Braden Burym: From Directional Driller to Documentary Filmmaker | Solo Spotlight Ep. 51

Listen to this episode from The Conversationalist with Ryan MacDougall & Richard Lubin on Spotify. When Braden Burym left Saskatchewan for steady money in Alberta oil and construction, it felt like a one‑way road to a decent life. Years later, on May 31st, a routine basket move whipped the wrong way and ripped his bicep tendon. Overnight he was injured, medicated, and expendable. HR said there was no work. Bills stacked. Friends went silent. The gym—the last outlet holding the darkness back—was gone.Four days before eviction, a lawyer called about long‑owed wages from a defunct Saskatoon employer. The cheque paid the rent—and funded a used Sony A7III. With nothing left to lose, Braden started shooting again: small paid gigs, aerials he learned on YouTube, and passion projects on people living on society’s edge. One of those short docs—centered on a man named Bill—caught fire online. Braden realized his niche wasn’t flashy VFX; it was human storytelling.That portfolio led to real opportunities, including Nitro Cross and Ricky Forbes (Tornado Hunter)—the first time someone with reach picked Braden for his storytelling, not his résumé. 2024 turned into a string of wins: a local band video, event work, and a pipeline of clients across the Prairies. Parallel to the craft was a spiritual shift: instead of numbing pain, he followed the quiet, insistent nudge to do the next good thing. Faith didn’t erase the past; it reframed it as raw material for service.GUEST BIO Braden Burym is a Saskatchewan‑born former oil & directional drilling worker turned videographer. After a job‑site injury ended his blue‑collar career, he rebuilt himself behind the lens—documenting overlooked people and prairie stories with a minimalist toolset and maximal empathy. His work ranges from micro‑docs to music videos and motorsports, anchored by a simple motto: do the next good thing.