Brentwood Bay’s very own Bruce Brown is no stranger to the limelight.
Known for his charismatic personality, joy of adventure, and passion for storytelling, Brown has become a familiar face around his hometown and throughout Greater Victoria.
On Saturday, January 7th, Brown achieved a special milestone—his 600th adventure vlog.
What started out as a way for Brown to share his ventriloquist talents and conversations with good friends in his community, eventually became a hobby he now holds dear to his heart.
While vlogging has become a common way for social media influencers to establish a close relationship with their audience, for Brown, his videos started as a way to pay tribute to the world around him as he came to terms with his declining eyesight.
“I went to an optometrist one day and he said you’ve got macular degeneration. You’ll probably be legally blind within three to five years.”
Now more than 10 years since his diagnosis and eyesight still going strong, Brown continues to live life to the fullest with a new passion project known as Walking with Bruce.
Originally launched in 2020 amidst a global pandemic, Brown got the idea to document his daily hikes and commentary on local attractions.
By posting them on YouTube, it became a way to show his family and friends what he was up to while socially distancing.
In the years since Brown’s adventures began, his videos have become an entertaining and nostalgic experience for locals as well as those who no longer call Vancouver Island home.
As a labour of love, the retired car salesman is enjoying his later years as a self-taught digital creator.
“I love it, I just love hearing from people. I stop to pump gas and people come out and talk to me,” says Brown
Often taking an hour to film and six hours to edit, Brown crafts each video with care and his work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
In the past year, Brown has received an outpour of letters, emails and phone calls from fans sharing their appreciation for his time and effort in placing a spotlight on local attractions most people take for granted.
“About a year ago I got a call on a Sunday afternoon. Are you Bruce that does the walks? I just want to thank you. I lost my husband not that long ago and you’ve been going to places where we used to go and it’s brought back so many memories. I can’t get out and walk anymore so I look forward every time I see your videos,” Brown told Victoria Buzz.
Local audiences weren’t the only ones to express their fascination with Brown’s creative endeavours.
“I was doing something one day and I got a phone call from a fellow down at Shaw named Paul McCullen and he said would you be interested if we share your content,” said Brown.
“We’re looking for someone from the Saanich Peninsula. We’ve got different areas of the town. We do people interest stories, we don’t have anyone on the Peninsula. Your content is exactly what we’re looking for.”
After exploring nearly every inch of Greater Victoria, Brown has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
With a growing audience, Brown has recently received requests to explore further into the island as far as Port Alberni.
Brown says he plans on listening to his audience while offering viewers the chance to enjoy the great outdoors themselves.
“The other day a fan phoned to thank me and suggested a walk for me. I suggested, how about in the springtime I organize a walk and see who wants to come along. She thought it was a great idea, so now we’re going to organize a walk in the near future to connect with the fans,” said Brown.
To learn more about his adventures, Brown shares videos every week through his Youtube Channel.
