Meet The Buried Life

Life moves fast and we wanted to slow down and enjoy it. To do that we had to ask ourselves some important questions, most importantly: What do I need to achieve or experience before I die? When we turned the question on strangers, we were fascinated with the answers we received. Given the ultimate deadline, people are forced to ignore the day-to-day trivialities that sometimes bury their lives and evaluate their most personal dreams and ambitions. Ultimately, we want to get people excited about doing whatever it is they dream about doing. Why wait? We are also curious to know about the state of our generation, our values and the role we are play in today’s society. Really though, we want to have fun and help people. After months of planning we set out in August 2006 with a camera and a loaner RV to attempt and to document our list of ‘50 things to do before you die’ and help 50 strangers we met along the way do something they had always wanted to do. In two weeks we knocked 26 items off our list and helped 24 people. Since then our list has grown to 100 items and we have taken the cap off the number of people we’re setting out to help.

The name The Buried Life comes from a poem written by Matthew Arnold in 1852. The idea is that day-to-day stuff can sometimes bury you and make you forget what you’re passionate about in your life. Here are the lines from Arnold’s poem:

But often, in the world’s most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life

Duncan Penn is the older of the Penn boys. As a kid he used to make movies with his brother and the other neighborhood kids, until one day he had to leave and grow up. He packed his bags and went East, finding himself with a Business degree four years later. He continued to make movies with his buddies in college before finding a surfboard in his closet and setting out to conquer the beach. Duncan just returned from Ecuador where he delivered 1000 soccer balls and 1000 pairs of cleats to impoverished children and helped build two soccer fields near Mt. Chimborozo.

Jonnie Penn is an accomplished activist and academic despite his young age. Before enrolling at McGill University, he set his mind to stopping racism, smoking, anti-skateboarding prejudice, and just about anything that needed fixing. Spending his high school days filming snowboard and skate videos with his friends, he was an award-winning filmmaker by 18. Jonnie likes cheesy, shiny things, skateboarding and has a not-so-secret affection for funkadelic music from the 70’s. He likes to play devil’s advocate and was chosen to represent Canada in debates at Oxford.

Dave Lingwood is the crazy one of the group. An internationally ranked break-dancer, he’s one of those guys that strangers always seem to like. His lust for life has brought him work in African safaris, Trinidadian carnivals, and even an audition for Cirque de Soleil. His high school dance performances were so popular that the gym once had to be expanded to fit the crowd. Dave’s hobbies include public displays of head-spinning, bubble trouble, and basically anything where there’s a good chance he could die. His break-dance team has been selected to participate in the Opening Ceremonies at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Ben Nemtin is a natural athlete and has a few trophies to prove it. He knew quickly that his Science major would be of little use to him on his path to glory and switched to Business. The son of an entertainer, he is a natural onstage and enjoys making strangers laugh. His first movie appearance was in “White Chicks” in 2004. He loves networking with people around the globe. Forever on the move, Ben is constantly wheeling and dealing, making things happen for the team. Ben represented Canada on the rugby pitch but has recently taken up long boarding, traveling, neon colors and sushi eating contests.