Scott Stanfield
Record staff
Justin Goulet loves his job as the hybrid news anchor/announcer at 98.9 the Goat FM in Courtenay.
But since the tender age of three, his first love has been basketball. After a decade of honing his skills in gyms around his hometown of Oakville, 13-year-old Justin was part of a select team that won an Ontario provincial championship.
“Basketball has always been my safe place,” said Goulet, who continues to enjoy shooting hoops in his new town. “It’s a stress relief.”
A huge fan of the Toronto Raptors, Goulet has a couple of basketball favourites who stand at opposite ends of the height spectrum, at least in basketball terms. The first is Allen Iverson, the six-foot, Hall of Fame guard who starred for the Philadelphia 76ers. The other is the 6’9” Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.
“I can relate to the tall, lanky white guy,” Goulet said, recalling basketball sessions in Oakville.
Along with a friend in Ontario, he has created a podcast called Full Court Press, where they discuss the goings-on in the NBA and other basketball-related news.
Goulet is also a fan of longboarding, horror films, the band Kiss (he’s seen them three times) and the “cartoony” world of professional wrestling.
“It’s so entertaining,” he said of the latter, which he discovered a little over a decade ago. Back then, his favourite wrestler was John Cena.
“Growing up, he was my Hulk Hogan.”
Goulet is also a fan of The Undertaker (real name Mark Calaway), and high-fliers like Mysterio and the late Eddie Guerrero. Young Justin was bawling when Guerrero died in 2005.
“It was almost like losing a family member,” said Goulet, who met AJ Styles at the 2014 Smash Wrestling Show in Toronto.
Since moving to the Valley that year, he has attended a couple of local wrestling cards.
“It’s helping a great cause — and it’s entertaining.”
Goulet is something of a performer himself, having always been into drama and theatre.
“I love entertaining people, and putting a smile on people’s faces,” said Goulet, whose birthday is April 1. “I enjoy a good prank.”
Before joining the team at Goat FM, Goulet had worked for an online radio station in his home province. He enjoys getting out in the community, and meeting people at events that he normally wouldn’t attend.
“Those little moments are the best part of the job.”