Our Core Values
Our values are reflected in who we are as a company, how we conduct business, and foster relationships with new and returning partners.
Passion & Commitment
We are passionate about our work and strive for excellence. We are committed to doing things to the best of our ability, to hitting deadlines, and to over-delivering on our promises whenever possible.
Embrace and Encourage Change
The media landscape (and our world) is evolving constantly, which is why we embrace and encourage change. Having the courage to look ahead, anticipate change, and advance proactively is essential for remaining competitive. There is also tremendous opportunity that comes with change, along with the satisfaction that comes from being part of a dynamic team.
Fair & Square
We believe a fair deal is the only deal to make. Fairness is the foundation for achieving equality, and for the development of any strong, longterm relationship. We treat others the way we expect to be treated. We are open, honest, and direct in our dealings.
Work Hard & Have Fun
We believe that a healthy balance between work and play leads to increased happiness which has a profound impact on all parts of one’s life. When it’s time to work, we work hard, while fostering a fun, positive, high-energy work environment.
Give a Care
We care. Whether it’s an environmental issue, a social issue, a health issue or other, we show respect and consideration for others and are sensitive to the potential impacts of our actions.
Our Story
In 1997, Ken Whiting won the World Championships for Freestyle Whitewater Kayaking. Shortly after, he began publishing instructional books and DVDs marking the beginnings of Heliconia, at the same time solidifying Heliconia’s mission to get more people outdoors living healthy lifestyles. Ken’s instructional product line eventually grew to represent other experts, other outdoor niches, and in the early 2000’s, a foray into feature films and TV production.
Since then, Ken and his new business partner, Brendan Mark, have found themselves producing inspiring adventure episodes shown across many of the leading television and digital networks. Over the past twenty years, each new project produced by Heliconia has been inspired by Ken’s early mission. The end result finds vast communities of viewers, followers and supporting partners connected by Heliconia’s inspiring mission of “Guiding people to a lifetime of adventure.”
Today Heliconia’s shows are seen in the US on Outside TV, Discovery Channel, FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports), PBS, and other outdoor specialty networks. Each Heliconia project is hosted by celebrated storytellers and influencers. Together with a passionate team of filmmaking talent, we publish outdoor and adventure travel content that inspires and educates consumers while providing promotional value to tourism organizations and outdoor-oriented brands.
Heliconia’s headquarters remains nestled in Beachburg, Ontario, Canada…just minutes from the mighty Ottawa River, where it all began.
#Heliconia
People love seeing our adventures in living color throughout the year. We are lucky to be able to share stories with all our followers and subscribers over many social networks. Heliconia invites YOU to share your posts showing YOUR adventures by tagging #heliconia or @heliconiaproductions to be featured on our channels.
“I’m thrilled to share that the 2025 Travel Conservation Auction has officially closed, and we exceeded our goal! Together, we raised $153,732 to support grassroots conservation projects and empower local communities around the world.
This incredible success would not have been possible without Heliconia’s partnership and generosity. Your willingness to share our mission, amplify our message, and rally your communities helped drive meaningful impact for people and the planet. From all of us at the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, and our auction committee, thank you for helping make this our most successful auction yet.
We’re also so incredibly grateful that you’re able to air our evergreen video – thank you, thank you!
Together, we’re proving that when the travel community unites, we can truly protect the places that inspire us.”
Soraya Shattuck
Executive Director
Adventure Travel Conservation Fund
“Working with Heliconia Inspiring Production has been a rewarding experience. Your team’s professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence have been impressive. The quality of the work delivered has been exceptional.”
Alex Kutches
Outdoor Industry Executive – Former President
Mystery Ranch
“Too often I’ve had partners make assurances that they know what we “need” and then delivery results that are off the mark or unusable. This is not the case with Heliconia. Malvin, Brendan, and the rest of the team have been a fantastic partner in helping us plan, execute and deploy valuable markets assets and campaigns. They are extremely organized, detail-oriented, responsive and highly engaged in helping us achieve our goals. They have a unique ability to listen, ask questions, brainstorm ideas, make recommendations and follow through with flawless execution – on time and on target.
It’s not often that one has the opportunity to work with people who run their business and relationships with such professionalism as the team at Heliconia. Everyone at Wiley X that has worked with them has been impressed with their depth of knowledge, insights, and quality of content. It’s both a pleasure and massive benefit to have a partner like Heliconia working alongside us, creating amazing content as well as clever ideas on how to use this content to achieve our tactical and strategic objectives.”
