Scott “Crusher” Wallace passed on Friday, May 24, following a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 49.
Born in Leduc, Wallace was a lifelong athlete, competing in hockey, football, and powerlifting. His passion was the sport of Strong Man.
From a young age, tending the net for his hockey team, Wallace displayed a remarkable resilience that inspired those around him. Despite sustaining an injury in the net as a young hockey player, Wallace insisted on finishing the game so as not to disappoint his team.
He carried that same never-give-up attitude onto the football field in high school in Leduc and semi-pro in Edmonton.
Picking up the weights in high school, Wallace fell in love with lifting heavy.
While living in BC, Wallace took a chance to enter an upcoming Strong Man competition. Although he did not place high in that inaugural event, he met Brian Way, another Strong Man competitor who would become a brother. Brian showed Wallace the ropes and characteristics of the sport, something Wallace paid forward with so many other up-and-comers.
In 2016, just five years after his first competition, Wallace stepped onto the top step to be proclaimed BC’s Strongest Man.
Wallace would hold many other titles, including Alberta’s Strongest Man. Still, BC’s victory was always his most cherished, perhaps because it was his first championship, but mainly because he had achieved what many said could not be done in five short years.
He continued in the sport, including attending the Master’s World’s in Dubreuilville, Ontario, and, most recently, competing in Arizona and Regina, Saskatchewan.
Sadly, Wallace did not place his standard top three in the last two competitions. How could he? He had cancer, something unknown to him at the time.
The cancer growing in his throat had enlarged, restricting air intake into his lungs, making stamina an issue in the competitions. Still, this giant of a man completed both of those events.
After being diagnosed and undergoing cancer surgery, Wallace was up and moving, albeit slowly, within days, even attempting to do some unweighted squats in the hospital.
His never-surrender attitude impressed staff and undoubtedly aided in his recovery time.
Throughout chemo and radiation treatments, Wallace continued to train and lift, even taking first place in a powerlifting competition in Edmonton. This was a first step on a targeted path to getting back to the sport and excelling in it.
But cancer would return with a vengeance. Doctors found multiple tumours on his liver, femur and spine, and treatment began anew.
Still, Crusher trained determined to beat the disease like he beat opponents in competition—with a focus on doing what was needed, a positive forward momentum, and an absolute unwillingness to stop until he achieved the desired result.
As the illness progressed, Wallace shifted his focus to training others while still training himself.
Riddled with cancer, a situation that would make most people shift focus to themselves, Wallace trained a local powerlifter to national records, hockey players to give them more explosive strength, and even seniors looking to improve their core strength.
Crusher, the competitor, saw only the end goal in any competition—lifting as much as possible to take that next title. The only things that existed were the weight and the points.
But Crusher, the father, saw his family as everything. Crusher, the friend, would take a genuine interest in how your job or weekend was going.
A giant of a man who intimidated more than a few people at first meeting by his size, he was a caring and gentle person, albeit one who could lift a car or pull a fire truck.
And Scott “Crusher” Wallace pulled a fire truck here in Morinville on Canada Day in 2018, his first real introduction to the community.
For six years, Wallace proudly called Morinville home and was proud to represent Morinville in every competition he took part in. In this sense, he was a Community Champion in more ways than one.
But despite all his strength, trophies, and the countless millions of pounds he lifted to get there, Wallace’s true legacy was persistence in the face of obstacles and adversities.
Through his four-year-long battle with cancer, Wallace shared his journey with the same openness that he shared his competitive journey.
In the process, he earned admiration and respect for his determination, giving hope to others battling cancer, athletes trying to achieve results, and even middle-aged men and women battling some extra pounds.
Scott’s garage door was always open to those who wanted to lift some weights, learn the ropes of powerlifting or Strong Man, or get advice on being healthier.
One hopes the gym in heaven has all the right equipment. If it does, we are sure Scott Wallace is up there yelling encouragement in that booming voice to someone trying to hit that new personal record.
Rest in peace, Crusher. You taught so many of us to be strong, live strong, stay strong and never, ever quit. We shall always remember that lesson and the warrior who taught it.
In the end, your determination was both your true legacy and your greatest strength.
-SD
| Publisher’s Note: A Celebration of Life for Scott “Crusher” Wallace will be held on Saturday, July 20 at 2 p.m. at the Leduc Lions Campground Hall. Those attending are welcome to camp and celebrate. We will provide additional details closer to the Celebration of Life. |
