Gordon Leathers?

What kind of a name is that?

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That's my real name and I believe it's and olde English trade name like Smith or Wright although Leathers is probably a retail name. I've heard that part of my family rose in Yorkshire and rumour has it that they worked with horses. These days, if you look for me on any of the major search engines you'll find a lot of other things (retail or otherwise) and I'm shocked. My name is Gordon although most people call me Gord. I'm a writer, with a peculiar specialty in science writing and experience in agricultural trade writing. That's all topped off with a bizarre background in theatre and music.

I've always been intrigued by the natural world and how it works. I find all mechanisms fascinating whether it's the workings of a steam locomotive or the interplay between species in a grassland ecosystem. After high school I went to the University of Winnipeg where I did a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology and Physical Geography. As a summer student I worked as an interpretive naturalist in the Whiteshell Provincial Park near the Manitoba/Ontario border. It was a wonderful place to spend a couple of summers.

I also played bass guitar in bar bands. The best year was my final year when I only needed one course to graduate. I took my one class in the morning, demonstrated geography labs in the afternoon and played bass for The Ministers Of Soul, a six piece R&B band, by night. The funniest thing was when any of my lab students wandered in to a bar to escape from school and found me playing in the band. At least they never caught me marking their labs there. I'm still playing bass and I've played in rock bands, Celtic bands and as a comedy duo with my brother Graham. Right now I split duties with Wanted Man a tribute to Johnny Cash and I'm playing for a classic rock band called Doghouse.

All good things must come to an end and my tenure at the University or Winnipeg ended when I graduated in 1984. At the time there wasn't much work to go around so I had to scramble for contract work. I first found work as a geological field assistant with the Manitoba Government where I was involved in a back country survey crew. We sampled old gold showings around Bissett, Manitoba. I spent another season with Noranda where I was sent to work in a drill camp north of Yellowknife.

I enjoyed working in the bush but it has its limitations. I decided to train for something that would keep me closer to home so at the age of 29 I returned to school and earned a diploma in Creative Communications at Red River College. Cre Comm, as we call it, is a journalism, PR or advertising program and the focus is on writing. I graduated in 1990 just in time for major cutbacks in the industry so I set myself up as a freelance writer. Since then I've covered issues dealing with environment and agriculture . I've also done private contracting to museums, corporations and government agencies.

In the mid '90s my brother Graham graduated from Creative Communications as well so he and I started writing and performing at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Over the next ten years we've traveled all over Western Canada on the Fringe Circuit. We're known for a wry, intellectual style reminiscent of the Cambridge Footlights out of England. We've been featured performers for CBC Radio's Madly Off In All Directions as well as News world's Live From Gazebo Park in Edmonton.