Larry Barrett

Lawrence (Larry) D. Barrett

[email protected]

The beginning

• Born Portsmouth UK

• Immigrated to Canada as a child

• Father led a military style life connected with Department of National Defence and Canada Customs

o Larry and family moved every 2-3 years due to parental postings from Montreal to Victoria including many cities in between

 That meant developing new friends and leaving old ones frequently

 Stability and consistency in activities of any kind was difficult

 Culture differences, integration in new communities, fitting in, getting in and crashing cliques required flexibility, innovation, quick thinking and developing individual and group chemistry. This skill set became an important factor in his life as he matured

o Larry attended 4 different elementary schools in eight years and 4 different high schools in four years as a result of this continual upheaval

Early Development

• Larry led a very active social and sports life. His physical interests included basketball, football, long distance running, pole vaulting, gymnastics, ice hockey grass hockey and swimming. By the time he was 16 he had obtained his life guard instructor certificate and spent summers teaching and running the waterfront activities at the YMCA summer camps. Winters saw him conducting classes every Saturday at the YMCA. He was highly competitive elevating himself to Provincial status in swimming before he was 14. The moves prevented him from continuing.

• Larry’s first job was delivering newspapers. In those days one bought a route. Larry’s perseverance and work ethic saw him more than double his route by soliciting new customers. Once he doubled his route he divided it in half and sold one portion of the split route for nearly three times what he paid for it. He still held his original half which he sold a year later when the family moved, again for triple the price he paid. He was 9 years old. His part time jobs from age 9 to 17 were varied and gained him valuable experience in customer relations and business acumen.

Mid development

• Larry’s interest in music saw him form three bands between 14 and 17. He was an avid musical writer and was fortunate to work in Hollywood Sound recording studios in the heart of Los Angeles. His influences came at a personal level having worked in the same studios with some individuals who, over time, carved out their careers and gained some