GORDON LOWNDS
Visionary Entrepreneur Behind Some of Canada’s Most Recognized Retail
A successful Canadian entrepreneur, he earned a BA in Philosophy from York University and an MBA from the University of Toronto. After a distinguished career in retailing and management consulting, he established Kenrick Capital—a boutique investment banking firm—in 1988 alongside Stephen Gunn.
In 1994, he co-founded Sleep Country Canada with Gunn and Christine Magee, serving as CEO during its formative growth years. Under his leadership, the company was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Private Companies (1996–1998) by Price Waterhouse before being sold to Bain Capital in 1999.
In 2003, he co-founded ListenUP! Canada, a hearing healthcare chain that grew to 120 locations before its sale to a European hearing aid manufacturer in 2012.
From boardrooms to back alleys — and back again.
AVAILABLE NOW
From Addiction to Recovery
It is never too late to heal and find freedom.
A shocking chronicle that sheds light on this serial entrepreneur’s hidden struggles; a testament that even the most seemingly successful and invincible individuals can fall.
At the age of forty-eight he was at the pinnacle of his career, starting up what would become a billion-dollar enterprise. But an ill-advised experimental use of crack cocaine quickly morphed into a raging, hardcore, shooting-up junkie experience.
Lownds barely survived the full-blown, down-and-dirty, soul-destructing, and death-defying cornucopia of events that occurred in just 1,000 days. The twisted carnival ride of recovery that ensued took years longer. And as in much of life, this dramatic story is infused with tragedy and tempered by humor.
This is a cautionary tale: Addiction can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and anyhow.
Cracking Up is also the only addiction memoir based in the environs of Vancouver’s Downtown Lower East Side.