Heard of the seed bank Ethos? Let’s get to know the “Ethos guys” a little better, along with the main figure behind this bank’s founding and development: musician and poker player Colin Gordon.
If you follow the industry closely, you’re probably familiar with hits like Ethos Cookies and Mandarin Sunset. But few know that before founding his company, the boss was a professional poker player and even took part in the top-level World Poker Tour.
Yes, this guy was seriously breaking the bank in gambling circles until he found his true calling in cultivating the green plant. And his path to the top of the cannabis industry wasn’t easy.
It all starts with a seed
Colin Gordon’s journey into the cannabis world began with unexpected inspiration during college spring break. Early on, the high cost of imported Dutch seeds, up to 170 dollars for a small pack, required substantial investment. Over time, however, these investments paid off in improved harvest quality. Gordon’s plants became increasingly aromatic and visually appealing with each new growing cycle, completely capturing his attention and becoming a source of additional income.
Finding true satisfaction in cultivation, unlike attending university classes, Gordon decided to change his life’s path.
He enjoyed growing buds and filled his entire little plantation with cannabis plants. But reaching mass production that met his high standards took time. Gordon needed a full year to grow a plant he could be proud of. The experience strengthened his confidence that growing was his true calling.
Dreams of Colorado’s peaks
In 1996, while visiting a friend in Colorado, Colin felt the spirit of great opportunity. Moving from sunny Florida to the mountain peaks opened a new horizon: large-scale cultivation. Gordon soon realized his future lay in serious seed production. The change of scenery inspired his first significant step in breeding, a leap forward compared with his previous experience crossing the popular Northern Lights #5 x Haze and Skunk #1 strains. High Times, the well-known magazine, had recommended this combination.
In Colorado, Gordon built a music studio and began helping friends grow. Gordon and his team skillfully balanced things, staying within federal laws while meeting growing demand for their products.
Gordon compares the market conditions and laws of the time to classic underworld cinema, noting that they created a favorable environment for growers’ growth and development.
Returning to the roots
The 2008 economic crisis became a turning point in Colin Gordon’s life, forcing him back to his roots: cannabis. A decline in the number of poker tournaments pushed him to change his lifestyle. Moving to Colorado, Gordon began organizing gaming seminars for professionals and entering local tournaments. At one of these events, he encountered the idea of cannabis legalization. Although Gordon was initially skeptical, he soon became the owner of a dispensary called Nature’s Kiss.
While medical cannabis was only beginning to gain ground in the market, Gordon found satisfaction in growing and selling his harvest. The rules at the time allowed dispensaries to grow cannabis exclusively for registered patients, motivating Gordon and his team to actively attract new customers to Nature’s Kiss. Growing demand for specific strains pushed Gordon to expand the dispensary’s selection.
Studying the international market took Gordon to Holland for new seeds. There, he learned that many European breeders had moved south to Spain and Italy, avoiding Amsterdam raids. The war on drugs led to the loss of many valuable genetics, forcing specialists to seek new places to work. Brands like Hortilab were now based in Southern Europe, and their products became available in Dutch coffeeshops. Gordon notes that although progress in Amsterdam temporarily slowed, it opened opportunities for California’s medical cannabis scene, drawing attention to the industry’s development.
By the late ’90s, the cannabis world faced the so-called “Dutch decline.” Reduced imports of foreign genetics due to the loss of original material and clones left a gap in the market. But this became a golden era for Californian brands, among which Cali Connection stood out by offering the world true OG strains in seed form. These strains, including OG and Chem, launched a new wave in the American seed industry, becoming the main drivers of its development.
California quickly became the center of a new cultivation culture. The hybridization of OG and Purple within its borders led to strains from Oregon that, while not always frostier, stood out for their powerful effects and complex terpene profiles. This development highlighted how California’s influence spread far beyond the Pacific Northwest, enriching the market with new flavors and aromas.
Colin Gordon highlighted the new genetics’ superiority in yield, flavor, and potency alike. He said any combination of OG and Purple was simply incredible and advised beginner cultivators to start with these strains for guaranteed success. Although the new seeds might not have the stability of the old Dutch ones, they were no less productive, particularly when based on Dutch genetics.
