Orillia native and former Snowbird competes in ‘The Amazing Race’
Mark LaVerdiere has soared through the sky while executing aerobatic manoeuvres that would leave the average mortal dizzy with fear.
A member of the iconic Snowbirds precision flying team from 2007 to 2010, as well as having served as a fighter pilot, LaVerdiere was no doubt well equipped to face his latest thrill-filled challenge.
Paired with a longtime friend and fellow flyer, the Orillia native recently faced off against nine other teams during filming for the latest season of Amazing Race Canada, dubbed the Heroes Edition.
“I certainly don’t consider myself a hero,” LaVerdiere told Simcoe.com in a phone interview during a break from his work contract flying overseas. “I’m just an average guy from small-town Orillia, Ontario.”
An avid follower of the show, LaVerdiere last fall was approached by a friend who suggested he audition for the popular reality TV series.
As appealing as the idea was, he did not expect to be selected.
“I never thought for a second they would even consider me,” he said.
LaVerdiere, who is no stranger to the sort of daring feats that viewers of The Amazing Race tune in for, ultimately made the cut after an application process that included an audition video.
“I’m into bungee jumping, I scuba dive, I skydive — there is nothing I won’t do,” he said. “I have no phobias, per se.”
Nicknamed ‘Happy’ for his resemblance to Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore character — LaVerdiere was partnered with Corey ‘Chewy’ Liddle, a retired Air Force pilot with whom he attended aviation college in Thunder Bay in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
“It’s kind of a long friendship,” he added.
Filming for the series started in late April and lasted until the end of May and included multiple locations that reinforced his admiration for the country he calls home.
“Flying F-18s and flying for the Snowbirds, obviously I’ve seen a lot of Canada from the sky,” he added. “Being down on the ground and visiting different communities and locations, it really just brings home the point of how lucky we are to live in Canada and how beautiful it really is.”
Interviewed in advance of the show’s July 3 start, the 48-year-old father of three was unable to discuss specific details.
More broadly, he said viewers could expect to see him and his fellow competitors — among them first responders, teachers, mentors, and athletes — engaged in fear-based challenges, problem solving, navigation, and other experiences that were familiar territory for the seasoned pilot.
Even when others “got freaked out a little bit … we always stayed kind of calm and cool,” LaVerdiere added.
While skill and determination certainly play a role in the competition, “some things you just kind of have to roll the dice.
“If you are lucky, good, if you are not lucky, well, that’s unfortunate,” he added.
LaVerdiere was raised in Orillia on Canice Street and attended Mount Slaven School and ODCVI.
He and his family now split their time between Saskatchewan and a cottage in Muskoka.
(LaVerdiere and Liddle were eliminated in the first episode.)