sort of traditional Quebec style house.

Guillaume (01:46)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. 310 years old. Not many houses in America are that old, you know.

Pat Tenneriello (01:54)
wow.

Do know the history of that house?

Guillaume (02:01)
Yeah, it was one of the only house in Beaumont. Beaumont was the name of the community here that was not burned by the English when they fought the French and won. So it wasn't burned because it used to be just by the church in downtown, let's say, and they were occupying it, the English. So they kind of preserved the house in a way.

Pat Tenneriello (02:21)
Okay.

Guillaume (02:24)
And then in 1970, an old family of carpenters disassembled it because it was supposed to be tore down to build another big something in the center of the village. So they disassembled it pieces by pieces and reassembled it here on this location. And that's where my, when my dad bought it. At the time I was like four years old.

Pat Tenneriello (02:48)
Well.

Guillaume (02:50)
yeah, and then every day I would walk to go to school because it's very close. We can see the St. Lawrence River, just there. And there's all the ancestors, all the ancestors of my family all around the house, inside. Ancestors.

Pat Tenneriello (03:05)
Wow, that

house has a lot of character. What about the, see a woman painting or a picture of a woman behind you.

Guillaume (03:12)
Yes.

Pat Tenneriello (03:12)
And she's an ancestor of yours.

Guillaume (03:14)
Yes, she is Marie-Jeanne Lapoulide.

And no matter how, where you are in the house, she always look at you in the eyes. So I, yes, I would freak out when I was kid. And my friends who would visit me also, they even, even like 30, 40 years later, when we talk about this place with my friends, they always say, yeah, with that lady that would always look at you.

Pat Tenneriello (03:23)
Like the Mona Lisa

So tell me while you're at your home where you grew up, tell me a little bit about your upbringing.

Guillaume (03:45)
My upbringing. What do you mean?

Pat Tenneriello (03:48)
like growing up, like your childhood.

Guillaume (03:50)
So now I can say that I've been very fortunate to live the life I had, but at first it was very atypical. Can we say that? I was mostly raised by my dad. My mom always tried to stay close, but they kind of broke up when I was very, very young and my dad had custody. So at the time it was not common to see.

Pat Tenneriello (04:12)
Sure, well even today that's unusual.

Guillaume (04:13)
Yes.

So it was a bit hard on the emotive side to be just with one parent, but my dad was very generous with me, bringing me in all his adventures because he was an anthropologist specialized in Inuit shamanism. And starting in the 1970s, that's about when I was born, he...

concentrated his research in Igloolik. It's a small Inuit community in Nunavut, Northern Canada.

Pat Tenneriello (04:47)
And just for people

who are listening, are not from Canada, and even Canadians who may not know where that is, that is really North, like one of the most northern places,

Guillaume (04:54)
Yes,

it's above the Arctic Circle. It's about at the 70th parallel, if you look on all of those lines on a big map. That community, because of its remoteness, was preserved from the colonial influences. Lots of cultural elements.

Lots of knowledge have been preserved through time. And when my dad started going there in 1968-69, he was amazed to see how much knowledge there was. So he stopped traveling into other communities that were more southern and focused on Igloolik. So me,

I got in a way adopted by let's say a family who was very close to my dad. I received a name from one of the old leaders in Igloolik and that name is part of my identity.

Now I'm going to make a loop, a jump of 40 years.

Pat Tenneriello (06:04)
Okay.

Guillaume (06:04)
In 2005, I stopped touring because I'm a circus performer and I was touring in international circus. And in 2005, I stopped touring to move permanently to Igloolik to give a chance to young people there to really create work as a troupe and focus on art. And so it was a big sacrifice in a way and at the same time a crazy beautiful adventure for me, you know.

And then my mom, I called my mom because I need to call my mom, you know? And my mom, she asked me, if you were not Ittuxardouat, Ittuxardouat is the name I received when I was a kid. She said, it means the old man, the little old man that will grow, that will become big.

Pat Tenneriello (06:47)
What does it mean?

Guillaume (06:57)
Le petit vieux ⁓

Pat Tenneriello (07:00)
Wow.

The little old man who will become older, bigger. And do you know?

Guillaume (07:04)
Bigger, yes, stronger. And she said,

you were not Ittuxardouat, would you have moved back? And I never thought about how a name can influence your life path like that. And then right away my answer is, if I was only Guillaume, I would not have moved back.

It's because it took so much work, but I never realized it until then.

Pat Tenneriello (07:33)
How old were you when you were given that name and under what circumstances were you given that name?

Guillaume (07:39)
I think I was less than a year old when I received that name. And in Inuit culture, it's very, the naming is very important. It's an oral transmission culture, which means there was no writings in the past. So stories.

Pat Tenneriello (07:43)
wow. Okay.

Guillaume (07:58)
from the past would be kept and pass along. Same as people from the past. let's say Ittuxardouat was a great leader when he passed away. Many small kids received that name to carry on his identity and to carry on his history. And then let's say the...

real, the blood family of Ettuxardouat would consider those small kids as their dad, they're the real man. This is something very, let's say, unique to Inuit and that is so deeply rooted in the lifestyle. It gives meaning, in fact, to your day-to-day life because everybody

is carrying an identity of the past. So I became part of that without really knowing because me, I was just a kid playing. I always knew I had some friends and there was an old lady that would call me my little husband, you know, and I always thought it was a joke, but for her it was real.

Pat Tenneriello (08:59)
So.

So that means by taking on this name, you're also, it's like you're adopted into a family and there are other others who have the same name and there's the name is part of a blood family, but it's larger than that because there are people who have the name who are not part of the blood family, but there are, they, they still become part of that family.

Guillaume (09:16)
Yes.

Exactly.

Pat Tenneriello (09:33)
So a strong,

strong bond was formed from a very early age.

Guillaume (09:37)
very much. And if Ittuxardouat, was a great hunter, then people will expect you to become a great hunter. If he had some weakness, they see the weakness in you. So it really forge, it gives you an identity before you even know you have one, you know? So maybe, yeah, so maybe for some people it can be a weight because

Pat Tenneriello (09:56)
Wow.

Guillaume (10:03)
You don't start with a blind page, but already with a life, you know? But me, I received it as a huge gift. And even today, it's giving me meanings very, very much.

Pat Tenneriello (10:19)
And do you know that name, what sort of traits and characteristics were associated with it that was sort of expected of you when you took on that identity?

Guillaume (10:28)
I only know amazing power that man had. I never heard anything negative about him. He was a great leader in the whole community. One of the last shaman before Christianity arrived in 1930. I think he passed away in 1940 something. So he was the one...

converting to Christianity.

the name was given to me by his daughter.

So it's like a name. You can receive more than one name. You could carry out 17 different identities, all given to you when you were a kid by different people. Inuit would say that when the lady is pregnant, the elders or the spirit is going to come through her dreams.

to be named. So she would wake up and she would say, I just dreamed about late Atagut Tiaq last night. That means he wants to come back. So my baby is going to be Atagut Tiaq, you know?

Pat Tenneriello (11:41)
So, so you took on this one name, sometimes there could be, someone can be transmitted several names and yeah.

Guillaume (11:46)
Yes, yes.