The Dutch seeds of those times, being genuine landraces rather than diluted Afghani or Haze genetics, provided a reliable foundation for American hybrids. Comparing Californian and Dutch strains, Gordon claimed the Californian ones were two steps above, particularly highlighting famous strains like Mendocino and Chemdog. In his view, offering a broad audience this diversity would inevitably popularize the best strains, expanding users’ horizons and preferences.
Riding the medical wave
Because of a lack of local resources, most cannabis reaching Colorado came from California.
By 2009, the situation in Colorado began changing. Dispensaries expanded their selections and began selling cloned plants, which flew off the shelves instantly. Genetics growers had only heard about were now right around the corner. Bringing quality products to market made medical cannabis more accessible to a broad range of patients.
The next four years became a period of genetic takeoff for Colorado, as the best strains from Washington, Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts, and, of course, California enriched the local market. Local producers gained room to experiment and began testing hundreds of different mother plants, thanks to access to a broad selection of seeds and clones.
This period became key to the cannabis market’s expansion beginning in 2014. As the global seed market developed, the number of available strains grew significantly, allowing producers and breeders to take leading positions in the industry. Gordon and his colleagues began taking care to preserve their mother lines, including valuable strains such as Orange Herijuana and Super Skunk, still considered among the oldest and most valuable.
Big Jay
In 2014, Colin Gordon found his calling in hydroponics. He began working at Grow Big Supply. This place became a real school for him, where he learned everything about nutrients and methods of applying them that his plants needed to thrive. His time there revealed the secrets of plant nutrition, allowing him to master cultivation fundamentals at a new level.
It was during these years that Big Jay from Oklahoma entered his life. According to Gordon, he was a true farmer with extraordinary strength and the ability to handle any task. Their friendship proved fruitful: numerous conversations about growth hormones and methods of manipulating plant growth greatly expanded Gordon’s understanding of agronomy.
One day, arriving at the shop, Gordon found an unexpected surprise: a large cardboard box, quite worn and covered in dirt, with his name written on it in large letters. This gift from Big Jay expressed deep respect and recognition for his efforts and achievements in cultivation. The gesture strengthened their bond, underscoring the importance of sharing knowledge and supporting one another in the world of hydroponic agronomy.
Every step has its purpose
Colin sees every twist of fate as an important step toward a new chapter in his life rather than a failure. Before diving into hydroponics, he went through many trials. Despite every difficulty, Gordon stayed optimistic and believed in his future. “I had plans. It might take time, but I knew I’d become a key figure in this story,” he shared.
Receiving that cardboard box in the summer of 2014 became a defining event. This unexpected gift, described as “a ten-year supply of hormones,” opened new possibilities for Gordon. He began experimenting with plants, achieving incredible growth, for example increasing cannabis height to 1.5 meters in just three days. These studies laid the groundwork for a unique method of producing Feminized seeds are produced to give female plants. feminized seeds ↗ without heavy metals or male plants, which later defined his future direction.
Gordon thus showed that even life’s most difficult periods can lead to major discoveries and new beginnings, emphasizing persistence, self-belief, and willingness to accept fate’s challenges.
Knowledge and practice
Colin Gordon understood that creating seeds, a process requiring interaction between male and female plants, often faces the difficulty of establishing stable genetics. Studying manuals for Kentucky farmers, he came across information about “alpha females” and decided to apply this approach to obtaining feminized pollen. He discovered that such plants both grow much faster and can produce feminized seeds under the influence of gibberellic acid, which became a revolutionary discovery in breeding.
In April 2015, Gordon and his team decided to appear at the Cannabis Cup in Denver to promote their consulting company and sell seeds. He was filled with surprise and joy when he saw a huge line of people wanting to buy their genetics in front of their booth, demonstrating overwhelming interest. This became a turning point, showing that his work had exceeded expectations.
Recognizing that consulting is a limited business because of the fixed number of working hours, along with disappointment in clients who didn’t follow his recommendations, led Gordon to conclude that his true passion and future lay in producing and selling seeds. This Cup success was a clear sign that his path was to contribute to breeding and spreading quality genetics.
