Reza Mashkoori wasn’t under any pressure to take on another full-time job. He already had a young family and an established gym business demanding his attention.

But when the pandemic hit, everything changed. He went from seeing more than 100 clients every day to seeing none at all. The sudden shift left him questioning whether he was doing enough with his life.

“I realized I could do more,” he said in an interview at Sofia Vintage Motor Café in Old Ottawa South. “I had more within me.”

That “more” led him back to school in 2022, where he earned his MBA at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business. “I wasn’t confident that the experience of ‘a seasoned gym owner’ was going to make a splash on my résumé,” he said with a smile. “I do feel like any business owner or operator is like a Swiss Army knife, handling marketing, operations and everything else.”

After completing his MBA, Mashkoori began applying for roles at local non-profit organizations whose values aligned with his own.

He found a strong fit at Christie Lake Kids (CLK), where he now serves as manager of corporate sponsorships. Mashkoori says he clicked right away with executive director Adrienne Vienneau and director of fundraising and communications Natalie Benson during the interview. “As soon as I met them, the energy in the room was amazing.”

CLK runs free after-school and weekend programs and an overnight summer camp for children from low-income families.

In his new role, Mashkoori became a familiar face at events all over town, building relationships and raising awareness of CLK. “I always thought I knew the community really well, but just working with Christie Lake Kids and being more present at these events has helped me appreciate this city much more,” he said.

Near the end of his first year with CLK, Mashkoori spread the business cards he’d collected across his desk and felt grateful for the relationships and community he’d built. “It’s been awesome,” he said.

Reza Mashkoori with Will Aiello, co-host of CTV Your Morning Ottawa, at Christie Lake Kids’ Four Season Soirée, held at Ashbury College in November 2025. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mashkoori lives by the philosophy of giving the best version of himself to his work with Christie Lake Kids. “My job is to raise awareness and drive sponsorships, and I’m doing it as though I’m getting paid a million dollars to do it.”

At the heart of it all is his family, and making sure his children, ages seven and five, grow up to be good people. “Everything I do is for my kids,” said Mashkoori. “I know it sounds cliché, but I grew up with very little, and they’re growing up with everything and more. I want them to appreciate that.”

Mashkoori, 41, was born and raised in the west end, in old Nepean. His parents were new immigrants from Iran and worked their way out of poverty. His father ran a small pizza shop while his mother operated a hair salon. By the time Mashkoori was 16, his parents divorced.

He attended Sir Robert Borden High School, and credits his teachers and guidance counsellor with helping him stay on track. “I wasn’t the best kid,” said Mashkoori, who recently enjoyed a full-circle moment when he returned to his old stomping grounds to address students about his work with CLK.

After high school, Mashkoori studied criminology at Carleton University, thinking he might go into policing. He worked in local group homes, but it was a part-time job at the William E. Hay youth detention centre that got him interested in prevention. “I decided the key is to get to these kids before they get to the point where they’re in jail.”

Reza Mashkoori poses with students for a photo after giving a talk earlier this month to a class at his former high school, Sir Robert Borden, on Greenbank Road in Nepean.

After graduating from Carleton in 2008, he joined BGC Ottawa (formerly Ottawa Boys and Girls Club), where he worked alongside its future CEO, Adam Joiner. At age 24, he used his entire savings to buy his first property, a condo in Minto’s Paseo Private. Today, he and his wife live with their kids in the suburb of Findlay Creek.

By 2013, Mashkoori and business partner Paul Tremblay decided to turn their hobby into a business by opening a CrossFit gym. It’s located on Kaladar Avenue, near Bank and Heron, in a space that was a former limousine rental storage facility.

As the CrossFit venture took off, balancing both jobs became increasingly difficult. Mashkoori left BGC Ottawa in 2014 to focus full-time on the gym.

When Mashkoori felt ready to return to social impact work, the gym hired a manager. The arrangement allowed him to join Christie Lake Kids while giving Tremblay time to coach his four children in hockey.

The work with CLK demands more of Mashkoori’s time, but it’s also very rewarding. “It fills my cup,” he said of watching the young people at CLK have opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them.

And sometimes his two worlds collide, since a lot of his gym members are successful professionals and business owners. One of his clients, CTV Your Morning co-host Will Aiello, emceed CLK’s signature gala last fall. “When I started and was new to my fundraising role, the first place I turned to was my (gym) community, and they’ve been so amazing and helpful,” said Mashkoori.

Mashkoori also volunteers with the grassroots group 100 Men Who Cares, led by Ron Smith, and as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa. When it comes to explaining to his children why he can’t always be home for their bedtime, he uses an analogy that they can understand.

Just like they’re expected to clean up their bedrooms, he tells them, adults have a responsibility to take care of something bigger: their city.

“We have this amazing community, and we have to take care of it too.

“It all comes back to making Ottawa better,” said Mashkoori, who believes in leading by example. “My kids will have kids one day, and I want them to grow up with the same values of looking after our city and taking care of what we have here. We all have that responsibility.”

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law and Prime Benefits Group.
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