Team Gleason Shares a Fr s Fight Against ALS

in the wild

Jun 13, 2016

There will be no white flags. This was one of the first thoughts to cross former NFL player Steve Gleason's mind after his doctor diagnosed him with ALS in early 2011.

Two weeks later, he and his wife, Michel, found out they were pregnant. And again, Steve knew there would be no white flags. Instead, he'd turn to the support of his team, but unlike the football teams he was part of growing up and his most recent home on the New Orleans Saints, he drafted his own team- Team Gleason.

Team Gleason became an outlet for Steve, along with his family, friends and supporters, to raise awareness and spark a positive conversation surrounding treatment for people living with the progressive neurodegenerative disease, which is also commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease after the famous Yankee.

However, for Steve, the non-profit has become much, much more than just a positive outlet for people with ALS. It became a platform for the family man and new father to share his story, specifically for his son, Rivers. Rivers was born in October 2011, and since then, Steve has made it his goal to document his life for his son.

As you may know, this project began as a series of personal video journals for our son Rivers, as a way of sharing my life, who I am, and love for him, when I was first diagnosed with ALS in 2011, Steve writes on his website. Although it has been a uniquely difficult journey at times, we believe it is an important message to share. Our film is not just focused on living with ALS, but on a more universal story, exposing the resilience of the human spirit, when faced with extreme adversity.

On June 7, GoPro for a Cause released Steve Gleason - A Father's Story, which takes a look into the 100% GoPro-shot digital journal that inspired, and are featured throughout, the Gleason documentary. According to Steve, GoPro allowed for the best perspective to show his son what life lessons feel like from his POV.

Whether it's riding a bike for the first time, feeling the butterflies of a first crush or peeling out for the first time behind the wheel, Steve used GoPro as a platform to quite honestly rap about it all with Rivers, when the time is right, of course. When we learned about this a year-and-a-half ago, we knew Steve is a hero that we want to support.

In honor of Steve, GoPro is joining forces with Team Gleason to award one ALS documentary submission $5K, in addition to a matching $5K donation for the nonprofit. The GoPro Awards + Team Gleason initiative will feature judging representatives from both parties and continue through July, leading into the 90-minute feature film's release on Amazon and Xbox.

Inspiring is an understatement. Steve, and all of Team Gleason are true heroes in our eyes. Check out more of their story here.

LINK:	https://gopro.com/news/Team-Gleason-Shares-a-Fathers-Fight-Against-ALS...
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