Back in 1984, when I was 14, I -- and likely everyone else in the town -- noticed a mysterious light
majestically sweeping across the sky. I was enthralled.
I convinced my mom to drive me around to find the source (getting her to agree was no easy task: it
was a school night). After about half an hour we finally found it: an old WW2 searchlight was being used
to advertize a new restaurant opening. I stood there in awe, and solemnly proclaimed to myself "now
THAT is what I'm gonna do; I'm going to start a searchlight business".
majestically sweeping across the sky. I was enthralled.
I convinced my mom to drive me around to find the source (getting her to agree was no easy task: it
was a school night). After about half an hour we finally found it: an old WW2 searchlight was being used
to advertize a new restaurant opening. I stood there in awe, and solemnly proclaimed to myself "now
THAT is what I'm gonna do; I'm going to start a searchlight business".
For the next 3 years I researched carbon arcs, parabolic reflectors, and DC generators. See, I didn't have the funds to
buy an actual searchlight; I was going to build it. I spent hundreds of hours in libraries, and hundreds of dollars in long
distance calls, amassing as much info as I could. Let me tell you, researching anything before Al Gore had invented the
Internet wasn't easy.
buy an actual searchlight; I was going to build it. I spent hundreds of hours in libraries, and hundreds of dollars in long
distance calls, amassing as much info as I could. Let me tell you, researching anything before Al Gore had invented the
Internet wasn't easy.
After a few sloppy prototypes, I realized that I had to bite the bullet and start shopping for the real thing. In 1987 I located a 1942 GE searchlight
in Baltimore. My patient and accommodating mom agreed to drive me and Gab down to Maryland to see the unit. I liked it, and offered all I had to
my name: $9000. About a month later a flatbed truck plunked the unit down on our snowy driveway.
I registered my first company, Eclairage Gratte-Ciel (Skyscraper Searchlights), and started renting the big old beast on a purely casual basis, as I
was 17 and just starting college. But things started picking up. I was getting some steady clients -- one of my first was Bourbon Street bar in Mont
Rolland, Quebec. But the thing was huge. I mean it was a beast. And it wasn't terribly reliable, either. I needed to move up.
in Baltimore. My patient and accommodating mom agreed to drive me and Gab down to Maryland to see the unit. I liked it, and offered all I had to
my name: $9000. About a month later a flatbed truck plunked the unit down on our snowy driveway.
I registered my first company, Eclairage Gratte-Ciel (Skyscraper Searchlights), and started renting the big old beast on a purely casual basis, as I
was 17 and just starting college. But things started picking up. I was getting some steady clients -- one of my first was Bourbon Street bar in Mont
Rolland, Quebec. But the thing was huge. I mean it was a beast. And it wasn't terribly reliable, either. I needed to move up.
A few more months in the library, and another big long distance bill later, I discovered the latest in searchlight
technology: multi-head xenon lights. No operator needed... four beams... no messy carbon rods... now this was
revolutionary, and I had to have one. So in 1996, I brought in the first multihead searchlight, the BeamDancer. It
was an instant hit. Business was so good that I ditched school about a year later to become a full-time entrepreneur.
If you've read this far (or if you know me personally), you'll see that I can't stay still for long. I'm always looking for
my next fix (in promotional terms). So in 2001 I imported the first Pani large-format projector to the area. We were
now able to project images -- both art and ads -- onto the sides of buildings at sizes up to 10 000 sf.
technology: multi-head xenon lights. No operator needed... four beams... no messy carbon rods... now this was
revolutionary, and I had to have one. So in 1996, I brought in the first multihead searchlight, the BeamDancer. It
was an instant hit. Business was so good that I ditched school about a year later to become a full-time entrepreneur.
If you've read this far (or if you know me personally), you'll see that I can't stay still for long. I'm always looking for
my next fix (in promotional terms). So in 2001 I imported the first Pani large-format projector to the area. We were
now able to project images -- both art and ads -- onto the sides of buildings at sizes up to 10 000 sf.
Fast forward to 2003 -- recently married and with our first child -- we decided that we needed a change. So we moved our personal and
professional lives to the Toronto area. And never looked back.
professional lives to the Toronto area. And never looked back.
One of the biggest challenges was the parabolic reflector. I couldn't find any (they'd long since stopped making them),
so I had to make my own. My best friend Gab Allard helped me hot-glue about 1200 1"-square mirrors (that we had cut
by hand from a full-size wall mirror) onto a 5' parabolic satellite dish. Then, I made my own arc lamp source, using a
toaster oven as a resistor, and carbon rods that I extracted from D-size batteries. I made the body for the light using a
cut-out section of a water tank.
I was freakin' nuts.
so I had to make my own. My best friend Gab Allard helped me hot-glue about 1200 1"-square mirrors (that we had cut
by hand from a full-size wall mirror) onto a 5' parabolic satellite dish. Then, I made my own arc lamp source, using a
toaster oven as a resistor, and carbon rods that I extracted from D-size batteries. I made the body for the light using a
cut-out section of a water tank.
I was freakin' nuts.
| I'm Matt. And this is my story. |
| Matt à Montréal (en passant, oui, je parle français!) |
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