“I find that with social media nowadays, you can go down the deepest rabbit hole of rabbit holes, so I really try to just take a little grain of salt from everyone’s basket.”

Valenzuela is a professional rugby player, and in 2024 she became the first Indigenous woman from Canada to win an Olympic medal (silver) in rugby sevens. Now she’s ready to use her newfound platform to inspire the next generation.

“We have to keep getting youth players and young girls watching rugby,” she says. “It really starts at a young age. I didn’t even know about rugby when I was little.”

Parks, meanwhile, is a specialized Porsche technician with Porsche Centre Richmond, working on cars that are nothing short of artworks. He began his career as a motorsport driver, but soon fell in love with the behind-the-scenes magic of mechanics.

He also happens to be B.C.’s “millennium baby”: the first kid born in the province in the year 2000, when everyone thought Y2K would break the world. In Coquitlam, where he was born, they even threw him a parade.

“Unfortunately, I don’t remember any of it,” he says with a smile. He would have been only about a month old, so he’s forgiven.

Regardless of age, we all have something to learn from these two impressive individuals.

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In the last 25 years, a lot has happened. There’s been a global pandemic, a global financial crisis, the invention and boom of the smartphone, and the onset of climate change. That’s a lot for a 25-year-old person to be weathering. How have those large moments shaped the way each of you lives your life?

BP: With smartphones, being able to see wars overseas—I feel like being able to see stuff like that is eye-opening. You can be sitting at your kitchen table with your friends and family, but you’re seeing people who are overseas, earthquakes happening in Japan, and so on.

SV: The time now, with so much access to what’s going on around us, and way more exposure, I feel like we’ve had to grow up a little bit quicker in certain ways. And I think for our parents, it’s hard to understand the stress that comes with that. I feel like I’m hyper-aware of all these crazy things going on around the world, and we’re already going through a really stressful time in our lives—just with so much change, self-discovery and responsibility. And then also knowing what’s going on around us, it can be a bit overwhelming. But also, it can make you realize how privileged we are over here.

“…being able to really connect to your sport is important, because when you’re in that moment, nothing else really matters.”

What tools do each of you use to navigate through those things?

SV: Being present. I don’t want to be ignorant to what’s going on around the world, and I find that stuff pretty interesting; it’s a lot of learning with how things are changing. So it’s trying to be present and focusing on yourself, but also being open-minded and aware of what’s going on around us, and recognizing our privilege here and our responsibility to still be a voice for people without voices.

BP: I definitely agree with that. I find that with social media nowadays, you can go down the deepest rabbit hole of rabbit holes, so I really try to just take a little grain of salt from everyone’s basket. There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes that people used to not get to see, which our generation gets to see the most, versus my parents, who don’t do the whole social-media thing.

“If I could talk to the younger version of myself, I would talk about how important it is to be kind to yourself.”

SV: If I could talk to the younger version of myself, I would talk about how important it is to be kind to yourself. Being a young adult in general, people are too hard and too stressed, and I think it gets worse when you’re comparing yourself to other people and where they’re at. I have friends who, after high school, went straight into post-secondary or the trades and have their career figured out, and are married and maybe have kids. And, you know, I’m here playing with a ball every day, so it’s a little bit different. It’s hard not to compare your journey to other people’s journeys, but I think I’d say, “Be kind to yourself throughout the process. You are where you deserve to be.”

BP: I would probably say to myself, “Don’t take everything so seriously. Take everything with a grain of salt. It’s not the end of the world. If something happens and you’re going down this path, you might take a wrong turn. But at the end of the day, there’s a stopping point, and that’s going to be whatever point it’s going to be, and life is going to guide you whichever way it decides to. And you just have to ride the wave and go with it, and do what’s best for you in those moments.”

SV: I wish my younger self knew that everything’s going to be all right, so just be who you are. Now I’m embracing my culture way more, and being way more proud to be an Indigenous role model.

There’s so much coming at you, whether it’s on social media, job pressures, or the comparison game. How do you stay true to yourself throughout all that?

SV: A huge part of it, for me, is surrounding myself with people who want the best for me, who see me—the people that you open up to and show your true, authentic self to. You can’t fool those people at the end of the day. So, if you’re surrounding yourself with genuine people who you’re authentic with, and who see you for you, I think it really helps.

BP: I definitely agree. And I feel like staying true to yourself, for me, coming back from the racing side of things and now doing the mechanic side, is still touching on that racing side: being able to go up to the track on the weekends during the summer and doing what I love. Because—I know Shalaya will agree—when you’re in that moment, where either you’re strapped in a race car waiting for a green flag around that first corner, or you’re in a scrum waiting for the whistle, nothing else matters at that point in time. You forget about everything. So, I feel like, for me and her, being able to really connect to your sport is important, because when you’re in that moment, nothing else really matters.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Featured 25-year-olds
Shalaya Valenzuela
Bradley Parks

Photographer
Ellen Ho
@hongphotography
hong-creative.com

Hair & Makeup
Anita Lee
@anitaleehairmakeup
helmetsalon.com

Stylist
Donna Yasmeen
@stylebydona

Styling Assistant
Laura Gomez
@mzlaugomez

Creative Director
Will Fong

Production
Melissa Mak

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Styling Credits:

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