01x02 - Escape to Miami

[bunniefuu]

WARNING: THIS EPISODE DEALS WITH

THE SUBJECT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

Is Grandpa here?

Are you excited to see Grandpa?

Is he outside?

All I can see are lots of blind spots

and recesses.

-I want all of the blind spots covered.

-Okay.

No big deal if you have to add in

another camera there.

Okay.

My dad is overseeing

the cameras being installed at my place,

as it was more his decision anyway.

Personally, I'm of the belief

that what will be will be either way.

I can't explain it,

but I feel it's too late.

SIX MONTH PRISON SENTENCE WITHOUT PAROLE

FOR BRYAN MCCORMICK

ELISABETH RIOUX REPORTS HER EX

FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

It means we can cover that part over there

by installing one here.

I'd put another one here

so it covers the area in between them.

Basically, to be honest,

when I met my daughter's father,

everything was going amazingly.

He truly was like the perfect man.

I thought he was most definitely

a good person.

-Whose is this water?

-I want water.

We tried for a baby for nine months

and it wasn't working out for us

until one day when I finally got pregnant.

His reaction was really sweet.

He was over the moon and everything,

but then the next day

it was honestly like a switch had flipped

and overnight I was faced

with a totally different person.

I thought, "Okay, clearly

he was putting on a façade."

You feel so confused.

If you've been with someone two years,

you think you know them inside out.

We knew something was off

even before it was

revealed on social media.

Elisabeth was my neighbor.

She lived in the house right next to us.

It was amazing news to hear

that Eli was pregnant,

but then there was complete radio silence.

I knew something was wrong.

A mother's instinct

can sense these things.

I would say it was

about a month and a half

before he got physically violent for

the first time, which was really evident.

At a certain point,

he hit her in the face.

She took pictures of her bloody lip

and everything.

I crossed over

and walked into the room where they were.

He was shouting, throwing his arms up

in the air and everything,

so I looked at him and said,

"You better shut it now."

I looked at Elisabeth, who was crying.

I said to her, "Come stay

with us for a while with the baby."

She said, "No, Dad, you take the baby.

"I need to stay here

and sort things out with him."

I couldn't make the decision for her.

It had to come from her.

When Wolfie was born, I was

constantly holding my breath, like

I remember one time I was holding her,

he choked me and lifted me off the ground.

-Where is Grandpa?

-Outside.

Are you excited to see Grandpa?

From then on,

I was terrified for the both of us,

so we went to the police the next day.

SEVERAL ACCUSATIONS MADE

BY ELISABETH RIOUX AGAINST HER EX-PARTNER

Her violent ex ended up

doing time in prison.

ELISABETH RIOUX'S EX PLEADS GUILTY

I didn't actually want the story

to come out like that.

First and foremost

because he's still my daughter's father.

I just wasn't ready to put that online.

However, he knew

that I didn't want to talk about it.

He took advantage of that to post about

how he didn't get to see his daughter,

so I got a lot of hate on social media.

It felt like the world was against me,

whereas, in reality,

I just wanted to protect my daughter.

She has spoken out against her ex

on social media.

Now she is a role model

for domestic violence victims.

I'm not really a resentful person.

I've not got it in for him.

I just feel in a real state of confusion

as I really struggle to understand

what happened.

I think mental illness

must have played a part

so I feel sad for him too,

because I think we could have had

a beautiful life all together as a family.

That's it.

I don't feel like

she's fully got over it yet.

You can just tell by the way

she behaves and how she is.

I feel it still affects her,

whether she likes it or not.

The camera system I'm installing

will be linked up to your phone, my phone,

to all of our phones, so if I see anything

I'm not happy with or anything fishy,

I'll get here right away

to take whoever down.

If Elisabeth calls me,

I'm there like a shot, you see.

I'd rather die than let anything

happen to one of my daughters.

That's as clear as day.

ELISABETH RIOUX

UNFILTERED

Are you being a little rascal today?

