TEAM

ANDY DUNSTAN

Retired Victoria Police

Whether Andy Dunstan is tapping it out on the dance floor, rocking the drums in his band Big Font, or drafting a fellow cyclist, rhythm is in his veins. 

Dunstan, 67, a married grandfather born in Cornwall, England, grew up watching tap dancers like Gene Kelly with his mom. The desire to dance endured and two years ago he finally found a class to which he could wear the shoes in his closet for a decade. 

Tap, drums, “It’s a percussive thing,” said Dunstan.

Always singing a tune or cracking a joke, Dunstan served 12 years in the Royal Navy, came to Canada in 2000, and in 2018 retired after 32 years of policing, first in Britain, then Calgary, Oak Bay and, for the final 14 years, Victoria.

For 11 years he was a motorcycle cop and on two wheels he has stayed.

Dunstan works part-time assembling bikes at Trek Bicycle Store of Victoria where there are bikes, music and coffee – “what more could you want.” 

It was while tooling around in his garage that Dunstan, a cyclist for more than 20 years, imagined End2End as a fundraiser for the Island Kids Cancer Association and its mission of helping families dealing with a childhood cancer diagnosis. “It's an honour and a pleasure to be able to do something to help them.”