Dean Searles
Product Marketing Manager
Wiley X
“Heliconia has been an amazing partner throughout the filming of Epic Trails. The team’s professionalism, kindness and attention to detail have made the entire process smooth for us and our destination partners. They clearly lay out needs and timelines from the beginning, and perhaps best of all, they package up all of the (amazing!) assets – hi-res photography, b-roll and short videos – for maximum value. We were able to easily amplify the content and social posts on our own channels, as were our partners.”
Kristen Bonilla
Domestic Public Relations Manager
Visit California
“The entire team of Epic Trails was amazing to partner with from start to finish. We worked together on logistics and they made sure all the details were taken care. Juneau was highlighted beautifully and the assets they handed off have been some of the best imagery from our trails that we have had the pleasure of using. Eric is a knowledgeable and skilled hiker as well as a joy to work with. We would welcome the team back anytime! Also, Lukasz broke my shower but it’s okay because he has a nice smile and a really great accent.”
Kara Tetley
Destination Marketing Manager
Travel Juneau
“We’ve worked with Heliconia on two separate occasions and soon again for a third time. With each visit to our country, their crew was friendly, professional and respectful of our environment, culture and partners. The content that they have captured has beautifully showcased our region, inspiring the American audience to visit Peru. Heliconia has consistently over-delivered in all aspects of the projects, from the conception of ideas to television and social exposure, as well as with communication and reporting following each project we’ve worked on together. These projects have been great investments for promoting tourism to our country and I would not hesitate for a moment to recommend working with this organisation. As a tourist organization we have very strict administrative processes to follow and it is not always easy for the private sector to understand, however Heliconia has been most accommodating to all our needs. Working with them has been a smooth ride.”
Elisabeth Hakim
North American and UK Markets Coordinator
PROMPERU
“Big shoutout to Heliconia, the ultimate partner with Road Trip Angler! Their production quality is second to none: cinematic visuals, crisp storytelling, and a crew that knows how to collect fishing content. And when it comes to distribution? They don’t just get the show out there, they make sure it lands in front of the right audience, every time. If you’re looking to elevate your content, Heliconia is the team to trust.”
David Feucht
Director of Sales & Marketing
Renaissance Marine Group, Inc.
“We continue to receive positive feedback from kayakers about the four episodes on Paddle TV. Thanks so much for your work; it has truly put Dominica on the map for sea kayaking and affirms that the Waitukubuli Sea Trail is an excellent experience. The majority of our clients on our Sea Trail Tours stated that the videos encouraged them to book with us. My uncle in Alabama was surprised to see me on television one day, which is very cool! He took a picture of me on the TV with Ken and emailed it to the family. Thanks again for everything. You really helped put us on the map!”
Wes Moses
Soufriere Outdoor Center
“Ken Whiting is a name that needs no introduction in the paddlesports world; aside from being an authoritative voice in the community, working with him and the rest of the team behind Heliconia is a genuine pleasure. We came into our partnership with them looking to re-allocate budget we felt was being wasted on more ‘traditional’ digital marketing efforts, and over the last couple of years, they’ve shared our enthusiasm for the sport and passion for our products, leveraging their expertise, drive, and solid strategies to inform and excite existing and potential members of the paddlesports community, many of which we weren’t reaching otherwise.”
Mathew Wilkinson
Marketing – UK, EU & ROW Team Manager
P&H Kayaks, Pyranaha
“NRS has worked with Heliconia for more than a decade, and our relationship has grown with each year. Their capabilities in content development, distribution and digital engagement make them a formidable force in outdoor media and a valuable part of our marketing mix.”
Mark Deming
Chief Marketing Officer
NRS
“We truly appreciated working with Heliconia for the series filmed in Québec. The production team’s focus and efficiency made it possible for us to produce a high-quality series that allows viewers to discover Québec’s spectacular territories, including its waterways, as well as its creative culture and generous welcome.”
Sébastien Viau
Vice-President of Marketing and Commercialization
Alliance de l’Industrie Tourisitique du Québec
“We greatly appreciated our collaboration with Heliconia for the Paddle Tales series filmed in Québec. The production team was very attentive to our needs as well as those of our partners. All stages of project were fluidly and efficiently executed. They provided great value for the destinations across the series and we are very happy with the end result.”
Karine Blais
Consellière, partenariats marketing
Alliance de l’Industrie Tourisitique du Québec
“Our experience working with Heliconia (for Facing Waves) was excellent. The pre-production and post-production process were very smooth. The entire team at Heliconia is professional and helpful throughout the project from A to Z. The client was very happy with the outcome of the show and the airing time are excellent. We’ll work with the team on any future project, and we highly recommend working with Heliconia.”
