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John Rousseau grew up working in a woodworking shop in Summerland, so it isn’t too surprising he will be making an appearance on Canada’s Handyman Challenge later this month.
The show on HGTV provides Canadians with an opportunity to not only showcase their talents on a national platform but also receive guidance from some of the top talent in the contracting and construction industries. Contestants also battle it out for a $25,000 prize.
“I am so excited and so blessed to have this opportunity to showcase my work in front of an national audience and I look forward to working outside of my Okanagan bubble in the future,” he said.
Judges this season include HGTV celebrities Bryan Baeumler, Scott McGillivray and Paul Lafrance. The top five contestants from auditions in Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver will move on to the top 15, where they will face intense challenges.
Rousseau, 29, had his first job at age 10 assembling and selling birdhouses.
From there he got into guitar building and fabrication. He has also played the guitar for 17 years throughout the Okanagan.
In the trades, he advanced into tile setting with a focus on bathroom design.
He had quite a few influential mentors in the industry and took training through the Terrazzo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada in Burnaby.
Rousseau has since worked with clients for seven years to design one of a kind pieces of furniture and custom bathrooms. He also has a proprietary mosaic he designed, which is featured on his website, johnrousseaudesign.com.
His company John Rousseau Design is based in Summerland.
The Okanagan man's interest in the show was sparked last summer, when he saw an ad on the Internet saying Canada’s Handyman Challenge was looking for people to audition for the show.
For the audition he had to build an object from a sheet of plywood, which he presented to the judges for the show in Vancouver.
To see the results of his audition, people are invited to tune in on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. to the show on HGTV.
