As a shout out to Gary Bob Joe Bremner’s love of specialty cocktails, I conducted our

interview at Whitehorse’s newest, not-yet-open, cocktail-andwine bar, Woodcutter’s Blanket, on Strickland and 2nd (known to most as the two-moose building).

The pews were just being set up when we arrived, but our place at the bar was ready for us. I started by asking Gary what his current favourite cocktail is; it’s the Sazerac. This cocktail (the official drink of New Orleans) is made by combining rye, Peychaud’s Bitters, and sugar with ice, and then strained into a glass that has undergone an absinthe wash with a lemon peel garnish.

Sounds delicious. Gary became a business owner earlier than many of you know. His first shot at entrepreneurship was Nothing Clothing in 1999. They made hoodies, t-shirts, stickers, and toques. Something else that went down in Williams Lake, B.C. that year was the formation of the Wussies — an all-original punk rock band whose members learned how to play their instruments just to play together. The only cover they did was “Ring of Fire” (which will forever have me envisioning Claire Ness as the devil on her aerial hoop).

Gary morphed from the sound-and-recording guy into the bass player. At that time his plan was to go to school for sound and recording but instead moved to Vancouver to pursue modeling/acting jobs. He ended up building communications towers before ultimately moving to Whitehorse to enter the trades program at Yukon College; he thought being an electrician would be a better career move.

Gary did the first three years of his apprenticeship at the college and his final year in Calgary at SAIT. In 2009, he got his journeyman ticket and his Red Seal certification, in what I like to call, electricity school. When I asked him who would win: Edison or Tesla, I already knew the answer but just wanted to hear Gary nerd-out on Tesla. You should see his face light up when he gets on a roll about alternating current.

Gary and I met through the Cashen family in 2006. Shortly thereafter, Gary bought his first “real” camera. I mentioned to him that I needed some headshots for a show I was applying for. Unfortunately, his camera was stolen from his work Christmas party that year but Mick Cashen (a former Whitehorse RCMP officer) lent us his camera so Gary could still take my photos. I thank Mick for keeping Gary on his fated path of photography.

Most people think of Gary Bremner when they hear mention of GBP Creative, but the other half of that local thriving business is the lovely Brianne Bremner. The first time he ever saw Brianne was when Steve Roddick brought her to the old downtown ice-climbing tower. It was her first time on the tower and Gary recalls being afraid that she would lodge an ice pick into her body. They were married three years ago at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre.

Gary and Brianne’s most recent endeavour is a new company they co-own with Darren Susin, called Drone Thugs. They have already secured their first client for aerial photo-and-video footage using their awesome drones. If you haven’t heard the song “Tha Crossroads” by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, please get on it.

Gary Bremner has one of the biggest dogs in the Yukon. His name is Bill Murray.

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