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rowing up in the 90s a healthy amount of my childhood was spent trying to play video games. Whether it was sneaking down to the TV after lights out or lobbying for sleepovers with friends who had ‘cool’ parents, I wanted to increase my game time to work through those levels.

Inevitably, the games would crap out, I’d lose my progress and be left with no other option than to start over. I always hated that part.

Fortunately, game developers were known to place ‘easter eggs’, shortcuts to advance progress. Contra had its legendary code most 80s babies can recite on command. Super Mario Bros hid magic flutes to skip levels, NBA jam had codes to unlock celebrity players, and so on.

Being here is a dream come true. I just did a photoshoot with Kevin Durant.

-Aaron Brown

What if you could apply those cheat codes to real life? Superhero abilities aside, you’ve undoubtedly reflected on life at some point and said to yourself, “I wish I knew that when I was younger.” But have you ever tried to share your wisdom with a teenager? Try telling them that they should invest grandma’s birthday money rather than buy a new iPhone. Let me know how that talk goes.

As a teenager Aaron Brown was different. He studied the cheat codes passed down by his parents, his coaches and his idols and at the age of 24, he’s as close to a superhero as it gets.

Earlier this month Brown did something only 4 Canadians have ever done, ran a sub 10-second 100m race, 9.96 seconds to be exact. Not only will it see his name enter Canadian sports history, it will likely secure him a spot on the Canadian Olympic team should he deliver a similar performance at the national trials in Edmonton.

When I had the opportunity to sit down with Brown, his composure and calm demeanor immediately caught my attention. As we spoke my curiosity grew. Brown has strategically used the cheat codes passed down by his parents, coaches, athlete inspirations to achieve far greater composure and focus than his peer group.

After the pleasantries, digging into the how’s and why quickly became our topic of our conversation.

L to R: Melissa Bishop (Athletics), Aaron Brown (Athletics), Natalie Achonwa (Basketball) - Photo: Leslie Woods

You appear to be very composed, very disciplined. Absorbing the knowledge that your coaches and mentors are sharing instead of challenging it.

Can you retrace where that composure came from? Is that something you learned from your parents growing up?

My parents always instilled in me to take advantage of my opportunities. I realized age is nothing but a number. I know it's a cliché to say that but I truly believe it. If you can listen to what others have told you, you don't have to go through the growing pains to reach that maturation process.

If you actually apply yourself, listen to what people tell you and respect the people who have done it before you, you can learn from their mistakes and get to a point where you're making wiser decisions from a younger age.

Growing up I would always watch pro athletes, study how they would carry themselves in interviews. I would see who [sponsors] would use in commercials, which athletes would get the big sponsorships and that resonated with me. I envisioned the type of athlete I want to model myself to be and I've always stuck to that since I was young.

When people refuse to learn from others mistakes it's like you're working against yourself, you have the answers right there just listen to it and try.

-Aaron Brown

How did you transition from running in gym shorts and jordans at your high school to representing Canada on the international stage?

In high school I didn't know much about track, I had my coach, Bill Stephens, he gave me the advice to pursue track as a possible sport because I would have the opportunity to get a scholarship to a US College or University.

Sometimes it's just a matter of listening to what people tell you because people give you really good advice and a lot of times, it's taken for granted. But if you actually listen and apply it, it will take you a long way.

When I became a professional, in my first year I was prepared for a lot of the stuff that came my way.

In High School before Track you played several sports, tell me about that period of time.

Track was the last sport I got into. I was actually into soccer. I went to Birchmount as part of the exceptional athlete program, where you have to choose a focus sport. I went in as a soccer player, then I played basketball, then football and then I found track and field.

I realized the common denominator among those sports was that I was fast.

It was my advantage over other players. I ran for fun over the summer when my club coach, Bill Stephens told me, 'you can do something with this talent, you should really think about doing track full time.'

I was thinking to myself, Track & Field isn't a very sexy sport to a high schooler

Yeah! [Coach Stephens] was willing to pay for my club membership for the summer, and that's when I agreed to give this a try, I did it and performed very well.

Friends of mine pushed me to be a better athlete in track. I was this kid, just running part time, and they wanted to give me a little hazing and say things like, ‘You're not just going to come in here and take over our sport, thinking you can do this part time.’

I started taking things more seriously and training harder. At the time, I was running from a standing start. I actually wanted to be a track athlete just so I could prove to those guys that I could do it too. That mentality just carried through, from high school to college, and now at the pro level.

