Changemaker Profile: Nathan Hayashi is Driving Canada’s Rally Future
From the ski slopes of Calgary to the deserts of Dakar, Nathan Hayashi has never stopped chasing speed. After competing at the FIS level in ski racing and immersing himself in motorcycle competition, he founded The Gear Shop Technical Motorsport, a Calgary workshop that builds rally-ready machines. What began as a small off-road community is now on the world stage: Nathan and his team have officially qualified to represent Canada at Dakar 2026, the planet’s most brutal rally raid.
SPX: How do you define “making change” in your work, and what does that look like in practice? Not just impactful change for society, but impactful and profitable for your organization.
NH: Making change in our work is defined by altering the course of the industry and the end user. I like to call it breaking the trend to improve the outcome for people, enviroment and function. At first it’s not profitable for us, however, in due time as we create the industry or opportunity we can ride the wave after we disrupt the waters.
SPX: Who is a person or brand in the sponsorship world that you admire as a true changemaker, and why?
NH: I don’t know too many people in the sponsorship world.
I would say Mark (Harrison) is someone I admire as a changemaker in the sponsorship
Steve Jobs. Sounds cliche, however in 1995 I was challenged by my father to study both Windows PC and Macintosh. I knew nothing about computers except for the ads about Windows 95. After studying both platforms I had come to a conclusion… the mind behind the company was important. I followed Steve Jobs through 1995 till his passing, the ups and downs.. then up. His introspective journey after being ousted from his own company. He never gave up, he changed who he was to who he needed to be, wasn’t afraid to pick up the phone to pick someone’s brain, and executed his visions. The outcome was what people see is the products him and his team created. The real change came from his ability to challenge what people believed was normal and executed his vision for what the world should be. It’s been called the reality distortion field. He was able to distort reality and we’ve benefited from this to this day.
SPX: We would love to hear about a project, partnership, or initiative that you’re most proud of. What impact did it have?
NH: This is going back to a time when ski companies didn’t sponsor young athletes. I was 13 years old and was volunteering at the local ski shop Ski Cellar. The owner, Hans, kept trying to barter ski gear with my parents to adopt me when I was a few years old. Some weekends before the ski season my parents would drop me off at Ski Cellar to hang out with the staff for the afternoon.
As I entered into ski racing, he started giving gear to my parents (sponsorship he called it) so in return I wanted to volunteer to pay him back. I started cleaning the tuning machines, sweeping floors and eventually selling… lots of selling.
Fitted ski boots, sold skis, bindings, poles.. eventually the staff was pushing me in front of customers because I could close… at 12 years old. I loved the product knowledge meetings, I would ask about the different wood construction and materials being used… where it’s stiffer… how did it impact torsional stiffness… Customers didn’t trust that this 9 year old looking kid (I was small for my age…wasn’t even on the growth chart) knew what he was doing, at the end of it.. they were walking out with a full set up.
Since I was 11 I nerded out on ski construction, boot design and what the outcomes were for the skier which what helped being able to communicate each ski and how it would perform for the customer. My father and I would modify my ski boots for better flex and this would translate to how each change made the skiing feel.
That year, Ski Cellar had introduced me to the Salomon Sports Canada rep to discuss a possible sponsorship for the following year. I created a proposal with the help of my mother. I wanted to get every team mate on Salomon skis by the end of the year and start pushing other kids on other teams to be on these skis. I knew if I could podium it was simple to change their minds… plus Salomon was coming out with a new line for Jr Race Skis (the 1S and 3S). The deal was, get majority of my team on Salomon, influence more racers to get on Salomons and finish top 15.
The following year I medalled at almost every race. Kids on my team started to switch mid season to Salomon skis (because it was the skis that made the skier) and the next year half the field was on Salomon skis. Huge amount of gratitude that Salomon Sports Canada, Ski Cellar and later KBM sponsored my racing career to the day I stopped racing in 2000.
This was a massive impact for my parents and I. If there wasn’t sponsorship, It wouldn’t have been possible for me to ski race. The costs associated with racing were very high. My parents worked crazy long hours to keep the household going and to put me through ski racing. Ski Cellar, Salomon Sports Canada and KBM was the oxygen to my ability to race. I learned about deliverables at a young age and this lesson has carried through to my life today.
SPX: What advice would you give to someone just starting who wants to drive meaningful change in sport, business, or community?
NH: I can barely speak for change.. I feel we’re just starting this journey.
Follow the heard to learn, eventually you have to break from the heard to drive change.
SPX: What excites you most about the future of sponsorship?
NH: The future of sponsorship excites me because of the possibilities it allows us to create, provide and execute. It’s like rocket fuel to help us reach escape velocity.
SPX: BONUS Question: What is more critical - Profit? Purpose? Both?
NH: I believe purpose is critical, and if the purpose benefits people, the profit will follow. Some sort of income is important to give life to your team. The purpose is the oxygen driven through the culture.
Dakar 2026
With a confirmed spot at Dakar 2026, Nathan and his team are preparing to carry the Canadian flag into the world’s most unforgiving race. It’s a mission built on persistence, risk-taking, and community and one that shows Canadian motorsport belongs on the global stage.
Hear from Nathan in his Changemakers Table session, “Catalysts for Change,” featuring Helen Stoumbos (The GOOD Games Festival Inc.), Rachael Pinnock (Canadian Paralympic Committee), and Claire Barron (Park Street Education) - part of the SponsorshipX Changemakers Summit, November 13–15 in Toronto.