True Calling

Entrepreneur. Cultural ambassador. Guide. Canadian. There are many words that Kylik Kisoun Taylor now identifies with, but none came easily at first. It took returning to the Canadian North, and becoming re-rooted in his culture to get where he is today. Teaching & guiding tourists in the North West Territories he truly loves what he does. This is his story. Co Produced by Kylik Kisoun Taylor

Rugby and Crossfit were two things Lindsay Hamilton didn't necessarily think she could do - being an adaptive athlete with no arms or legs. But today Lindsay can't imagine life without them. Lindsay is the ultimate fitspiration. Get to know Lindsay and how she's striving despite challenges.

"I always get pulled into work that I feel passionate about, and I was pulled into this language work." Language is an expression of culture, and there once was a time when the colonial narrative was that Haida culture was dead. With less than five fluent speakers of the dialect left in the world, Jaskwaan Amanda Bedard's life work is devoted to reawakening the Haida language in Haida Gwaii

Tori Swanson draws people naked for a living. As an artist, her primary focus is nude portraits. Being sketched completely naked can be a vulnerable experience, but Tori's goal is to make the experience a liberating one. "I want people to not be afraid to explore who they are, and I want people to be open to trying new things and being less judgemental with themselves."

Courtney Lee, of the Securiguard K9 unit, is tasked with the job of keeping Vancouver International Airport safe. She works with Diesel, a German Shepherd dog who understands Dutch, German, and English. Together, they patrol the airport looking for explosives and anything suspicious. Together, they patrol the airport looking for explosives and anything suspicious.

As the self-described "Lorax" for the stars, Derek Kief has always been driven by an insatiable desire to question everything around him. Now he gets to live out his passion, as an Astronomer sharing his love of the Universe with anyone who passes through the doors of Vancouver's own H.R. Macmillan Space Centre.

This story is dad and daughter goals. Paige is Special Olympics Canada's 2017 Female Athlete of the Year, and her dad also won Special Olympics North America coach of the Year. Together the father-daughter duo are an unstoppable force, having both brought home numerous accolades.

Mark Arnott builds submarines for a living. Seven years into the job, and he still gets a buzz telling people what he does. As head of the electrical department at Nuytco Research, Mark helps to build and develop undersea submersible technology. Mark has has the opportunity to work on submarine projects including James Cameron's film 'The Abyss'.

Like many young mothers, Carmel Rodriguez struggled with depression after the birth of her children. A combination of physical pain, financial insecurity, and maternal anxiety was taking its toll. But from this low point, Carmel had a dream. A dream that showed her the way to happiness, freedom, and self-fulfillment. Carmel was destined to become... a Ninja Mom.

Annette Labedzki's Instagram account, is post after post of realistic frozen paint creations, from Oreo cookies to mermaid tails and skeletons. There's something so oddly satisfying about seeing these creations mixed into paint that it has attracted over 880,000 followers. This unintentional Instagram community has pulled her out of isolation as a painter and into the world of performance art.

A look behind the curtain of Sheldon McIntosh, AKA Tynomi Banks. Experience the transformation, discover what it takes, and go behind the scenes with Sheldon as he reveals his process and passion for drag.

Shawn Miller is an officiant, and the CEO of Young Hip and Married, a wedding company that gives couples the freedom to express their love for each other in their own unique way. He tells us what it's like to be an officiant, in the business of love and how he gives back by offering free weddings.

Dr. Dominique Vallee is a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a former Olympic athlete. Find out why she gave up her professional snowboarding career for a vocation in a practice that is thousands of years old.

"You are home now." These are the first words Mohammed Alsaleh tells his clients when he meets them at ISS of BC. Years after arriving in Canada as a Syrian refugee himself, Mohammed now helps those whose shoes he was once in. After four years of studying medicine in Homs, Syria, his fate was changed by the Syrian Civil War, when he suffered imprisonment and torture, before fleeing to Canada.

