Timothy Marshall

“A job is fleeting. A passion is forever.”

Lost A Job; Found My Passion and Purpose

Growing up I often felt lost. I lived with my grandmother in Trinidad and then moved to Tobago to live with my aunt. I felt loved but with the lack of connection with my parents, I never felt a sense of security, confidence, or belonging. The thing I remember the most about myself which is still true to this day is that my mind is always racing with a never-ending stream of new ideas.

I am a natural at all things creative and had an innate knack for technology. This led me to pursuing IT and Music in high school, followed by careers in IT, Sales, and Music. Until one day I decided to take a bartending job and fell in love with the art of blending a variety of drinks, ingredients, and aromas to craft unique drink creations. Seeing the pure joy and positive expressions on the faces of patrons after tasting one of my special drink inventions was all I needed to realize that the Art of Mixology was the ultimate expression of my creativity. And so, I became a professional drink mixologist, learning under some of the best in the business in Trinidad.

After working as a Mixologist for 3 years with one of the top bars in Tobago, along came the pandemic and SOE lockdown and with that went my main source of income. Like most everyone else I had to scrap and fight to make ends meet, eagerly awaiting the time when bars would reopen, allowing me to return to my bartending job. As things started to open back up, new bartending opportunities momentarily presented themselves, but in the end all opportunities dissipated, and I was left full of despair and self-doubt.

Having met one of the Founders of TPOT along my journey, TPOT showed up at the right time with their hands extended and with open hearts and together we laid out the vision for my passion project – Bago Butlers – my very own bartending service and training company.

I am excited to share that my Bago Butlers business was officially launched in November 2021 on the “Live With Jay B” Show, sponsored by Catch The Wave Solutions and The Pride of Tobago Foundation. We are offering a Virtual Basic Bartending Course for Beginners and also offering Bartending services for Safe Zone small group gatherings.

We are only just getting started, as we seek assistance with bar equipment and products and the online platform for our training programme.

Thank you, TPOT, for giving me hope and a hand-up to be able to see that my future lies within me!