‘It’s not over until it’s over’: B.C. man inspired by late mom to earn national recognition in art and athletics

Adam finds out how a man was inspired by his mom to realize two childhood dreams.

VANCOUVER — Before he started taking photos with this professional camera, Andy White was focusing a disposable one on the vacation that changed his life.

“It turned out to be this larger-than-life experience,” Andy smiles.

Then-10-year-old Andy attended the Olympics in Sydney, Australia—with his mom who had had been on the Canadian national track and field team when she was younger—and found himself captivated by the javelin.

“You could see the spear fly over the entire field,” Andy says. “It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.”

When Andy returned to school with his pictures from the trip, his teacher said it was one of the coolest things he’d ever seen a student do.

“I didn’t realize I had an eye,” Andy smiles. “It was, ‘Oh my gosh! There’s something here.’”

It led Andy to focus on art and athletics, both supported by his number one fan.

“My mom wanted me to follow my dreams,” Andy says. “That was her wish for me her whole life.”

But when her life was cut short by cancer, Andy’s dreams felt diminished, until he bought a used camera on a road trip to the desert with his dad.

“We were learning to be father and son with just the two of us,” Andy smiles

While they made a meaningful memory, Andy discovered he could take remarkable pictures, the sort of images that won Andy his first national photography award.

But striving to qualify for a national sports team to compete in javelin proved to be more challenging.

“I had a qualifying period to throw a certain distance,” Andy explains. “I hadn’t done it yet and I had one weekend left (to try).”

So, Andy attempted to drive between two provinces—almost 900 kilometres in one day—to attend his last-chance match. Along the way, Andy was attacked.

“A crazy man smashed a log into back of my dad’s SUV,” Andy says, before showing pictures of the damage after the police took the man away.

“I was completely rattled, but I had a track meet to throw at.”

So, Andy continued his journey and achieved his goal. He ended up winning his first two national competitions, after earning his first spot on the same team his mom was once on.

“This is my mom’s Team Canada jersey, and I got to put it next to mine,” Andy says, placing the uniforms next to each other. “It’s really special that I got to honour her by following my dreams, because that’s what she wanted for me.”

And now he feels she would be proud that her boy grew up to never give up on realizing his dream of being both an accomplished athlete and a professional photographer.

“I learned it’s not over until it’s over,” Andy says, before revealing the words “Keep Going” inked on his forearm.

“That’s (why) I have that tattooed on my arm.”