First
things first — why “Hez”? Well, you can thank the 5000+ junior high and
elementary school students I taught in the mid-1990s in the suburbs of
Tokyo… the best they could do to pronounce my name was "Heza," and since then, the nickname Hez has stuck so hard, even my parents use it now. One of
two children of a business-minded techno-geek and an
ex-cheerleader-turned-writer, I grew up in the Canadian West,
with all the curiosity and frontier spirit I've been able to muster without lariat skills.
I started writing for community newspapers at an early age, and armed with a degree in English Literature from UBC
and an interest in civic politics, for four years penned a satirical
editorial under the title “Civixen”, a moniker I coined to reflect a
vixenish attitude towards civic affairs (indicative of my admittedly
nerdy zeal for inventing my own vocabulary). Locally, the column was a
source of enjoyment and irritation for political bright lights and dim
bulbs alike (Vancouver's current mayor is an avowed fan), and it led the front page of 2 local alternative newspapers (The Nerve and Terminal City Weekly, both now sadly defunct ), it was later broadcast on CBC Radio, and now forms part of a blog empire I've created for myself called the Heziverse.
Besides my brief tenure as editor-in-chief of the 30,000-circulation Gonzo-inspired Terminal City, I also conceived, edited and produced an adventure travel magazine called Thirst , and at the
request of the Western arm of the Canadian University Press, presented seminars on both topics over two
successive years. I’m a published poet, a produced playwright and my
essay “Vancouver Today” is featured in the Time Out Guide to Vancouver. (Links and samples of my published work can be found here.) A proud pre-GUI internet user, I've been coolhunting web culture and
posting online since the rise of the BBS in the early '80s, and these
days my profile is on the rise on Twitter, Tumblr and among Vancouver's bloggerati (and beyond). My current job is as City Editor for Blackbook Guides.
In addition to a few years at Vancouver’s éminence grise
of independent bookstores, Duthie Books, some of my more surreal side
jobs have included voice-over and motion capture for a video game and
six years spent hand modeling in toy commercials, on everything from
old-school Star Wars toys to Barbies, Transformers and Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles. In recreating the iconic shot to mark the film’s 30th
anniversary, I’m told I’m one of four people in the world to have
touched the actual animatronic arm used in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (the others being Elliott, Gertie and of course, the Gloved One… one of the few things he and I will ever have in common.)
My high school's sports teams were actually called the Cougars, I am a certified SuperHost and a qualified Irish whiskey taster. (Yikes.) My ribald escapades have scandalized several continents, but the details remain purposely sketchy. As a wise man once said, "Disco Stu doesn't advertise."