Jeremy "JBC" Kennedy has only himself to rely on, and that's the way he likes it. As a pro athlete and fighter, everything he does is with the goal of making himself 100% better at what he wants to be. At 24, the Mixed Martial Artist made his UFC debut in 2016, and the undefeated featherweight is returning to the Octagon in NYC in, 2017 to fight Kyle Bochniak for his 3rd ever UFC appearance.

Graham had his career all figured out - he was going to be a Chemical Engineer. He just never thought those 'chemicals' would involve hops, barley and malt.

When your #1 best moment in life is a tossup between winning your first Paralympic medal and carrying the flag for Canada in the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, it's hard to imagine that a desk job at an insurance company could be a fulfilling followup career. And yet, Donovan Tildesley crazily enough still gets his competitive rush every day.

Michael Keaton did it first in Mr. Mom. As a stay-at-home parent, Ben Brunton is doing it all: cooking and cleaning, repairs and renovations, and breaking down outdated gender roles. Here's a peek into what being a stay-at-home dad is all about.

At the age of 15, Joleen Mitton was introduced to the crazy world of international modelling. Her story is about identity. She now works with indigenous foster children as a Community Support Worker. She also runs her own company, All My Relations Entertainment, where she produces fashion shows to bring awareness to Indigenous fashion and artists.

Yogi Omar isn't a yoga expert. He's a Talent Agent. He puts people in the background of movies and TV. Coincidentally, when he came to Canada 14 years ago, it was by watching movies and TV shows that he learned to speak English in the first place. So when he first saw his extras on a TV show? He cried. (Gotta love a full circle).

Tyson is the 27th generation hereditary leader for the Ahousaht First Nation in British Columbia. In short, he was born into responsibility. Today, he also works at The Nature Conservancy, where his role is to show how Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships can come together over the state of the natural environment. He took us into his world, and showed us the beauty that is Ahousaht.

Capt. Bree Stotts is a helicopter pilot for the Ambulance Service, airlifting people in dire medical conditions. Seeing people at their most vulnerable allows her to reflect on the fragility of life, and it's what makes her appreciate tucking her kids into bed every night. She realizes that she puts herself at risk every day, but helping save lives is what makes her job worth it in every moment.

Meet Christopher, a potty-trained mini pig who loves Cheerios, lipstick, and sharing his life of adventure on Instagram. Christopher the Ultimate Traveling Pig, has 52.6k followers on Instagram and counting. There's just something about a pig doing unconventional pig things that has the internet hooked.

Karli Woods is a digital content creator, Cosplayer, and Twitch Partner. She plays dress up for a living, traveling around the world to comic conventions meeting fans and hosting Cosplay panels. Cosplay stands for costume playing where people dress up as their favourite characters from comic books, novels movies or video games. Karli mostly focuses on the sci-fi genre with a mix of lifestyle.

Charlie Watson is the founder and CEO of SetToDestroyX, which has been dubbed as Canada's eSports team. eSports is the business of competitive video gaming, which has been growing exponentially since the mid-90s. The video game business is colossal, with worldwide revenue estimated at over 100 billion dollars in 2017.

There's no doubt being in the trauma room of the emergency department can be intense. For ER Nurse Naomi Benda, it's a unique, ever-changing, and chaotic environment. As an emergency nurse, Naomi is the first person to see the patient. She is the first to ask the patient questions, and if need be, start IVs, give fluid, and order blood work.

Boris Derow loves to sing. He has been performing his entire life and first began singing on stages when he was only three years old. Making money in the arts is no easy task, and in order to provide some financial stability and security that was necessary for his family, Boris made a practical decision to become a Red Seal plumber and gas fitter.

In 1988 there was a nationwide protest in the country of Burma, now known as Myanmar. People filled the streets of Yangon, the nation's capital, to demand an end to the authoritarian government of the day. After years of struggle, he was granted refuge in Canada where he has committed his life to helping others across the world who have similar challenges as a refugee resettlement counsellor.