The common denominator among those sports was that I was fast.

-Aaron Brown

Now you’re preparing for your second Olympic appearance at the age of 24 and just walked the stage alongside two-dozen all-world athletes. Describe what is going through your head.

Being here is a dream come true. I just did a photoshoot with Kevin Durant. It’s crazy, all these people I'm lined up with have so much going for themselves, they've all achieved so much. Olympic Gold medalists, Allyson Felix, everybody here is so talented, it's just a blessing. I'm very fortunate to be among people like this and to be included in an event like this where I can be among greatness. It motivates me to want to be at their level.

Have you had a chance to talk to any of the other athletes? Pick their brains?

They're all so down to earth, just regular people. That's what's great, it lets you know that these people stay humble. Even though they've achieved so much they are still human and still a side of them that is willing to talk to someone who is lesser known who's coming up in the ranks.

It motivating, at one point they were in my position. They weren't born icons, they worked their way up, they earned and built themselves and their brand. That motivates me to work to that point, where I'm looking at someone who's coming up in the ranks and giving them motivation, that's why we do it.

Is there something sports specific that you'd like to learn from them?

I don't want to fan out, one person that I can talk to at that level is Justin Gatlin, he's my training partner. I'm fortunate enough to have someone to talk to who's been there before. The highs, the lows, he's been through it all. We train every day, I see him sweat, work hard, cry, all that stuff. I'm able to talk to him intimately and ask more personal questions in order for me to grow as an athlete. Having people like that in your corner helps as you come up in the rankings and learn what you need to do and what not to do.

You touched on it earlier, being able to take advice from a young age. I think most people look back and say "I wish I knew that as a kid," someone's probably advised them yet, kids go out every day and make those same mistakes for themselves.

Is there a moment you can recall where you identified that and said, 'I don't need to make this mistake for myself, I'm going to follow what these people say?”

I like to look outside my sport. The Forbes lists, for instance, they explain different people's stories, people who have achieved success at a very young age, I go and read those stories.

Someone like Mark Zuckerberg. He's very young but he's achieved more than some people have achieved in a lifetime. He's worked hard and didn't let age hold him back from achieving greatness.

I look and ask how can I apply that to myself, learning from other people's mistakes. Other people have done it before, there's nothing I'm going to do that someone else hasn't already tried. Why would I try, and fail to do it my way and be hard-headed, when I have someone who's done it before and I can learn from their mistakes and do achieve it at a young age.

There's no reason why I can't achieve what some older people have if I just work at it and just do the things that they've done after they've made the mistakes and just learn from it. When people refuse to learn from others mistakes it's like you're working against yourself, you have the answers right there just listen to it and try.

Sometimes it's just a matter of listening to what people tell you because people give you really good advice and a lot of times, it's taken for granted.

-Aaron Brown

You read a lot, is there any one book that you recommend young people to read?

It's not a book about sports but Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It’s a really good book and changes your mindset about how to think about life and your finances, and how you go about carrying yourself. You look at the world differently after reading that book. Honestly, it opened my eyes.

How old were you when you read that book?

Twenty-two. I read it and now look at the world a whole different way. I'm going to try and take the opportunities that are ahead of me. I'm young but I can achieve a lot if I just listen to the advice that I'm reading right now. There are so many keys to success in that book. I really recommend it.

I’ve gotta ask, what’s one piece of advice would you give to someone running their first race?

Just have fun. People stress things and want to be the best, and be a competitor, but if you lose sight of having fun it just becomes tenuous, it becomes a job, and you never want to make it like a job.

It's funny you mention the 'first race.' Sometimes when I’m in a moment and there's a lot of pressure, I look back to when I was a beginner in basketball shorts and sneakers in high school. That's when I say, 'I'm doing the exact same thing so don't stress it. I'm running the 100m like I did years ago.’

If you have fun with it and you execute the best that you can, at the end of the day you're still happy. If someone beats you, you know it's not because you did something wrong, they just have it.

At that point they’re just better than you and you can go back to the drawing board, keep working hard, having faith and come back at it again.

As simple as it sounds, it's the truth. You're more motivated to be better and excel when you're having fun.

If you work in a cubicle and you're doing the same monotonous stuff day after day it’s hard to want to be motivated to be better.

If you're having fun every day and surrounded by people you enjoy it's easy to put in the extra hours.

Thanks Aaron, good luck in Rio.