When Nik Sexton flunked out of Humber College in Toronto, he was on the verge of being a sad stereotype in his home province; the Newfoundlander who comes home dejected after a failed stint on the mainland.
"Which is always the thing you never want to be in Newfoundland," Sexton laughed. "It's like the saddest thing when someone goes away and comes back and says, 'Ahh, it didn't work out.'"
Luckily for Sexton, he knew a fellow Newfoundlander that needed a hand trying to get a show off the ground in Toronto.
It was 2003 and the Rick Mercer Report was a fresh idea picked up by CBC Television — a comedic, yet thoughtful way to examine what it means to be Canadian.
Sexton, whose uncle Tommy Sexton was a mainstay with comedy troupe CODCO, was hired as an associate producer for the new show.
He thought it would be no more than a three-year commitment, a way to make money and learn about the industry before running off to Hawaii to pursue his teenage dream of learning to surf and making videos.
"These guys threw me a bone and really helped me out when I needed it," he said. "And I'm still here, 15 years later."
Sexton stayed in Toronto, built a career, had two kids and got a house.
Finally after 15 years, his run on the show came to an end on Tuesday night, as the Rick Mercer Report aired its final episode.
And he's still never been surfing.
"I've made friends, I've made relationships. This is more like a family now than it is a TV show to me," he said. "This is going to be really weird."
A deadly revival?
Like Mercer, Sexton says he keeps being asked the same question — what happens next?
The producer had success outside of the show, perhaps none larger than the creation of Donnie Dumphy, a character played by Leon Parsons that's become a smash success across Canada.
In 2015, Sexton won a Canadian Comedy Award for best feature film with the Dumphy mockumentary How to be Deadly.
Standing in the Rick Mercer Report studio in Toronto, Sexton was asked about his future plans by CBC's Krissy Holmes.
"Unemployment, right off the hop," he joked.
"Maybe I'll revise the Donnie Dumphy franchise. I'll probably take some time to reflect on things I want to do. But I'm going to miss this place a lot."
As part of his job, Sexton researched new places to send Mercer, and new tasks to throw him into. He'd pitch segments for the show, some of which became the more memorable episodes.
When asked about his favourite segments on the show, Mercer and Sexton both agreed Pierre Berton teaching Canadians how to roll a joint was among the best.
Sexton was the lucky staffer who got to sit with the literary legend and learn his tricks.
"That was a big moment for me," he said. "I remember someone bought me a beer at a bar and said, 'Hey, you're the guy who rolled a joint for Pierre Burton!"
Another of Sexton's favourites was an idea he pitched for Mercer to go to Ferryland, Newfoundland and be a shepherd for the day. He helped move 100 sheep from the small island of Isle aux Bois back to the mainland in a dory.
"That shoot nearly didn't happen. It was like two years in the making," Sexton said. "Just the image of Rick picking up a sheep and putting it on a dory was really fun to me."
Sexton said he learned a lot about comedy while working on the show — how to craft a joke and really sell it.
When asked how he would handle the final episode, the funnyman with a skateboarder persona admitted he would be an emotional wreck.
"I'll be the first to weep," he said. "I've worked on a few other shows and this is probably the best thing I've ever worked on."