Team Northbound were thrilled to announce the winners of the Northbound Supply Co. Cross-Country Roadtrip contest—Daniel and Meriana Plaja. Daniel and Meriana are content creators living on Vancouver Island, and we are so excited for them to experience this amazing adventure.
Read on to learn more about this talented duo!
Tell us about yourselves! How long have you both been content creators?
Daniel: Mer and I met in high school when we were 15. When we met, Meriana moved to Victoria and got into modelling. Headshots aren’t cheap, so to help out I went to Facebook Marketplace and bought a Nikon camera so I could get into photography.
I’ve always been an athlete, and photography was a challenge that really excited me. From age 15 to when I graduated high school, photography and sports were my whole life. Content creation wasn’t initially at the top of my career list, actually! For my first year of college, I won a scholarship to go to a school in the United States, and I took my camera with me.
But then COVID hit, and I had to cut my program short and return to BC. That was when I decided I would go all-in with my photography. For the next year and a half, I invested in gear, took photography courses to up my skills, and shot plenty of photos.
Meriana: I learned a lot about being in front of the camera! Back in 2016, Instagram had really blown up, so as far as photography goes, I learned a lot about the Instagram side of things.
I fell in love with social media and learned social media marketing while Dan did photography. Soon, TikTok became popular, and we eventually found our content creation passions: For me, it was social media management and creating content that was inspiring and educational.
Why did you enter the Northbound Supply Co. road trip contest?
Daniel: I was actually just walking around the house one day on my phone, and an ad came up about the contest. The moment I read the words “cross Canada”, I knew I had to enter for a chance to see the country I’ve been living in. I sent the link to Meriana and was like, “Can you find a way to get us entered?”
A couple of weeks later when they drew the name, I was so excited that I yelled and scared our dog! We’re just so thrilled to get to experience this trip and work with the Northbound team.
Meriana: I was on the phone when the name was drawn and could hear Dan yelling!
I was born in Vernon, BC and moved to the island when I was one year old. I’ve actually seen more outside of Canada than I have of our own country. It’s funny how you grow up in a place and forget to explore what’s all around you. I’ve always wanted to see where I’m from, so it feels like this contest was made for us.
What are you most looking forward to for this road trip?
Daniel: I would LOVE to see the Northern Lights.
Meriana: Definitely the Northern Lights. Living on the west coast, we have beautiful beaches, but I’d also love to explore the east coast and see a totally different landscape and setting.
Do you both have a road trip ritual?
Daniel: Triple checking everything before we leave for a long trip. I always worry about leaving something behind. Also, definitely packing snacks. I’m a fan of Starbucks, but we definitely love Tim Hortons. That drew us to the contest too (my go-to is the Chocolate Timbit).
But also, our ritual on trips is to really live in the moment and savour where we are and what we’re seeing.
Meriana: Before we leave, we always like to get our minds focused on the moment, being thankful for where we are going and not getting so caught up by content creation that we forget to be appreciative of this opportunity.
As far as snacks go, my Timmy’s fave is the Birthday Cake Timbit, and Chicago Mix is a must-have. Also, gummy bears!
Stay tuned for Daniel and Meriana’s cross-country adventure, beginning in September 2022! In the meantime, follow them on Instagram:
Meriana: @merianaplaja
Daniel: @danielplaja
