A 20-year Montreal story about dream, drive, data, destiny – and the patient return of something worth fighting for. Beyond baseball & sports, a journey borne out of purpose and identity, and an unexpected second act.
TL;DR version: The Peanut Project is a 20-year Montreal story about identity, ambition, and the long-delayed return of a beloved franchise. Its roots trace back to 2004, when the Expos left the city — a moment that planted the idea of one day bringing baseball home. In 2012, at a Washington Nationals game, that idea resurfaced with clarity: the Expos’ story wasn’t over. My quest to present a compelling and viable proposal to MLB when it opens up its next expansion process starts with a baseball-first, community-driven, optimal ownership structure that reflects the era of sports ownership that we are in, with not just a proper financial model but also a roadmap to build something more substantive. SIGN UP FOR EXPOS SEASON TICKETS HERE.
In 2025, a conversation about Netflix’s documentary rekindled the vision, showing how sports, media, and storytelling now converge at global scale. In early December, a single tweet sparked an avalanche of interest, followed by a fan survey confirming overwhelming demand and a wave of media attention.
The Peanut Project blends personal history and professional experience across media, finance, community, and civic pride. It’s the culmination of two decades of preparation — and the belief that Montreal is ready for its next great sports chapter.
Origins of the Story (2004): Where It Really Began
The Peanut Project traces its roots back to 2004, when the Montreal Expos played their final season before relocating. For a kid from Montréal who grew up with the team, the loss felt personal — not just the end of a franchise, but the disappearance of a civic symbol.
Entrepreneurship is living a few years – in my case, 6 or 20 depending on how you slice it – to be able to live the rest of your life like few can. 2004 planted the motivation that would quietly shape everything that followed: “One day, find a way to bring Montreal baseball home.”
Today is that day.
2012: Closure at a Nationals Game
In 2012, while at a Washington Nationals game, something shifted. It wasn’t nostalgia — it was clarity.
Seeing the success, energy, and excitement around the former Expos’ lineage brought both closure and ignition. The idea took its first professional shape: Could this actually be rebuilt? Could the Expos return?
It was the first moment the Peanut Project went from emotion to intention.
2025: Netflix Plants the Seed
Two decades into building WatchMojo into one of the world’s leading digital media brands, the Peanut Project unexpectedly reawakened.
A Netflix conversation in 2025 about sports storytelling, media’s future, and the Wrexham-style narrative universe triggered a simple but powerful thought:
Why not Montreal? Why not the Expos? Why not me?
The idea matured from a personal dream into a viable media-sports-investment ecosystem — with real financing, real partners, and real momentum.
The Avalanche Tweet (10 Days Ago)
What had been a quiet internal journey went public with a single tweet — a visceral reaction to seeing (of all things) the Colorado Avalance don the Nordiques jersey against my beloved Montreal Canadiens:
The Survey: Evidence of Demand
Following the avalanche, a public survey was launched to quantify sentiment.
Within hours:
- strong appetite for MLB in Montreal,
- cross-generational interest,
- economic optimism from local respondents,
- overwhelming support for the return of the Expos brand and identity.
This wasn’t nostalgia.
This was market validation.
That one post became a digital avalanche, validating two decades of instinct:
Montreal wants this. Baseball wants this. The story wants this
The results were overwhelming:
- thousands of engagements,
- replies from fans across Canada and the U.S.,
- interest from media,
- inquiries from investors and operators.
The Media Blitz
Over the past days and weeks, coverage has escalated rapidly.
Articles, interviews, radio hits, and online commentary have turned the Peanut Project into a legitimate conversation in:
- Brodie Brazil Interview
- CJAD with Elias Makos
- Jean-Charles Lajoie sur TVA
- Toronto Newstalk 1010 with John Moore
- MtlBlog
- Journal de Québec
- Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro
- BPM avec Max Lalonde
- QUB avec Mario Dumont
- Montreal Gazette
- MSN
- Global TV News Montreal
- Dose
- Inside Expos Part 2 with my co-host Rob Flis where I recap the week and initiative that really kicked off when
- Inside Expos Part 1, breaking down the people & parties enumerated in the Netflix documentary, Who Killed the Expos?
And it is now intensifying, going deeper and wider in and across:
- sports media,
- business publications,
- creator-economy circles,
- even investor and PE networks.
Media is now catching up to the reality:
This is not a stunt — it’s a structured, credible, multi-stack plan.
The Challenge I Was Built For
The Peanut Project isn’t just about baseball.
It’s a stress test — of everything I’ve built, learned, endured, and internalized over 20 years:
- Nature & Nurture: The kid who loved the Expos + the operator shaped by finance and media.
- Personal & Professional: The founder who built a global media company + the Montrealer shaped by civic pride.
- Shareholder vs. Stakeholder: The economics must work — but so must the community, the culture, and the city.
- Patience: The final founder lesson, learned the hard way across two decades.
- The “Final Boss” Stage: Media meets sports meets civic purpose. I did not earn money to simply make more money. A form energy, money flows to have impact. This 4C (foresee) codenamed MontrealMojo.com is the biggest initiative since Expo ’67.
It’s the culmination of a lifelong story arc — one that blends qualification, passion, strategy, and timing.
This is not just a project.
This is the founder’s endgame. The Lord-Stage challenge. The long-delayed last inning.