costa-angie

The Story.

Doin’ Costa Rica.

Just short of a month ago, I returned from a vacation in Costa Rica where I discovered that my passion for board sports extends beyond just the snowboarding kind and into surfing. But many of the questions I’ve been getting have been about where and how this all came about – the cameras, the trip, this once in a lifetime opportunity. So here is my story.

In October, MuchMusic blogged about a chance to take part in a surf adventure in Costa Rica, then called “It’s a Shore Thing”. It was a contest and generally, I hardly partake in contests because a) what are the chances you’d win? b) you spend lots of time on your submission and if you don’t win, it feels like a big waste of time and c) Is this for real? Will I really get to win a full, all expense paid trip to Costa Rica with no commitment?

But Screw It. Why Not?

After my latest blog post on seizing the day & creating memories in this lifetime, I decided I was going to do it. I wanted this, I am going to do it. Only the Do-ers Can Preach. So I did. On October 28th, I headed to a friend’s new acquired web agency, Jet Cooper to film my video with the help of good friend Kenway Du & made the video in 15 minutes flat just in time before our weekly Improv class. And that was that. The next evening after a few small edits to the video, it was submitted with MuchMusic just 15 minutes before the deadline. The fate of my trip to Costa Rica was now in the hands of the producers. Naturally, I had no expectations, so that the margin for disappointment would be much less.

The Interview.

A few days later, I got a call from Ken from MuchMusic after work. I was to come into do an on camera interview. I’ve always been a “behind the scenes” type of person, producing/directing a musical in high school, managing a theatre production in university & loved taking videos of others. Not myself. So when the call came around, I was a little nervous to present myself on camera to say the least. But funny enough, even after the one hour interview on camera talking about my life, my inhibitions, my expectations – it never sank in that I would be on a reality show. I really just wanted to surf.

The Call.

“You’re Going to Costa Rica”. The first thing I thought was “I am going to learn to surf & replace my summer blues from snowboarding with this!”. The entire experience before arriving at Costa Rica was just like any other vacation. Arriving at the airport, meeting the other contestants, checking in, sitting in a shuttle bus for hours before coming to the surf camp and then, the moment that made it all real – the cameras were on. Right when we arrived at Del Mar Surf Camp, there they were – the cameras, the lights, the crew surrounding your every move.

Reality

Definitely one of the many concerns I had about participating in this show was the fear of what this would do to my image, my sense of self & my identity. One of the many caveats of reality TV is the power of video editing & creating a character that could be completely opposite from a person’s true self. But I had no intention of becoming an on camera personality, a TV personality and told myself, as long as I remained true to myself & my intentions, that is the only personality that they can portray. With that in mind, no matter what happens, this experience was for myself. I never wanted to look back & say “I wished I did it”. I did it. This is a part of who I am & will always remain – but I believe that I did it all for the right intentions with nothing I will ever regret.

And So.. I “Did Costa Rica”.

And here it is. The show is here today – “Doin’ Costa Rica” on Tuesday, December 29 @ 8pm ET, December 30 @ 5pm ET and January 3 @ 7pm ET. There was no pre-screening, no approvals, no said direction of the nature of the show. I took this chance, I discovered Pura Vida, I met amazing people, I surfed, I fell in love with Costa Rica, I found beauty… I lived.

Enjoy!


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