As cool, pop music plays, the BDO logo appears over a background aerial shot of a street with moving cars.
The word Edmonton appears over a white screen, transitioning into a city view shot, over the Walterdale bridge of Edmonton.
A view of Nolan Thiessen’s Jordan sneakers, zoomed in on his feet as he strolls on a sidewalk in daylight, transitioning into a side view of his arm as he wears a red watch.
The narrator says, “I'm Nolan Thiessen, CEO of Curling Canada and a BDO alumni”.
The scene transitions to him, zooming to the upper part of his body and face, as he walks.
A shot of Nolan’s back as he still walks, wearing a black Curling Canada sweater with the logo on the top centre of the sweater.
Nolan (the narrator): “I was a former professional curler with Team Canada, and winning the World Championships in 2010, and a three-time Brier champion.”
The scene transitions to a storefront named “Foosh” as he walks to the door to enter.
Nolan says, “I'd always loved the Muhammad Ali quote, if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough,"
Nolan opens the store door and enters.
The scene transitions to the inside of a sneakers and sportswear store. The store is designed in a retro style with shelves stacked with different coloured trendy sneakers, boom boxes, and neon lights.
The title “Sneaker Chronicles: Nolan Thiessen, CEO, Canada Curling” appears over the view of the inside of the store.
Nolan says, “And I'm also a sneakerhead.”
The video zooms in on Nolan as he smiles while standing inside the store and crossing his arms on his chest.
Nolan shakes hands with the interviewer inside the sportswear store. The interviewer wears a navy polo shirt striped with one line of red and another white, with BDO’s logo on the shirt’s pocket side.
The interviewer, Adam Mallon, says: “Hey Nolan, great to meet you.”
Nolan responds, “Nice to meet you.”
The interviewer’s name and job title appear at the bottom of the screen in white font over a black background as follows: Adam Mallon. Managing Director, M&A and Capital Markets, BDO Canada.
Adam says, “Thanks for coming in.”
Nolan replies “Yeah absolutely.”
The interview starts with the camera shifting between a close-up of Nolan and a zoom-out of both Nolan and Adam standing face-to-face in the store.
Adam says, “I understand you're a sneakerhead.”
Nolan answers, “I've always liked shoes with a little bit of flair. I think once I got a little later on in my career, it kind of became my brand a little bit.”
Nolan’s name and job title appear at the bottom of the screen in white font over a black background, “Nolan Thiessen. CEO, Curling Canada.”
The scene transitions to an orange sneaker over a shelf in the store, zooming closer and closer.
Nolan says, “I grew up when Michael Jordan was the coolest person in the world, and he had the coolest shoes in the world. So I mean, I think it's, how do you go wrong with Jordan ones?”
Adam asks, “Can you tell me a little bit about the classics you're wearing today?”
Adam points his right hand at Nolan’s shoes and the scene moves to feature the black, red, and white Jordans.
Nolan responds, “Yeah, so these are Jordan one Low's. The day that I found out that I was going to get the offer to be the CEO of Curling Canada, I was actually in a store and looked at the wall and saw these. And I said, those are perfect Curling Canada colour's in it. Yeah, it just worked out.”
The scene remains in the same setting, inside Foosh store, transitioning between both speakers and zooming in and out between Nolan and Adam as they take turns to speak.
Adam asks, “20 years ago, you worked for BDO.”
Nolan says, “Yeah.”
Adam continues to say, “Were you allowed to wear those shoes to the office?”
Nolan chuckles and says, “No. We were a little dressier then.”
Adam asks, “What drew you to accounting?”
Nolan answers, “I was a math kid growing up. I'm very analytical. I like looking at things and not just looking at the numbers, but also looking at the story of what it means. And, I think that really drew me into accounting.”
Adam then asks, “Can you tell me a little bit about your life growing up in Brandon?”
Nolan answers, “I was a typical prairie kid. Baseball was my first love. Yeah, I grew up chasing the baseball dream. Went to Louisiana in the 12th grade and got a college scholarship at Junior College in Texas.”
The screen shows a picture of young Nolan Thiessen on a baseball field at the diamond as he throws a baseball, wearing the Blue Jays jersey and cap with blue jeans.
Adam asks, “Who would be the greatest baseball player of all time?”
Nolan answers, “My parents named me after him, so it's Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan's my idol. He'd be the one that I would be so starstruck to ever meet.”
A picture of Nolan Ryan appears. He wears a Texas Rangers cap and jersey, holding a baseball and wearing a baseball glove.
Adam then asks, “So, I noticed your shoes are impeccably tied. Much like tying laces, accounting is all about the details. So, what did you learn at BDO?”
Adam points his hand to Nolan’s sneakers. The scene then transitions to a pan-out of a shelf with multiple sneakers in different colours.
Nolan answers, “Anybody can balance a balance sheet. It's, what does it mean? What does it say about the business? Time management, which was huge and came in handy later on when I was chasing the curling dream full time.”
Two pictures of younger Nolan, one shows him in a group photo with the Curling Canada players, 3 other players and him wearing the white and yellow Curling Canada attire. The second photo is a close-up of him as he serves a Curling rock (a delivery).