So today, me, I have three kids. They all have a connection with Igloolik. They all received also names. And my daughter, she received three names. So right now she lives in the South and she's very far away from that reality. But me, deep inside, I'm very happy that she has...

receive those and maybe one day, like me, she's gonna...

realized that it had impacted her life,

Pat Tenneriello (12:17)
So this name has a whole bunch, it has identities and purpose tied with it. And on the one hand, I would see that as like a blessing because a lot of people, takes a long time to figure out what you, like who you are and what you want in life. So I can see how.

It kind of gives you a head start in a way and helps you figure that out. But on the other hand, like you said, it's a bit of, can be a weight. If you don't associate with some of those traits, you say, well, this something's not really right for me. you, your mindset was, you know, it was a blessing for you, but

Guillaume (12:46)
Mm-hmm.

Pat Tenneriello (12:51)
Why do you think that is? Like, why was it that you associated so closely to it? And in the community, did you see other youth who didn't?

Guillaume (13:00)
Yes, I mean.

Some people have amazing path. Let's say in the same family, some people will take advantage of their life and carve something powerful and their own sibling will not take the same way. And 30 years later, you could see very, very big difference, like if they were not coming from the same family. Some people are living trauma and will overcome that. Some other are gonna be scared.

Scarf for life. Why? This I don't know. I just know that since I'm kid, I have this fire inside that just want to connect with other people. And that one, I want to belong. I feel I always have been an outsider wherever I go, but wherever I go, I try to belong with the people there.

Like I was telling you earlier, when I was a kid, my dad would bring me to all his field trips, you know, and would always tell me beautiful adventures. And I would dream that I would be an adventurer traveling the world and doing crazy hunt and expeditions and meeting beautiful people and...

Now I look at my life and that's exactly what I did. All the dreams I had when I was a kid, somehow without planning anything, they all became even nicer than what I was dreaming when I was a So why is that? I don't know. I think I'm trying to follow something deep inside that can be called feeling or intuition or...

The light, I don't know how you call that, but.

That's what has been guiding me. And if I'm making a look back, it has been very well orchestrated.

Pat Tenneriello (15:00)
How so?

Guillaume (15:01)
Because sometimes we try to plan in life and we're planning ahead just to comfort us to not feel anxious or, know, okay, I have a plan, I'm going to follow that. But when those plans are really followed the way you thought, from my point of view, it never happens. It's just to comfort you to have some kind of a structure in the front. But the real life is like that. A path is not straight, you know?

Pat Tenneriello (15:31)
Mm-hmm.

Guillaume (15:31)
And you have to be able to improvise, to adapt, to feel good, even though it doesn't go the way you want. And sometimes

following all those smaller roads brings the real life, the meaning, the joy.

Pat Tenneriello (15:46)
I completely agree with you, by the way. I think you need something to aim at to help move you forward, but knowing that what you're aiming at is probably certainly going to evolve and change and that you'd be willing to accept that change. But if you're not aiming at anything, you may just be going around in circles or not moving forward.

Guillaume (15:57)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Pat Tenneriello (16:05)
but I wanted to go back to your time in Igloolik it sounds like it had a profound impact on you. how long were you there with your father and then what happened next?

Guillaume (16:15)
So from zero to 14 years old, every summer I would spend my vacation in outpost camp in Igloolik with elders, not even in the community, in different traditional Inuit camp far away from the small town of Igloolik. Because my dad was saying the elders...

are not saying the same when they're in town, opposed to on their traditional land where they grew up. So we would always go where those elders grew up, so they would feel home, so they could really speak the knowledge, you know, and the strength. So during the summer in Nunavut, in Igloolik it's 24 hours sun.

Pat Tenneriello (16:47)
Okay.

Guillaume (17:07)
The sun turns around. That means there's no night. That means for a kid who wants to play outside, it's endless. So my summers were crazy adventures, nonstop, playing with other kids. there's, yes, there can be lots of threats and dangers, but the kids are very free in the North. Elders, they...

Pat Tenneriello (17:14)
Yeah.

Guillaume (17:34)
overlook at the kids of course the the kids don't go on the sea and stuff like that, but The whole tundra is our playground So I would live those crazy summer and then come back to Beaumont to this house and then go to school and become some kind of an outsider because I didn't spend time with my school friends here and

And then sometimes for Christmas or spring break we would go back, glulik. So I did that back and forth all my childhood.

Pat Tenneriello (18:05)
Okay. So,

so home base was still Beaumont, in Quebec. then you would on your hall, all your, your, all your free time, you'd go up there with your dad. And when he was studying in, these areas, these remote areas where, where the, the, the natives felt most at home was, were you communicating in English or what, language do you communicate there?

Guillaume (18:09)
Yes.

Yes, sometimes.

When I was a kid, elders told me that I was speaking in Oktitut.

And then it seems like slowly I lost it because I was so much in the South, you know? So with kids, you don't need to talk to communicate anyway. You just play around all the time. So maybe I developed a very intuitive way of communicating with people. That's also slowly English was starting to be the language.

Pat Tenneriello (18:38)
Okay, interesting.

Guillaume (18:57)
spoken by younger ones in the North. So that's where I learned English in Igloolik. Today, I'm not perfectly fluent in Inuktitut. I can understand. I can speak. I'm still taking courses every Thursday with Stephen Fronton, an awesome man. I think he's kind of related to you.

Pat Tenneriello (19:11)
Okay.

really? Okay, he teaches you the language. I didn't know that. Wow.

Guillaume (19:17)
Yes, yes, yes,

because he's very stubborn. He arrived in Igloolik I think 2016, right away started to hang out with elders and started like dedicated his life to learning Inuktitut. Me, I dedicated my life to learn circus, which is also a language, right? And that's what I was teaching to younger ones. So through circus, you don't need to talk either.

So I speak circus better than in a Inuktitut.

Pat Tenneriello (19:46)
Right.

And I want to make a link here because

You talk about connecting with people as what drives you and the circus is your language. And I think those two, my guess is tie one in the other. So, and so the question is what drew you to the circus?

Guillaume (20:05)
Okay, you know some people are like Asterix and Obelix, you know those guys? Obelix, yes. Obelix fell when he was a in a big pot full of magical potion, so he's strong for life. So we don't need to drink. Me, circus, I never saw or dreamed about being a circus performer. And I was...

23 years old, studying in sociology in university, doing lots of sports, basketball, hockey, and stuff like that, but no arts. And then one day I see this ad at university saying that they were looking for someone that didn't need any stage experience, but to be part of a musical show, one guy had quit and they were...

missing an extra on stage. So I just said, why not? I'm a willing guy. I'll just go. I arrived to that rehearsal and there were some acrobats, dancers, singers. I was so moved. And then I started saying, darn I miss my life. If I would have discovered that when I was 14, 15 years old, today I would be good. Right?

And then I said that to one girl who was there and she looked at me and she said, if you think like that, you're never going to do anything in life. You have to start now. Try. That really, really hit me. And I was like, since I'm kid, I've been saying that for music. If I see someone doing drums and he's good, I'm thinking darn, if I would have started two years ago, maybe I would be good today.

And then I don't start. And then she said, do you know that there's a national circus school in Montreal and it's one of the best circus school in the world? And I'm like, no, no, no, I don't know. And she said, in a month, it's the audition for next year school. And she said, I dare you to pass the audition. It's gonna cost you like 40 bucks a picture one day. You try out.

