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The 5 Questions Podcast
Join us as we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time.
The 5 Questions Podcast
The Life-Altering Accident That Led to Real Estate Success: Andrew Gauthier’s Story
Andrew Gauthier shares his extraordinary journey from welding across Canada to recovering from a traumatic brain injury and building multi-million dollar real estate developments. His story demonstrates how resilience, determination, and surrounding yourself with the right people can transform tragedy into opportunity and redefine personal success.
• Bought first duplex at age 21 for $312,000, now worth nearly $1 million
• Met his mentor through his first real estate transaction
• Suffered traumatic brain injury after being struck by a 10,000-pound pipe
• Recovered from barely walking to completing a half marathon in nine months
• Used family, especially his niece and nephew, as motivation during recovery
• Changed perspective from "working for future happiness" to "enjoying the journey"
• Found new purpose and community through real estate networking
• Values business partners who share his vision but have complementary strengths
• Redefined success from purely financial to relationship-focused
Connect with Andrew on Instagram @GauthierInvestments to learn more about partnership opportunities.
You know, when the doctors told me, they said we have no idea how recovery is going to go and it's going to be very, very dependent on how hard you work.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast, where we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time. Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast. I am your host, mario Lamar, our guest on today's show. His journey is one of resilience, reinvention and real estate. From welding across Canada to recovering from a traumatic brain injury and now building multi-million dollar developments, his story is nothing short from extraordinary. I'd like to welcome Andrew Gauthier. Andrew, welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast.
Speaker 1:Hello. Yeah, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:I can't wait to have a discussion with you because your story is truly amazing. But the concept of the podcast is I ask five questions about real estate or business and we get straight to the point. You ready. Sounds great, let's do it. First question I have for you is you bought your first duplex at the age of 21. What gave you the confidence to dive into real estate so young? What gave you?
Speaker 1:the confidence to dive into real estate so young? Oh yeah, no great question. Yeah, when I was coming up in the welding industry I had one of our other employees working with us. He was in his late 20s and started a pretty successful business portfolio in real estate and from that point on I kind of wanted to, yeah, imitate what he was doing and seen the potential, seen seen Milton growing so rapidly and, yeah, just seen high potential of you know, making it somewhere. So I was paying a good amount in rent at the time. My brother was as well, so we discussed a little bit of a deal to get into the market together. We bought the property for $312,000 when I was 21. I still hold the property now and it's worth almost a million dollars.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it was not a bad deal at all. It was a great start and from that deal I actually met my now mentor. He was our real estate agent at the time. He had rental properties and yeah started out my journey in real estate. So from that point on it kind of just, yeah, it impacted me heavily and yeah started my my journey as a real estate uh, investor. So, uh, yeah, that's uh, that's kind of how it went for me.
Speaker 2:There's uh, there's something to be said about you know, surrounding yourself with people that either you look up to or that you. You kind of want the life that they're having, and you kind of want the life that they're having, and for you, at a young age, you did just that, so a lot of people can take examples from that, because if you want to go somewhere else in your life, or if you want to achieve certain things, you need to surround yourself with people that are already doing it.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think it's exactly that right. We find the people that are doing well and similar to things, to what we're doing, and, you know, the network we have and the people we surround ourselves with is a big reflection of who we become. So I think that was a great start for me and yeah, yeah, it was great.
Speaker 2:And then you started young. But that brings us to our second question. Your life changed dramatically. While welding, you were struck by a 10,000 pound pipe and your life changed in an instant. In an instant, you went from barely being able to walk to running half a marathon in just nine months later. I need to ask you what was driving you to push past that pain point Because this was a big accident and to running a marathon nine months later? You needed a force behind you. What was that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, no, it was a very, very difficult time for me and you know, when the doctors told me, they said we have no idea how recovery is going to go and it's going to be very, very dependent on how hard you work, how much you put in a lot of your things about you that made you yourself. You feel like there's a dark cloud over you and you feel like life could be over. So driving me forward was my niece and my nephew. I had bought a house right next door to them to be closer to family. I seen them all the time and you know seeing their little faces smile and motivate me to keep pushing. So I knew I had to take it in my hands. You know there's lots of people with brain injuries. If you don't put in the work, there's a chance for the rest of your life. You're going to, you know you're going to have it affect you.
