From his days as a former CFL player to starting his own television production company, Sebastian Clovis has always been about blazing trails and overcoming obstacles to get the job done. We got to follow along as he worked alongside his talented team to transform homes and change lives on Home Network’s Save My Reno. In his latest series Gut Job, we witnessed as he tackled some of his most extreme renovations to date.
We recently sat down with Sebastian to catch up on all things work and life since we last saw him on screen. Read on to find out what the home reno expert has been up to and what he’s most excited about for 2024.
Do You Have Any New Passion Projects That Most People May Not Know About?
I started a production company and that’s been a very interesting project to take on. Applying my business skills that I’ve learned from being involved with TV, from the contracting side of things and, of course, in partnership with Ayanna, who has a very extensive business acumen.
We’ve taken all of our combined knowledge and created a production company so that we can really do a fantastic job of creating interesting TV shows and great story arcs that are visually appealing and geared towards giving the viewers a deep look into what it’s like on a renovation site.
Along with that, because we started this production company, we’ve now nailed down our production process. I’m looking at the world and saying, okay, I have a production company now. What else could I possibly film? What other shows and what other genres can we tap into? I definitely feel that with the building of that production company, my life is all of a sudden injected with a whole lot of new potential.
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What is Your Favourite Hobby Right Now?
What I’ve been most excited about lately is just getting back into baking bread. Baking bread is something that my father taught me how to do. And believe it or not, I met [a friend] at university, who had an idea one night to start a bread baking company called the Punch Bowl.
We found a whole bunch of clients, you know, students and different people around campus that really enjoyed fresh baked bread, and on the weekends we delivered it on our bikes. It was just it was really fun. And I’ve been excited in the last little bit to get back in the kitchen and get my buns and loaves on.
How’s Nahla? Has She Learned Any New Tricks?
Nahla is doing fantastic. It’s so interesting watching her grow up. She’s just fiercely independent. She does what she wants to, very much like a cat. She doesn’t want too much attention. Oh, but she wants attention at a 7 a.m. when it’s her feeding time, she’ll tap me on the foot letting me know.
I did teach her a new trick recently, she learned how to roll over. She’s been able to stand up on two legs and turn around on command, but the roll over is a new one. When we go out to a coffee shop, I can almost put on a show for people around.
Related: 10 Fun Facts About Sebastian Clovis
What is Your Proudest Accomplishment From 2023?
My proudest accomplishment by far was handing in season two of Gut Job. I’ve worked for many production companies in my time, but actually being trusted with my production company and be given the green light to make the show myself on time and on budget might be one of my greatest life accomplishments. That was definitely something that I never thought I would do in my lifetime.
What is the Greatest Lesson You Learned in 2023?
The thing that’s popping into my mind is how absolutely instrumental communication is when you’re dealing with so many different people. Being able to be very clear on what is expected, what’s going to happen, and then how it’s going to happen, who’s responsible, who’s accountable, who’s contributing and who needs to be informed about the decisions that are being made. It’s absolutely critical.
Another one, is that I’ve realized how important reprieve is. You have to take moments where you shut the everyday noise down so that you can clear your mind and clear your thoughts. This allows for your brain to just download all of the information and synthesize it in the back of your mind without thinking about it. That’s where you start to come up with the brilliant ideas that that pop up out of nowhere.
Do You Have Any Travel Plans for 2024?
I’m trying to get a trip together to go out to Portugal and Spain. Those are two places that I’ve really wanted to go to for quite some time. I’m very interested in different ways of life and getting to see how they build out there, what the houses look like.
I was born in the UK. I’ve spent a lot of time in Toronto and around Canada, building and making the most of all of my opportunities here. I’m looking forward to spreading my wings and really seeing how how big the globe is.
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What Design Trends Are You Most Excited to Try in 2024?
One of my favorite colors is a really deep red and maroon color. And it’s a color that’s actually harder than you think to work into a traditional design or a traditional house. That particular palette is really becoming popular now, along with dark timber tones, which is something that I’ve been trying to work into my projects.
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If You had to Pick a Theme Song to Describe Your Life Right now, What Would it Be?
A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles.
Speaking of The Beatles, What Did You Think of Their New Song ‘Now and Then’?
Oh, I loved it. I love the fact that technology allowed them to clean up those old vocals from John Lennon and come out with that last song in our era.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
