Tamer Soliman

I'm a holistic wellness coach, wellness speaker and documentary filmmaker. My passion for what I do comes from a mixture of formal and not-so-formal experiences.

I moved to Canada when I was 7, and was born in Cairo, Egypt. My father, a two-time Olympian, naturally encouraged me to play sports. Tennis was the sport that he chose for me. I didn't end up a pro, but something better happened. I learned about discipline, practice and creating good habits which has become the ethos of my practice with my clients.

My passion for cultural eating patterns and love of home-cooked meals stems from my mother. She's a mixture of three nationalities - Greek, French and Italian - and cooks dishes from all three countries. So you can imagine the many spices and flavors my sister and I were exposed to from a very young age. I've always had a keen interest in what my mother was up to in the kitchen, and so developed a love for cooking delicious whole foods.

During my teenage years, I met a naturopath who, through completely natural means, helped me heal a chronic "tennis elbow" injury. He taught me about inflammation, the downfalls of eating processed foods and the power real whole foods and herbs can have on the whole body and mind. After this experience, I was inspired to study Kinesiology at the University Of Western Ontario and later Holistic Nutrition at the Edison Institute of Nutrition.

After working with a great group of people at the Toronto Athletic Club in Toronto, Ontario for a few years, my wife and I went on a journey and moved down to the Cayman Islands. During our six years of living in a beautiful, tropical environment, I not only had the privilege of practicing as a holistic nutritionist, but also had the chance to volunteer at the Plantation Organics Garden. This experience allowed me to gain a deeper connection to the foods I ate and a true appreciation for what sustainability and organic farming really means to both our health and environment.

Also while down in the Cayman Islands, my passion for connecting people to local foods and sustainability led to the production of my first documentary, Bright Spot, a short film about the history, demise and modern use of coconuts. You can read about it and watch it by clicking here. This was quickly followed up with a second documentary which is currently in post-production. It's a feature length film on the importance of community wellbeing and how it affects your health. It's a timely topic and you can take a look at the website of the film by clicking here.

After many travels around the world and working with a variety of different clients, my nutrition and culinary skills continue to grow. Currently I'm living in Canada's beautiful capital, Ottawa, with my beautiful wife, Sarah. Everyday I'm so grateful that I am able to practice what I am deeply passionate about: teaching people about nutrition, healthy cooking and how to use diet and exercise to heal and optimize one's whole body.