Speaker 1:So I used my family, my family and my passion for know, wanting, wanting more in my life to help me push forward. So every little task I was given I I pushed through the horrible amount of pain to, you know, give it everything I could to try to get to that level, get to that level and when I got to the point of being able to run that half marathon, it was the most unreal experience of my life. Every day, every day, pushing towards that goal, it was the most memorable experience of my life, crossing that finish line and and and it was just, yeah, it was unreal and it was the start of my new life, seeing myself be able to accomplish something like that when months before, I was unable to do almost anything. So it was. It transformed me into something new.
Speaker 1:The strength I've gained, the resilience and the new perspective on life from the accident just truly changed my life and every moment moving forward, I'm just, I'm that much more grateful to be alive and to be able to have what I have. And you know you go through different waves of feeling cursed and feeling blessed for this happening to me, but I couldn't change anything for anything. So it's yeah, I'm definitely blessed and it was a very difficult experience, but you know, I made it out the other side and I feel so happy to be here and, you know, being able to share my, my journey to get to this point with with everybody. So, yeah, that.
Speaker 2:It definitely says something like we don't wish this, these kinds of situations, on nobody. But sometimes either it's an injury or something that happens in in someone's life that that changes their life completely and puts you against a wall where you have no choice, that if you want to move forward, you got to push through. Nobody else is going to do it for you, yeah, and you need something. In your case it was your family. You need something to anchor on and to motivate you, and you're a great example of somebody that wants it can accomplish with the proper drive. It brings us to our third question, a little bit in the same train of thought Sure, what was it for you? Yeah, yeah. So through my journey, like I said, I traveled all around.
Speaker 1:Canada. I did welding in mostly marine applications, working 60 to 80 hour weeks, always on the road, living in cottages and hotels. I'm never really having a lot of successful relationships and memories to be made during those times. And you know, I kept telling myself you know, I'm going to be happy one day, I'm making a lot of money, I'm doing really well, I'm growing my business, I'm doing these things and after the accident, you realize, like tomorrow's not guaranteed. So it really opened my eyes to what's important, to to family, to creating a family of my own, and to having these memories and experiences.
Speaker 1:So at that point, yeah, just changing my perspective, to working my whole life, to have something in the future, to enjoying the journey Every moment. Now I'm, I'm, I'm reflecting on and and putting the effort to make the people in my life realize how important they are and, uh, enjoying the journey along the way. So, um, yeah, it's changed drastically. Like everything is, uh, everything is more important to me now. So, um, you know, uh, with my, with my current girlfriend. Now you know, we're building a family together, um, with with my family, we're, we're, we're going on trips, um, and enjoying life to the fullest.
Speaker 1:So, um, real estate has helped open this, this door to me as well, where I could, uh, you know I could, I, I can make the money I need to to enjoy the time I have. And, yeah, I think that's been the biggest part just changing that way of thinking, because we're so busy in our day to day, we forget to truly enjoy it and appreciate that every day is a blessing. So, um, yeah, it's changed me for the better, I think. And, uh, being able to have that um perspective on life now is, is, is unbelievable.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, it's been, it's been pretty great it's and and you know the question definition of success. Uh, a lot of time, when you have an experience, like you did, that changes. You think your success maybe for some people is building a successful business, making a lot of money, but then when you can't do that, you can't even move anymore. Then what's your success? Now it becomes just life in itself. Like you said, take the time to enjoy family time. Take the time to give. Give some people don't have family. Make a new family for yourself. Surround yourself with friends, go out the community. You know there's so much purpose we we can have being surrounded with others. And that's the definition of success, in my opinion, is you can make it whatever you want, and you know you just got to work your way to what your success is. So, having said that, now you are over the hurdle. All that you injured out as real estate became or become more than just a business for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So after the accident, I'm trying to figure out where my life's going to be. I still have some psychological traumas, I still have some PTSD, some things that are restricting me from possibly going back to what I was doing in my in my life before and it was all I knew it was. It was my identity. So, getting more involved in the real estate community, I joined a couple of groups. I I surrounded myself with people that I find are my people. These are people that think the same, dream big and and truly, you know, work hard to to, you know, build success. And through these networks of people it's grown to a point where, you know, I'm associating with people all over North America every single day, just talking real estate and future plans and family and fun, and all this stuff opened my eyes to a group of people I've never thought existed.
