Just over a month ago, local filmmaker and photographer Jason Headley, 21, joined friends and University of Alberta graduates Shaun Brandt and Cam Service for a five-month adventure in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

Photo Submitted: Shaun Brandt, Cam Service, and Jason Headley. 

The three began the six-week long drive south from Edmonton and began filming the documentary Life in Reverse, which airs on online television station Thirdstorm TV.

Life in Reverse follows Brandt and Service as they make their way to South America to fulfill their dream of building a surf home on the ocean-view property they purchased in 2009.

“In the summer of 2009, we found ourselves questioning what we really wanted to accomplish in life, and what was really important to us,” they wrote in their blog just before they left. “That was the birth of this project. It opened a whole new chapter to our lives. A chapter based in the heart of Central America. The real message behind all of this is that anybody can do anything. And we’re not exactly sure how this is going to work out, or even if it really will, but when we really think about it…we’re not even sure if that makes a difference. Because truthfully, it’s not about where you get to that really matters; it’s about the journey.”

Episode of Life in Reverse are shot weekly by Headley and edited and uploaded in less than a week with additional editing by 24 year-old local filmmaker Steven Aitkens.

The Endeavour interviewed Headley on the trio’s way down south to start their Life in Reverse project.

What pushed you to actually say yes to this project?

A six-month road trip to Nicaragua? I could never say no to something like that. I had thought about not going, so I could keep that steady paycheck to finally pay off my visa bill, but I knew I would regret not taking the adventure on. If the show goes nowhere, and I end up with more debt, I know it will still be worth it.

What sorts of adventures have you been on in the last couple years that led up to this one?

I’ve done a similar trip to this one a few years back when I took a bus to Mexico with two buddies, after coming home from a trip down to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. I got home to a cold Alberta winter and all I wanted to do was get back down to Central America. So, I picked up a cheap greyhound bus to Tijuana and kept going from there. Lately I haven’t been in the same place for too long. In the last few years I have shot mountain biking in Australia, traveled around New Zealand, rode my bike from Lethbridge to Victoria, British Columbia, lived in Victoria, dove shipwrecks in Panama, been bit by a rabid dog in Honduras, etc. After this road trip I’m planning to finish biking across Canada, and hopefully take another crack at climbing Mt. Baker in Washington. From there I’ll take on whatever comes up next.

What sorts of challenges are you facing as far as meeting deadlines for filming and editing?

The timeline is definitely a challenging one. It requires a lot of sleepless nights, but it’s getting done. My days are usually spent filming whatever is going on, shooting photos, downloading files, making sure camera gear is charged up, and if there is any spare time it is spent editing it in the back of a ‘99 Land Rover on the go. Most nights are spent hovered over my laptop extremely late…unless we go out for a few beers when the budget lets us. During episode two we ran into some troubles with shipping to Canada, so we ended up having to edit and upload the episode from a little Internet café here in Todos Santos. Hopefully the process gets a little smoother as each episode gets going but who knows.

What has been the best part of the life in reverse trip so far and what are you looking forward to most?
I would have to say the best part so far has been the last couple days here in Todos Santos, Mexico, living on the beach. We are broke and stuck here until we get money for the ferry to the mainland, but we have our tent set up right by the surf. We boil eggs for breakfast and do whatever we feel like all day. It’s the life. Living the dream is however broken by long spurts of work. I’ll hopefully be finishing episode three up in a day or two here to get shipped back to Canada for additional editing and uploading. We’ve also decided that no matter what, we are going to make it to Nicaragua to finish the journey. At the same token, if we end up running too far on the credit cards, or the Land Rover quits on us, this trip will definitely get a bit more interesting.

Catch up on what you’ve missed and watch new episodes every Monday at 10 p.m. at http://thirdstorm.tv/life-in-reverse/.

To follow the Life in Reverse blog visit: http://thirdstorm.tv/life-in-reverse/blog/.