-Wolfie? Yes, she's such a rascal.

-Yeah?

Dolores told me there is

a project in the works.

Yes, but basically

nothing is set in stone yet.

When I know more, I'll tell you.

It's just that

Well, yeah, but it's vital Dolo and I

are kept in the loop about what's going on

-and what's in the pipeline.

-But many people send project proposals

which end up being a load of crap,

so I can't tell you every time.

A FEW DAYS EARLIER

Basically,

I often get people contacting me

as they want to bring out

new Hoaka products.

MDM COSMETICS OFFICES

We're delighted to finally meet you.

We've been heavily involved

in the hair industry for

Around 20 years. We have

well-established distribution networks

in Canada and the US.

We also have a lot

of international contacts.

MDM Cosmetics is a family business.

We import and distribute beauty products.

Basically, I know about them

because they have their own company.

Their products are top quality.

I've used them for ages.

They are well-known

and popular in the industry.

The manufacturing factory we work with

is located close to Milan,

in Cerro Maggiore.

I believe you work with your family.

-Yeah.

-Did you know that we

-We're siblings.

-Yes.

Yes.

It's pretty surprising that you

came to this meeting by yourself.

I never bring them to any first meetings

as I want to gauge if a proposal

makes sense for the brand.

In business, nothing is ever certain.

We're actually walking a tightrope.

We had an idea in mind

that we wanted to propose to you.

We thought perhaps

adding some hair products

to your portfolio

could be of interest to you.

-Okay.

-Basically, we thought perhaps a shampoo,

a high-performance reparative mask

and also an oil.

This has caught me off guard

as I didn't really know why

we were meeting today.

She did mention

that companies often approach her

with different project proposals.

Will she like this one?

Look, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Will my subscribers trust me

if I sell them shampoo?

I mean,

Hoaka still remains a swimsuit brand.

Hoaka is sold in over 81 countries.

Currently, I design all of the swimsuits,

but I'm definitely short on time.

I want to keep doing that at all costs,

as I want Hoaka to stay true to me.

However, I don't want to stray too far

from what we do as a brand either.

I negotiate most of my contracts

in great detail.

Anything relating to the artistic side

of things, so photo shoots and marketing,

is more my specialty.

Would you see me doing that?

Good question. What we had in mind

was us creating products for Hoaka,

but you'd still have

a great amount of artistic freedom.

You're skilled

at launching products on the market,

so I think you're the best one

to promote the products.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Can we expect to hear back

in the next couple of weeks?

I very rarely travel without my daughter,

but Miami isn't really

a suitable destination for a baby anymore,

especially when Claudia is around

as we like to go out and party a bit.

It's also a way for me

to get out of my head.

I feel if I go to a far-flung destination,

I can't go away for too long,

whereas with Miami,

I can go away for just two nights

and then go back home to my little baby.

This is mine and Rémi's

first trip away together.

I'm a tattoo artist and YouTuber.

On my YouTube channel,

I interview celebrities from Quebec.

Hi, guys. Welcome back to my channel.

P.S. bye.

On social media, I think I project

an image of being the best friend

you could ever want to have.

A lot of my followers are women.

Whereas for the guys, I'd say

I can come across a bit naughty

as I have photos of me in swimwear,

so it's a nice mix of, like,

"I'm funny but also raunchy."

Hey, Miami, baby.

I know. We've been talking about it

for the past five months,

ever since we got drunk in Quebec

and decided we needed to go away.

We filmed a YouTube video together.

We laughed so much. He is so sweet,

I thought, "Okay,

you have to be my friend."

Hey, cheers, buddy.

Mrs. Tipsy, or should I say Merry,

as it is Christmas?

We really got each other from the get-go.

However, our alcohol tolerances

don't match up, that's for sure.

I'd say she had a bit too much

that first time.

I threw everything up.

Rémi cleaned up my vomit

the first time we met.

It was quite something.

-I rarely make new friends, to be honest.

-Same.

