As Spatial Media grows, so does our ability to enable our team members to take up new opportunities anywhere in the world. From team members working remotely across the globe to relocating to growing markets, our team members can choose their own career adventure. And for 3D modelling guru Blake Maverick, that meant having the chance to swap Brisbane and Tim Tams for Toronto and poutine.We caught up with Blake to learn more about his Big Adventure.
How did the opportunity to move to Canada come up?
Many, many years ago, not long after I first started at Spatial Media, it was mentioned that Spatial's next step towards Global Domination was indeed Canada. I put my hand up to go and planted that seed as soon as I could - the opportunity for both professional and personal growth I knew would be incredible.
That seems like a big step, had you travelled much before?
Believe it or not, I have never been overseas before. Crossing the Bass Strait to Tasmania is the closest I have come to leaving Australia, but that doesn’t really count.
What is exciting to you about relocating to Canada?
Professionally, it’s a great opportunity to live and work somewhere different and to have the chance to have a hand in expanding Spatial Media on another continent I think is very exciting. On a personal front, I’m looking to test my self-control and my financial savvy-ness. I’m going to be surrounded by classic American cars and it will test me every day not to rush out to a dealership like a kid in a candy store and buy everything I fall in love with.
It’s going to be pretty tough as I left my car behind in Brisbane and will need some wheels. Look we all know what’s going to happen, don’t we?
What will you miss most about Brisbane?
There isn a lot I will miss, my family and friends, the city and Brisbane's small town vibe. And to be honest, I will really miss my car – unfortunately, I couldn’t import it to Canada.
How are you settling into your new home city of Toronto?
I guess like anyone relocating continents there are a few challenges. It was a bit of a rough entry landing in Canada, with some pretty bad airline-related sickness which took a little of the fun of travel away.
But my wife and I are finally settled in our own place in a beautiful area of town, and lightning-fast internet just got switched on so we are comfortable and can connect to the world.
We are renting a home owned by an older Greek gentleman who runs the 50-year-old barbershop downstairs and gave us such a warm welcome. He wants to cut off all my hair and teach me to play chess, we will see how he goes with those ideas over the coming months.
We also had a highly entertaining and educational trip to Toronto's Little Canada to get acquainted (on a very small scale) with where we'll be living for the foreseeable future. Another highlight was meeting up with 2 of the best people at Spatial who moved from Brisbane a couple of years ago who I've very much missed, so that was fantastic.
What differences have you noticed between Brisbane and Toronto?
They weren't lying about how nice Canadians are, that's for sure. Also, Toronto's layout and public transport make it incredibly easy to get around. This question should probably be saved 'til Canadian Winter, though...I reckon I’ll be noticing a temperature difference in winter. In December Brisbane will average 29 Celsius, it will be 1 Celsius – I don’t think thermometers in Brisbane go that low…
What projects are you working on in Canada?
We’ve got a lot of exciting projects in development in Canada. One that is really interesting to me is the Toronto Streetcar system - it's very cool and it would be awesome to support a major piece of infrastructure designed for my new hometown.
