Returning to the Bar Industry & New Perspectives
Now that you’re stepping back into the industry, how do you see your role differently?
I see my role now as something far deeper than when I first entered this industry.
I’m no longer here just to master the mechanics or trends of bartending, mixology, or the hospitality industry—I see myself as an ancient bridge and mystic connector between worlds, times, and people.
My purpose is to bridge the modern hospitality industry with the ancestral knowledge, sacred wisdom, and forgotten ways of being that have sustained humanity for thousands of years.
I’ve spent years working alongside indigenous leaders, elders, and healers, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how their relationship with the land, their people, and their rituals are rooted in true hospitality—a hospitality that honors life itself, not commerce, capitalism, or consumption.
So, stepping back into the bar industry, I return not just as a bartender/mixologist, but as someone who carries that responsibility to infuse what I’ve learned into every interaction.
It’s about bringing wisdom, purpose, and nobility back into a space that can too often lose sight of its deeper meaning.
I’m here to help heal, to teach, to hold space, and to remind people—whether they’re bartenders, guests, or brands—that hospitality at its core is about service to humanity, not service to excess.
You said you don’t want to be seen as “just another bartender with a liquor bottle in hand.” What’s your vision for this new chapter?
Exactly. I have no interest in being another face in the bar holding a liquor bottle for show.
That chapter has passed for me.
My vision now is shaped by the Eagle and Condor prophecy—this idea that the wisdom of the ancient world/heart (the Condor of the South) and the modern world/mind (the Eagle of the North) must come together.
I believe bartenders, mixologists, and hospitality professionals have an opportunity right now to become the living embodiment of that bridge.
To evolve past the performative aspects of bartending and step into the role of mentor, guide, and bridge to transcendence and unification of humanity.
Protectors and guardians of Mother Earth.
For me, it’s not about the drink—it’s about what happens around the drink.
I want to use this next chapter to find others who want to learn how to heal themselves first, raise their awareness, and then extend that to others.
To use their voices to guide people toward mindfulness, introduce them to ancestral knowledge, honor sacred ingredients, protect sacred lands, and become custodians of not just hospitality, but of humanity and Mother Earth.
This is the literary archetype of the hero’s journey placed within hospitality.
We’ve gone through the initiation; now it’s time to return with the knowledge and use it for the betterment of others.
That’s the kind of hospitality professional I aim to be, and the kind of leadership I want to embody.
It is time for us to embody the archetypes of the heroes the world needs right now.
How can bartenders stay mindful and balanced in an industry built on excess?
This is one of the biggest challenges—and the biggest opportunities—for bartenders today. We work in an industry built on indulgence, speed, and often excess, yet at its heart, hospitality is supposed to be about connection, care, and service to others.
The way bartenders can find balance is by making a conscious choice to put part of their life in true service to a cause higher than themselves—and dedicate themselves to that through sacrifice. To stop seeing bartending as purely transactional, and instead approach it as a craft rooted in purpose.
When you approach each shift with the intention to uplift, to offer something meaningful, to respect the people and the ingredients you work with, everything shifts. It’s not about selling more drinks; it’s about creating moments that nourish.
It means understanding that hospitality is an energy exchange. And you can’t pour from an empty cup. So bartenders need to prioritize their own wellness, their own spiritual alignment, so they’re able to show up in service—not in exhaustion or excess.
The skills we’ve learned behind the bar—reading people, creating experiences, holding space—are powerful, to say the least. But they’ve too often been used to push consumption or unreciprocated profit.
Now, it’s time to use those same skills to become true alchemists of reality. To help people reconnect, slow down, be present. To gather people en masse, but for the right reasons.
It’s about bringing back wisdom, purpose, and nobility into the role of the bartender/mixologist/hospitality professional, and shifting the focus from the product to the person, from the excess to the essence.
You mentioned the intention behind beverages—can you expand on that? How does a drink’s energy affect the person consuming it?
Absolutely. Every beverage—EVERYTHING—we create carries an energy, whether we’re conscious of it or not.It’s not just about ingredients—it’s about the intention behind every step: how the ingredients are sourced, how the drink is prepared, the mindset of the bartender while making it, and especially the environment in which it’s served.
Energy is never lost or destroyed—only transferred. So when a bartender is rushed, disconnected, or purely focused on profit, that energy subtly transfers into the drink—and the guest feels it, whether they realize it or not. Conversely, when a bartender approaches their craft with purpose, care, respect for the ingredients, and a desire to serve from a place of true hospitality, it elevates the experience for the guest in ways that go far beyond flavor.
It’s similar to ancestral traditions, where beverages weren’t just made—they were prepared ceremonially, often blessed, intended for healing, connection, or ritual. We’ve lost that mindfulness in many modern bars, but I believe there’s a return to it happening now.
When you set an intention—whether it’s to offer comfort, celebration, healing, or simply genuine care—you’re aligning the energy of the beverage with a higher purpose. And that, in turn, affects the guest’s experience on an energetic level, even if it’s subtle.
It’s not just about what’s in the glass. It’s about what’s behind the glass.
