Two years after his Yellowknife-based construction company filed for bankruptcy protection, Trevor Kasteel is planning to launch his first book alongside a new brand, speaker series and podcast.
Kasteel plans to debut Kick-Ass Love, described as “a movement toward love, personal accountability, resilience and healing” during an event at the city’s Northern Arts and Cultural Centre next month.
It will feature Kasteel hosting a public reading of his book, a question-and-answer period, an introduction to his speaker series and the formal debut of his podcast.
“You are not your suffering, you are your resilience,” Kasteel stated in a news release.
“This book, this brand, this podcast – it’s not just my story. It’s proof that true courage isn’t the absence of fear but the willing thoughtful action to walk into it, to heal.”
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Kasteel said after Kasteel Construction and Coatings entered bankruptcy proceedings in October 2023, he broke down.
During the evacuation of Yellowknife that summer and a month-long stay in an Alberta psychiatric facility, Kasteel said he also faced the impacts of sexual abuse he suffered as a youth and began to restructure himself.
He has since become a mental health advocate and held a free talk at the city’s multiplex in June 2024.
On Friday, the NWT government said Kasteel’s story would also form part of a relaunched We Need to Talk About This Stuff campaign, featuring “northerners sharing their personal experiences with mental health, trauma, addiction, coping, and healing.”
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“Trevor’s story dismantles any myth that vulnerability is weakness, instead showing the uncomfortable investigation of himself through truth-seeking and truth-telling is a process and act of self-leadership and strength,” a press release issued by Kasteel stated.
Kick-Ass Love: A Night With Trevor Kasteel is set to take place at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre on Friday, October 3 at 7pm. Tickets will be available in the coming weeks on the centre’s website and the event will be streamed online.
The Kick-Ass Love podcast, featuring Kasteel and Tina Overbury, can be found on YouTube.