Then, let's see. And I was like, wow, what a... Yes, I'll try, you know? So for one month, I started to go to the open gymnastic class and just to try to see how people are doing flips and stuff like that. I had zero, zero background. And then I arrived to that audition day and it was one of the most beautiful day in my life because we were like 100 people.

There was like 17 spots. We were 100 acrobats, great artists, everybody doing double back flip, handstand jumps, juggling. People had already very good skills. Me, zero, zero skills in anything. But I was willing and happy because I was not caring. I'm sure I'm not gonna be taken. That's what I was thinking.

Pat Tenneriello (23:03)
Yeah.

Guillaume (23:03)
And the

other guys were stressed trying to execute the best they can. So I just had a crazy, beautiful day trying many things, laughing about myself and just being willing, you know? And that day stopped. And I thought, okay, I did what I told the girl that I would do, you I tried it. And then let's see. And right at...

A month later, I was finishing university and I was going back to Igloolik for the first time because I told you earlier from 0 to 14, I would go to Igloolik. But then at 14 years old, I stopped because I had a girlfriend in Igloolik and my dad got scared that it would compromise his research. So he stopped bringing me at 14. And at 24 years old, at the end of university, I was thinking, OK, I'll go back by myself now.

Pat Tenneriello (23:37)
Yep.

Guillaume (23:52)
I'll finish my bachelor. ⁓ Is that what we say? ⁓

Pat Tenneriello (23:56)
Yep. Yep. Your bachelor's degree.

Guillaume (24:00)
Yes. I had to do a research. I'll do it in Igloolik. So that was my way to go back up. So I went back, discovering Igloolik with adult eyes, seeing the dark side of the town also in the reality because I realized that I was so preserved.

and so lucky when I was a to be out on the land all the time. But living in the community during summertime is very, very different. People are stuck on an island, lots of kids that are lost, that don't have access to go out hunting, to knowledge, sniffing gas, you know, hard life.

Pat Tenneriello (24:37)
Okay, so that

community is not immune to some of the challenges of those remote communities.

Guillaume (24:40)
Exactly.

Very much, very much. And I was realizing that all at once. Because in my mind, the North was like beautiful paradise, endless hunting, games, laughing, you know. So during that summer, it was 1998, I received a letter from National Circus School saying that I was accepted.

And then I was like, what's happening? I didn't plan to go back to school. I was finishing university and then I was thinking I'm gonna start my life. I don't know doing what, but I'm gonna start my life. So I called my dad and I said, dad, I didn't tell you, but I passed the audition for National Circus School like a couple months ago and I've been accepted.

what should I do? And then my dad said...

Continue your university, like you can do a master, get a real job, and then you could always do circus or any other activities during the weekends. But just make sure you have a real job. And I said, okay, thanks. So that in his mind, let's not take that opportunity. Then I called my mom and I told her.

my dilemma and then she said.

You're 24.

Right now is the time if you want to challenge yourself physically.

University, you could always do whatever you want later on. And maybe it will be even more meaningful when you'll be older to come back.

And then she said, if you don't do it, you might regret it for the rest of your life, that opportunity that is given to you now.

So I hang up, I said, thanks mom. I hang up and then I just went to circus school for three years. And the specialty I took was hand to hand. Hand to hand is acrobatic partner, balancing someone, throwing, doing flips, you know. Because I wanted to be able to travel around the world without any suitcase, without any accessories. And...

Pat Tenneriello (26:29)
Okay.

Guillaume (26:42)
just with my body, be able to communicate with people. So it's like mastering a universal language. So that was my quest and I thought in a year I'll be able to do that. But then I realized afterwards that I need to complete the three years.

Pat Tenneriello (26:54)
Wow.

It was three years of training.

Guillaume (27:02)
Yes, intense, six days a week, 10 hours a day for three years. ⁓

Pat Tenneriello (27:07)
Whoa, say

that again. Three years, 10 hours a day.

Guillaume (27:10)
six days a week.

Pat Tenneriello (27:12)
six days a week where you living was at a campus and you lived at the campus or how did.

Guillaume (27:17)
No, I had an apartment 1.5 kilometers away from the National Circus School. But then you become very close to a group of people. We were like 17 in my class and after the three years, I think we were 12 or 13. Some had quit because it's so hard.

Pat Tenneriello (27:22)
and Newton.

Yes.

I want to go back to the, the audition. So there was a hundred people, they were going to take 17. You had a month of experience and you were up against people that had been doing it for much, much longer and were much, much more, ⁓ maybe not talented, maybe it just advanced. and. But you, you had a sense of like the way you described it. I, what came to mind for me was a sense of play, a sense of fun.

Guillaume (27:46)
Yeah.

Pat Tenneriello (28:03)
didn't take it too seriously. It was a wonderful day that you thought this is an experience, whether I get in or not, I'm going to remember this. And do you think that they picked you? Like they, they must've picked up on that. Like what do you think it was that made them see the potential or the desire to pick you over these more qualified individuals?

Guillaume (28:10)
See you there.

That would be very interesting to go back to those teachers and ask, you know, because I'm sure they remember because I was kind of atypical person. But for sure, I had the potential, a big willingness to learn. If you're a teacher and you're in a school, that's what you want. You want students that are hungry to learn. Someone that is already good.

Yeah, it's great too, but the school is there to carve you. And maybe it's harder to carve someone that has already something, you know? I honestly don't know. What I know is, you know, it's like when you're a bunch of people going to play basketball in the court, okay? You don't know anyone.

and then it's time to do the team. So two people, two strangers go in the front, where like 20 people all waiting there, and then the strangers, they start picking. They say, you, you, you, you. Many, many times in my life I've been picked one of the first, even though people don't know me. So why is that? I don't know. But sometimes there is that, I don't know.

attraction or feeling that they would want me in their team.

always felt bad for the last one, know, the one that has not been picked. And then you're there, okay, no one picked me, but then it's my turn, so that means I'm going to that team. That feeling of being left over.

It's something that received a lot because I was always different when I was a And I really try not to feed that and to go on the opposite. I don't know if it makes sense.

Pat Tenneriello (30:12)
Okay.

But in, in so in that situ, well, the people who get picked last. I mean, that's, that's not a good feeling. you, said,

Guillaume (30:20)
But ⁓

sometimes those people are going to impress everyone and they're going to... It's not because you're picked last that you're going to be last, you know? It's just that first feeling. Why is that? That's just a question.

Pat Tenneriello (30:32)
Well, typically

in that example, it's very physical. So maybe you're predisposed, like, don't know if you're tall or you're athletically built and people say, okay, this guy's going to know how to play basketball. I'm going to pick them. Or if it's more because in the few minutes that they shook your hand or got to know you, so there's some energy here. There's some positive energy. There's some, this guy seems hungry. I want him on my team. ⁓ Are you alluding more to the physicality or to the

Guillaume (30:55)
Mm-hmm.

Pat Tenneriello (31:00)
energy

Guillaume (31:00)
I would say both.

Pat Tenneriello (31:02)
Okay. Yeah.

Guillaume (31:04)
I would say both.

Pat Tenneriello (31:05)
So are you predisposed physically? also in the audition, guess they saw some, you're probably taller than most and just, you are already athletic in other activities, just not in circus. Okay.

Guillaume (31:14)
Yes.

Yes, I was

a ball of wild power.

Pat Tenneriello (31:24)
Okay.

