Nova Scotia’s ‘Triple-Entrepreneur’ To Star In New Road Trip Show
TRURO–Alicia Simms leads an extremely busy life, juggling three businesses out of Truro, Nova Scotia. Now, the entrepreneur, who is always looking for adventure and stimulation, will soon be hitting your TV screens.
Starting in March, a Nova Scotia road trip show, aptly called ‘Road Trippin’, will premiere on Eastlink television. The show features Simms and her partner, Tyson Breland, travelling on an RV across the province.
Simms and Breland were offered the job because the show’s director saw some entertaining videos the couple have created on social media.
“Myself and my partner had been doing some social media videos about meshing our very different lives together, where he’s a minimalist and I’m a borderline hoarder,” explained Simms. “He really enjoyed the banter from that and he reached out to say he had been greenlit for a project in 2021.”
“I do love experiencing these adventures. This was really a dream job.”
Filming took place between May and July of 2021. Despite filming during the pandemic, the crew had little trouble putting the show together.
“We’ve got way [more] footage than what we should have,” says Simms.
The show’s premise is a perfect fit for Simms. On top of running Truro Buzz and Rolling Sea Tattooery, she also started a new tourism company called Secret Nova Scotia, which takes people to see the hidden gems in the province. One popular highlight of the tours is the opportunity to go mud sliding in Maitland.
But even Simms, the connoisseur of hidden gems, was taken aback by what she discovered filming Road Trippin’.
“I saw places I had seen before but in a different way,” she recalls. “I’ve been to Wolfville many, many times but on one of our filming trips we actually got to park our RV one night in the Hennigar’s Apple Orchard – that was a really incredible experience.”
“It was so beautiful. The sunrise and sunset were incredible; it smelled amazing. The stars at night were unreal. It was such a dreamy experience.”
As if Simms wasn’t busy enough with three businesses and a television show, she has also launched a new YouTube series called Life Simmsulated.
The 10-episode series features Simms chatting with guests as they look at the unexpected path life has taken them.
Simms was inspired to do the show from her own life experience. She thought, following high school, that she would have a career in graphic design or a similar art-related field. Instead, she became a businesswoman, which seemed impossible years before.
“Then through some twists and turns I ended up scoring a tattoo apprenticeship and that’s been my career now for the last 14 years,” she says. “Life didn’t really turn out the way I thought it would but I still wound up in some weird and wonderful places, like this road-tripping show.”
Simms interviews some people who wound up taking unexpected paths, indeed. One such guest is Guinness World Record holder for chainsaw juggling, Ian Stewart, who gave Simms the scariest experience of her life.
I did absolutely have a chainsaw juggler cut an apple out of my mouth, which I didn’t know was going to happen and was one of the scariest experiences of my life.”
Another guest is Danielle Browne, a licensed plumber from Newfoundland who has gained nearly 10,000 Instagram followers and has become a blue-collar influencer.
Due to her social media success, she gets to review tools for companies and attend expos.
“Now she is blazing a trail in the trades-influencer category,” says Simms.
Simms is hoping to inspire viewers through her YouTube series. People may feel disappointed that all of their dreams didn’t come true but perhaps they haven’t realized the amount of joy their unexpected paths have created.
“Life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to, but that doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing. I think we’re capable of more than we realize.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].