Nolan continues to say, “From an athletic standpoint, you have a short window of time where you can be an athlete, and I could see the end of the road athletically and I said, okay, I just need to sell out for this for right now and I can go back and build my business career because I already had my designation at that point.”
The scene is back to both speakers in the store, where the image continues to shift between the two of them as they take turns to speak.
Adam asks, “Did having the designation, did that give you the comfort to take the lead?"
Nolan answers, “Oh yeah, absolutely. I remember one of the partners saying to me, accounting is one of the most recession-proof jobs there is. I mean, everybody needs an accountant and I knew I had something to go towards when I was done.”
A close-up image of mustard-yellow Reebok sneakers appears on the screen as upbeat music plays.
The image of the store ceiling shows next, displaying criss-cross neon lights, followed by a side view of a street with colourful graffiti on the opposite side of the street, all while cars are driving by.
A close-up view of an LED name light on a wall appears saying “Foosh” inside the store.
Nolan and Adam appear walking side by side inside the store, passing by shelves of colourful sneakers.
Nolan and Adam walk toward a green couch and sit on opposite sides, where a red and black pair of curling shoes is placed in the middle of the couch. They are still in Foosh store with a row of hung-up clothing appearing behind them as well as a shelf of multi-coloured sneakers and a boombox.
Adam holds one pair of the red and black curling shoes.
A close-up view of the curling shoe appears, showing the logo of its brand that says: ASHAM.
Adam asks, “So, tell me about these shoes?”
Nolan replies, “So, these are my old curling shoes. They're ASHAM brand, which is from Manitoba. I'm a good Manitoba boy there.”
Adam and Nolan are sitting on the same green couch where the image shifts between the two of them as they take turns speaking.
A close-up view of one ASHAM curling shoe appears as Nolan holds it, taking off the bottom black cover.
Nolan continues to say, “So, this is the sliding shoe. This is Teflon, which is one of the faster sliders. It's something that I always wanted, was the least amount of drag possible.”
Nolan points to the other pair in Adam’s hands.
Nolan says, “And, that's my trail shoe. And I've got a toe dip, it's called. Try to make this as slick as possible, so when you're sliding out and this toe is dragging, you don't have a boat anchor behind you.”
Adam asks, “Can you tell me about some of your biggest curling moments?"
A picture of a Curling sheet (Curling field) appears with Nolan and team members in blue and yellow Curling attire looking excited in what seems like a moment of victory.
Another picture appears of Nolan holding the championship cup, smiling, with a caption below the picture that says: Nolan Thiessen has his name on the Brier Tankard three times. (Photo, Curling Canada/Michael Burns).
Nolan answers, “Obviously, the biggest one was winning the World Championship. I mean, it's wearing the maple leaf, standing on the top of the podium, singing your national anthem is your dream. I was a front-end player too. So, sweeping really mattered to me, and I actually was fortunate and also nerve-wracking enough that I got to sweep a draw to the button twice to win the Brier. So, you fulfill a lifelong dream. I think the first time I won it I said, I wanted to win this thing since I was 10 or 11 years old. This is, it's so cool."
A view of fast-moving cars on a street appears.
A close-up view of the feet of walking pedestrians shows, followed by a view of the Foosh storefront.
The scene is now back to the inside of the store. Adam and Nolan sitting on the green couch.
Adam asks, “What do you do to stay in shape now?”
Nolan answers, “So, I do lots of outdoor running. Getting out for an hour and going for a run and just letting your mind clear, I think is one of my ways to sort of decompress.”
A row of multi-coloured sneakers appears in a pan-out view.
Adam then asks, “So like cross-training and sneakers, how did you diversify your skills in order to move up at Curling Canada?”
The view is back on the two speakers sitting on the green couch.
Nolan replies, “I said, I wanted to learn the business of sport and I wanted to. That meant doing some very junior roles. I'm someone who, I need to do it to understand it and see how the pieces are all put together. How can you help me learn and expand my skillset?”
A view of a table full of different coloured sneakers appears.
Adam asks, “So sneakers provide stability, how did accounting provide you the solid foundation for your next role after curling?”
The view is back on the two speakers sitting on the green couch.
Nolan answers, “Being able to provide me that business acumen, I think was massive for me. Exposure to many different businesses and different clients, different motivations, being able to acknowledge all of those motivations for people, but then still being able to take it back to the business was valuable in my role.”
A back view of Adam and Nolan walking inside the store, browsing through the shelves of sneakers when Nolan reaches for an orange, yellow, green, and white Nike pair and holds it. The camera views them both from different angles in the store.
Adam asks, “What is it like being the CEO of Curling Canada?”
The view is back on the two speakers standing face-to-face inside the store.
Nolan answers, “This means a little bit more to me than just sort of this one moment. I just say, I don't want to let the sport down, and then I just care about it.”
A picture of Nolan holding a microphone, speaking on stage with a caption that says on the top of the image: Thiessen named CEO, and another at the bottom that says: Nolan Thiessen will take the helm of Curling Canada as its Chief Executive Officer. (Photo, World Curling Federation)
Nolan continues to say, “But I think the biggest thing for me is just planning and focusing on the process and knowing that there's a long game. Having that strategic goal of where you want to take the organization and always coming back to that.”
