Our priorities can quickly change when your world gets turned upside down. 22-year-old Brendan Mariani was a budding jazz drummer in Canada when the death of his older sister made him re-evaluate his direction in life.
After finishing up the intensive drumming course in 2015, he took a trip to Belfast where his mother is from and says quickly he felt connected to the place.
“It was the first time when I didn't have to go back because I didn't have a job, house, girlfriend, or car.
“I didn't have school the next year, so I ended up staying with my family,” Brendan says.
Straight away he noticed a difference between where he grew up in Oak Ridges, about 40 minutes north of Toronto, and Ireland.
“There is a lot of community here, even big families, everyone is always calling to each other's houses and meeting up.”
That sense of community was something he focused on as he was still grieving his sister.
“It was so strange. I didn't take the flight back to Canada. My mom was there, and we were talking and all of a sudden, we see the plane I'm supposed to be on in the air.”
Eventually he was also able to get an Irish passport and ended up working on tour buses in Belfast city centre.
That creative spark never left him though and this time he turned first to photography first and then to making videos.
Tunnel vision
His uncle from Belfast bought him a camera. Little did he know that gesture would change his life.
“With drumming I became obsessed over it, and it was like tunnel vision. When I got the camera, it was freeing. I got a really good feeling from it," he says.
Slowly it morphed from photography to making videos which he would post on TikTok.
“It (TikTok) was just a place where you could just make anything, like whatever you were thinking of whatever the idea was. I wanted to try to practice the actual craft of putting something together,” he says.
“It started off by just trying to make a video every day.”
Initially it was more about practising making videos and there was no narration. He started becoming more creative though and adding random facts to the videos which he brought with him from his tour bus days.
He also started getting feedback from people on his videos which gave him the impetus to do more.
The first video which really blew up for him was when he visited Omeath in Co Louth. He begins the video with a light up to his face telling the story of how the village was founded.
@brendanmariani A Wes Andertour #wesanderson #omeath #bigfish #ireland #wesandertour ♬ original sound - Brendan Mariani
He then stops off at the local café for lunch, shows off the local fishmonger's catch and highlights the rugged landscape around the Cooley Peninsula.
Unlike a tourism Ireland video, there is a distinct style with its quick cuts and close-ups. People quickly compared it to one of the great contemporary American directors Wes Anderson.
He was incredibly flattered by the comparison "I was like, holy crap. Someone said it reminded them of a Wes Anderson movie. I was freaking out because I was actually watching his movies on repeats every day for almost a year."
After that he had a formula to go off, and he continued to go around rural towns across Ireland showcasing hidden gems.
Some of the towns he has documented include: Athlone, Skerries, Bray, Slane, Doolin and Carlow town to name a few. Each video not only showcases the locals but also the more quirky elements of each place.
@brendanmariani Dingle #countykerry #dingle #dinglepeninsula #kerry #wesandertour #bigfish ♬ original sound - Brendan Mariani
The Dingle video mentions the well-known Murphy's ice-creams but also the lesser know falconry and butterfly sanctuary. It is this focus on the more eccentric nature of Irish life that has made his videos so popular with not only Irish viewers but an international audience as well.
The locals in the videos have become stars in themselves and as someone who sees himself as a real people person, Brendan enjoys getting to know them.
"The worst experience I ever had making one of these videos was in Canada. They were all like, yeah, talk to these people. Give this person a call. It's all bureaucracy."
He prefers the more laid back nature of Irish people who are more than willing to get involved.
"There is something so cool about meeting a family butchers that has been there for over 100 years. Then the business is past down from generation to generation. Canada is very different to that."
Brendan has seen such success with his videos he is now doing sponsored ones for various organisations. From promos for the Allianz Leagues games to a video showcasing the secluded Lambay Island off the Dublin coast.
It is a fair cry from the early days when he was spending all his money travelling around Ireland and making videos.
"The big one for me, which was I thought someone was playing a joke on me, was Bentley Motors.
I had no money in my account, and I was driving around a Bentley!
"It ended up being the funniest thing. I had no money in my account, and I was driving around a Bentley!"
Now aged 31-year-olds he travels around the world making videos. He is currently in southern Spain where his girlfriend is from shooting for a video.
During the day when it is too warms he tells me he watches movies from some of his favourite directors like Andrei Tarkovsky.
Even though he is now to make a living from his work, he is still fully committed to always learning and improving his craft.
@bentleymotors Sightseeing gone completely right. #Bentley #FlyingSpur #Hybrid | @Brendan Mariani ♬ original sound - Bentley Motors
