Born in Vancouver and shaped by the spirit of the 1960s and 70s, Gary Lenett—founder and CEO of denim brand DUER—grew up between two contrasting parental influences.

His mother was cautious and conservative, a loving stay-at-home mom whose anxiety left a lasting imprint. His father, who lost his own parents at the age of twelve during the Great Depression, was larger than life: charismatic, courageous, and comfortable with risk—sometimes a little too comfortable.

A former teacher and lawyer, Gary is no stranger to starting anew, with these two forces of caution and boldness continuing to inform the way he moves through the world and navigates business.

He has spent decades in the apparel industry, building one of the largest denim manufacturers in North America. At 48, he lost everything while raising three young children, beginning again with a deeper understanding of risk, resilience, and what truly matters.

But this conversation is about far more than business.It is about the opposing energies that shape us: openness and discernment, discipline and surrender, fear and trust.

From a young age, Gary sensed something profound within but didn’t yet have the language to describe it. A lifelong admirer of The Little Prince and a self-described “curious skeptic,” he eventually found his way to meditation and a philosophy rooted in presence, honesty, compassion, and non-attachment.

In this open-hearted episode, we talk about failure, fear, profit and purpose, and what “enough” means after a life marked by both collapse and renewal. It’s a dialogue about being self-led, surrendering to what is, and the art of building not only a meaningful business, but a meaningful life.

[TIMESTAMPS]
00:00 Introduction to Gary Lenett

02:30 Contrasting Parental Influences

10:48 Career Transitions and Personal Growth

15:06 The Collapse of a Business

19:32 Ego Death and Rebirth

20:40 Finding Fulfillment After Loss

23:57 Navigating Fear and Anxiety

26:42 Openness vs. Discernment

29:42 Lessons from The Little Prince

32:50 The Concept of Effortlessness

35:47 Experiencing Flow in Life

39:52 Overcoming Anxiety and Staying Present

43:30 The Nature of Risk in Entrepreneurship

46:11 Lessons Learned from Business Failures

50:00 Choosing the Right Business Partners

53:16 The Deeper Impact of Doer

56:49 Legacy and Life Lessons

The luminescent Genevieve Kang grew up between Chinese and Portuguese cultures in a small, predominantly white city, learning early on what it means to exist at the edges of belonging, to be fluent in more than one world, and to quietly build a self from whatever felt true.

She was the youngest of four to two hardworking parents, a maker & creator with her hands from a young age, someone who resisted school but fell in love with theatre and the emotional aliveness of being on stage. At 18, she was diagnosed with Lupus. And then, in a move that took deep courage and trust, she stopped medication cold turkey and chose to heal herself through food, land, and listening. Nearly twenty years later, she is symptom-free.

Food became her language and a philosophy: for care, for culture, for grief, for transition. She trained as a holistic nutritionist, is an actor & model for many beautiful brands, built a catering practice KIKAN and ran a food truck. She grew things, tended to animals. She spent long stretches alone in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island—just her and her pup partner Reishi—letting the land ask things of her that people never did.

Now she's in the midst of another unraveling. Closing chapters, simplifying, making space for what wants to come next. Portugal might be calling, or maybe Southern California. She doesn't yet know exactly what form it takes but, as she’s always done, is letting it all unfold. And she's learning to be okay with that.

[TIMESTAMPS]

5:15 – Growing up

9:45 – Finding inner belonging

12:45 – The wisdoms her parents gave her

22:34 – Creating with her hands

26:13 – What being on stage gave her that life off it didn't

29:55 – What her diagnosis awakened in her about agency and mortality

37:37 – When food became more than nourishment

44:33 – The version of herself she's grieving most

47:53 – What the land asks of her that people never have

53:32 – Who she is in two years — and what it feels like

56:35 – The throughline she can see now that wasn't visible before

58:58 – The final question

1:02:29 – Where to find Genevieve

[TODAY'S SPONSORS]

Excited to welcome Before Company as one of our season five sponsors! I’ve been using them since day one—especially the whitening formula. It turns brushing into a small, grounding ritual, and the tube looks gorgeous on my counter. Use code thecraft for 20% off your first order → www.beforecompany.com.

As some of you know, I'm also a certified sound therapy practitioner, intuitive channeler & founder of otō healing. Whether you're new to sound baths or seasoned and curious about trying one of my experiences, email otohealing at gmail.com to get 10% off your first private, in-home sound therapy & channeled guidance session.

Braden Parker—the new CEO of Westbeach—grew up in Cochrane, Alberta—a small town of fewer than ten thousand—obsessed with the Titanic and dinosaurs, building lemonade stands with his siblings, and raised by two teachers who believed deeply in curiosity and going after what you want.

His dad was offered a sabbatical at Stanford university, moving the family from the Prairies to Silicon Valley, where Braden’s world opened wide: multicultural families, friends whose parents were shaping the future at places like Netflix, and an early sense that you could design your own path if you were willing to build it.

That instinct became a lifelong throughline, from being a snowboard coach for kids to becoming a UBC Sauder School of Business student. Then a door-design entrepreneur, followed by a career in real estate. He experimented with selling cricket pasta and conjured up concepts for a luxury toothbrush before landing on Casca—the footwear brand he co-founded with Kevin Reed at 26. He’d work his day job and fly to China for Casca on vacation days, walked factory floors, learned cross-cultural communication, and tried to create the perfect everyday shoe. Seven years later, he exited at 32, stepping into an identity shift that backpacking through East Africa helped reorient.

And now, he’s in his next era, reviving Westbeach—an iconic Canadian surf, skate, and snow brand steeped in community, quality, and technical culture. A third space, a mini skate pipe, a coffee shop, and a small, tight team building its next chapter with intention and care. It’s a return to levity, craftsmanship, and the spirit of a legacy that shaped generations.

This is a conversation about possibility, reinvention, realism, and knowing when a door is no longer the right door. About building what feels true. And about the courage it takes to begin again—especially when the legacy is bigger than you.

[TIMESTAMPS]

5:12 – Childhood & early influences
13:39 – University years and formative experiences
17:11 – Life after graduation: exploration and early ventures
22:33 – The birth of Casca: founding the brand
24:31 – Why Braden and his cofounder believed a new shoe brand could make an impact
30:00 – Cross-cultural relationship building and communication in business
35:03 – Realizing it was time to exit Casca
43:30 – Reviving Westbeach: first questions for himself, the brand, and the team
53:29 – Redlines he will never compromise on
54:23 – Advice he encourages other entrepreneurs to adopt
56:11 – His perspective on life today
58:50 – The final question
1:00:18 – Where to find Braden

[TODAY'S SPONSORS]

Excited to welcome Before Company as one of our season five sponsors! I’ve been using them since day one—especially the whitening formula. It turns brushing into a small, grounding ritual, and the tube looks gorgeous on my counter. Use code thecraft for 20% off your first order → www.beforecompany.com.

As some of you know, I'm also a certified sound therapy practitioner, intuitive channeler & founder of otō healing. Whether you're new to sound baths or seasoned and curious about trying one of my experiences, email otohealing at gmail.com to get 10% off your first private, in-home sound therapy & channeled guidance session.