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Leaving overseas offshore rigs for cannabis retail

Published on August 27, 2021 by David Wylie

Before opening up a cannabis store in the Okanagan, Tim Coleman worked overseas on offshore rigs all over the world.

For more than a decade, he was a mechanic on rigs in Southeast Asia, South America, West Africa, and in Newfoundland.

“I got that out of my system,” Coleman tells the oz.

When COVID-19 hit, it changed the international working environment. Heading home and wondering what to do next, cannabis was on Coleman’s mind.

Personal connection to Armstrong

“I’d always had an interest in the industry for investment purposes,” he says.

“It kept circling back to cannabis retail.”

He looked into retail and settled on a partnership with Greenery Cannabis Boutique, opening an Armstrong location at 2101 Harding Road in Armstrong visible from Highway 97. The store is having its grand opening celebration from Aug. 27-Sept. 6.

Family roots helped Coleman settle on the location, as his partner grew up in Armstrong and has her own business in Vernon.

Coleman grew up in Nelson—“the pot capital of the Western Hemisphere,” he laughs.

Big change from the rigs

Cannabis was part of his life in his younger days, but he wasn’t able to partake while working on the rigs.

“I didn’t want to risk my career,” he says. “They have carte blanche on when they want to test and how they want to test.”

He’s trying to showcase small batch craft cannabis producers, as well as curating a selection of products for seniors and providing an educational environment from people.

“Overall, I’m trying to bring in as much BC product as possible,” he says.

Greenery Cannabis Boutique in Armstrong is open seven days a week.

Check them out on Facebook.