Brothers Jean-Marc and Matthew de Groot grew up in a large family where rough housing was just a part of daily life. As they grew older this turned into a passion for wrestling, and eventually, they found jiu jitsu. It started with them converting their basement in to a jiu jitsu gym, then they started taking classes, and eventually teaching classes.

Ry Williams spends his days cleaning bones, restoring bones, and most importantly, creating the mounts that will display the bones. His job is to turn back the clock millions of years to make the dinosaurs look like they're alive - running, attacking, and in the position that they would have been in when they were in their prime.

Kai Saunders discovered his calling as a tattoo artist when he first had one of his own designs inked onto him by another artist. He saw that some of what he loved about climbing was echoed in his career; adventure, challenge, and variety.

Andrew Szeto is a man that wears many hats on a day to day basis. He turns recycled skateboards into coffee tampers, hangs out of helicopters at the Canadian Coast Guard, and spends hours in his element at the skate park. After his short stint as an amateur skateboarder, he started to learn the skill of photography, working along side other skateboard photographers.

Donnelly Williams makes entertainment rides for some of the biggest theme parks around the globe, such as Universal Studios and Disney, and there's a good chance you've been on them. He oversees the design and construction of world-class roller coasters.

Karolina is an artist who would rather speak through her work than through words. As someone who is quite shy yet curious in conversation, she completely transforms and commands the stage when she is in her element. She says herself, "It's like another Karo shows up when I am directing". Karolina Kuras is a Toronto-based ballet and portrait photographer.

Ethel Bruneau was three when she knew what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. "I walked into the dance studio and couldn't stop tapping!" Her father had taken her to a legendary tap dance teacher in Harlem whose alumni included the Nicholas Brothers. From then on, Ethel lived for tap dancing and at nine, she was dancing professionally. Sneaking into clubs to perform.

Former Olympian Julia Dexter created Squiggle Park, an app that teaches kids to read five times faster than any other online program.

Three friends started Embrace Orthopaedics to revolutionize knee braces. They're determined to offer people and athletes support they don't have to see, feel or think about, because get this-the brace is practically invisible.

Maestro Fresh Wes is a hip-hop icon. Fellow Canadian rapper, Drake, credits Wes for giving him confidence as a Canadian hip hop artist. He recently released his seventh studio album, Coach Fresh and was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year. He's also a successful actor, public speaker and published author. This is how he stays successful.

Ola Volo has always known that she wanted to be an artist, she just never saw it as a reality. Today, she has an incredible portfolio that includes work for companies like Starbucks, Chanel, Lululemon, Hootsuite, Honda, and Louis Vuitton-and she's pinching herself.

Tayo Branston is the drummer and lead vocalist for Five Alarm Funk, a heavy-duty funk band who is burning up stages with wild concerts, outrageous props, and hot, sweaty dance parties. Tayo's thumping beat is the backbone that drives the band's larger than life sound.

Skateboarder Joe Buffalo was determined to keep doing what he loves. Through hard work, he opened the doors to a world beyond, competing in Canada-wide skateboarding comps and touring the country with his childhood idols.

Luisa Marshall is an award-winning tribute artist touring the globe performing as The Queen of Rock and Roll, Tina Turner. She's performed on Oprah and The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she danced alongside Ellen to "Proud Mary". She's a gifted performer with a powerful voice and commanding stage presence.

Mimi Choi has a condition called sleep paralysis, which causes her to have frightening hallucinations that truly animate and influence her makeup artistry. With skin as her canvas, she uses shading, highlighting, contouring, and extreme details, to create mind-bending art. No Photoshop involved!

Devon Boorman works to revive the lost arts of the knight and nobles: the mastery of both hand-to-hand and mounted combat, as well as archery and wrestling. He is the master instructor and director of Academie Duello, the world's largest centre for the practice of European swordplay and martial arts.