Guillaume (31:25)
I'm 6'2", 200 pounds. So it's like the good athletic size to become a professional athlete. But I just never had any professional coach. I was just playing wild power sports everywhere.

Pat Tenneriello (31:41)
What was your sport growing up?

Guillaume (31:43)
hockey and then soccer and then basketball and basketball really really changed my life. started dreaming about being like Jordan, Michael Jordan. Yes and I that was my I wanted to be six foot six. I'm sure if I would have been six foot six I would have been in NBA but with the size I had I was not enough talented at six foot two.

Pat Tenneriello (32:06)
How far did you pursue that till the circus called you?

Guillaume (32:09)
I was playing in every league I could play, even during university. So I stopped basketball to start circus because then when I started doing circus, doing hand to hand, my finger, I got scared because in basketball sometimes you just twist fingers. And then I was thinking, if I get injured playing the sport I love, which is basket, but then it's going to stop me doing the circus school. That's no good. I...

kind of made a hard choice and stopped basketball. But in one of my first big US tour, we performed in Phoenix, Arizona at the halftime show for the Suns against, I forgot, so NBA game.

Pat Tenneriello (32:38)
I see.

Guillaume (32:59)
I did the halftime show, so I passed through all those NBA players inside that alley, you know, just before their bell rings.

Pat Tenneriello (33:08)
Mm-hmm.

Guillaume (33:10)
⁓ giving high five to those crazy monster guys. And then I went on their court, I jumped and hooked the ring. So I realized my dream in a way to

play on an NBA court.

Pat Tenneriello (33:22)
Oh, that's great. So let's get into that a little bit. Your US tour. So you did three years of a very intense circus school and then I guess that went well because then you went on tour. tell me a little bit about that.

Guillaume (33:23)
Yeah.

⁓

So, at the end of the circus school, it ends with a show. Every year it ends with show. And when you're about to finish, you're kind of the star of the show, all of the people from your class. So we were like 12, where we were presenting our act and doing many different other small parts during that circus show.

It was for like 10 days every day we performed in front of, I don't know, 500 or 600 people. And then there was that Italian artistic director who came and see the show, who wanted to make a new crazy something. And after one of those nights, he came and see me and my partner and asked if we would want to be part of his new creation. His name is Daniele Finzi Pasqua.

He's a very high level artistic director. He's been doing Olympic games, ceremony opening, closing, many, many, many Cirque du Soleil shows, but he was just starting at the time. So like 10 of us out of the 12 got hired by this man. So we already knew each other very well. And then we went into like eight months of very intense creative process.

to make a show that was called Nomad. At night, the sky is endless. So that show was produced by Cirque Eloise which is a Montreal circus. And we would perform in theater, so we're not under big top. So we toured the world for like seven years in theater around the world, US, Europe, everywhere.

Pat Tenneriello (35:04)
Okay.

Guillaume (35:15)
about 120 shows a year, 120, 130. And so that was amazing. Imagine you arrive in a country you don't know, you don't speak the same language, you go on stage, you perform for those guys, you make them cry, you make them vibrate, the show is over, people come and see you and they just wanna share the beauty of their own world because they received so much.

Pat Tenneriello (35:16)
Wow.

Guillaume (35:40)
So imagine doing that city after city, countries after countries for years. You realize that if everybody in the world, when you meet someone, you share with that person the thing you value the most, let's say your little hidden treasure, and then you ask that person to do the same.

You're just going to travel from one person to the other, always in a meaningful way. And that's the beauty of life. I was thinking, okay, I found the meaning. I found how to live a beautiful life.

But it's a very selfish how to share that with other people that don't know, that never experimented that. so I was a bit shaken was moving people and I was being moved by people all the time. But it was hard for someone who never seen that show or to understand.

Pat Tenneriello (36:17)
Well.

Guillaume (36:38)
And I was thinking for the kids in Igloolik that are going sometimes through such despair with no hope in front of them, just wasting days with no appetite, I was thinking those guys, they need to feel what I'm feeling right now.

then they understand.

So I I quit Cirque Eloise, I moved to Igloolik. And I started making like some kind of a commitment with people saying, hey guys, okay, I just quit Cirque Eloise for you guys. I look at you in the eyes, please kick your ass. Let's work hard together, let's believe. And then we'll create a show, we'll start traveling and then let's see, let's see what's gonna happen.

Pat Tenneriello (37:02)
Wow.

So, wow, amazing. you toured for, was it seven years?

Guillaume (37:26)
Five years, six years full time and then the last year I was just replacing. I was trying to stop and then would go back for a month if someone is missing in Roma, let's say.

Pat Tenneriello (37:39)
And I love what you said about connecting with people. You'd go to a place you didn't speak the language, you'd give your little gift. then, so I can, that's clear to me how you would give a gift that would move people. And then I guess after the show, I want to understand what moved you.

Guillaume (37:56)
Because it's like a trust is being created because of that act of generosity you're on stage. You know, catarsis, right? It's like reaching, being a very profound transformation into somebody through arts. So that was our goal. We were trying to reach catarsis. That's what our artistic director was helping us to achieve. So let's say I'm in Roma.

I just perform and then I go out after. The people who have been moved, they stay after a show because they want to talk to the artist. So then those, let's say those two people are there with stars in the eyes and then they just take my hand and then they bring me to their house and then they cook for me and then they show me their life.

And then the next day we don't have a show so they bring me to their countryside cabin where it's that beautiful little pond and that their most beautiful things. And then we just talk and dream about how life can be because we can just change people's life just like that.

Pat Tenneriello (39:04)
Got it.

Guillaume (39:07)
And then the next day we take the plane airport and then go to Kansas. And then start over again and then meet some amazing people there. And then three days later moved.

Pat Tenneriello (39:17)
Yeah.

It makes me think of when I used to go backpacking, there was a point in my life where I was, I just loved traveling and especially backpacking and especially backpacking by myself because I

Guillaume (39:31)
Yes.

Pat Tenneriello (39:33)
When I was by myself, I had no kind of friendship to fall back on. And so I would put myself out there in a way that I normally wouldn't do. so I'd arrive in a place and not knowing anyone, I could be anyone I wanted to be. Um, um, and I would typically choose like hostels where everyone else was in that same mind space. And, um, I just got addicted to that energy of putting myself out there and building and.

instant connections with people that typically would take a lot more time if I was back home in my city. Just going place to place, it's like you have an instant best friend in minutes or hours. So I can relate to that connectedness. Then once in a while, it was harder, but once in a while you could connect with a local. Then when that happened, you'd get a meal in their house. You get to see the way they live. They take you to a special place that

Guillaume (40:13)
Tell me.

Pat Tenneriello (40:27)
typical tourists wouldn't

Guillaume (40:29)
I did the same and me too. When you're all by yourself, you have no choice but to be open. You cannot just, like you said, rely on your best friend and just stay together in a bubble and don't open up. The difference I would see is when you're a backpacker, you're seen as a backpacker. So you're seen as someone that is kind of poor, that has nomad...

Like the standing of the backpacker compared to a performer where you pay 50 bucks to go and see and he's on stage like he's a meter and a half above you, it's very different the relationship you're going to create. The trap is the ego. Because when you're on stage and people applause you every night, you start thinking that you deserve.

