In admiration…

I am not quite sure about him. On one hand I think that his passion will save lives and that his quest to protect others through his inventions is truly philanthropic. On the other hand he is plagued with hubris, overly forceful, an will most likely kill himself or someone else in the practice of his plan. I would call him RoboCop but that is not quite right, his name is Troy Hurtubise and he is my somewhat hero. Hurtubise is somewhat of a North Bay, Ontario legend, which says quite a lot. I think he is actually more interesting than the things he creates. Troy Hurtubise is known for inventing protective armor (Ursus Mark, Trojan, etc.) and is featured in the documentary film Project Grizzly quoted as being “Fantastic” by Quentin Tarentino.

I first saw Hurtubise on the Canadian show “Daily Planet” Discovery Channel Show, explaining a protective shield he has invented which is called “1313 Paste” (Wikipedia). This would have been laughable, but the thing is it freaking works! It stood up against high powered rifles and is apparently cost effective. He is an amazing inventor yet his name so much as mentioned either brings a laugh or a sly smirk. The laugh I find are from those who wish to detract from his glory, the smirk, much like my own is from those who admire Hurtubis. What other inventor do you know, or have heard of, would back up his inventions as portrayed in these clips below:

Clips from Project Grizzly

Where I depart with Hurtubise, as put at the beginning of my introduction, is with his aims. I was originally unsure as to whether he was creating for his own ego, his megalomania, or for the benefit of mankind. I was wrong about Hurtubise. In his bear suit days perhaps he was trying to make a name for himself and have some much due glory, but as his career has progressed it seems he really just wants to save lives. He is a genuine philanthropist and after watching the movie Project Grizzly it seems like his creations are an effort to protect his heart and others the way he best knows how. Watch this clip of Hurtubise describing his newest suit, a Halo-esque super protector, dubbed “The Trojan.”

(Picture Location techgadgetforums.com)

Now that you have seen the passion that went into making it, and the drive to make it function for the men and women of the armed forces, watch Hurtubise raffle his prized possession again to have the ability to help more people.

In a way Troy Hurtubise breaks my heart. I see him as a person who is so passionate and has just not caught a break with his research. His downfalls remind me a lot of Astronomer and Historian Immanuel Velikovsky, who in his independently funded research made many scientific breakthroughs. Velikovsky, however, was and still is criticized today in academia for his method and findings as being unfounded and illogical. Yet those who refute Velikovsky, much like Hurtubise, mostly refute the man and not what he stood for or is trying to solve. I beleive this is the same pressure that Hurtubise faces, being ostracized as too eccentric , unorthodox, and misguided in his work and passion. I hope that trough some strange fluke that Hurtuise reads this article and is able to realize that his invention and his passion are needed more than ever. It is my opinion that those who seek for invulnerability become vulnerable in the process. In this occurence others then become the protection for those who, like Hurtubise, provide security for us. We need to support such people who are trying to secure us instead of tearing them down because we are not more like them.