Gav started working in Aberdeen institutions The College Bar & Babylon Nightclub 17 years ago as a glass collector and bar back, for “a couple of months” while he finished school to save some money for university.

5 years later, university fell by the wayside and Gav found himself in a management role, before moving to New Zealand to play rugby. 3 games into the season, his knee was wrecked and the sports career was over, but he took up a DM role in the Occidental Belgian Beer Café on Vulcan Lane which was at the time one of Auckland’s busiest bar and restaurants.

2 years later Gav moved on to the infamous, and now defunct, O’Carroll’s Irish Bar on Vulcan Lane for two years of utter chaos then headed back to Aberdeen and took over as GM of Korova Bar, Kitchen and Klub. He spent 5 years keeping the students and punks of Aberdeen entertained with one pound jagerbombs before moving on to a succession of award winning cocktail bars. Dusk, 99 Bar & Kitchen and finally Orchid – a mainstay of the top 50 bars in Britain since it’s opening.

Moving back to NZ to be with Laurel (his fiancée) and the rest of my family who live here, Gav took over as GM of Revelry in Ponsonby. That is where he first worked with Will – his right hand man at Beast and Butterflies. Looked after Auckland’s number 1 cocktail bar, Mea Culpa when the company took over operations, then left to come to M Social.

Gav has competed in many cocktail competitions, in particular Bacardi Legacy, Diageo World Class and DiSaronno Mixing Star.