You deserve those applause and you're maybe even better than other people. So when there's a line and you have to follow that line to go to the ATM stuff, you get a bit pissed off because you're thinking maybe I could just cut the line and go in front because I deserve, you know? That is also why I quit the tour because I was feeling the ego being fed for many years was...

And it was no good for me. And when I...

Pat Tenneriello (41:47)
Did you see that

by the way, with a lot of other, like with your other performers, could you see, I could see performers getting lost in that world or, especially if you're, you're a young single person and it, like you said, people look at you and they, they see you a meter and a half up above them and on a pedestal. that presents opportunities for someone to, well, to take advantage, right. And just live that lifestyle, maybe get a little bit lost in that lifestyle. Did you see a lot of that?

Guillaume (41:54)
Yes.

very much.

yes, even today, many people in the show business, they're there because they are like a mosquito that is attracted by a big light, you know?

And so they're doing that to feed something inside that they want, which is trying to, yes, exact. that's, sometimes you need to hit the wall hard and some people do and then realize afterwards. But there's also beautiful people that are on stage because they have something to say, because it's part of them and they're so humble. And as soon as the show is over, that person becomes very low profile.

Pat Tenneriello (42:28)
Fame and fame and power, I suppose.

Guillaume (42:52)
and say hi to everyone with her eyes on the street. In Igloolik, there is zero ego. We would come, our group would be hired to go and perform for the Queen Elizabeth in her castle in England, doing the opening with like crazy, crazy things. And then come back to Igloolik.

Pat Tenneriello (43:11)
Wow.

Guillaume (43:19)
and become stay exactly the same as before. And that teached me a lot and made me realize who's like that?

Pat Tenneriello (43:25)
And who's like that? Sorry. ⁓ Yeah.

Yeah. Like who did you learn that from? When you say that in Igloolik they're like that. Who, who is it?

Guillaume (43:33)
All the

circus troupe performers that have the world with me over the last 25 years, all those guys, even though we met and did the most amazing things, it never changed them. Yeah, it brought me back to the real me.

Pat Tenneriello (43:49)
Did it change you?

Guillaume (43:56)
My ego de-inflated.

Pat Tenneriello (43:58)
before, like when you were doing the touring and you were a Cirque Eloise and you were, you know, you were connecting with people, but you could feel the ego growing. Yeah. Being fed like, it sounds like, you have, you had enough self-awareness to recognize that, or did it take a situation or a moment where you said, okay, it's time to do something different.

Guillaume (44:08)
Being fed, yes.

No, I had enough awareness to recognize, but at the same time, it's like an addiction, like cigarettes. I know it's bad, but I keep smoking. When I moved to Igloolik, me, I always worked in duo. When I moved to Igloolik in 2005, I didn't move with my partner, only by myself. And then...

I was trying to explain to the kids and the parents of the kids what I'm doing, you know? And one day, one of the parents came to my house and said, I want to thank you very much for taking care of my son, for him to join. And I'm thinking inside, thanks, because that person is going to say I'm a great artist and she's happy that her son is going to become a great artist.

And then she said, I'm thankful for you because I don't need to babysit him while he's with you. And then she left. And I was like, what? I'm a babysitter? Yeah.

Pat Tenneriello (45:18)
That'll deflate the ego.

Guillaume (45:20)
And then I was thinking, and then I saw, yeah, that's true. People here, they don't have any idea of what I just went through. They see that I can juggle with three balls because I'm not a great juggler. And all the big tricks I do, it's always with a partner. So they don't, I'm nothing. And then I was like, wow, that's awesome. That's awesome because that's who I am. It's just me.

Pat Tenneriello (45:42)
Hmm.

Guillaume (45:46)
No big aura shining of things that I've done so I'm better than you, you know?

Pat Tenneriello (45:52)
Was it, when did it come to you that when you wanted to leave the tour, the touring circus and was it, when did it come to you to go back to Igloolik and share your gift with the community?

Guillaume (46:05)
So, as I was telling you earlier, in 1998, I renewed with Igloolik at 24 years old. For 10 years, I didn't go. I went back and I saw with my adult eyes. At the same time, I connected with Circus. So, starting in 1998, I restarted going every day, every year to Igloolik during the summer, like I was doing when I was a

So I would do little projects, learning circus skills at school during the year and then teaching during summer in Igloolik We would do some kind of a sharing process. I was telling the guys, me, I'm going to teach you what I know and you guys are going to teach me what you know in hunting and fishing out on the land. This way we share. It's not me who's teaching you and you're the student and then it creates an unequal relationship.

We're all sharing to each other for the best. So in 1999, 2000, 2001, every summer I would go there for a month, a month and a half, we would do a little expedition, creation, and then perform in town. And then I would go back for the year. And one day in 2003, we did a beautiful show with the kids that summer.

And then just like a day or two before I left, some kids started, came to my house and said they were sad. And I said, why? They said, because you're leaving. And I'm like, yes, but I'm going to come back. But they were, it was not making them feel better, you know? And then I realized...

I felt like, you know Christopher Columbus and those big explorers, they arrived in that new world with some bling bling pieces of jewelry or pieces of mirror and then they show that in front of the people and then they leave.

Pat Tenneriello (47:59)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Guillaume (48:05)
Now the kids, they knew they could do something powerful, but then it's not there all the time. It's being taken away from them. And I thought, am I doing something, am I making things worse? Because I'm showing something, but I'm not giving them a real chance to try. And I was thinking, darn, that stayed in my mind while I was touring.

The other years, I was like, am I doing something not fair to those youth because I'm not giving them a real chance? So it started haunting me, haunting me until the day I decided to stop and give a real chance. 2005, I thought I'm going to move for six months. That's what I thought. Six months and give the kids a real chance to kick their ass and we create a show. And after six months,

I was like, wow, we went far. Let's do another six months. And it's kept adding those six months and six months for like 11 years.

Pat Tenneriello (49:05)
Okay, wow, 11 years full-time in Igloolik. And you founded this circus it sounds like one of the big moments was performing in front of the Queen of England, which is amazing.

Guillaume (49:09)
Yes.

big moments, woof, performing in Timbuktu in the Sahara Desert with the Dogon people and crazy Arabic musicians. Big moments performing in Mexico with a circus troupe from Mexico and then going on top of one of those mountains to see the sun rise.

playing music, big moments doing expeditions like 20 skidoos traveling to other towns in Nunavut by skidoos to perform like a real traditional caravan but in a to perform in other towns. Big moments, caribou hunting with all the youth for like three weeks.

starving and then overcoming every challenges and taking care of each other, going through ups and downs, hypothermia, almost sinking, you know.

Pat Tenneriello (50:10)
Wow, but that

Guillaume (50:11)
big moments

has been part of those 11 years nonstop.

Pat Tenneriello (50:20)
Are the other members, are they locals to the community? Are they like you where they had a past in the circus and they brought their training to the circus in Igloolik? Who are the other members?

Guillaume (50:31)
No,

the other members are all Inuit from Igloolik They all joined because they had something special. Some were very good musicians. Some had acrobatic skills. Some had traditional knowledge. Some were flexible. Some were the boyfriend or the girlfriend of the other. Some were the cousins. But all together, we kind of made a pact and decided to trust each other.

and decided that all together we can overcome anything and show the town that we can do it. Because at first the community, like the mayor and those guys, they didn't want to give us a space because space is the key in the North. It's so cold that you need heated space to conduct any activity.