For real, I never make new friends.

Honestly, the older I get,

the more I want to do a friends cleanse.

It's so rare I make new connections,

but when we met,

we talked three hours non-stop.

-I know. I know.

-On and off camera.

I think we spoke

about how hard it is to make new friends.

Exactly.

I think Elisabeth is a really open,

down-to-earth person.

For someone on social media that much,

it's impressive how genuine she is.

Claudia's calling me.

You're going to get jealous.

-Claudia's calling me.

-Clo.

I can't wait for her to get here.

Baby.

I have a really exciting surprise

planned for tomorrow.

I'll just give you a few clues

in the form of key words.

A yacht and alcohol.

That's all you need to know.

I'm sure that it's a terrible plan.

-Oh, my God.

-But we're down for bad plans.

Girl, let's jump in it.

Claudia truly is the queen of bad plans,

but they're good bad plans.

It always ends badly,

but we end up with the best stories.

You thought you could relax

and be left to it.

She's the kind of friend you need.

-See you tomorrow.

-See you tomorrow.

This is exactly what I need

when I need to blow off steam.

I think there will be sailors.

I hope they don't know how to swim

so I have to give them mouth-to-mouth.

MEANWHILE

We've just posted a new reel.

I want to show you

as I'm really proud of what we've done.

Let's see.

At the moment, it looks exactly like

what you see on my page here.

Then you see we have different functions.

We've got the photos we take,

which she posts. They link to our website.

I try to help Steeve out

with social media and the apps.

This is so we can see our sales,

revenue and ads.

Do you have access to

the account on Facebook

or is it already on your computer?

It's not, is it? Okay, hang on.

We'll start with the basics.

My dad has tons of top qualities.

He does loads and is amazing,

but anything relating

to phones or technology

He still takes checks

into the actual bank to deposit them.

-Facebook, Facebook

-No, it was further down. Yes, lower down.

Right at the top there.

Wait. No, the "F" here.

-"F" for Facebook.

-Right.

-It's on the other phone.

-Yes, the other one.

Look, kid, it doesn't interest me.

Not at all. I'm not even on Instagram.

I have a Facebook account

so I can play Angry Birds.

Don't you use Chrome?

Are you not using Google Chrome?

I find it pretty funny, as Steeve,

whose daughter Eli is one

of the most famous influencers in Quebec,

doesn't have Instagram.

So "Settings" is right there.

No, not there. Go back.

No. I know, wait. Click "Okay."

My dad hasn't even got a clue

about the main social media platforms.

If you said "TikTok" to him,

he'd think you were talking about a clock.

I've tried to organize something

that's pretty wild.

On the agenda, we've got

alcohol, a boat party, hot guys and girls.

I'd say that when Claudia parties,

she really matches my energy.

When we're together,

we're a lot to handle.

Claudia is my bestie

because when it's time to go crazy,

get wild and let loose,

she's just as crazy as I am.

Ultimately, a collab like this

is actually an exchange of services

so they offer us something of value,

of course,

but our posts are also valuable to them.

We have lots of subscribers who trust us

and they will buy from the company

so our publicity will make

the company money.

I've been doing social media

for eight years, so when I started

almost nothing had been done yet.

Even going to a new travel destination,

your photos could be ultra-simple

and people would love it

as they'd discover a new destination.

The more time goes by

and the more everything's been done,

the harder it is

to do something totally new.

You need to go out

of your comfort zone a bit more

for more engagement, as content is more

and more repetitive on social media now,

so the content absolutely must be

something they've never seen before.

Okay, but can we take

a moment to appreciate

it just being us together right now?

I really can't deal with men anymore.

A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER

-What was your name again?

-Elisabeth.

-Elisabeth. Michael.

-Michael.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

Generally, I have absolutely no interest

in meeting guys right now.

If I guy approaches me,

I go into savage thinking mode, like,

"I don't have time for it. I have a kid."

-What are you doing here?

-I am just with friends.

