Fifteen-year-old Brayden Hatton-Fearnley has a passion for gymnastics. 

According to Brayden's mother, Shannon Hatton-Fearnley, Brayden has wanted to learn everything and anything about gymnastics since he was ten years old.

“It all started out probably about five years ago, he just saw some kids at school doing some flips and it intrigued him so much that he just started to try and learn. He Googled everything and watched YouTube videos until he figured out how to do it. Then I said, well if you want to do it, let's take you over to Airdries Edge Gymnastics Club and see what they think."  

Hatton-Fearnley says Brayden initially started off with parkour but soon figured out that he would rather do tumbling and track (TNT). From there, Brayden has grown to fall in love with TNT gymnastics. 

“It is his life. He loves it so much. If he's not at the gym, he is in the backyard doing flips or carrying his tumble tracks over to the closest school field. He is always doing it.” 

But there is more to it. Brayden not only loves gymnastics, but he’s also an advocate for other kids like himself. His mother talks about some of Brayden’s struggles and how he overcame them with gymnastics. 

“When Brayden was about seven years old, he was diagnosed with something that's called Selective Mutism and Severe Social Anxiety. For him, it's been really hard for him to communicate or just be out there.” 

Hatton-Fearnley says going into gymnastics was a huge step out of Brayden’s comfort zone. “But that's why he was so self-taught, he just analyzes everything”, she adds, “He's doing amazing and he would like me to share it. So if anybody else out there is going through the same thing, know that they could overcome it.” 

Brayden wishes to tell his story and give other kids the strength to know that they are not alone. 

Right now, Brayden is busy with competitions that go all the way into places like BC. But someday, he hopes to be competing alongside Olympians. 

“His goal is the Olympics; he would love to do it. He's so into it that right now he's volunteering as a coach for the gymnastics club. As soon as he gets his coaching classes done, he'll be a coach, and he'll have his own class which is pretty cool.” 

Brayden and Shannon both hope to inspire kids to follow their dreams, even if it means stepping out of their comfort zone. 

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