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What is your ultimate goal in life if you envisage How do you see the relationship between online and
the future? If social media were to decline in the offline communities?
future, do you think that’s a possibility, and if so, Creating a dedicated channel on Instagram for coffee
what do you think you would do then? stuff was a natural progression for me. I live in a relatively
My first goal is my family. As long as I can do some- rural area so as social media has become more developed
thing I enjoy and make a living doing it, I’m content. I found over time, it has been a great way to connect with others
plenty of things to do that I enjoyed before social media, who share my interests!
should it decline for some reason I would have no problem
finding a new career pursuit. You’ve mentioned Authenticity Matters over and
over again, and Keeping it Real is also a hip-hop
What Connects Us culture and hip-hop is also a culture in Toronto, so
I’m curious if you’re influenced by that.
The 2000s was the time of your schooling and the I enjoy hip hop but wouldn’t say it’s a major influence
time when social media started to become popular. for me. That being said, I believe authenticity is a core
Can you recall the habits of your community in us- concept that transcends genre!
ing social media during that time?
I’m going to date myself here but my first social net- You recently did a video (What “Creators” DON’T
works were MySpace and MSN Messenger. It was the era Talk About - Brand Deals, Bias, Partnerships & Con-
when everyone built a geocities site and carefully selected tent Creation as a Job), featuring stories of content
the song to play on their my space profile. Shortly after came creators and your attitude towards it, and it got a
Facebook, then Instagram! At that time, social media was lot of recognition. Can you talk to us about the
purely a way to stay connected with your real-life friends. opportunity you had to do this video?
This was a bit of an unusual video for my channel but I
Do you remember your first video that got a lot of felt it was important for me to create. There are a lot of ap-
likes? Can you describe how you felt that day and proaches to making content and generating income (or not)
how people reacted? through a content creation platform. I want this to be my sole
I remember being totally shocked because it was a throw- focus, which involves generating an income. It was important
away video that was not about coffee at all, but about my rela- for me to be fully transparent about how I do this – I don’t
tionship with Sarah (my wife)! It was then that I realized one ever want to feel like I’m hiding anything. Also, I get a
of the most powerful things to share on social media was shared lot of questions about this from other creators – and I
experiences and real-life moments – that’s what connects us! love helping them!
You’ve mentioned that you have a strong drive and When did you first become consciously interested
passion for community development, you volunteer in the topic of mental health? “Personally, I believe a lot of that is
at a church and have also connected with I’m Not I have struggled with anxiety and depression
A Barista have you ever wondered where that pas- throughout my life to varying degrees at different times. rooted in my faith – I believe we should
sion came from? I believe that this can be navigated in a much more healthy treat all those around us well and leave
Personally, I believe a lot of that is rooted in my faith – I way when you approach mental health as an open con-
believe we should treat all those around us well and leave the versation. It’s not just okay to talk about – it’s healthy to the world better than we found it.”
world better than we found it. talk about it.

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