Windsor wrestler to join upcoming Amazing Race Canada season

Windsor resident and professional wrestler Gisele Shaw is ready to knock down barriers once again after being revealed as a contestant on the upcoming season of “The Amazing Race Canada” earlier this week.

The announcement coincides with Shaw’s one-year anniversary of publicly coming out as a trans woman during Toronto Pride on June 24, 2022.

“I'm really, really happy that I took that leap to actually tell my story to people and hopefully some people out there are educated by it or they're inspired by it and hopefully that makes a difference,” Shaw said.

“Obviously this Amazing Race Canada experience, I'm really ecstatic about it and to do it with a legend like Gail Kim, she's my mentor, my friend and I'm really excited for this opportunity to show Canada what we have to offer.”

Shaw said she intends to use her national exposure on “Team Knockouts” as a way to educate and empower after becoming the first trans women signed to Impact Wrestling.

According to the team’s biography, Shaw and Kim want to crush the stereotype of “dumb wrestlers” in a “fake” world and show Canada that they are fierce female athletes… both proudly representing their Asian backgrounds… saying they’re racing to inspire young girls everywhere to go after their dreams while representing the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

“I've always said this since I started wrestling that I wanted to be a beacon of hope for other people,” Shaw explained. “Because the Knockouts, the Divas that I looked up to, they did that for me when I was going through the rough experiences that I've had growing up.”

“I want to be able to give back and hopefully inspire, educate, raise awareness and empower not only this generation, but the next generation and hopefully the generation that came before us as well.”

She told CTV News that before going public, she lived her life in regular fear and was surprised with the loving support she received from friends, family and the wrestling community after going public.

“I used to go out for dinner or just even for coffee and I was always looking behind,” Shaw said, “It's like, ‘do people know, can they tell and is this going to be my last day on earth?’ Because if someone noticed me and had a problem with it, then they either beat me up or do something even worse.”

“I feel like at the end of the day we're all human beings,” she said. “We just need to really understand each other and I think the key is listening and actually comprehending it.”

Meanwhile, Shaw is also training for Impact Wrestling’s “Slammiversary” pay-per-view taking place in Windsor on July 15, 2023.

Windsor-Essex Pride Fest officials applaud Shaw for being on such large scale public platforms while representing the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

“It's just an amazing thing but beyond that she is now promoting acceptance and inclusivity to combat this anti-LGBT movement that is happening in the world, which is also happening here in Windsor,” said David Lenz, community development and treasurer for Windsor-Essex Pride Fest.

“The trans community is getting the brunt of the majority of it. So a huge, huge call out to her for being so courageous during this and again, we can't thank her enough for being that beacon for everybody.”

According to Lenz, this year’s Pride festivities in Windsor will see enhanced security measures thanks to a $1.5 million dollar grant spread out between other Canadian Pride organizations.

”We’ve seen a huge increase in harassment, threats and violence against members of the community, not just here but other places as well,” Lenz said. “And maybe this an opportunity for Gisele having that presence in the media and having that voice and being that beacon for others that she can promote the equality, the inclusivity and acceptance through those mediums, because not all of us have that connection to all that huge media that she now has.”

Shaw said, “I know there's not a lot people out there that know a transgender person. It's really scary out there. I just hope that people would really educate themselves and like I said, we're all human beings and we just really need to just be loving and supportive with one another.”

“Whatever I can do to help the community to actually really raise awareness and shine a spotlight on the real issues with the community.”

Season 9 of The Amazing Race Canada starts July 4.