About Richard Mountain
It took many years of searching to find this profession that incorporates many of the philosophies that I strongly believe in. Growing up and working on organic farms taught me the value of hard work as well as an understanding of agriculture and what it takes to produce quality food. My parents and both of my grandparents grew large produce and herb gardens and would carefully utilize herbal plants from the surrounding fields and forests. I was also taught the benefits of regular exercise, how to carefully select a healthy diet, and only use medications as a last resort when dealing with an illness.
Growing up in Ontario, I enjoyed canoeing or fishing with my dad or a family day at one of Ontarios beautiful sandy beaches. Living in the country, with constant farm work, did not allow for a commitment to scheduled team sports so my favorite past-times were outdoor adventures including mountain biking, windsurfing, and snowboarding. Additionally, my family also loved to travel and we took some amazing, life changing road trips through the United States and Mexico, as well as to the west and east coasts of Canada.
As the oldest of 5 children and often tour guide on my family's bison farm, leading a group and teaching came naturally to me. So, after completing high school the search for adventure lead me to the west again. Initially, my work experience and the north-western environment inspired ambitions of teaching something that involved the outdoors and health. As such, I worked up the ladder at an outdoor retail chain store and spent several years in management and corporate training. At the same time, I took further certifications in snowboarding and was privileged to travel extensively throughout British Columbia and Alberta training CASI certified snowboard instructors.
Over time though, I realized that I wanted to have a greater, more direct impact on people's health. However, the thought of giving up my job and starting university 7 years after graduating from high school was daunting to say the least! Fortunately, I had amazing encouragement from friends and family. So, my research revealed a degree program called Kinesiology which combined exercise and health physiology - exactly my interests. I began school in 2002 at the University of Northern British Columbia (in Prince George, BC) and later transferred to the Kinesiology program at the University of Calgary. When I started university, I had just become aware of naturopathic medicine and although I was interested, my initial goal was to become a sports medicine doctor as sports medicine had helped me recover from several athletic injuries. However, by the time I transferred to the U of C, I was convinced I would go into naturopathic medicine.
