Latest news with #SleepCountryCanada
Toronto Star
28-07-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Sleep Country Canada co-founder opens up about crack addiction, toxic relationship with stripper
As Sleep Country Canada was becoming one of the country's most successful homegrown brands, one of its co-founders was in the fight for his life against crack cocaine addiction. After 26-years sober, and in the wake of Sleep Country's $1.7 billion acquisition by Fairfax Financial last year, co-founder and former chairman and CEO Gordon Lownds is ready to tell his story. His new memoir, 'Cracking Up' — which hits store shelves on Aug. 17 — shares the story of entrepreneurial success marred by addiction. The brutally honest tale takes readers from Lownds's his first foray into entrepreneurship as a teen at the CNE, to building one of the country's most successful retail brands, to the depths of Vancouver's infamous East Side, to a Toronto addiction treatment facility. 'When I went to treatment I thought I'd be there for a couple of weeks, get fixed up and be back to work,' Lownds says. 'The first day of treatment they said, 'based on your usage, you're going to be here for three months; you're a hard-core addict.''
Hamilton Spectator
28-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Sleep Country Canada co-founder opens up about crack addiction, toxic relationship with stripper
As Sleep Country Canada was becoming one of the country's most successful homegrown brands, one of its co-founders was in the fight for his life against crack cocaine addiction. After 26-years sober, and in the wake of Sleep Country's $1.7 billion acquisition by Fairfax Financial last year , co-founder and former chairman and CEO Gordon Lownds is ready to tell his story. His new memoir, 'Cracking Up' — which hits store shelves on Aug. 17 — shares the story of entrepreneurial success marred by addiction. The brutally honest tale takes readers from Lownds's his first foray into entrepreneurship as a teen at the CNE, to building one of the country's most successful retail brands, to the depths of Vancouver's infamous East Side, to a Toronto addiction treatment facility. 'When I went to treatment I thought I'd be there for a couple of weeks, get fixed up and be back to work,' Lownds says. 'The first day of treatment they said, 'based on your usage, you're going to be here for three months; you're a hard-core addict.'' In 1990 Lownds and a group of financial investors acquired Simmons Mattress Company alongside his business partner and the co-founder of Kenrick Capital, their boutique investment banking firm , Steve Gunn. Recognizing the lack of sleep-specific retail options , Lownds and Gunn co-founded Sleep Country Canada in 1994, recruiting Christine Magee to join them as a co-founder and the brand's public face. By 1998, Sleep Country Canada grew to more than 50 stores coast-to-coast . U nbeknownst to the other founders, Lownds was d eep in the throes of addiction, thanks to a toxic relationship with a Seattle-based stripper . Lownds had never been tempted by mind altering substances previously, suggesting he could count on his fingers the number of times he had been drunk. It wasn't until the addiction had progressed to include needles, after a near fatal overdoses and a brush with the law , that Lownds came clean to Gunn . 'I f the shoe was on the other foot, I probably would have ripped into him,' says Lownds, who retired in 2013 . Instead, Lownds's longtime friend and business partner did everything he could to get him the help he needed. 'H is reaction was a shock to me, and it was a very humbling experienc e,' he adds , fighting back tears. The Star recently spoke with Lownds from his home on Vancouver Island about the relationship between entrepreneurship and addiction, how he was able to manage a booming business with a debilitating drug habit, and why he's finally ready to share his story. I recently volunteered to review a book for a friend, and when the publisher found out who I was, they reached out and said, 'there must be a book in you.' I said, 'I wrote a book a long time ago as a cathartic exercise, but I put it on a shelf and never thought about publishing it.' She basically talked me into doing it. At the time, in 2002 , I was concerned about the collateral damage it might cause to Sleep Country, our partners, and my family. My daughter was 17 and I didn't want all that stuff out in public. About 25 years later, the potential for collateral damage is pretty much zero . Steve retired about five years ago, Christine has been Chairman of the Board for several years, and the company was sold in October. They have a new president, they're well established, and there isn't much I can say to hurt them. I spoke with Christine, Steve and my family to make sure they were OK with it. I also thought it might be helpful for people to understand that addiction can happen to anyone at any time. Absolutely. There is lots of research into entrepreneurs and mental health challenges. I