Pat Tenneriello (51:17)
Mm.

Guillaume (51:19)
So, heated space is everybody's looking for those space. So, me, I wanted to have a training space that is high enough where we can do stuff. At first, they didn't want to, we were not allowed to have our own. But after several years of, it's a small success after one after the other, we were allowed to transform the old curling rink in the arena.

because there was a curling ring that was abandoned. We were allowed to transform it, insulate it, make a big wall, bring electricity, bring some rigging points and turn it into a performing arts center. And then us, the Artcirq we were managing that space and opening workshops for musicians, for kids.

for teenagers every day. So other people in town could have a chance to learn and develop themselves in a safe environment.

Because touring and touring and touring changes you. But every time you come back to your own community, you also realize that the community don't change. And that can be hard. Because how can you share with the rest of your family if they all stayed in their little town? You just traveled the world and lived the amazing thing. You come back home, you're stuck with that.

Pat Tenneriello (52:31)
Mm. ⁓

Guillaume (52:47)
You see the same old patterns, you see the sadness or whatever, you So that was starting to be heavy on our shoulder. And we were thinking, how can we overcome that feeling? Maybe we could invite artists from around the world to Igloolik. So like that, the impact is on everyone, not just us, the 12 people being extracted from

Igloolik and perform. So that's when we started 2009 to build our training, the black box.

And then since 2009, over 250 professional artists have been coming to Igloolik to share. So to share their knowledge and to receive the knowledge from the guys, from the land, from Inuit culture. And that's, I think it's a very beautiful way of living.

Pat Tenneriello (53:43)
You went on tour with two different circuses and two very different groups and you talked about the contrast of the ego. I'm wondering if there were other contrasts because the experiences sound very different.

when you think about those two experiences, how would you contrast them

Guillaume (54:00)
Us, think us, the Occidental people, the Caucasian, I don't know how to say, the white people, we are used to our world. Since I'm a kid, my mom is telling me, don't believe everything you see on TV.

I know how to travel, know how to just take the train and go to that town and just from there take my way, feel good, feel safe, make the right choice. Inuit, they live in a totally different environment. There's no trees, 24-hour sun, summer, 24-hour darkness, winter. But they have access to our world, to our reality through the television.

And parents don't say to the kids, don't believe everything you see on TV. So they see lots of, is it prejudice? All the stereotypes that are being brought through TV, it hits their face. So they start to develop the conception of what is the South. Some people have that very different conception of the reality.

Pat Tenneriello (54:45)
Yeah, prejudice.

Guillaume (55:00)
Which means when we would arrive for the first few times in Montreal, the kids, they were so scared. They were scared that they would be stabbed by a black guy in the metro. That was their fear. And I was like, what? I don't know why, because that's what it comes when they look on

Pat Tenneriello (55:15)
Okay.

Guillaume (55:20)
Oprah Winfrey or all those US TV shows.

Pat Tenneriello (55:24)
Mm-mm.

Guillaume (55:25)
So the big fear was to be lost all the time. I would, let's say, walk on the sideways like a bunch of friends trying to share, hey, look, that's the restaurant where I love to eat breakfast. And everybody would be in line behind me, very close to each other because they just don't want to lose you. So I think this is a big difference is to see.

the southern world with their own eyes and then break that image they had from the south since they were kids.

Pat Tenneriello (55:58)
How old were these members traveling with you?

Guillaume (56:01)
The first times they were like 15, 16.

Maybe some they were 18 but for many because what are the ways for people in Nunavut to travel down south? Break a leg you're gonna go to hospital down south Make a major crime you're gonna go to jail down south Join the army you're gonna go down south this way for free Besides that you you need to pay 3,000 bucks

to travel, to buy your plane ticket. And then what do you do when you arrive down south? You may not have family members living there, right? So there is not that many opportunities to export your identity, to be strong and full of a great experience, like you're an ambassador of your hometown.

So yeah, people don't have that many opportunities to travel and see the world in a meaningful way. Now, I mean, that was in 1998. Today in 2025, there is amazing Inuit artists, even that lives down south in Ottawa. Things have changed a lot. Inuit performing arts community is growing. There is beautiful like TV shows that are now...

Pat Tenneriello (57:05)
Yeah.

Guillaume (57:13)
North of the North, that just got released on Netflix. Check it out. Major... that's filmed up in Iqaluit. That is the capital of Nunavut. It's like 900 kilometers south of Igloolik.

Pat Tenneriello (57:17)
I saw that, yeah.

Was that filmed up in Igloo Lick?

is okay

And you talked about your father studying Inuit shamanism and you've shared a few stories and I feel like I'm getting at least a taste of some of the culture and of way of living. It's fascinating because it's so different from our life. What else could you share about Inuit shamanism or their way of life that would resonate with listeners that could

Guillaume (57:44)
Mm-hmm. ⁓

Pat Tenneriello (57:53)
offer a different perspective than the way we live and maybe some lessons.

Guillaume (57:57)
Ouf, we can talk about Shamanism for long time because Inuit culture is so different than Southern culture that if we talk about Shamanism, people will hear and try to understand but through their Southern culture. So it means it's just going to be even more wrong.

in our process of understanding. I think that's the challenge of the white people is we think we know or we really want to know.

and

Those hunger, not hunger, appetite for learning sometimes make us not see. The best way to learn about Inuit culture is go in the north and meet Inuit. After, when I moved back down south in 2014 or 15 or something like that, I was in the plane.

and we just took off. And then I could see Igloolik, it's a small island. I was seeing my house. I still have my house there, by the way. I was seeing all the houses. And then I was seeing the main trail on the ice, Skidoo, Skidoo path. And then I was like, yeah, that trail I know, it's going to Hull Beach, the other town, 60 kilometers away.

And then I was seeing, that trail, yeah, that trail I know. It's going to that big lake where we go fish. And then I was seeing, that trail, that trail opens up. that trail over there, go there, go there.

And then what hits me is what I know about Inuit. I know that I don't know.

That's what I really know.

I was so convinced for so many years that I knew about Inuit culture, but then I was realizing that I was just seeing like the tip of the iceberg, let's say, and all of the meanings and knowledge and all of those.

treasures I was not seeing.

Pat Tenneriello (59:56)
Mm-hmm.

Guillaume (59:57)
So see it like that, shamanism.

Pat Tenneriello (1:00:02)
.

Guillaume (1:00:03)
There's a little point of something with a name, with a conception of what you think it is, but the real

meaning, the real thing, it takes.

You first need to erase and then to start eating it little by little. That's how you're gonna get it.

Pat Tenneriello (1:00:24)
Sounds difficult.

Guillaume (1:00:25)
Yes, for us, think it's very hard. Southerners that come to Igloolik with us just for like two weeks, they are always on a big shock because when we are asking a question, always seem like we prefer to have yes or no. The maybe, we're uncomfortable with it. In the north, there is a lot of maybes. Maybes...

Pat Tenneriello (1:00:48)
Can you give me an example?

Guillaume (1:00:49)
Let's say tomorrow, I think it's going to be nice weather, we're going to go out hunting walrus with you. Then you're going to say, great, perfect. I'm very happy. So how should I dress? Then I'm going to say, or someone's going to say, get the warmest things you have. Perfect. Okay, and when are we going to go? When it's going to be time?