The view is back on the two speakers as they stand inside the store, face-to-face.
Adam asks, “So sneakers protect our feet from rough terrain, how have you steered Curling Canada through a rough spot?”
The camera pans over a table full of different-coloured sneakers.
The view is back to the speakers, zooming in on each speaker as they take turns to speak, then showing them both as they stand in the store.
Nolan responds, “Sometimes it's just saying, I don't know, and it's being confident enough to say, we don't have the answers right now, and we'll get them. Or always being open with all your stakeholders when decisions need to be made or when you're still processing.”
The camera zooms in on a special pair of high-top custom white sneakers sitting on a shelve, with custom drawings of Calgary’s landmarks on one side of each pair.
Adam asks, “All right, so you've got to tell me about these beauties here.”
The view then moves to Nolan as he holds both pairs of these custom sneakers while standing with Adam in the store.
Nolan answers, “These are some custom sneakers that Tourism Calgary got done for me. We've got an amazing relationship with them. They helped us during COVID to be able to put on our events in a bubble for 80 days. These are just some Jordan ones, but custom airbrushed with the Calgary skyline, Curling on the other side with the Scotties Tournament of Hearts logo and the Curling Canada logo on them. So I buy shoes to wear shoes, but these ones are so nice. These might be the only ones that I'll just leave on my shelves. They look too good, I'm not sure if I can wear these.”
Adam asks, “So I know that youth participation is really huge for you, why is it so important?”
Nolan answers, “You know what? It's the next generation. I watched the Brier when I was 10 and then said, I want to win it. I want those experiences for people now to look at it and say, that was a really cool moment, I'd love to experience that. And sometimes that experience is playing it, sometimes that experience is, next time curling is in town, I want to be in the building to feel the energy.”
The camera now moves to another table full of sneakers of different colours, brands, and designs.
Adam then asks, “So reflecting on your journey from athlete to accountant, to CEO, what's the legacy you want to leave behind?
The view goes back to both Nolan and Adam standing in the store face-to-face as the interview continues.
Nolan answers, “I love our game. I love the community. I love what it is. It's like this special piece of Canadiana. Our mission is more curlers, curling better and more fans.”
A fast-transitioning scene of a city view, starting with a view of towers and buildings, moving then to an intersection sign, then a vertical top view of a street with moving cars and a blue bus, and lastly a zoom-in view of a painting inside the store of three different-coloured Nikes over the name of the store “Foosh”.
Adam asks, “Bonus round. Which is harder, winning the World Championship or getting your CPA?”
The scene is back inside the store, featuring the speakers as they stand face-to-face.
Nolan laughs briefly.
Nolan responds, “So, they're different. Getting my CPA is harder. The World Championship is obviously extremely hard. It's also one though, where if you screw up, millions of people saw it.”
The scene zooms into a white pair of Puma sneakers on a shelf, transitioning to a row of different brands and colours of sneakers.
The scene shows the neon criss-cross ceiling lights and transitions back to the sneaker shelves in a spiral shot.
Adam says, “Someone from your past BDO is here to say hello.”
The scene is back in the store featuring Nolan and Adam as they stand.
Nolan says, “Awesome.”
Enters Colin Brecht and shakes hands with Nolan. Colin wears a navy polo shirt with the Nike logo on the left short sleeve and khaki pants.
Colin’s job title appears at the bottom of the screen in white font saying: Colin Brecht, Partner, Assurance, BDO Canada.
Colin says, “Nolan, great to see you.”
The scene shows Nolan and Colin standing face-to-face inside the store.
Nolan responds, “Good to see you, Colin. How's it going?”
Colin says, “Oh, things are going well.”
Nolan asks, “Things are going good?”
Colin says, “We're so proud of you here at BDO. I've always been following you along.”
Nolan says, “I know you were my lead on a few different audit files, so we spent some time in some bingo halls and some places all over Edmonton, so.”
Colin says, “Well, it's with... We got a little surprise for you.”
Enters a female in a beige sweater, holding white and sky-blue custom-made sneakers and handing them over to Colin.
Nolan says, “Wow.”
Colin holds the sneakers in his hands, shows them to Nolan, a pair of white Nike Air forces featuring BDO’s logo and Curling Canada, and hands them over to Nolan.
Colin says, “So we got some, knowing that you're a sneakers guy, so we've got a pair of custom sneakers for you. I guess, they're Air Force ones. So, take a look.”
Nolan holds the sneakers looking at them from different angles while smiling.
Nolan says, “Wow. Curling Canada, BDO. Look at that, hey. Our auditor at Curling Canada is actually BDO. So, I'll have to take these down when I got to go down for the audit here in a couple of months, so this is awesome. Thank you very much. Much appreciated.”
Nolan shakes hands with Colin.
Colin says, “Great to see you again.”
Nolan responds, “Good to see you too.”
A black screen appears with a line that says: Join our BDO Alumni Program.
The video ends with the BDO logo in the centre of the screen over a white background.