no 1 some guy on a hill in Jamaica
no 2 some guy on a hill in Colombia
no 3 some guy on a hill in Afghanistan
no 4 some guy on a hill in Holland
Huh?
No hills in Holland.
greetings
Hi all,
I can remember many years ago flipping through the pages of High Times and being taken in with the cannabis culture, the way it was presented in the magazine and in popular culture through Hollywood movies, music video's etc. Much the same as some of you out there today I suspect, its went on in one form or another since marijuana became a habitual hobby in mainstream underground culture.
After a decade of paying very close attention to way things are done in the industry, I can tell you that there is perception and then there is reality. Its easy to go suss through some authors top 10 list in a magazine publication, or spout of some names you've seen on the internet forum repeatedly in an attempt to name some safe attempts, but the reality is there are those who build the road and then those who walk on it. Sometimes the strollers get more credit than the men who actually built the road...
There are a small handful of lines which are the foundation for nearly the entire industry itself. These lines include Northern Lights, Skunk #1, Haze and a select group of Afghani/Hindu Kush plants. Some strains like NLxHaze have been pivotal in the creation of some of the most heralded lines of our times, and the breeding/selection work of those select varieties have laid the foundation for the industry as it is today.
But how many unnamed hero's weeded through those original big wig lines and further narrowed down the pool, selecting only the finest varieties and refining these small handful of lines to the point we are at today in cannabis cultivation? There are likely many unsung hero's who deserve mention, maybe more so than some of the talking heads mentioned in this thread? Perhaps many more?
One thing we know for sure is that Nevil essentially created the modern seed industry as it stands today, and its his work that has helped so many others build the industry from the point where he started in the '80s to a multi-million dollar industry for some today. His breeding on lines like Northern Lights, NLxHaze, SSH etc, etc. has to be credited.
Other lines which have been true pillars in the industry include White Widow, which is a line of course bred by our own Shantibaba. White Widow was one of the very few lines that turned a new leaf over for the industry, and has become as common today in the gene pool as any of the afore mentioned legendary pillar lines.
Skunk#1 is a line that really deserves as much credit as Northern Lights, NL x Hz or White Widow. While its origins are debated, it is widely believed Sam the Skunkman has a great deal to do with the line in one form, or another, and its a strain that simply can not be left out of any discussion about serious breeders in the cannabis industry today.
So we're looking at at least three men who are responsible for pillar lines, building blocks of the industry. Lines which are as common as a lighter or matches in any smoke shop from California to Holland.
1. Nevil
2. Shantibaba
3. Sam Skunkman
These three men can pretty much lay claim to having been responsible for a great deal of the foundational building blocks in the industry today, and I think a little more respect should be shown when mentioning random names with the likes of these gentlemen. Because there are those who walk on the road, and then there are those who built the road.
But the unsung hero has been weeding through these gentlemens work, selecting the best and continuing on for decades now. These lines have continued to narrow in scope through selection due to the efforts of the untold unsung hero's and they will always deserve mention right up there with the big boys. There have been guys behind the scenes working for companies like Dutch Passion, Sensi Seeds, The Flying Dutchmen etc. for years breeding, selecting, testing varieties who may not have a website, or internet breeders both, but who are just as responsible for getting us where we are today as anyone else.