Speaker 1:So real estate has become my passion and a big, big part of my life. So, yeah, just being able to be a part of these communities and see people's journeys at all different levels really shown me that anything's possible, anybody can get there, anybody can do it. You surround yourself with the right network of people and you work hard and you learn as much as you can, and financial freedom is is yours to unlock. So it's it's been an incredible journey Just just seeing so many different great people be successful in their journeys and hear their stories as well. And, yeah, anything is possible and and real estate, to me, is, is the answer, and it's it's been an incredible journey. It's been, yeah, it's been very great.
Speaker 2:I love the fact that you you say you know, surrounding yourself with communities, like-minded individuals. That becomes like your family, because it is true, especially in real estate, you surround yourself with people that think like you. That becomes your daily routine, your daily habits. You think a certain way, you see things a different way. Sometimes your own family, your real, physical family, don't understand real estate and maybe they'll try to, through their love, try to counsel you to take decisions, but it might not be the best decisions for you. But if you surround yourself with people that think like you, people that have done it longer than you in those communities, for example, that's where you get pushed further and you advance, either as a group or with other individuals, as a group or with other individuals, and that's where the magic happens. So I agree a hundred percent with you networking, and not just networking, building these relationships.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, yeah. Everything seems very difficult and sometimes impossible until you surround yourself with the right people and then the things you had, the dreams you had, you can surpass them beyond any measure. So it's yeah, it's an amazing thing.
Speaker 2:Andrew, we're at the last and fifth question for today already, but you've built strong partnerships now since your recovery. What do you now look in for? A great business partner?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, along the way, meet lots and lots of people, and I guess you're looking for, for me personally, is just somebody that has the same vision, somebody that has the same goals, somebody that's looking for the same things.
Speaker 1:Um, you know you, you can tell very quickly on on on what somebody is willing to give to the business or or to their life to get to a different level. And I find, with with people in the community, it's uh, um, you know, it's yeah, it's, it's important to, yeah, just find somebody that's similar in your goals and in your vision. So, finding people that have expertise and knowledge in some places where you might lack, and and be able to learn from each other, being able to grow together to get to your end goal, is very important. So it's uh, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's yeah, finding those people that want to grow with you and and help build you up. So, um, in this community, it's, it's, it's very, uh, very empowering. There's people that that truly give you, give you hope and give you understanding on what's possible. So, yeah, finding somebody that can help help get you to the place you want to be and you for them as well. So, working together on those dreams and goals is yeah, it's very important.
Speaker 2:So I like the fact that you you said two things. First of all, surround yourself or partner with people with the same vision. But you see, a lot of mentors say something else too is partner with people that have different strengths than you. Yes, why would you want to partner with people that have the same strengths as you? You guys are going to start arguing or wanting to take the same lead in the same areas, but if you partner with people that are stronger in other aspects of the business than you, oh man, it's like a locomotive that a second engine starts. Now it goes faster and faster, and that's the power of growing in real estate is surround and partner with people that have different strengths so you can move faster as a group.
Speaker 1:Yes, no exactly.
Speaker 2:Andrew, it was a pleasure talking with you today. You're truly inspirational. It was a pleasure talking with you today. You're truly inspirational. You know, going from a big accident like this, first of all starting young with a vision and then going through a big traumatic accident, and then coming back and continuing your dream that you had, is not given to a lot of people, and so thank you for sharing your story with us today. If people want to reach out to you, what is the best way to let's say they want to partner with you? What's the best way they can reach you at?
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you so much for having me, mario. And yeah, I guess the best way would be on Instagram. My handle is Goatier Investments. It's G-A-U-T-H-I-E-R Investments and yeah, I'm networking and talking to new people every day and I look forward to hearing from everybody. I appreciate the time you've had me on, Mario, and yeah, look forward to chatting again soon.
Speaker 2:Well, again, Andrew, it was a pleasure to talk with you today and I'm sure we'll talk again very shortly. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Okay, thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thanks for tuning into the 5 Questions Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, like and hit the notification bell on our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Stay tuned for more insights and tips to transform your real estate and business game. See you next time.