The beginning of Ethos
Ethos Genetics was born from both happy accidents and hard work, as well as close cooperation between friends. Colin Gordon joined childhood friends Anthony and Riley to lay the foundation for the future company. Ethos began in modest conditions, with just four lamps, but the team confidently explored pollination despite profitability problems. Gordon understood that the difficulty lay less in creating seeds than in selling them successfully.
By 2016, it was clear that the company’s future lay specifically in breeding. A decisive moment for Ethos was attending a cannabis exhibition in 2017, where Gordon and Riley went to promote their seeds. The Santa Rosa High Times Cannabis Cup marked the first major presentation of their products, helping them quickly find new markets and develop the company.
Participating in the Denver Cannabis Cup brought unexpected income and launched rapid sales growth. By September 2017, the company’s revenue had reached impressive figures, and January 2018 became a record month, with sales exceeding 100,000 dollars. Meeting Danny Danko and attention to Ethos genetics on Instagram further strengthened the company’s cannabis market position.
Ethos today
Today, Ethos Genetics is a large, dynamically developing business, embodying a success story born from Colin Gordon’s personal efforts and friendships with people close to him. Overcoming early difficulties and starting with just four lamps, the company grew into a professional team of around 20 people. Every team member makes a unique contribution. Riley, responsible for recruitment and training, built an outstanding group of specialists. Meanwhile, Anthony’s wife took on design and graphics, a vivid example of how mutual understanding and shared values can help a team work effectively.
Rethinking the initial sales difficulties and deciding to focus on seed breeding, Gordon became convinced that believing in yourself and your product is the key to success. This understanding came after the company participated in major exhibitions and cups where innovative Ethos strains were presented and drew broad public attention.
The Ethos founder sought to lift himself and his team out of financial difficulties, provide stability, and give them the tools needed for continued growth. Scaling production and opening their own warehouse were important development steps. Gordon decided to produce more seeds than could be sold and distribute them for free, aiming to create a secondary market through the Ethos Multipass system.
Cannabis ethics according to Gordon
Colin Gordon took on a mission to change the cannabis world, reflected even in his company’s name, Ethos Genetics. He criticizes the industry’s ethical standards, particularly pointing to problems with inflated prices and exclusive genetics. Gordon believes nobody should face barriers to entering cannabis cultivation because they lack access to quality genetics. This idea drove the effort to make Ethos Genetics products accessible to both commercial and private growers.
The best of the best
Gordon and his team thus create quality genetics and actively work to make the cannabis world more open and accessible to anyone wanting to participate in cultivation, emphasizing the importance of industry ethics. Let’s meet the top Ethos strains that touch growers’ hearts around the world.
Crescendo RBX1
Crescendo RBX1 is genetics you fall in love with. It’s the strain that makes growing enjoyable anywhere, whatever your preferred growing method.
Its complex flavor mixes sour and earthy notes with citrus and fizzy hints, a real celebration for your taste buds.
Mandarin Cookies V2
Mandarin Cookies is a classic from Ethos Genetics. Without doubt, one of this bank’s most celebrated genetics is Original Mandarin Cookies, a cross of the famous Girl Scout Cookies (Forum cut) and Mandarin Sunset. The strain stands out for its pronounced citrus aromas of mandarins and oranges.
It’s a fast-growing, productive strain from which it’s easy to select a mother plant.
OG Kush Auto: a pungent heavyweight
OG Kush Auto was created with the highest quality in mind. Having started this project in 2008, the dream finally came true: an A plant that starts flowering independently of the length of the day. autoflower ↗ as potent and complex in flavor as its In photoperiod plants, the change to flowering depends on the length of the day. photoperiod ↗ sisters.
An ethical approach
Bro, whether you’re just starting your growing journey or you’re already an old-timer, remember that continuous learning, exchanging experience, and seeking new discoveries are what move this industry forward. Ethos Genetics and Colin Gordon proved that even amid competition and various obstacles, you can both survive and thrive while staying true to your principles and goals.
Sources: publicly available publications about the company and the strain.