-So, I have a baby at home.

-A baby?

-Yeah.

-How old are you?

I have always struggled

meeting new people in life.

It's always been that way.

-You like the weather here?

-I love the weather here.

But I don't know.

I love my people in Montreal, so

In fact, my tactic is

if a guy approaches me

and I feel like he might try something,

I always say the opposite

of whatever he says.

I really need to work.

I have a call to do.

-For sure, go ahead.

-Yeah, sure.

-Well, you don't have to stay here.

-I'll be on my way.

-Bye. Sorry. See you later on the boat.

-Bye.

I'd be so down for you giving me a tattoo.

-Really?

-Yeah.

OMG. That'd be so sick.

You too. It's been ages.

-Both of us.

-I'm so down.

Oh, my God. Whenever you want.

It is my full-time job.

-I do it a lot.

-Yeah?

I don't post much about it online,

but I do it full-time.

On social media, if you have

a side hustle, people judge,

but without Hoaka,

I couldn't make a living.

Now, yes,

I could just live off my social media.

-Yes, exactly.

-But under a million followers, no

Often influencers in Quebec are not

big enough to solely live off influencing.

For the new generation,

it is hard to maintain

1.4 million followers on Instagram,

especially with TikTok now on the scene.

Some really stubborn influencers are like,

"No, I only need Instagram.

I don't need a plan B, C or D in life."

Right.

It's also because no one would imagine

all of the expenses we have to cover.

To be honest, the only influencers I know

who don't really have any debt

or money problems

are the ones who have something

on the side,

whether it be a company,

something like Claudia has with Playboy,

or Rémi, who is a tattoo artist.

I think that's a healthy thing to do,

as being an influencer

has an expiration date

and not everyone always gets that.

Do you have an OnlyFans?

I heard that you had

some of that type of content.

-Well, I started an OnlyFans.

-Okay.

But the content

on OnlyFans is really vulgar.

I think when you take a nude,

there is a really fine line

-between trash porn and art.

-Okay.

We can all agree Claudio exudes sexuality.

I think her content is tasteful

as she doesn't cross the line.

She has a lot of self-respect.

I always get my mom

to approves my photos before I post.

Wow. My God. My mom would never

She's my top supporter.

If she approves it, I'm good to go.

My mom says,

"You're beautiful now.

Make the most of it while you can.

"Squeeze the juice out."

Elisabeth definitely needs

to learn to let her hair down.

If her mind is always in work mode,

it's pretty tough for her.

I often tell my friends I will switch off,

like, "Today I promise I won't work,"

but I always end up picking up my phone,

so switching off doesn't exist.

I wanted to say

I just spoke to the manufacturer in Italy.

They're still just as excited

about the project.

We all know we'll create a fab line,

but look, we've discussed it several times

and if we want to respect

the production and launch deadlines,

I need you to get back to me quickly

within the next 24 hours.

If not, it will fall through.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Bye.

Basically, when it comes to business,

everything is always a mad rush.

We need things done quickly

as we know that it's the right time

to launch these products.

Eli. Eli. Eli. Eli. Eli.

My grandma is in Florida right now.

She lives here half of the time

and goes back to Quebec

for work or to see family.

My grandma truly is a self-made woman,

so to speak.

No matter how many millions

of dollars she makes in life,

she'll always keep working.

I own a scaffolding company.

My company will turn 35 this year.

We started with a turnover

of maybe around $50,000

and it quickly exceeded a million.

Hey. Hi. How are you?

-Good. And you?

-Yeah, I'm doing good.

How is Wolfie?

Well, she's doing well,

but she's starting to talk.

-Yeah.

-That can be a good and a bad thing.

Yeah. I'm starting

to see her personality now.

-Who is she like?

-Mom says she is like me.

While I'm in Miami,

my mom is taking care of Wolfie.

I really trust my mom.

I mean, she was a daycare worker

her whole life.

-So she'll be a hard worker like you?

-We'll see.