Okay, and from where are we gonna go? From the beach. Okay, and when are we gonna come back? When the time is right. And then where are the walrus? Well, in the sea. So all those questions that are trying to secure you all the time, they are answered by...

Maybe yes, maybe no. And that makes us very uncomfortable because we have our answers once the trip is over. But during the trip, it's nonstop questioning all the time. Why are we turning this way? Have you seen something? Why is this happening? I think that's our way of formatting.

Pat Tenneriello (1:01:53)
life is more laid back.

Guillaume (1:01:53)
We're not,

yes, it's like you're not the master. The land, the weather is gonna tell you what to do, when to do.

You have to read the sign. We're very good on a highway to read all those next exit, okay? Gas in 15 kilometers. All those, we're used to that. But when you're out on the land, there is no other sign like that. But there is lots of signs that you have to read in order to survive. And we're not used to see it. You know, on a cup of coffee, now it even says,

Pat Tenneriello (1:02:23)
Right.

Guillaume (1:02:28)
Caution, it's hot, you know?

Pat Tenneriello (1:02:30)
Hmm.

Guillaume (1:02:31)
They're saying that because some people sued the company because they burned themselves because it was hot coffee. But of course it's hot. In Igloolik the water is very cold. But it's not written sign the water is very cold. Don't fall in the ice, in the water, you know. But all those signs are there. You need to read.

Pat Tenneriello (1:02:40)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

focuses are on different things

Guillaume (1:02:59)
I think Inuit culture, I think Inuit will save the world. I've been thinking that for many years. I don't know why, but their way of dealing with life, death, their way of

of seeing the world.

One day we're gonna look for those guys to be the teacher. We think we know, we think we have the knowledge, the technology, the tools, the power, but that's gonna come to an end and one day we're gonna look for those guys to be the masters. I really believe that.

Pat Tenneriello (1:03:32)
Wow. Well, that's a powerful thing to say. Speaking of death,

Guillaume (1:03:32)
Me.

Pat Tenneriello (1:03:35)
I'd be curious to understand that.

Guillaume (1:03:38)
through the name, your identity, your life goes on. There was one elder who was, she got poisoned when she was eating canned food that had whatever toxic something in and her face become very ugly. And she was saying, when I will be born again, I would like to be born in a pretty

face in a pretty girl. And then that name was given to my daughter. And now she's 13 years old. And that family of that old lady who was ugly, they're very happy to see my daughter. They ask for pictures every year so they can see the prettiness of their mom.

So their mom is not dead. She continues to live.

So, death is not just being sad. Death is part of life. Animals are dead for you to live, but they're dead because they allowed you to catch them in a way. So they're giving their life for you to keep on. So that cycle of life and death...

It's very well.

blended in our reality, opposed to here, where we see death as something tragic that we try to avoid and that we don't see often in a way. In the North, it's sad at the same time, but seems like death is always there, way more present than here.

Maybe because also people live in so much closeness in the community that there's always someone that pass away compared to here. We don't hear. I mean, you might hear a couple weeks later if the neighbor just passed, you know, or even sometimes you don't hear because you're not close to them.

So you get disconnected with death.

Pat Tenneriello (1:05:23)
Yeah.

that's story with your daughter is it makes me think of the other, the, the strength of the community, like the bonds. like it's family, it's friends, it's communities, very, very strong, bonds that end up linking you in ways that, are very important because

what brings meaning to life and what, what helps you feel full know, family is at the top of that friendship community. you know, it's, not about yourself. It's about, it's about every, it's, it's about helping others around you.

And so when I hear that story, it makes me think that it facilitates that connectedness, which can help.

Guillaume (1:06:05)
Mm-hmm.

You know, I have a good friend, his name is Tyson. He lost his dad maybe seven years ago. His name was Elijah. And I know it was very devastating for him when he lost his dad. He loved him, they were very close. And then I think five years ago, Tyson had a boy and he named his son

the name of his dad.

So it's like he got his dad back.

And I know I can see the joy today when his son comes out to play and then Tyson says hi dad and then his little dad comes and kisses and hugs. It's beautiful.

Pat Tenneriello (1:06:46)
Hmm.

Yeah. That's a good transition to, um, I want to kind of talk about Guillaume today. So you're, um, you mentioned a project, so you're a family man, have three kids and, uh, you have a project called Foret aux Cascades was looking at your website and you had mentioned it to me. It looks really, really interesting. So tell me a little bit about life today for you beyond, uh, just Arctic, Arctic circus.

Guillaume (1:07:15)
So in 2015, we moved down south because our second kid, Hector, was crying a lot and we needed help from the parents. And being all the way remote in Igloolik, it was starting to be too hard. So we just bought a house without visiting it, just like that. Bing, we needed a house close to my mom. And beside that house, there was a big, huge land owned by...

the government. And somehow I heard that that land was for sale.

So with three other neighbors, we got together and we bought that land because we were not sure of what to do with it, but we were sure of what we didn't want to happen for that land. We didn't want any promoter to buy it and then transformed it into lots, hundreds of houses. So we thought, let's keep the forest accessible. That's what we want.

How? I don't know. And then one guy said, well, I used to have a camping before. I kind of know how to manage that. Let's do a camping. That could generate revenues, keep the forest accessible. And so that's how we started. Then we continue to make trails, make a pavilion, bring electricity on the ground, water. And then once all of those major infrastructure were done,

We thought, me and Pat, a good friend of mine who's co-owner, he's also a circus performer, we thought, well, now we can start to bring arts in the forest because us, that's what we really like to do. So over the last three years, we are creating shows in the forest, wintertime, summertime, fall. It's been awesome. We're inviting 10, 15 artists, all friends.

circus performers, musicians, opera singers, we're rigging them in the trees. We're making ice structure. Wintertime, we made a contortion act with a bath on a lake, frozen lake, but making a fire in the middle of the lake.

Pat Tenneriello (1:09:16)
Wow.

Guillaume (1:09:36)
that would heat the bath. And the girl in contortion is doing her act in February at minus 25 in swimming suit, in like in a jacuzzi, you know, in a way. So all those crazy ideas, we rigged a big piano in a tree with a girl playing and singing opera while another is doing an aerial act.

Pat Tenneriello (1:09:50)
you

Wow. So cool.

Guillaume (1:09:59)
So,

yes, so now that the main structure is there, we're starting to have fun and put more meanings, because what we're trying to do is preserve, preserve the land, mix art and nature, and then give a chance to people to come and just live, live out.

the nature because we're like an hour north of Montreal, so it's not that far. And many people, don't have clue on how to live, how to, yeah, just how to connect with nature.

Pat Tenneriello (1:10:31)
Wow, that sounds really unique and creative and yeah, it sounds fascinating, honestly.

Guillaume (1:10:39)
And

yes, but see, I'm saying that and I'm discovering what we've been doing as I'm saying, because again, there was no plan. It was all feelings. happened 12 years ago. I didn't know at all the name of the town I'm living in right now, you know? And now I'm very deeply rooted in that community. Made a big switch in my life. And

created that crazy project that I never dreamed of.

but that is very meaningful and I really hope that my kids are gonna be part of it.

Pat Tenneriello (1:11:12)
you have a lot of faith in, you know, a willingness to kind of just put yourself out there and see what comes and you need to have an appetite for risk and a sense of faith. Where do you

How, where do you think that comes from?

