11-05-2025
Canadian TV host George Stroumboulopoulos, 52, reflects on having post-concussion syndrome: 'My concussions have changed my brain chemistry'
Canadian radio and TV host George Stroumboulopoulos is getting to the core of his "truest self," an area where he shared he believes most people aren't achieving in life. The former MuchMusic video jockey recently opened up to Arlene Dickinson about everything from being "lonesome" and having ex-girlfriends as his closest connections, to health issues like post-concussion syndrome.
Speaking to the Dragons' Den star on her new podcast, Stroumboulopoulos explained how — spending years interviewing high-profile athletes, musicians and leaders — he's learned people who are living as their truest selves are having the "most honest conversations with themselves." However, he noted many people aren't reaching their full potential.
"So many people get on a path because they think it's something they're supposed to do, something they were encouraged to do, and there's an element of them just going with the flow or feeling trapped," he said during the latest "Arlene Is Alone: The Single Life" episode posted on Wednesday afternoon.
Early on in the podcast, Stroumboulopoulos shared a bit about his health and what his experience has been in the past. As someone who spends most of his time alone, he's learned to mentally run through a checklist if he isn't feeling well. That means asking himself if he's tired, if he's eating right, if he's exercised and if he's had enough water. "I just go through the checklist of physical things — this, this, this. Usually if something is bugging you, you know why, usually."
Spending his youth in Toronto, Stroumboulopoulos reflected on how he wasn't necessarily able to let mental health problems take over his life. "I don't have clinical depression and — this is my superpower — I don't have anxiety. I don't think I was ever allowed to. You just have to barrel through, when I was growing up," he said, explaining he's learned to become adaptive and that he holds himself "super accountable" to how he feels.
There was one instance he reflected on where he said he woke up in a parking lot in the California desert wearing only his boxers and a T-shirt. He recalled previously checking into a motel under a fake name using cash, eventually thinking he was going to die and then stumbling out into a parking lot in fear no one would find his body.
A couple days later, he headed to the airport still uncertain about what had happened. He happened to sit down next to a former NHL player and they recognized each other. Stroumboulopoulos explained what had happened, and the athlete indicated he likely had post-concussion syndrome. The former Hockey Night in Canada anchor said he was eventually diagnosed, explaining that motorcycle crashes, hockey injuries and fights caused his concussions.
"My concussions have changed my brain chemistry. I feel things bubbling inside me now. I know how to stop them before they get out of control, but it's all related to my post-concussion syndrome," he said, adding he feels "almost unstoppable" at the moment but realizes it'll catch up to him at some point.
Stroumboulopoulos self-described himself as "one of those old-school Gen Xers," where he keeps everything about himself secret and handles issues alone. "I don't tell anybody anything about my life. I don't let people know when I'm sad, I don't let people know when I'm hurting, I don't share anything," he said, adding he holds himself to the highest standard and that his life is far from an "open book."
Moreover, he said a lot of the hobbies and work that he enjoys — like filming, editing and playing instruments — are things that happen to be solo activities. However, he admitted he know it's probably best to be making more of an effort to call people in his life, even if it's to simply meet for dinner.
"I think friends and people in our lives are like the battery tender that recharges the car battery," he shared. "Your job is to top up each other's lives and when you lose them, they return all that leftover electricity."
Recently, he said he started sending out-of-the-blue texts saying "hey, just sending you love" to people in his life who he knows are on the road alone often. "We're cultured to be part of this rugged individualism."
He reflected on two people in his life who could be considered life-long friends, the first being someone he's known since he was born. They grew up together and even lived in the same building, but he said his friend lives in Whistler, B.C., so they mostly connect over text. The other person, Adrian, was his first roommate and a friend from high school. "That's it," Stroumboulopoulos said about his close friendships.
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But the "Strombo" Apple Music Radio host explained there are actually two more people he's close with — both of whom happen to be ex-girlfriends. He described them as being "two of the most important people in my life," sharing one is now a wife and mother living in Los Angeles who influenced a large part of the person he is today.
"We are each other's release valve, conversation place, her husband and I are great friends. It's maybe the most enriched relationship I have in my life, my relationship with her," he shared. "You never know, right? There's lots of exes who, we're not in each other's lives in the same way. But two of my closest [friends] are my exes, and it's really lovely."
But the thought of what could've been with either woman when it comes to romance has never crossed his mind post-breakup, he shared: "If a thing ends, it ends already for a reason. ... I have so many regrets, but not there."
He then explained what he thinks is the "key to life," and it's something he doesn't think he'd have been able to do in his 30s and only learned upon age: "You don't just listen to talk. Hear them. Validate people on the other side of the firing line. Validate them, because what they're feeling is real. They may not be the best at communicating it, they also have their own history.
"I try to look at every single person I interact with, even people I want to fight ..., through the same prism, which is, 'You are also just trying to get through this.'"
