About Me

I was born in 1966 and grew up just north of Toronto in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. My parents were very resourceful and we maintained our house, yard and cars ourselves. We had every tool known and they always knew how to fix everything. My siblings and I worked as their crew. At eight I helped roof the house and by twelve I pretty much roofed a smaller house that they owned by myself. My dad and I did everything from baking to auto mechanics together and my mom taught me about chemicals in everyday products like food, cosmetics and cleaning products. As well she introduced me to natural therapies such as homeopathy. Their abilities have always amazed me and I look back to those years of training when I tackle a job. 

Professionally, I started out in theatre production and noticed that I really liked variety. Depending on my contract I worked in at least 4 different capacities on a regular basis: Stage Manager, Scenic Painter, Properties Builder and Buyer, and Set Designer. 

After about 4 years in the business I started to lose interest and was looking for a new vocation that would provide me with the same amount of variety. I went back to college to get a diploma in Environmental Engineering. 

There I also worked in a variety of capacities: researching on topics such as energy efficiency and sustainable tourism, organizing workshops, data crunching for the City of Toronto’s Environmental Policy, labourer in Toronto’s waste transfer stations and vermi-compost operator. Simultaneously I was a City of Toronto employee while holding contracts with non-profits and engineering consulting firms that provided services for the city. 

Then I started using my skills from both vocations by getting involved in independent media as a hobby. Of course media is a bit different than theatre but there is a lot of overlap in skills required. 

For 9 years I co-produced an independant media business called "boilingfrog.ca" that consisted of myself and a partner. We screened, distributed and produced independent media concerning various issues, including Human and Environmental Health, Economic and Banking Systems and Political Corruption. We organized regular screenings and film festivals, ran three cross-Canada film tours, and wrote and produced an introspective radio play and two videos, conducted live interviews, and hosted an internet radio show. 

We went from Toronto, Ontario being our home base to rural Saskatchewan. On the prairies, we attempted to continue running our business with a very modest off-grid power system. At the same time we had to renovate our new home that had no insulation. It was important to us that our renovations reflected the values that we often talked about while running boilingfrog.ca. 

It was fun and crazy but after two years things changed course and we split. I needed a change of scenery. At this point my family home had been sold and going back to Thornhill was not an option. Since leaving my home in Saskatchewan I traveled to the homes of relatives and close friends trading labour for living space until I could figure out where I wanted to be. It has been a wonderful adventure but I have not found my full-time perminant spot. 

Then suddenly it dawned on me: I love the journey and even love it more when the destination is a part of the journey. So I pruned about 90% of my belongings so I could be more mobile. 

I crave adventure, finding new friends, doing interesting things, exploring and just being in beautiful places through my travelbridge business.