On the latest episode of the SpeakReal podcast, Joey Genereaux, indigenous motivational speaker, centres our conversation around one of the most insightful realizations from his journey.
“Sharing is healing for yourself, and you don’t realize how much other people you’re helping.”
For Joey, storytelling didn’t just save his life. It became the way he gives life back to his community.
From Jail Cell Realizations to a Life of Purpose
Joey didn’t grow up imagining he’d become a motivational speaker. His inspiration came unexpectedly, from within a jail cell at age 37. It was there, surrounded by concrete walls and the weight of his own decisions, that a visiting speaker changed everything.
“He showed me the awareness and the dead-end road this life could take you if you keep doing it.”
This speaker, someone who had been incarcerated and had also played professional football, showed Joey that transformation was possible. He thought, if someone else could walk through darkness and find their way out, maybe he could too.
While incarcerated, Joey devoured stories of survival and spiritual recovery. He read Jordan Tootoo, Theren Flurry, and countless others who overcame addiction with the help of faith, community, and inner healing.
“I found a lot of them found spirituality in jail; God, Creator, whatever spiritual path you’re on. Spirituality was the game changer for me.”
At 37 years old, Joey made a choice many people think comes “too late”. He chose to change his life.
Growing Up Wounded & Searching for Belonging
Before Joey found healing, he carried the weight of a wounded childhood.He grew up between his home community of Taka Coop and the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Addictions tore his parents apart. He was abandoned more than once.
“My parents split. One left, the other left. I was abandoned… If it wasn’t for my grandparents, I would’ve been in foster care too.”
Prince Albert became a place of survival, but also of pain.
“I went through a lot of racism in that town… It left me this wounded little child inside.”
Joey experienced racism while playing hockey with kids that didn’t look like him. Even visits back to the reserve came with hurt, because family members would accuse him of trying to identify with the city. For this reason, Joey had trouble finding belonging in either place. That confusion, anger, lack of belonging and sense of self-worth shaped his teen years and followed him into adulthood.
The Breaking Point: Wanted, Addicted, and Ready to Give Up
“I was suicidal. I was wanted on Prince Albert’s most wanted. I did bad things on the street. I was defeated.”
And then in a single moment, the one he still reflects on to this day, almost became the end.
“I wanted to take my life. What if I would’ve taken the easy way out? I’d have caused more heartache for people who loved me.”
Instead, he chose to change his life around for the better as he realized that he was worth it.
Sobriety, Healing & the Power of Community
Today, Joey is six and a half years sober. That number means everything to him.
“My mind is clean. It’s healthy.”
But sobriety isn’t the only thing he gained; he found his purpose.
When he speaks to Indigenous communities, youth who rarely trust anyone begin to open up. In Saddle Lake, he met one boy struggling with cocaine and alcohol who came back a second time just to sit with him.
“He said I inspired him. He opened up to me.”
Moments like these reaffirm why Joey shares his truth:
“When someone says ‘because of you I’m still sober’… that’s the reward.”
But Joey is also honest about what many Indigenous communities face.
“A lot of people aren’t whole… There’s friction, toxic environments. We need leaders who work as a whole; to fix drug issues, alcohol issues, colonization issues.”
Healthy youth need healthy leaders.
Healthy leaders need sobriety, connection, and accountability.
Joey calls communities to rise to that responsibility.
What He Wants Youth to Know: Don’t Suffer Alone
When asked what he’d tell a young person facing the same battles he once fought, Joey didn’t hesitate:
“Don’t be afraid to share with anyone you can trust. Sharing is such a big part of healing.”
Grief, addiction, family trauma, violence; none of it gets easier in silence.
“If I didn’t open up to someone I trusted, I don’t think I’d be here right now.”
And for anyone grieving:
“Don’t be afraid to cry. Don’t be afraid to grieve.”
Healing is messy; but possible.
Joey’s story reminds us that even in our darkest moments, there is light once you begin to reach out for it.
Why Joey’s Story Matters
Joey’s journey, from racism, abandonment, addiction, and jail; to spirituality, and leadership, is the story of so many youth across Canada. But what makes his voice powerful is not just what he survived, but how he uses it.
This is the heart of the SpeakReal podcast:
Youth experience. Youth voice. Youth empowered.
Every time Joey stands in front of a community, he reminds youth:
You’re not stuck.
You’re not broken beyond repair.
And it is never too late to start again.
Watch the full podcast episode here:
Find Joey Genereaux here: https://joeygenereaux.com and follow him on TikTok @jojogens87
YouthSpeak is a charity organization based in the GTA, Canada that conducts assemblies and interactive workshops to help increase the resiliency of youth facing challenges today. To find out more about our projects and initiatives, visit https://youthspeak.ca/.
Help support our For-Youth-by-Youth projects by donating at: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/i-support-youthspeak