Yeah.

Out of my grandkids, Elisabeth was always

the quiet one. She kept herself to herself

and was always in her own little bubble.

I felt a special attachment towards her

precisely because of that.

"What is going on in your bubble?

What are you thinking about?"

With all of that going on, do you have

time to think about yourself a bit?

Well, yes.

Sometimes caring for your child

also means thinking about yourself too.

It does you good, as does making sure

you have time to be with her.

Basically, I really need

to talk to my grandma

because with my company starting

to grow, I really need her advice

about how to delegate as much as possible.

I want to know how she somehow

manages to keep an eye on everything.

We're currently working

on another new project

which I'm hoping will really work out.

I'll be launching shampoo

and hair products.

You've not signed any contracts yet?

Nothing is set in stone?

No, not yet. I'm still considering it,

but I feel like we'll seal the deal soon.

My only concern is being able

to find people to help me with it,

because I know that right now

even Hoaka alone is a bit too much.

If you can't work and delegate things

while taking time to catch your breath

in order to properly market your products,

you will be all over the place

and you risk missing out

on a great opportunity.

You can't afford to fail.

-It has to work out.

-Yes, for sure. Yeah.

The financing aspect

of projects is essential,

but she is all about creating designs

and everything. She is 26 now.

I think we need to make her

a bit more aware of the finances.

Business is about taking risks.

You must be able to live with that

and not lose any sleep.

Yes.

I'd say I'm an entrepreneur

who follows her gut.

I'm someone who is

not afraid to take risks,

but they are always calculated risks.

-Hello?

-Yes, hello.

VOICE OF STEEVE

ELISABETH'S FATHER

-Yeah, so, how are you?

-Do you I'm good. You?

-I'm good.

-Do you have a few minutes?

Yes.

Well, I just wanted

to talk to you about something.

What is it? What's the surprise?

-I met with Grandma today, as you know.

-Yeah.

She's been telling me to diversify

my portfolio a bit for a while now.

For a little while,

I've been working on a new project

and I talked to Grandma about it earlier.

We think it would be a good idea.

The project would be

a line of hair products,

and I think it fits in well

with bathing suits for our followers

as they are great products for traveling.

Thing is, I'm under a bit of time pressure

as if we want to launch them

in time for summer,

they need a reply today or tomorrow.

That's fricking fast.

I need to go over

the numbers and quantities.

I'll need the contact info.

Basically, I've looked into many projects

I've wanted to do or felt excited about,

but they've all fallen through as

my family thought the risk was too high.

From there,

I'll need to ask some questions

and then I'll talk to Dolo,

as we need to talk to her as well.

Then we'll get back to you.

Email me all of the info

Yeah, but every time you say that,

you always end up saying no.

I'm really fed up with

the way things are handled.

I want to take things

into my own hands a bit more

and do things how I did before,

so making my own decisions.

That's how Hoaka became so big initially.

We must see if we have the funds to do it.

We have the money to do it.

Yes, Eli, but we can't take on a project

without knowing what we're getting into.

-We need to know if it'd work.

-There's nothing to know.

Whenever I suggest an idea,

you veto it, so we end up doing nothing.

Ever since my dad and sister got involved,

they have wanted to weigh up

the risks of everything.

They are always on the defensive.

They don't want to take risks,

and that has slowed us down

the past few years.

I want to take this risk. I'm prepared

to do it. I'll take the rap if needs be.

I'll send you the info. I know you

want to look over it, which is fair,

but I won't take no for an answer.

If you say no, I won't run

any future projects past you.

Send it to us and we'll go from there.

Okay, fine.

-All good?

-Okay, thanks.

-Okay. Say hi to Wolfie from me.

-Bye.

-Yes, yeah, of course.

-Bye.

Bye.

My dad definitely has his doubts,

but he always does.

If I stop doing what I want

because of his doubts, I'd do nothing.

HI CYNTHIA. THE PARTNERSHIP IS A GO