Meet Lawrence Huzar, the 79-year-old Jack of all trades

“I’ve never been sick in my life. I don’t even have a doctor.” These were the first words that Lawrence told me before introducing himself last week.

We were at the Burnaby Winter Club, where he plays hockey twice a week with other fellows of around his age. It was about 11:30 AM. Lawrence had been on the ice rink for about three hours. “I might not be the first one to arrive there, but I’m always the first one to be on the ice to skate.”

That day, three men in the teams were 80 years old or older. Lawrence, 79, likes to brag about how other guys usually fall down if they clash with him. He also got knocked out twice with a stick on his face. So why doesn’t he wear a mask all the time? “Cuz I don’t like it,” he says. Who are we to argue?

'Larry' seemed to be an incredible person, so I went to his place to check how he lives and what else he does when he’s not playing hockey. I was astonished by what I found there. To start with, he built the three-floor house with his own hands. “And it’s not ready yet,” he says, giving details on what still has to be done in and out of the house.

He has been living on his own since his wife passed away seven years ago, Lawrence does the laundry, keeps the place tidy enough for his standards and cooks his meals. That alone would be enough to keep most seniors busy, but not this retired mechanical engineer.

You find “stuff” everywhere in his place. Cables, tubes, a few pairs of glasses here and there, fur coats hanging outside, a huge billiard table and a few TVs that haven’t been turned on in years! As if he could read my mind, he breaks the silence to inform me: “I know every single thing that is here, and each of them has a purpose.”

When he’s not at the Winter Burnaby Club or having a coffee with friends, Lawrence is very likely to be found building and repairing things in his backyard. It could be a vacuum cleaner, a car engine or a hair clipper. Why does he do all that? “I’m not lazy,” he says, making it sound so simple...

In The Fit Generation, you’ll learn more about this amazing character and discover some secrets of his excellent health and active lifestyle.