- Story by Sean McIntyre Photography by Don Denton

David Smith is a hard man to reach, but that should have been obvious based on his bio: 害羞草研究所渆ntrepreneur, builder, racer, adventure-seeker and so much more.害羞草研究所�

Smith has been an entrepreneur on the Saanich Peninsula since the early 1980s. His company, Professional Components Ltd., employs more than 50 full-time workers in the Sidney area and produces high-end, custom marine suspension seating for power boats and off-road vehicles.

Customers include the Canadian and US Coast Guards, the RCMP and a roster of international military and commercial organizations and acclaimed racers. Overseeing a company with global reach from a Saanich-area industrial park would be enough of a task on its own, but that害羞草研究所檚 only the tip of Smith害羞草研究所檚 exciting and high-powered life.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e always had a passion for racing,害羞草研究所� he says, and indeed, Smith害羞草研究所檚 life of speed dates back to the 1970s, when he got a job building chassis for race cars on the NASCAR circuit. The gig lasted nearly 20 years and paved the way for his marine suspension seating company on his native Vancouver Island.

The early years saw Smith assembling the cars, but in building his company, he害羞草研究所檚 had the opportunity to get a whole lot more hands-on. These days, he tests the marine seating products that excel in choppy seas at high speeds in some of the world害羞草研究所檚 most isolated regions.

害羞草研究所淭he racing industry is just right at the forefront of technology. It害羞草研究所檚 virtually a melting point for all the best technologies in the world,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淪hockwave Motorsports, a division of Professional Components, was an opportunity for us to get even more hands-on and for myself, to be not just the person who was setting up the cars and building the cars, but to actually be the one who was out there and driving the vehicles.害羞草研究所�

As an inductee to the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2011, Smith is described as a bit eccentric and a little wild, but as someone who could design and build a race car unlike anyone else.

That same year, he teamed up with Bear Grylls to set a new world record by crossing the 12,000-kilometre Northwest Passage in fewer than 300 hours in a 33-foot RHIB equipped with the first iteration of the ICE Console, a fully suspended, triple-axis marine suspension unit, designed and patented by Smith himself.

Always on the lookout for a challenge, three years ago, Smith thought it would be interesting to get behind the wheel of some high-level racing, which led to the 69-year-old害羞草研究所檚 participation in the Trans Am racing series, which visits cities across the United States. Closer to home, islanders may have spotted him as a regular at The Keg Drivers Challenge and the Canada 200 at Langford害羞草研究所檚 Western Speedway.

If it sounds like Smith害羞草研究所檚 personal biography has all the elements of a movie 害羞草研究所� or at least a television mini-series 害羞草研究所� that害羞草研究所檚 because it does. Part of the reason it害羞草研究所檚 so hard to get Smith to sit down for an interview is because he害羞草研究所檚 got a film crew trailing him for a good portion of his life these days. With filming set to wrap up this fall, Smith says work will soon begin to get the show ready for screening on either the Discovery or National Geographic network.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 been a lot of work, and it害羞草研究所檚 really something to have your life out there on display for everyone,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淭he average person does not want to be David Smith. There are times when I害羞草研究所檓 tired.害羞草研究所�

Part of the impetus for the show came from Smith害羞草研究所檚 latest battle: fighting and overcoming cancer. The road hasn害羞草研究所檛 always been easy and Smith readily admits that his good days may be great, but that the bad days can get really bad. Perseverance, he adds, has always been a part of his life, so this latest fight has tapped into his innate skillset to overcome a formidable opponent. He hopes his story will inspire others facing similar hurdles in life.

害羞草研究所淭his isn害羞草研究所檛 everyone害羞草研究所檚 cup of tea and there are all sorts of mountains to climb in life, but I find that if you don害羞草研究所檛 ask, you rarely get, and if you don害羞草研究所檛 put yourself out there, you害羞草研究所檒l never really know what害羞草研究所檚 possible,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淵ou don害羞草研究所檛 really live life unless you put yourself out on the fringes.害羞草研究所�

Off the track and outside the office, Smith is also an outspoken advocate for coastal fisheries. Smith, who owns a holiday retreat in Tahsis near Nootka Sound on northwest Vancouver Island, has seen the effects of poor logging practices, irresponsible corporate fishing practices and unenforced regulations first-hand. Firstly, as a boy growing up on the Coast, then as a young man employed in a commercial fishery, Smith saw an unmatched bounty off Canada害羞草研究所檚 West Coast. Today害羞草研究所檚 efforts to protect what害羞草研究所檚 left, he says, are not only too little, but likely also too late. Nevertheless, he continues to work with local fishers and community organizations to rehabilitate coastal streams and to nurture precious spawning grounds in the hope of saving what害羞草研究所檚 left of British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 coastal fishing legacy.

害羞草研究所淏eing situated on the West Coast is ideal for our business,害羞草研究所� he adds, coming back to the company he害羞草研究所檚 built. 害羞草研究所淥ur marine suspension seating products require rugged ocean conditions to properly test the capabilities, strengths and weaknesses of our suspension systems.害羞草研究所� With products going to the military and law enforcement organizations around the world, testing needs to be rigorous, in the most severe conditions. 害羞草研究所淲e have plenty of opportunities here to get our products out on the water in rough seas to test, re-test and perfect our marine- grade products.害羞草研究所