Is the world ready for the Ice Cream Wars Show?
Kevin Thomson certainly hopes so.
The Coquitlam resident is flogging a reality TV show called Ice Cream Wars on YouTube and it looks like he already has a following. Some 46,000 people have seen the documentary about a hapless bunch of ice cream truck drivers trying to make a living selling icy treats at parks, ball fields and neighbourhoods of Vancouver, Burnaby, the Tri-Cities and North Vancouver.
Thomson has been driving a truck and selling ice cream to earn commission for the Coquitlam-based Rainbow Ice Cream Novelties for about three years. He's noticed that he has garnered a following among people who keep an eye out for his white truck with the rainbow-coloured writing and the old-time music that emits from its sound system.
"It's a blast driving a truck and I wanted to bring that excitement to the community," explained Thomson, who works as a loss prevention officer when he's not driving an ice cream truck.
He enjoys touring neighbourhoods and meeting up with people for whom an ice cream treat makes their day.
But it's not an easy job, and the problems are what make his realty show interesting, he says. For example, the Sponge Bob costume he sometimes wears to attract attention makes getting in and out of his truck extremely difficult and he and his fellow drivers, Josh, Matt, Richard, Jason and Meedo, are always getting into trouble with city workers. Bad weather cuts into their profits and most of the drivers seem to be living on the edge of personal bankruptcy. However, they are also interesting guys and their lives could be a source of intrigue for people, Thomson said.
And, as is expected for a reality TV show, there are a lot of emotional highs and lows.
"There's a lot of yelling," Thomson admitted.
The pilot episode was shot on an overcast day last June. It was uploaded on Dec. 24, 2013, and received over 32,000 views by Dec. 31. Thomson plans to shoot another episode this summer but is hoping for better weather.
He hopes the buzz will convince a big-time producer to make a reality TV show out of the drivers' experiences. In the meantime, people wanting to see Ice Cream Wars for themselves can look for it at Youtube.com.
Information is available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/icecreamwars and people can follow their favourite ice cream truck driver onTwitter at www.twitter.com/icecreamwars.