Yalun Ho
Senior Account Manager
Myriad Marketing
“Tourism Papua New Guinea was extremely pleased with the footage delivered by the Facing Waves Crew. Their high-quality, breathtaking coverage highlighted the culture and adventure that awaits travelers to Papua New Guinea. This opportunity also proved to be a gift that kept on giving – in less than a year our episode aired nearly 60 different times spread across several months.”
Lauren Salisbury
Sales & Marketing Executive, The Americas
Myriad Marketing
“We are thrilled the U.S. Virgin Islands will be featured as a top paddling destination in the Facing Waves series,” “This was the perfect opportunity to highlight the many interesting SUP activities available in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The DOT thanks all those who assisted the production while in the Territory and looks forward to sharing the beauty and unique culture of the Virgin Islands with a national TV audience.”
Beverly Nicholson-Doty
Commissioner of Tourism
U.S. Virgin Islands
“I think I love you guys! Thanks so much! We are going to do a picture story on northernontario.travel and also some facebook posts to boost the videos. Thank you SO much for everything you have done for us! It’s truly been a pleasure! And when are you coming back? I have NEVER worked with anyone and had anything completed that keeps giving to us all the time. You guys are great!”
Carol Caputo
Executive Director
Ontario’s Algoma Country
“We received incredible footage from the team of HELICONIA on this Project in La Paz Baja California Sur Mexico, the result was an excellent and informative video showcasing the different adventures you can experience in our tourism destinations – we will look for new projects in the near future to keep promoting and informing our customers thru their different media channels.”
Luis Palacios Larrañaga
Director General – Board of Tourism
Baja California Sur
“Brendan is a pleasure to work with. We were first connected when he contacted ExOfficio as a possible sponsor for their Kayak Fishing DVDs Game On!. He was professional with his delivery while conveying his and the rest of the Kayak Fishing crew’s love for ExOfficio products. It has been over two years now that we have worked together to help build each others brand and I have to say this has been one of the most successful partnerships we have built to date. Brendan and the Heliconia team have been both proactive and responsive to the initiatives we have defined together. They are fun group who is always open to new ideas which marries well with the ExOfficio culture. I would recommend Brendan and the Heliconia team as a great resource for any production project.”
Kelsey Bracewell
Director of Education, Insurance, and Membership
ACA Paddlesports
“Working with Heliconia has been an exceptional experience, marking a fruitful partnership that began in 2015. Since their first production in Jordan for the Facing Waves series, it has been a perfect marriage. Over the past nine years, we have collaborated on five travel episodes featuring Jordan, as well as multiple other projects.
The Heliconia team consistently demonstrates a high level of professionalism and efficiency, making the entire production process seamless. Their commitment to excellence ensures that every episode delivers a higher return on investment than promised. This dedication to quality and reliability is why our partnership has remained strong.
Most recently, we wrapped up filming another episode, with Jordan being the first international destination featured in one of their series on the Discovery Channel and Outside Television. Heliconia’s ability to capture the essence of our beautiful country and present it to a global audience is unparalleled.
Working with Heliconia is always a pleasure. Their team is not only highly professional but also incredibly easy to work with, making the entire process enjoyable and stress-free. We would highly recommend Heliconia to anyone looking for a top-notch production company.”
The Jordan Tourism Board
North America
“Before working with Heliconia, we couldn’t crack the code on YouTube SEO in the fishing space. Despite our efforts, we weren’t ranking for the keywords that mattered most to our audience.
Heliconia came in with a clear strategy and deep expertise. Within the first push, we secured top 3 placements for all of our target search keywords. We achieved the goals we set out to accomplish, and when measuring success based on that, it was an A+. The results were strong enough that we’re now working with their team on our next keyword strategy to build on the success so far.”
Shane Stalling
Product & User Acquisition Marketing Manager
onWater Fish
“Dear Heliconia crew, I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire Heliconia team for working with Costa Rica and La Paz in Adventure Cities. My team and I are so grateful for the mutual decision to collaborate and showcase these beautiful destinations. Your A-team truly captured the essence of what makes each destination so special.
Your team’s dedication has brought our natural wonders to life in a way that will surely resonate with audiences around the globe, enticing them to travel! Your enthusiasm and respect for each destination was evident throughout each production, and we are truly grateful for your commitment in highlighting the beauty, culture and adventure each destination offers!
Thank you once again for the incredible work we accomplished. I am beyond proud of everything we captured and am grateful to each and every one of you – I truly couldn’t have asked for a better team! It has been an effortless and really enjoyable partnership and I look forward to working alongside your team in the future!”
Melissa Michaane
Account Director
MMGY Global