was a workaholic at the time, but I never really thought about it like that. I guess for a workaholic work fills an emotional void, and a substance addiction does the same, so they very well could be linked, but it never occurred to me. E ntrepreneurs can sometimes believe they're invincible ; t hat was my mindset. I was able to cope with any problem in life, so it was inconceivable to me that trying cocaine might cause a problem. When I was 15, I went to the CNE to get a summer job, and I loved the energy and excitement, even though I was working 12-to-16-hour days. The next year one of the game operators got arrested and charged with cheating at the Calgary Stampede , and the company that runs the exhibition, Conklin Shows , asked me to run three games on my own. Benoît Robert's dream of an alternative to car ownership was born in the early '90s. I was in business at age 16, with lots of money at risk . In those three weeks in 1967, I made about $17,000. It was a great experience , and a great business education. I learned a lot about human nature, money, and greed. Then when I was 17 or 18, I hitchhike d across the United States. I left Toronto with $100, and I came back with $100, and in those nine months I never once slept outdoors. I decided that if the worst that could happen to me in life was washing dishes at a diner, which I did for a few weeks, I could live with that. I became fearless, and a lot of my early success in business was because I was willing to take a risk when most people wouldn't . Steve Gunn and I did a leveraged buyout of Simmons Mattress Company, so we understood the industry. Sleep Country came out of our frustration with the inability to increase market share volumes for Simmons because we were entirely dependent on department stores for distribution . T hey didn't do a great job marketing mattresses , so we came up with the idea of doing a specialty retail chain. Steve and I did a lot of research , and we ended up meeting with a company in Seattle called Sleep Country USA. W e gave them a carried interest in Sleep Country Canada so we could leverage their expertise and minimize our risk as startup founders . That company was founded by a husband and wife and one thing that really worked for them was using the wife as the public face, because 80 per cent of mattress decisions are made by women . Steve and I didn't want to be in the public eye anyway . We had been working with Christine Magee for a long time — she was a commercial banker for National Bank, who was a lender for a leveraged buyout we originated in 1989 — so she instantly popped into our minds. I remember sitting down with her for breakfast on Bay Street one morning and asking her, 'how would you like to be the mattress queen of Canada?' and the rest is history . I ended up getting involved with the ultimate femme fatale. Sleep Country USA introduced us to their marketing agency — they were the genius behind our jingle, 'why buy a mattress anywhere else?' — and I was going back and forth to meet them every few weeks in Seattle. That's where I met a stripper that I'd go hook up with when I was in town, and occasionally she'd come up to Vancouver where I was living for a weekend visit. Then one day she arrived with all her luggage, and her cat, and said 'I'm moving in.' I said, 'What? We haven't ' talked about this , ' and she said, 'let's just try it for a weekend.' ZenaTech CEO Shaun Passley says drone technology is 'something more sci-fi' these days being She overwhelmed me with attention, and I was working crazy hours anyway, so I thought maybe it would be OK. Then one day, two or three months later, I came home early, and she was messed up on cocaine and admitted to me that she had been a drug addict since she was 16. I tried to get her into treatment, but she kept giving it up. Finally, I said, 'I can't live with a drug addict, so you've got to go,' and she said , 'if you just try it once with me maybe you can empathize with how I feel, and how difficult it is to stop using.' I've known people who did cocaine and didn't have a problem, so I figured there was no downside. I didn't realize we were smoking crack , and I had an instantly positive reaction to it. F or a while we'd get high on Friday night and party all weekend, and then I'd go into work on Monday. Six months later , I was rarely showing up on Mondays, and realized I had a problem . I was a high functioning addict, but I was terrified that someone would find out. I was living a double life. O ther than the girlfriend and a few drug dealers, nobody knew. Since March of 1999. Entrepreneurs have a tendency to overlook signals that a normal person might pick up on , because we're so consumed with our business , so it's eas ier to fall into a toxic situation in our personal li ves. If you discover you're in a relationship with someone who has a drug problem, you need to understand you cannot help that person; they must be willing to save themselves, and if they're not, you need to get away from it.
