A Revelstoke local is challenging the idea of small-town living, where locals may know each other, but haven’t truly connected with each other.
Nick St. Germain has started an events company called The Social Research Project that’s all about bringing people together, in ways that he described as genuine, creative and confidence-building.
He decided to get the community’s feedback through a Facebook post on a public group. He received a response of over 250 reactions with a wave of comments supporting his initiative.
St. Germain said that these won’t be typical social events, as he wants people to think of them as “interactive experiences in human connection”.
“It’s all a carefree mentality,” he said. ” I wanted to create a space for people to connect through these activities. No one in the room is really going to be good at this, cause you don’t know what you’re about to do, and I think having everyone in the same position will create a really unique atmosphere where you don’t really care because you lose that guard of people judging you.”
St. Germain reflected on his first few years living in Revelstoke, where he said he found it difficult at first to connect with people as a young person, while he was also discovering himself.
“I’ve met a lot of people through different networks … I see them (in public), I’ll say hi and they say hi to me, but it’s like there are so many people in town that I haven’t connected with,” he said.
St. Germain is still building his brand, though he has a multitude of ideas for The Social Research Project. He is waiting for his first official event to announce more of his ideas in-depth.
What he hopes to get out of his new business is restoring the connectivity between people through real, human interaction. He said he hopes to create an impact on the community and show them that true relationships happen face-to-face, and not through a screen.
