Canadian Men’s Health Foundation adds sportscaster as healthy lifestyle advocate
Jim Hughson.
Chances are if you don’t know his name, you know his voice; the voice of Saturday night hockey, NHL video games for a number of years, and now the cornerstone of the Rogers hockey play-by-play crew.
A voice undoubtedly set apart from the rest of ours, it is a voice that holds the biggest microphone on the most significant stages in Canada.
That voice, however, claims it is nothing past average.
“I feel that I’m close to a lot of the guys in our country,” Hughson explained. “I’m just a regular guy.”
Just a regular guy who plays hockey late on Wednesday nights with Try-Too-Hard.
“You know, there’s always a guy who thinks he’s playing Saturday night at seven,” the sportscaster quipped.
The simple, relatable image Hughson exhibits is perhaps the reason the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF) extended an invitation to become an advocate for the “Don’t Change Much” health initiative, an invitation that was also accepted by former NHL player Trevor Linden, retired Olympic triathlon champion Simon Whitfield, and Toronto Argonauts linebacker Shea Emry.
“I was really reluctant to do it,” Hughson said of his initial hesitation to join CMHF. “I don’t see myself as an athlete, so I certainly don’t want to be condescending and sound like I’m trying to tell people how to run their lives.”
Hughson however, chooses to run the NHL with his.
“I just needed to find something to do to keep fit while I was traveling, and running became it,” Hughson explained of the task of staying healthy while facing the demands of his job early on in his career. “When I was approached to be an advocate, I really sat back and thought about it, and I’ve got a route or two in every city in the National Hockey League – I really do run the NHL.”
Like the average Canadian, the Fort St. John, British Columbia native didn’t begin as running’s biggest fan.
“I always thought running was the most awful thing you could do because I love to play sports,” Hughson said, adding he would play “tidily-winks” just for the competitive aspect. “But, when I work a job that requires late nights which often means eating an entire pizza at two in the morning, I needed to counter that with some things.”
The response doesn’t have to change your entire lifestyle. In fact, you barely have to notice it at all.
“People often bite off more than they can chew,” Hughson explained. “I think everybody should take it one step at a time. There are all sorts of little things you can change.”
Those little things can be as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, opting not to eat the entire basket of bread before the menu arrives at your favourite restaurant, or just going for a walk. All things Hughson encourages in the “Don’t Change Much” initiative.
“I love the ‘Don’t Change Much’ idea,” Hughson said. “You’re not beating people over the head and telling them to live a certain way. It’s just giving them some ideas to change a few things, things that make you feel better.”
“We don’t all have to be Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos. They’re pretty special and we’re not going to get there on our best days,” Hughson added. “But you can be a better star at your own occupation if you feel better when you get to work.”
At the end of the day, Hughson is really just an advocate for a healthier lifestyle for people just like him.
“The fact that I had a 55-minute run this morning just makes me feel a lot better about sitting around watching baseball and football all afternoon,” Hughson said. “And maybe having a beer.”
How does the average person start walking down the path of a healthier lifestyle, you ask?
“I don’t like to suggest things because I’m just a guy,” Hughson explained, adding he isn’t a chef, nor does he run a fitness institute. “But I would say the first thing is to get it in your head that you’re going to do a few things differently to feel better about yourself.”
Step one from the voice himself, Canada.