Guillaume (1:11:29)
I don't know. I think it's from deep inside. I follow something. It's some kind of a light. Some people will see, some people will feel, some people will hear.

Me, I see and feel.

Pat Tenneriello (1:11:42)
Do you feel fear?

Guillaume (1:11:43)
Yes, I... Yes, yes, but that's always when I... means I went to my limit. That's when the fear is. And I always try to just extend it little bit more. Push a bit the fear. Because fear is...

Pat Tenneriello (1:11:44)
sometimes.

So you're, willing

to let it sit. You can, you can accept and sit with fear. And it's not like you're trying to take a giant leap forward, but just a, just a little push every step.

Guillaume (1:12:08)
Yes, because I think fear is good. It's you who decide where you put it, very close to you or further. If you never challenge your fear, then that sucks because you're going to be stuck with that. For sure, you have to address it and make it move a bit. It can be a lot if you want.

run and jump in between two big rocks. That's a very good feeling, but doing that many times, you're gonna hurt yourself.

Pat Tenneriello (1:12:36)
You need confidence and courage to do what you're saying.

Guillaume (1:12:41)
Yeah, yes. But I'm not a super power, supernatural person. I'm just a regular guy or girl or whatever, you know. It's not because I'm tall that I'm not scared. It's not because I'm a man. I could be a girl, I could be whatever. It's really a...

a way of seeing the world, I think, and of being hungry right now.

Pat Tenneriello (1:13:07)
What are you hungry for right now?

Guillaume (1:13:09)
I discovered a very good word in Japanese called Ikigai.

I don't know if you guys heard about that, but me, just discovered that concept like three weeks ago. And I think that's my next, that's my quest because I feel like it's what I've been trying to go for for many years. And then someone put words into it. Yes, I'm not a very, I'm very beginner into this kind of philosophy, but it's like, imagine there is four big circle.

Pat Tenneriello (1:13:36)
Can you summarize it for us?

Guillaume (1:13:47)
One is what do you love to do in life? One is what you're good at in life? One is what the world needs? And one is how to make money in your life? All those four big circles, they kind of touch each other in the middle. And that's the Ikigai, that little point, that space where it's very meaningful.

It makes sense. You're not just working to make money to then do something you like. No, you do something you like and because you're good and because you like it, it generates a bit of income that makes you feel good. And then that's contribute to wellness of yourself, of the world, of, know. So this winter, I just lost my dad two months ago and that made me lots of

Pat Tenneriello (1:14:32)
Yep.

Guillaume (1:14:41)
thinking, reflections, and where am I in life, what am I trying to do, and since that word came to me I'm really trying to focus and precise.

Yeah, my.

Pat Tenneriello (1:14:52)
Do you know what

Ikigai means? Is it balance? don't know. I want to ask him. Okay. I know it's Japanese, I think. The first time I heard Ikigai was last year. I got laid off from my job and I reached out to an old boss and we had a call. She thought I was asking her for a job, but I just wanted to get advice and just talk to her and,

Guillaume (1:14:58)
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Yes, that's what I know.

Pat Tenneriello (1:15:16)
So she said, you know, you should really look at this Ikigai And so I read some articles. I didn't read it just a little bit, just to learn what it was about. it, I think it makes It's interesting that you bring it up in this conversation. makes me think maybe the universe is telling me I need to look into Ikigai a little bit more.

Guillaume (1:15:30)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, and please share after that.

Pat Tenneriello (1:15:37)
So you lost your father recently, my condolences. That's a life-changing moment. Around the same time I know this, there was also a fire at the circus.

Guillaume (1:15:42)
Thank you.

It's crazy, the same day on February 12th, a big fire happened in Igloolik at our black box, our performing arts center. And my dad passed away on that same day, same day. It's like two major pillars of my life vanished.

Pat Tenneriello (1:16:04)
Same day.

Guillaume (1:16:12)
And me, was in Quebec. So I was not in Igloolik, I was not with my dad. It was very big punch in the face. And then the next day or so I went to France for the funeral and then reconnect for the last time. And then I went back to Quebec and went to Igloolik. And now I'm just back from those...

two trips. And it's a very important moment for me, but I think it's also beautiful. Now we just need to re-precise where we're at, what we're trying to do, and make better. My dad is free now. He was sick. So I'm very happy that he's back to his full strength and can fly around and yeah.

be as great as he was in my mind, you And the black box, we just lost everything, but no one is dead, so all the kids, they're still there. And then we can dream of having a new building with an even better performing arts center. And that is gonna impact the next 50 years. So for now, it sucks.

But maybe in three years when that building would be built, it's going to be way better than it was. So it's like everything gets transformed. It's just something bad, it becomes good, you know?

Pat Tenneriello (1:17:34)
It's remarkable that you can view both of those major events in a positive light. And it hasn't been that much time since they occurred. ⁓ You're quite the optimist.

Guillaume (1:17:48)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, Igloolik helped me a lot. When I was there, everybody knew my dad because he's been there for 40 years. And people know about death. They know what it means to lose someone you love. So I received lots of hugs while being in Igloolik so I could share my pain.

And we went hunting and fishing during that three, almost a month I was there. And it's driving on a skidoo at minus 45, seeing the land, you know, being in total exposure. It's like an active meditation. It's so good for the mind. You just drive and you see life and you think and you are there at the moment.

I came back from Igloolik so full, so at the right place, thinking, okay, that's where I am right now. I'm ready for whatever comes next and I'll try to do whatever comes next the best I can with the best energy as possible. And my kids, to share with them and to live every little moment, you know?

Pat Tenneriello (1:18:58)
love that. I like to close every interview, Guillaume, with this question. Everyone has their own growing up story. Growing up means something different to everyone. What does growing up mean to you?

Guillaume (1:19:14)
It's part of my name.

the little old man that will grow.

I'm not done growing up.

I just want to keep on and even more maybe than before.

That's what it means. Grow up, it means every day. Every day, every day.

Pat Tenneriello (1:19:28)
Right? Never stop growing.

Guillaume (1:19:30)
No.

Pat Tenneriello (1:19:30)
Great man. Well, I really appreciate your willingness to be vulnerable and to share your life story, which I find completely fascinating. So thank you for sharing and I'm looking forward to sharing this episode with the world. And is there anything that listeners can do to help with the rebuilding process of the black box or anything that people can do to support? can put down any links you would like to share in the description of the episode.

Guillaume (1:19:57)
Yes, yes, that's great. We just made a GoFundMe page to help get some funding to buy new equipment and just help us accept to go through that crazy fire thing. please donate. And if you're very rich, let's say, and you want to give more than 1000 bucks,

Don't go through GoFundMe because they're like taking 15-20%. So please contact us directly at artcirq.org and wire us the money so this way 100 % of it will go towards the reconstruction. Sounds good. Thanks a lot. Okay, and please come to Foret aux Cascades. Would be nice to hang out in the forest.

Pat Tenneriello (1:20:38)
Okay. Okay. Sounds good. thank you so much.

Pat Tenneriello (1:20:48)
Well, that's a wrap on this episode of the After Peter Pan podcast. If you found it insightful, please drop us a rating or give us a like. It really helps to widen our audience. Thank you again for tuning in and I'll see you in a few weeks. Bye bye.