Cision Canada
07-07-2025
- Health
- Cision Canada
Sleep Country Partners with Emmy Award Winner, Eugene Levy for its New Sleep Daddy Campaign
The brand encourages Canadians to get serious about their relationship with sleep TORONTO, July 7, 2025 /CNW/ - Sleep Country, Canada's leading specialty sleep retailer, is proud to launch a new campaign featuring Emmy Award Winner, Eugene Levy as Sleep Daddy, a charming and trustworthy figure that reminds Canadians to get serious about their relationship with sleep. The campaign will mark the first of many appearances by Sleep Daddy, who will pop up throughout the year to rally Canadians around improving their sleep habits. For over 30 years, Sleep Country has helped Canadians better understand the power of sleep. Yet many people still struggle to find balance between their demanding lives and the restful, restorative sleep they need. The campaign kicks off by exploring the ways in which we are terrible partners in our relationship with sleep, provoking viewers to renew that relationship and commit to prioritizing their sleep habits and sleep essentials. "As kids, our relationship with sleep was simpler. Our parents watched out for us and made sure we stuck to our bedtimes. As adults, no one tells us to put away our phones, turn off the TV, or quit snacking and go to bed. The campaign reminds Canadians that better sleep is possible when we prioritize our relationship with our beds," explains Nuno Bamberg, Senior Vice President, Brand & Marketing, Sleep Country Canada. "We're extremely proud to partner with Eugene Levy for this campaign, a Canadian icon who perfectly embodies our Sleep Daddy persona with his signature mix of charm and relatable humor. He delivers on the brand strategy in a hilarious and highly effective way." Canadians are in s earch of a better relationship with sleep. As uncovered through a national survey commissioned by Leger, Canadians relationship with sleep is rocky at best. Many know how important sleep is, and are aware their sleep is lacking, yet they still struggle to get a good night's rest. According to the study, only 16% of adults in the country said they have a "very good" relationship with sleep, while the majority report challenges due to low sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and knowingly neglecting rest despite knowing better. Key findings from the survey include: Approximately one quarter (26%) of Canadians report getting the recommended 7–8 hours of sleep per night, while almost 2 out of 3 (65%) get 6 hours or less. Almost 7 out of 10 Canadians (69%) wish they were getting better quality sleep. More than half (58%) say they knowingly get less rest than they need — highlighting a deep disconnect between awareness and behaviour. The most common impact of a bad night's sleep? More than 2 out of 3 Canadians (68%) report lower energy levels — a hidden drag on health, happiness, and productivity. "Sleep Country is committed to continuing to educate Canadians about the power of sleep. We understand there's no such thing as one-size-fits-all when it comes to sleep and that prioritizing our relationship with sleep can be challenging at the best of times. There are plenty of simple steps Canadians can take to get better sleep, and we are here to help. Our passion for better sleep starts with our Sleep Experts, who have helped millions of Canadians improve their sleep by listening to their needs and matching them to their perfect sleep solution," said Stewart Schaefer, President and CEO of Sleep Country Canada. The study on Canadians' relationship with sleep was conducted by Leger from June 20 to 22, 2025, which surveyed 1,619 Canadians aged 18+ years old. The margin of error is ±2.436%. To watch the new Sleep Daddy campaign featuring Eugene Levy, please visit About Sleep Country Sleep Country is Canada's leading specialty sleep retailer with a purpose to transform lives by awakening Canadians to the power of sleep. Sleep Country operates under the retailer banners; Sleep Country Canada, Dormez-vous, the rest, Endy, Silk & Snow, Hush and most recently acquired, Casper Canada. The Company has omnichannel and eCommerce operations, including 307 corporate-owned stores and 18 warehouses across Canada. Recognized as one of Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures in 2022 by Waterstone Human Capital and most trusted mattress retailer by Brandspark in 2025, Sleep Country is committed to building a company culture of inclusion and diversity where differences are embraced and valued. The Company actively invests in its sleep ecosystem, innovative products, world-class customer experience, communities and its people. For more information about Sleep Country, please visit
CTV News
19-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Sleep Country co-founder reveals crack cocaine addiction in candid memoir
