SUDBURY -- Sudbury father Ryan Pawlowski is gaining a lot of fans these days -- and helping to put the city on the map -- thanks to his latest hobby: making trick shots on a child's basketball net, backwards.
It all started as a way to make his young children smile and maybe give his friends a laugh.
"When COVID happened … that just created so much more time and I needed to keep my mind focused," Pawlowski said. "In February, I hit a big shot in the bush and from there it just kept growing."
He's been posting his videos to his social media feeds under the name 'You know what I'm saying' tricks, as part of a joke he has with his pals.
Pawlowski's now gaining fans from his Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter feeds.
"I'm just really blessed from the love and support everyone's given me, something that started as a joke with buddies," he said. "I'm very thankful for everybody and all the positive messages I get."
An athlete and avid hockey player, he's been trying to make his shots progressively more difficult for an added challenge. As a result, his videos have featured a ton of Sudbury landmarks, including the Big Nickel, Science North and the Stompin' Tom Connors statute.
And he's making it a family affair with videos that have featured his young sons and his brother-in-law behind the camera.
"I started staying with my sister and Ryan during quarantine and as everyone knows there wasn't a whole lot to do during that time," brother-in-law Stephen Gonko said. "I moved in and there was still snow here and the first shot he landed was the one over the house ... All the sudden Ryan started landing everything he looked at and I decided to keep it going.
"To all the fans, it's amazing, and to anyone who's ever skeptical about his shots, I've been there for all of them and I can honestly barely make a straightforward one and the ones off the cliffs and over the houses, they blow me away."
Andryanna Gonko, Pawlowski's wife, said it has been a great way to pass the time during lockdown.
"It's been fun," Gonko said. "We have two young boys, so it's definitely been keeping them busy -- it's been keeping him busy. We did a two-week quarantine because my brother came home from Arizona and he was staying with us, so we had no choice but to come together and try to keep each other occupied.
"It's been a really nice distraction for all of us."
Pawlowski said he hopes to keep it going online. He's reached out to Mayor Brian Bigger in hopes of making his next shot off Tom Davies Square.
"Sudbury's so beautiful, it has so many landmarks, we could hit them all," said Pawlowski.
"It was a hidden talent and I just kept working on it and now I'm a lot more confident," he added. "But I do think anyone can do it, you just need practice."
A representative from the mayor's office tells CTV News they plan on extending him an invitation.
