Chilliwack journalist revisits old stories in video podcast ‘Revisited’

A former Black Press Media reporter is set to launch a new video podcast series in which he will recount encounters with people he wrote about nearly a decade ago.

Greg Laychak revisits several topics in Visited againa six-part series that will premiere on September 24. Its characters include a wheelchair-bound basketball player, a senior citizen who helped spay and neuter 8,500 cats, and a chef.

Visited again was born from the idea of ​​combining his two passions: telling stories about communities and photography.

“I’m excited to bring these important community voices back to the forefront,” Laychak said. “In the series, we talk about when we first connected, find out what each person is doing now, and then collaborate on a photography project about their story that will live on into the future.”

To create these photographic projects, Laychak combined analog, digital, and experimental processes, using them as a way to enrich each story. Participants then return to discuss the results and meaning of their project.

The first episode features Adria Roberts, about whom Laychak wrote an article in Chilliwack Times in 2015. When they met, Roberts was recovering from psychosis and was ready to talk publicly about her experiences.

“Talking about it made me realize how raw and vulnerable I was in the original story,” she said. “I had so much shame and fear that this first time was such a brave step for me.”

Roberts said it was interesting to stop for a moment and reflect on what had changed in her life.

“So much gratitude, I’m proud of the growth I’ve had,” she said. “To visualize the community and the people who gave space and resources to help me recover from my struggles. I was really excited to be reunited with Greg — he has a big heart.”

Other episodes include: Team Canada wheelchair basketball player Ben Hagkull and his goals today; the metal band Medevil, who lost their drummer to cancer and are now ready to release a new album; chef Hiro Takeda, who graduated from Noma and ran a high-end restaurant in Hope and now lives in Estonia as a chef at another gourmet restaurant; Steve Esau, COO of the Pacific Community Resources Society in Fraser East, who talks about how homelessness and available services have changed over the past decade; and Ena Vermerris, who played a key role in controlling the pet population in Chilliwack. Vermerris passed away in 2023, and in this episode, Laychak interviewed Marieke Heaps and Collette Kolodychuk of Ena’s Community Cats about Vermerris and their ongoing efforts after her death.

Laychak and his characters also touch on the pandemic and how it affected their individual travels during that time.

Visited again was made possible by the support of Telus Storyhive Voices. All six episodes will be available for free on Telus Optik TV 9, Stream+ and Storyhive’s YouTube channel.

All episodes will be released on the Telus Optik channel on September 24. However, the Storyhive YouTube channels will be released gradually: September 24 – Episode 1 (Adria Roberts) and Episode 2 (Ben Hagkull); October 1 – Episode 3 (Medevil); October 8 – Episode 4 (Hiro Takeda); October 15 – Episode 5 (Steve Esau); October 22 – Episode 6 (Ena Vermerris).

Episodes are 25 to 30 minutes long.

For more information and updates on the series, follow @glaychak on Instagram.