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Tofino front and centre in Vancouver winner's video

Four sunny January days in Tofino provided the perfect backdrop for a video of a Vancouver based banker's perfect weekend experience.

Dan Rodriquez won Telus's Play With the Best contest, winning a four-day film experience highlighting his passions and the place he's passionate about.

Surfing became 32 year-old Dan Rodriguez's passion about seven years ago and Tofino quickly became his favourite destination; he claims to have visited the community about 300 times.

"The people are awesome waves are fun and it's not a crowded place," he said. "It's one of the best backdrops in the world."

When Rodriguez found out about the contest he hashtagged a handful of photos he had taken while surfing and hiking in Tofino.

He said photography is not so much a passion for him as it is a memory-preservation tool.

"I like memories...and the better picture you take the better the memory," he said.

Rodriguez's captured memories caught the judges' attention and when he was told he had won a video of his perfect weekend, he knew there was no better place to film it than Tofino.

He brought a friend along and joined the TSU film crew in January to capture his perfect experience.

He said the TSU crew was "awesome" to work with and enhanced his adventure.

"We were just a bunch of bros," he said. "We hung out and had the best time. It made it easy because that's what I do but this time there's just really expensive cameras around me."

The movie shows Rodriguez running the gamut of West Coast activities including surfing, hiking, and hanging out in town.

"I'm obviously not a professional surfer so it was more of a lifestyle piece," he said.

He was stoked when he watched the final product for the first time.

"It was awesome, the quality and everything, they did such an awesome job," he said.

"The video that came out is basically what my life's like -but on steroids."

He said the only complication during filming was the West Coast sun's insistence on playing a role.

"They actually wanted it to look cold and that was kind of tough to do because it was like 10 degrees and super sunny; it was ridiculous," he said with a chuckle. This year's Play With the Best contest runs until April 5 and any locals over 18 can submit photos through Twitter, Instagram, or by emailing photos@playwiththebest. ca.



Andrew Bailey

About the Author: Andrew Bailey

I arrived at the Westerly News as a reporter and photographer in January 2012.
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