Landry gives McLaren new perspectives on life all the time.
“Matt is a great guy to fish with and spend time with,” McLaren said. “You spend five minutes with Matty and you forget he has any disability. He can do anything he wants. He never complains. He just does it. He has his own style and he can smack fish. Now, he can whine like a mule if the fish are not biting, but never about his situation and what he has gone through. I’m a bigger guy. I will not take my shirt off in a boat if it is hot because I am embarrassed. Not Matty. He never sweats the small stuff. We go places, and people will look at him or ask about him. He talks to them. It doesn’t get to him. I think it is a cool quality he has. He changes the way I feel about myself. I get a lot out of the guy. He is resilient as hell.”
Landry is friendly and his personality leads to some funny situations for his friends.
“I call him small town famous,” McLaren said. “If you go fishing with him, you have to leave an hour earlier so he can stop and say ‘hi’ to all the people he knows at the boat launch. We met strangers at a launch once and it took 20 minutes to get him away. It’s crazy and it’s great. It is just who he is.”
Landry is also involved in giving back to the resources he loves. He has volunteered with the Azilda Community Pickerel Hatchery since 2014, and has been volunteering for 17 years overall, having previously been with Chelmsford Fish and Game Association.
Landry plans on exploring more of northern Ontario, especially the Northwest region over the years. No matter what happens, count on Landry being on a lake, whether open water or ice fishing, as much as he can.
“I love being outdoors so much it is like an addiction,” he said. “When I go fishing, I want to go again and again and again. I’ve been through some tough things. It is great therapy for me.”