Calen McNeil studied business at Camosun in 1990 and 1991 after returning from six months of karate training in Japan. He’s never had to look back.
“I took what I learned at Camosun and directly applied it to starting and maintaining my own businesses,” says McNeil.
You may have already tasted McNeil’s greasy accomplishments for yourself at Big Wheel Burger joint in Cook Street village, but his first restaurant venture involved Italian food, back in 1999 at Zambri’s. Since then he’s gone onward and upward as an entrepreneur, opening restaurants while also taking his part-time poker hobby all the way to winning the World Series poker bracelet.
However, McNeil’s beginnings weren’t so glamorous. He was once in a coma from a medical drug overdose while hospitalized and awoke completely paralyzed. McNeil was a black belt competing for the BC karate team at the time, and the paralysis left him unable to lift even his pinky fingers. It took unfathomable dedication and positivity to overcome his condition, and he attributes this, as well as his achievements in business, to his education at Camosun College.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without Camosun,” he says. “There’s no way I could’ve [been this successful] without my experience there. It’s where I learned how to do things myself and the discipline of responsibility and accountability.”
McNeil took a few years off after high school to find out what he wanted to do, and went from being a C student in high school to an A student in college. “The ability to take what I’ve learned and apply it in real life has allowed me to do what I’ve done, and I learned that at Camosun College,” he says.
He says his marketing and financial acumen all started with his education at Camosun. “I’ve needed the skills they taught me for pretty much every business I’ve done since. I still refer to my old economics text books sometimes.”
McNeil also believes that his studies at Camosun have been beneficial for more than just his work ethic. “I met a lot of really good friends at Camosun that I still stay in touch with; being connected to Victoria helped me understand how important community is,” he says.
Big Wheel Burger has developed into a sustainable and carbon-neutral restaurant, and has plans to grow into other locations. And part of that growth includes more Camosun connections.
“We have a lot of employees that are Camosun students,” says McNeil. “As someone who likes to hit the ground running, one of the reasons I decided to go to Camosun instead of UVic was because Camosun is a great way for someone who wants to bridge work and school, and still get real-world application to your education without taking a bunch of extra courses that you’re never going to use.”
He said that the courses he took at Camosun like managerial accounting were immediately applicable. “I used all those things from day one and I’ve never had to go back to school. That’s the beauty of Camosun.”
Although McNeil gives credit to his training in karate for much of his mental attitude, determination, and stubbornness in overcoming adversity, he claims that his International Marketing class at Camosun also provided the catalyst to facing failure.
“You hear ‘no’ a lot in business, from banks and partners alike,” he says. “Camosun prepared me for the workforce and for success in life.”
McNeil is most proud of helping his former employees go on to start their own businesses. “I think the biggest measure of success is happiness and I don’t put wealth ahead of my happiness,” he says. “My biggest priority is making my employees happy and making entrepreneurs out of them, too.”