
Tony Kiriakopoulos
Firefighter, New Leaf AmbassadorMy name is Tony Kiriakopoulos, and I am 24 years old. I was born in London Ontario, however grew up in Milton Ontario for my childhood and high school years. I pursued going to college and got my Landscaping Design and Construction Diploma. As much as my passion for these fields grew, so did my dreams for becoming a firefighter. After completing college my next decision was to go to school at Texas A&M for Firefighting, where I graduated in the high 90 percentile. From that point I knew this was my calling.
Throughout my highschool years is when my love and passion for fitness had began. Being born prematurely at 25 weeks I weighed 1 lbs AND with not much chances of survival. My family was told if I had survived the numerous surgeries at birth I would be faced with many setbacks and difficulties growing up. However, 24 years later, I am happy, healthy, 6ft tall and weigh 220 lbs. Although this was not always the case since I was always on the skinny side until high school had started. At that point I knew the gym is where I wanted to spend time to grow bigger and stronger and pursue a healthy lifestyle the best I could, of course while being a teenager and enjoying life.
That was definitely not as easy as it sounds. Trying to grow in size and maintain healthy eating habits throughout college years! Fast forward to once I graduated from Texas A&M for firefighting, I packed my bags and moved to Edmonton Alberta. I began to work as an Industrial Firefighter in Whitecourt Alberta. During my time there I also worked full-time in the export of crude oil in Edmonton Alberta. Alongside my working career I also had the opportunity to train and compete in a few fitness & bodybuilding competitions. I am so proud of myself for setting goals and accomplishing them the best I can.
Currently I am still pursuing my firefighter dream here in Ontario, while working in the Fire Protection industry. My decision to move back to Ontario was very simple once I found out I was going to be an Uncle! This was a whole new chapter in my life and being so close to my family I knew I had to move back home. I will always be a BIG believer in setting goals daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Throughout my life so far I am more than thankful for everything I have learned that has led me to make the right decisions and to continue to follow the path I set out for myself.