Gordy Ha spent his early life fighting an autoimmune disorder that left him constantly sick and fatigued.
Despite his illness, his use of a 3D printer sparked an interest in ghost guns, leading him to publish research, something he did alongside his love of powerlifting.
For 18 years, Ha lived with Graves’ disease, an illness which causes the immune system to attack the thyroid, the organ that controls all of the body’s metabolic hormones.
This can cause things such as muscle weakness, anxiety, and weight loss.
“I lived with amnesia. I only weighed like 100 pounds,” he said. “I was a very sickly kid.”
In 2019, leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ha’s disease forced him to stay inside, something which gave him more time around his computer.
While browsing the internet, he kept hearing about something that ignited his curiosity — ghost guns, untraceable firearms made by 3D printers.
Printing gone ghost
Ha, having access to a printer, wondered how easy it would be to make a gun himself.
“In my own bedroom during COVID, I 3D printed the lower receiver, a handle, and a stock of an AR-15, and I thought to myself, ‘That was surprisingly easy,’” he said.
Following his experiment, Ha realized something — if it was so easy for an 18-year-old to manufacture these weapons in his bedroom, ghost guns could pose a serious threat to the public if produced by someone with less-than-pure intentions.
He started researching both 3D printers and ghost guns, seeking a way to trace weapons back to the machine on which they were originally printed.
Eventually, Ha discovered that when a 3D printer is calibrated, scratch marks are often left on the machine.
These marks, almost like fingerprints, would be engraved on anything the printer created — including weapons.
Taking it public
At first, he wasn’t sure what to do with his discovery, but, after sitting on the research for some time, he approached Doug King, one of his professors at Mount Royal University.
King was familiar with ghost guns and knew that little examination had been done on them. So, he encouraged Ha to pursue the idea, knowing that the investigation could go somewhere.
Seeing that Ha had already experimented on his own showed King that Ha was dedicated to his work, something that set him apart from most other students.
“I kind of connected with Gordy,” King said. “He’s really prepared to push the boundaries in terms of going to try something new, and I think that’s really intriguing from [him].”
In 2024, after extensive work and further research, Ha published his findings as part of his Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice.
The work was quickly recognized for its novelty and quality and was soon given to agencies such as the Calgary Police Service.
A new hurdle
Afterwards, with plenty of time on his hands, Ha was left looking for another goal to chase. Soon, he stumbled upon something he’d never tried before — powerlifting.
Ha participated in his first competition with a lifting club at the University of Calgary, earning a silver medal.
However, due to his ongoing illness, Ha often struggled while training for these competitions.
“Blood would just explode out of my nose, and I nearly fainted because I pushed my body so hard that blood vessels started popping,” he said.
At that point, Ha noticed that his condition seemed to be getting worse, and both he and his doctors worried that if untreated, he would be at risk of thyroid cancer.
So, shortly after being put on medication, Ha underwent surgery to have his thyroid removed.
Following the operation, he spent time recovering before eventually resuming his powerlifting training.
“I wasn’t satisfied with one competition,” he said.
Upcoming life
Going forward, Ha plans to continue powerlifting.
A major goal of his is to compete on Team Canada.
However, that doesn’t mean he’s leaving his criminal justice degree behind.
He is currently studying for the LSAT as he aims to attend law school, which he says is one of the hardest things he’s undertaken in his life.
Ha hopes to inspire many others with his story, showing what is possible despite the challenges they may face.
“You don’t know what your capabilities are until you try, that’s something I’ve learned,” he said. “Do your best.”