Inside a Team Canada Athlete’s Off-Grid Tiny Home on an Alberta Ranch

For nearly a decade, Hayden Mayer’s life has revolved around speed skating. A two-time World Championship medalist and Team Canada athlete, he spent years living in Calgary near the Olympic Oval, where much of his training took place.

But a few years ago, Hayden began imagining a very different kind of life—one that would take him out of the city and onto a cattle ranch outside Calgary.

“This has kind of been a dream for me. It’s pretty awesome.”

In the summer of 2024, Hayden made the move full-time, bringing his athletic career along with him.

“I’ve been a Team Canada athlete competing on the world stage while living the tiny home life off-grid.”

Watch the Full Tour of Hayden’s Tiny Home

A 400-Square-Foot Home Built for Full-Time Living

Hayden’s home was built by Summit Tiny Homes in Vernon, British Columbia. At 38 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, the home offers roughly 400 square feet of living space, including its lofts.

Rather than treating the tiny house like a weekend getaway, Hayden designed it specifically for full-time living. That meant paying particular attention to one thing: storage.

At the entrance, a countertop doubles as an eating area with seating for three, while four cabinets underneath provide additional storage. Hayden even had a shoe closet incorporated into the end of the cabinetry—a small detail that solves a surprisingly big tiny-house problem.

“Where do you put your shoes when you come into a tiny home? There’s not a mud room.”

Storage continues throughout the kitchen, including an especially clever use of space beneath the cabinets. Even the kick plates pull out to reveal hidden compartments.

“You might not think much of it, but every square inch counts.”

Key Features of Hayden’s Tiny Home

• Approximately 400 square feet, including two lofts
• 38 feet long by 8.5 feet wide
• Full-height main-floor bedroom
• Secondary sleeping loft with a queen bed and skylight
• Additional loft used primarily for storage
• Custom entryway shoe closet
• Hidden storage incorporated into cabinet kick plates and stairs
• Mini 20-inch propane range
• Farmhouse kitchen sink and wood countertops
• Custom display for handmade Canadian ceramics
• Wood-burning stove with integrated firewood storage
• Compact bathtub and shower
• Ventless washer/dryer combination
• Hidden fold-out drying racks throughout the home
• Propane on-demand hot water
• Large off-grid freshwater and sewage storage tanks
• Solar battery system with automatic backup generator

Taking the Entire Home Off-Grid

Next to the tiny house is a 20-by-10-foot shed that Hayden calls the “power plant” behind his lifestyle.

Inside are two enormous tanks: one for fresh water and another for sewage. Each holds roughly 1,700 imperial gallons, or more than 2,000 U.S. gallons. The insulated shed also contains the home’s solar inverter, battery system and an automatic backup generator.

The generator is connected directly to the inverter and can start automatically when additional power is needed. During summer, however, Hayden says it barely gets used.

Living off-grid also changes some everyday routines.

The home has a ventless washer/dryer, but running the dryer during the darker Alberta winters can consume precious battery power. Hayden’s solution is simple and clever: hidden drying racks installed throughout the house.

“We’ve put drying racks throughout the house that are disguised.”

Clothes can hang to dry overnight. When the racks aren’t being used, they fold away and practically disappear.

Making 400 Square Feet Feel Like Home

Hayden’s house is filled with personal details that keep it from feeling like a generic tiny home.

Above his coffee station is a collection of handmade ceramics purchased from Canadian artists. There’s a farmhouse sink that feels perfectly suited to its rural surroundings, and the sage-green exterior was intentionally selected to blend into the surrounding fields.

“Across the fields, it’s actually quite challenging to even see the house in the first place, which is exactly what I wanted to do.”

Perhaps most importantly, the home includes a main-floor bedroom with full-height ceilings. Stacked windows bring in natural light and overlook the surrounding crop fields, while wall-mounted laundry baskets and even hooks for jeans help keep belongings off the floor.

As Hayden explains, clutter becomes especially noticeable when you live small.

“Clutter is a lot more of a problem in a tiny house than it is in a regular house because you don’t have very much living space and you see everything at all times.”

Building a Different Kind of Life

Tiny living is only one part of Hayden’s unconventional path.

When the pandemic disrupted life and funding for amateur sports became challenging, he started a mobile espresso business to help supplement his athletic career. That business eventually grew into a large mobile café built to resemble an old Alberta red barn—also constructed by Summit Tiny Homes.

Looking back at the risks he has taken, Hayden says he wouldn’t change them.

“There’s nothing I would do differently about my life the past five years, whether it’s starting the business, moving out of town to live tiny, going off-grid.”

That doesn’t mean the transition was easy.

“Was it scary? Absolutely. Every part of the way.”

For Hayden, though, that uncertainty is part of creating a life that actually works for the person living it. His particular combination of ranch life, off-grid systems, tiny living, entrepreneurship and elite athletics won’t be right for everyone—and that’s exactly the point.

“Everybody’s got a different house, a different story, a different utility setup. Everything is unique, and that’s because it’s unique to you.”