There was a blindfold involved, a fake story about The Weeknd recording in a studio, and a brand new minivan parked just out of sight. EJ — the man who had spent the better part of a year operating a camera while strangers received life-changing moments — had no idea any of it was coming.
How you film a hundred surprises without seeing the one aimed at you
EJ had been the lead videographer for MDMotivator creator Zach for roughly a year. Nearly every filmed exchange — the strangers approached on sidewalks, the gifts handed through car windows, the emotional reunions — had EJ behind the lens capturing it. When the team finished a shoot in Miami, Zach noticed something: EJ’s car had been out of commission since the start of the year, and EJ hadn’t said a word about it.
To keep the surprise from unraveling, the team constructed a cover story. They told EJ they were flying to Toronto to collaborate with artist The Weeknd — giving away a car to a stranger, then driving it to a recording session. EJ, who typically flies home through Detroit when the crew returns from shoots, accepted the explanation. The misdirection held.
Meanwhile, Zach got on a phone call with EJ’s mother, Sushi. She had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in January — a diagnosis that had also spread to her liver. EJ had filmed a video for her around that time, running a half marathon in Toronto and asking his audience to support a GoFundMe for her treatment costs. On the call with Zach, Sushi mentioned her most recent round of treatment the week prior. ‘The doctor said that tumors are shrinking, but I’m still not cancer-free, but I’ll take it,’ she said. ‘Small wins.’
She agreed to be there.
A man named Rad and a stranger whose shoes were already fine
Before EJ arrived, the crew needed someone kind. On a Toronto street, a man named Rad approached someone apparently without shoes, asked if he was okay, bought him new footwear without asking any questions, and refused to accept money for them. When Rad learned the shoeless man had been testing him all along — and that the whole thing was a setup — he didn’t pull back. He accepted $1,000 in cash, embraced the stranger, and when Zach asked if he wanted to help surprise somebody else, Rad said yes without hesitation.
Rad was still standing there when EJ walked onto the scene carrying his camera, ready to film what he thought was the Weeknd collaboration giveaway.
Zach asked Rad, still standing next to him, whether he wanted to help surprise the videographer. Rad said yes again. EJ was handed a blindfold. He put it on, still asking what was happening. The crew walked him toward the minivan.
Before the blindfold came off, Zach asked EJ the same question EJ asks strangers on every shoot: ‘What’s your message to the world?’ EJ answered: ‘Trust God’s plan for your life, man. You never know. Even if you’re in the lowest points of your life or the highest, all of it is part of the bigger picture.’
Then EJ gave a short prayer. Then someone counted to three.
The moment outside the Tim Hortons
When EJ pulled off the blindfold, the minivan was in front of him. His family was standing beside it — and so was Sushi, who had been waiting near the Tim Hortons just out of his line of sight. EJ’s first move was toward his mother. The two held each other for a long time. ‘I can’t be here without you, Mom,’ he told her. She told him she was only as strong as he was.
EJ stood next to the car afterward, still processing it. ‘Often times people think that I’m the one helping change people’s lives,’ he said, ‘but when in reality I’m just this random kid with a dream — and Zach and the whole team has given me this crazy opportunity to chase it. So many people are changing mine in the process.’
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This article was reported in June 2026.
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