An inspiring short film about how Army veteran Curtis McGrath overcame debilitating injury after military service to achieve sporting glory is in the running for the Shorty Awards.
Defence Connect journalist Nastasha Tupas has made an entry to The Shorty Awards with her short film project interviewing Paralympian Curtis McGrath.
Defence Connect journalist Nastasha Tupas has entered her pilot short film project, “From Injured Soldier to Sporting Glory” into the awards after the human-interest story received an overwhelmingly positive response from internal and external stakeholders.
The Shorty Awards was founded in 2008 and is reportedly the first awards program to recognise work on social media by brands, agencies, influencers, creators, and other social media professionals.
Ms Tupas, who has entered in the Long Form Video category, interviewed Curtis McGrath for her project, a former Australian Army soldier who after tragically losing both his legs in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Afghanistan a decade ago, became a gold medal winning international Paracanoe champion and beloved Australian sportsman.
Healing power of sport
The goal of the video was to raise awareness around the incredible mental and physical healing power of sport, and inspire and empower other war veterans, particularly those who have returned from service with mental and physical injuries.
Momentum Media’s Defence Connect brand is focused on fostering connectivity and community within Australia’s defence sector, while raising awareness about veterans’ affairs through impactful, human-interest stories in alignment with government and corporate initiatives that support veterans.
Defence Connect aimed to be impactful by deliberately highlighting Mr McGrath’s resilience, capability and tenacity.
What makes this video project a standout is that after securing an interview with Mr McGrath, Ms Tupas was solely responsible for the research, creative ideation and direction, scheduling, on-camera interview, scriptwriting, video production, and delivery of the complete package.
The very capable journalist drew from her hybrid media experience for the solo project.
The results are there for everyone to see, with Defence Connect achieving its goal by demonstrating that human-interest stories are a viable asset for the brand.
Moreover, after the short film and feature article were published online in August 2021, Invictus Australia commented on LinkedIn that it was an “absolutely inspiring story”.
“Curtis McGrath OAM is such a wonderful ambassador for harnessing the power of sport to heal. We'll be cheering you on! Great article Defence Connect," it read.
Since then, Momentum Media has worked with the Australian subsidiary of the internationally-renowned sporting organisation Invictus Foundation.
Commenting on the remarkable project, Momentum Media marketing manager Demii Kalavritinos said: “This video reached the defence industry, but it also created a new wave of communication from Defence Connect, which got other Momentum Media brands excited about producing videos, and I was extremely impressed with the fact that it was a solo project.”
Momentum Media is calling on everyone to vote for Ms Tupas’ piece on Curtis McGrath in the Long Form Video category at the Shorty Awards so she is recognised for her stellar work.
Voting is now open. Click on the link, register, and vote!
How Curtis McGrath turned tragedy into triumph
In the short film, Mr McGrath recounts how he consciously chose to move forward after losing both his legs in an IED blast in Afghanistan.
McGrath was deployed to the Middle East and assumed one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. He and 90 other combat engineers were a part of Operation Slipper in 2012, where their chief responsibility was to clear the IED to ensure safe passage for allied forces in a declared war zone.
Just three months into the deployment in Afghanistan, tragedy struck when McGrath stepped on an IED in an insurgent-rife area.
Having comprehended the gravity of his situation, McGrath switched to survival mode and strived to maintain consciousness by underplaying his injuries to reassure his team. It was here that he planted the first seeds of becoming a Paralympian.
"I had this sort of frame of mind like, guys, guys, I'll be fine," Mr McGrath said.
"Don't worry about it, I'll just, you know, go on to the Paralympics.
Mr McGrath, who was all of 24 at the time, returned to Australia following the incident, and ensured that the healing power of sport formed an integral part of his recovery and rehabilitation process.
Through sheer grit, determination, and resilience, Mr McGrath began competing at a national level against other elite para-athletes in the physically demanding sport of sprint canoe only two years after becoming a bilateral amputee.
"They were allowing me to have a session of physio a day, but outside of that I could do as much as I wanted," McGrath said.
"By the time I was leaving the hospital, I was doing eight or nine hours a day, just because there's not much to do in a hospital.
"I picked up the paddle in 2014 and I won my first World Championships in that first year and I was like man, this is my sport, this is my jam, I can do this!"
Indeed, in 2016, McGrath took home the gold medal for the 200m KL2 Paracanoe event at the Rio Paralympics and has since donated his first Paralympic gold medal to the Australian War Memorial.
He made history at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games by becoming the first para-canoe athlete to win two medals – not only did he defend his KL2 Paralympic title and claim the gold medal, he also won another gold medal in the 200m VL3 final.