A Mentor’s Guide to the Best of the Best
Listen up, because we’re about to clear up a lot of the confusion floating around the community. If you walk into a garden today, you’ll see ten thousand different strain names, but if you strip away the flashy labels, you’ll find that a staggering majority of the world’s elite cannabis comes from the work of just a few dedicated purists.
As a mentor in this craft, I want you to understand why we give a standing ovation to Nevil Schoenmakers, Shantibaba, Todd McCormick, and Katsu Bluebird. These men didn’t just “breed” plants; they were the librarians who held onto the original mother plants and “liberated” clones through decades of prohibition.
The Era of Risk: Holding the Line in the Shadows
The younger generation of growers today lives in an era of “legal” seeds and flashy dispensaries, but they need to understand the era these legends lived through.
Generations of Sacrifice: These guys didn’t just hold onto these plants for a season; they held them for generations. We’re talking about 40+ years of keeping a mother plant alive in secret.
Risking Everything: In the '70s, '80s, and '90s, keeping these genetics wasn’t just a hobby—it was a high-stakes risk. These men lived under the constant threat of losing their homes, their families, and their freedom.
The Cost of Preservation: Many of them didn’t just risk jail; they actually went to jail. Nevil and others faced intense legal battles and spent time behind bars specifically because they refused to let these genetic lines fixzle out. Every time you pop a seed today, you are benefiting from the years of fear and sacrifice they endured to protect the “Best of the Best.”
The Architects: Nevil, Shanti, and Todd McCormick
Most of the legendary genetics from the '80s and '90s passed through the hands of these three.
The Sensi Role: While Sensi Seeds is a powerhouse today, it’s important to know that a huge part of their legendary catalog—including the Northern Lights and Skunk lines—was built directly on the library established by Nevil and refined by Shantibaba. Sensi acted as the vault, but the soul of those plants belongs to the men who did the work.
The Purest Guardian: Todd McCormick, a close friend to both Nevil and Shanti, has spent his life making sure these lines stayed pure. While others were chasing trends and making messy poly-hybrids, Todd stayed focused on lineage accountability. He ensured the “P1” (Parent 1) genetics didn’t get watered down.
The '84 UW Black: The First & Original Purple
Everyone is chasing “purple” these days, but most don’t know the history. The '84 UW Black (University of Washington) is the first and original purple strain.
The Liberation: Snuck out of a medical research lab in 1984, this wasn’t bred for “bag appeal”—it was bred for raw, medicinal “thump.”
The Original vs. The Interpretation: Most modern purples are just interpretations. We are going back to the source. In our garden, purple isn’t a trend; it’s a 40-year-old legacy of deep grape funk and rock-solid stability.
Why We Are Running the Originals Now
I’ll be honest with you: we’ve been pretty disappointed with some of the newer “hype” strains hitting the market lately. A lot of the newer stuff is flashy, but it lacks the vigor, the stability, and the heavy medicinal effect of the classics.
That is why a good majority of what we are running right now are these original strains. We are moving away from the diluted poly-hybrids and going back to the bedrock.
No Interpretations: When you get genetics from a custodian like Katsu Bluebird, you aren’t getting a “remix”—you’re getting a direct link to the original mother plant via verified clones and precise S1 projects.
The Bottom Line: Respect the Source
The confusion ends when you demand the source. Give a round of applause to Nevil, Shanti, and Todd McCormick for holding the line. We go back to these “old school” genetics because they are the purest genetics you can get. They have the soul and the power that modern crosses have lost.
Trace your lineage. Protect the mothers. Keep the fire pure.
That really hits home. It’s a sobering thought that while someone today might worry about a “bad harvest,” these guys were worrying about federal prison just to make sure we didn’t lose the '84 Black or the G13.
Do you appreciate that “prison-risk” history, or see it as just “cool stories” from back in the day? Let me know.
