Who am I?
Hi, I’m Rick. Most people call me Ricky D.
I’m a storyteller, content creator, photographer, videographer, digital media professional, movie obsessive trying to build a career doing work I genuinely care about.
My love of storytelling started with film.
I studied Communications at Dawson College, where I wrote, produced and directed several award-winning short films. I spent just as much time behind the camera and in the editing room, earning awards for both cinematography and editing. That experience taught me something that has followed me throughout my career: whether it’s a short film, a 30-second social video or a single photograph, great storytelling is about finding the moment that makes someone feel something.
Cinema became a huge part of my professional life. I worked as a film critic and TV critic, wrote countless features and other articles about sports and pop culture, and spent several years editing a film magazine while covering major festivals including TIFF, Fantasia, Fantastic Fest and Cannes.
Digital Media Work Experience
During that time, I also worked part-time as a Content Editor for Sound on Sight, an independent film and entertainment magazine. Like many roles in digital media, I wore several hats—overseeing the publication’s social media channels, producing and editing podcasts, and collaborating with the graphics team to create engaging visuals that promoted both the brand and its editorial content. The experience allowed me to expand my skills beyond writing and editing while gaining hands-on experience across social media, audio production, design, and digital publishing.
I’ve worked across nearly every corner of digital media and content creation. I’m a producer, videographer, writer, editor, photographer, content creation supervisor, and brand specialist.
I launched a movie podcast for Sound on Sight. Over 500 episodes, the show reached hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world and was named one of the ten best film shows by MovieMaker Magazine. From there, I hosted and produced several other shows, including a successful Game of Thrones podcast and, eventually, a podcast dedicated to the world of Nintendo. That work helped me build relationships within the gaming industry, including with Nintendo, and eventually led to opportunities as an editor and writer covering video games and gaming culture.
But film never really left me. Instead, I took everything it taught me—visual storytelling, composition, editing, pacing, interviewing, writing and finding the story hidden inside everyday moments—and applied those skills throughout my career.
At Prométour Educational Tours, that meant travelling alongside teachers and students through Europe, South America and Quebec, documenting their experiences through photography and video. I would capture each day and turn that footage into promotional content for the company while also creating something more personal: videos that students and teachers could keep as a record of an experience they would remember for years.
Web Publishing
Some of the work I’m most proud of didn’t come with a job title. It came from having an idea, believing in it, and figuring out how to turn it into something people wanted to be part of.
That entrepreneurial spirit led me to launch Goomba Stomp, an independent digital publication dedicated to video games and gaming culture. What began as a passion project grew into a global platform featuring writers and contributors from around the world. Through original reporting, reviews, features, podcasts, interviews, and event coverage, Goomba Stomp built an audience of millions of readers and established a presence at some of the gaming industry’s biggest events, including E3, PAX, and Gamescom.
From there, I expanded into Tilt Magazine, a sister publication focused on another lifelong obsession of mine: film and television. The site brought together writers from Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Austin, London, Sydney, and beyond. We built an international team united by a love of movies, television, gaming, and pop culture and produced original content for audiences around the world.
Tilt became especially known for its festival coverage. Our contributors reported from TIFF, Fantasia, Cannes, SXSW, Tribeca, Fantastic Fest, Toronto After Dark, the New York Film Festival, and many other major events. Across Goomba Stomp and Tilt Magazine, our work reached millions of readers each month through unique, original content created by a community of passionate writers, editors, critics, podcasters, and creators.
Building those publications taught me far more than how to write and edit. I learned how to build a brand and an audience from scratch, recruit and manage contributors, develop an editorial voice, create content strategies, grow social communities, establish industry relationships, and turn a personal passion into something much bigger than myself.
Recent years…
Over the past six years, I’ve taken my experience in digital media and content creation and applied it to some of Canada’s most recognizable brands. At The Beat 92.5, Montreal’s #1 music station, I helped completely revamp the station’s digital presence, from its website to its social media strategy. During my time there, the website consistently generated record-breaking monthly traffic, driving hundreds of thousands of clicks, while I helped launch and grow the station’s Instagram and TikTok accounts. Alongside Facebook, these platforms reached new highs in views, engagement, followers, and likes, helping transform the way the station connected with its audience online.
From there, I joined Entain, where I helped grow Sports Interaction, one of Canada’s leading sportsbooks and online gaming brands. Once again, I wore many hats—overseeing social media, designing graphics, filming, editing and producing video content, developing creative campaigns, brainstorming new ways to expand the brand’s digital footprint, and contributing written content to its news platform. I also played a role in the development and launch of major national advertising campaigns featuring some of hockey’s biggest stars, including Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The experience allowed me to bring together everything I had learned across social media, marketing, writing, design, video production, and brand building—and apply it on a much larger scale.
Radio, Photography and Volunteer Work
Giving back and staying connected to the communities I’m passionate about has always been an important part of my journey. My volunteer work began behind the microphone at CJLO 1690AM, where I spent more than three years as an on-air personality, DJ, producer, and talk show host, producing weekly programming, promotional spots, and live events. I later spent several years as a member of the Online Film Critics Society, covering major film festivals including TIFF and Fantasia and reviewing both new releases and classic films. I’ve also volunteered my digital marketing expertise with Cyology Labs, helping build its website, create content, manage social media, and strengthen the cybersecurity company’s online presence.
Beyond my professional work, I’ve remained deeply involved in Montreal’s sports community through 514Click, a sports photography and video brand I created to capture and showcase local athletes, teams, and events. Through photography, videography, editing, and social media storytelling, I’ve grown the 514Click Instagram account to reach hundreds of thousands of people each month, helping shine a spotlight on Montreal’s basketball community and the athletes who make it special.
Building Things From the Ground Up
Away from the camera, I’ve devoted countless hours to youth basketball, volunteering as a coach with organizations including Bluehounds and Red Rush, where I’ve had the opportunity to mentor young athletes, support their development, and give back to Montreal’s basketball community.
Recently, I founded New Heights Select, a Montreal-based competitive youth basketball program, with the goal of creating more opportunities for young players to compete, develop, and gain exposure. What started as an idea quickly grew into multiple teams competing in leagues, showcases, and tournaments throughout Quebec and Ontario.
Within its first year, New Heights Select competed in more than a dozen tournaments across North America and captured a U17 NLS championship. But the success of the program went beyond wins and losses. I managed virtually every aspect of building the organization—from recruiting players and coaches to scheduling, travel, tournaments, budgeting, communications, branding, photography, video, social media, and marketing.
I also approached New Heights the same way I approached my work in digital media: tell great stories and give people a reason to care. I documented our players and their journeys through photography, video, highlights, graphics, and social content, helping build an online community around a basketball program that hadn’t existed months earlier.
That’s the kind of work I love most: creating something people want to read, watch, follow, share, or be part of.
Closing
My career has taken me through film, podcasting, gaming, travel, digital marketing, photography, video and sports. On paper, those might look like different worlds. To me, they’ve always been connected by the same thing:
I love telling stories.
I love creating things. I love finding an audience. And I love taking an idea, a person, a brand or a moment and figuring out the most compelling way to share it with the world. Now I’m looking for the next opportunity to do exactly that.
For me, Prometour, Tilt Magazine, The Beat 92.5, and Sports Interaction might seem like completely different projects, but they share the same DNA. Each started with an idea and a passion. Each required me to build something from nothing, bring people together, create an identity, find an audience, and keep pushing it forward.
That’s the kind of work I love most: creating something people want to read, watch, follow, share, or be part of.