In 1996, Canadian entrepreneur Gordon Lownds was in the midst of two of the most pivotal moments of his life: The launch of the uber-successful Sleep Country Canada business, and the beginnings of an all-consuming drug addiction. In Cracking Up, what Lownds describes as an 'unlikely addict's memoir,' the Toronto-born entrepreneur recounts his first ever experience with drugs aged 48, his quick descent into addiction and his subsequent recovery less than three years later. The memoir, written a year after recovery, differs from others in that Lownds' experience was as intense as it was brief. The addiction essentially lasted 1,000 days, he remarks, and had come after a lifetime abstaining from experimentation. 'I think I've been drunk like 10 times in my entire life, and I can remember each one of them,' he says from his home in Vancouver Island's Black Creek. 'Booze was never a big thing with me, and I'd seen people's lives get destroyed with drugs … and I just, I just never thought I would ever be in that situation.' Lownds recounts his first experience with drugs as one that had been suggested and then egged-on by his then-girlfriend Annabelle, an exotic dancer from the United States. Just two years short of turning 50, the businessman was at the pinnacle of his career in the midst of expanding Sleep Country Canada's four initial stores in Vancouver to include over a dozen more across the country. 'I was divorced. At the time, my family had moved back to Toronto. I was on my own in Vancouver. I got involved with a stripper from Seattle, which is obviously a bad decision,' he says. Lownds recalls how he let Annabelle move into his penthouse apartment, against his 'better judgment,' only to discover she had a hidden addiction to crack cocaine. One afternoon, after another row over her reluctance to complete the treatments Lownds had attempted to enroll her in, she requested he experience the drug to better empathize with her struggles. It was an 'ill-advised experiment' that saw him hooked on the substance within six months. Within the year, he was injecting the substance intravenously. 'It was a very rapid descent into the worst possible parts of an addiction,' he says. Lownds transformed from being a lofty businessman terrified of stepping foot in the Downtown Eastside to becoming someone embroiled in the scene to such an extent that sex workers and drug dealers were comrades. Now, he laughs, he could 'give tours' of the DTES. Throughout the three-year period of addiction, Lownds estimates he spent over $700,000 on cocaine and the associated lifestyle that comes with it. Yet he describes himself as a high-functioning addict, professing his addiction didn't impair his ability to drive the Sleep Country Canada business. 'From a business point of view, the world didn't know that I had a problem,' he says. Even in the midst of his recovery journey, spurred on by hitting 'rock bottom' via an overdose and an arrest two years in, he was able to create the successful hearing aid retailer Listen Up! Canada. 'The recovery probably took me 10 years to get back on my feet, and within three or four years of getting clean, I started that second company, so I was functioning well enough to do that,' he says. 'And that turned out quite well.' Lownds deters from the common tropes of addiction memoirs when he discusses his recovery. Instead of waxing lyrical about the treatment plans, he details the negativity that permeates the 12-step meetings and the tendencies attendees have to seek apologies for their past mistakes rather than genuine recovery. Such people are the reason why he abandoned meetings in favour of working with his own, personal psychiatrist, he says. The book is honest, brutally so, and Lownds describes his drug and sex escapades in such an expletive-laden manner that he feels obliged to chime in at certain points to directly address the reader – he doesn't 'want to offend,' he assures. When asked whether he is concerned over the potential shifting of his public image in light of the book's release, he seems unbothered. 'I've spent many, many years in business. I've made friends and I've made enemies, and I'm not particularly concerned about the people who might find this subject matter, or my story within that subject matter, offensive,' he says. Lownds' primary concern with exposing his experience so publicly was the effect it would have on the individuals who do matter – his daughter, his ex-wife, his business associates and close friends. It took time to 'fix those relationships,' and now that trust is regained, 25 years on, Lownds says he feels comfortable publishing his story in the hopes that it will help others. 'It's useful to share stories where some people have managed to conquer their demons and come out of it doing OK,' he said. 'It's basically to give a sense of hope and deliver the message that, no matter how messed up you are, how screwed up your life is, it's never too late to turn things around and fix things.'
