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Getting to Know Me
You are not the sum of your struggles. You are a symphony of survival, a crescendo of resilience, and the unwritten story of tomorrow.
- Lindsay Wincherauk
- Lindsay Wincherauk
Image above is AI generated.
At 65, Lindsay Wincherauk, De-Escalated a Threat at Starbucks. Twenty Days Later, He Was Fired.
What happened here raises a question larger than that of a single café or company: how much judgment we expect of frontline workers—and how quickly we punish them for using it.
Wincherauk documents life because experience taught him that if you don’t, it gets rewritten without you. He was born in 1960 into a system that valued silence over truth, and he grew up learning how to endure loss, illness, responsibility, and work that required judgment rather than permission. Over decades, Wincherauk buried parents, siblings, friends, and coworkers; survived a stroke, serious misdiagnoses, and life-saving surgery; and spent his working life managing people, crises, and consequences in real time. He learned how to de-escalate because escalation costs lives. He learned how to stay present because panic spreads faster than danger.
One month before turning sixty-four—after being promised by lawyers that they would take care of him, and after years of unemployment and hundreds of unanswered applications—he accepted an entry-level job as a barista. Starbucks found him. He was grateful. He showed up, connected with people, and kept others safe. When a repeat offender, under a court order, entered the café, Lindsay handled the situation calmly and without violence. A customer thanked him. Police confirmed he acted reasonably. One week earlier, he had filed an HR complaint expressing fear of retaliation and raising concerns about age discrimination and safety. One week later, Wincheauk’s income was terminated.
At age 65, this is life-threatening.
This is not a grievance. It is a record.
What happened here raises a question larger than that of a single café or company: how much judgment we expect of frontline workers—and how quickly we punish them for using it.
Wincherauk documents life because experience taught him that if you don’t, it gets rewritten without you. He was born in 1960 into a system that valued silence over truth, and he grew up learning how to endure loss, illness, responsibility, and work that required judgment rather than permission. Over decades, Wincherauk buried parents, siblings, friends, and coworkers; survived a stroke, serious misdiagnoses, and life-saving surgery; and spent his working life managing people, crises, and consequences in real time. He learned how to de-escalate because escalation costs lives. He learned how to stay present because panic spreads faster than danger.
One month before turning sixty-four—after being promised by lawyers that they would take care of him, and after years of unemployment and hundreds of unanswered applications—he accepted an entry-level job as a barista. Starbucks found him. He was grateful. He showed up, connected with people, and kept others safe. When a repeat offender, under a court order, entered the café, Lindsay handled the situation calmly and without violence. A customer thanked him. Police confirmed he acted reasonably. One week earlier, he had filed an HR complaint expressing fear of retaliation and raising concerns about age discrimination and safety. One week later, Wincheauk’s income was terminated.
At age 65, this is life-threatening.
This is not a grievance. It is a record.
Lindsay Wincherauk is a Vancouver-based author, essayist, and humorist known for his genre-defying meta-memoirs and social commentary. A nationally celebrated, record-holding quarterback who was permanently blind in one eye, he later worked as a Starbucks barista (was fired) before dedicating himself full-time to exploring themes of aging, survival, and exploitation.
1960
July 16
- Born in Beulah House (Edmonton, Alberta). A place where unwed mothers were sent to give birth to unwanted children. And if the child survived, they were later sold or adopted out. The religious-sanctioned home tried to fix the mother in order to make her marriage material. The child was never to be spoken of again. The shame of family, religion and community.
- Every week, Beulah House had baby sales.
- "Adopt-a-Baby" campaign advertisement appeared in the Edmonton Journal. Published under the Alberta government's Child Placement Officer, the ad displayed seven babies under the headline: "How about obtaining one of these as a Permanent Christmas Gift to Yourself?"
1962
- My cousin (so I was told), Alexandra Wiwcharak (a nurse), was murdered in Saskatoon. Allegedly by Colin Thatcher. The case is still unresolved.
- Johnny Cash wrote a song about her, "The Girl From Saskatoon."
1963
- Nobody wanted to buy or adopt me so, I was finally given a name.
1965
- Nobody bought me or adopted me, so when I was five (rumoured), my grandparents took me, and the family was asked to participate in a lie.
1972
- My father told me that our family is Romanian royalty. Never confirmed.
- Senior Sandlot baseball champion. Eastview Braves. All-Star second baseman.
1973
- Sandlot football champion.
1975
- Junior golf champion.
1977
- City and Provincial high school football champion. Evan Hardy Souls.
1978
- My father is afflicted with Cancer. 1,500 hospital visits to follow.
- Junior football, National Champion. Saskatoon Hilltops. (Later inducted into three sports halls of fame).
1979
- Longest touchdown pass in Canadian junior football history (Edmonton Wildcats – 108 yards).
1982
- The last pass thrown in University football (University of Saskatchewan Huskies) was a touchdown pass to Ron Deutscher (the only touchdown he scored in his five-year career).
1985
Red = Family
July 17
October
- The day after my twenty-fifth birthday, I watched my father take his last breath (after seven years and approximately 1,500 hospital visits). (1)
October
- My mother complains of stomach pains, goes to the doctors and is told it is all psychosomatic.
1987
January
December 12
- My mother’s stomach pains are so intense. She is diagnosed with stomach cancer. (300 more hospital visits).
December 12
- My mother died. Her last word to me was a whispered, “Goodbye.” (2)
1988-90
- Without a mother and a father, our family splinters. I’m left on my own to figure things out.
Feb 1990
- I moved to Vancouver.
- I attempt to buy a hotel (White Sands), "Irie Mon" in Negril, Jamaica.
- Go on a funding trip to Panama. Arrive during a military coup involving Manuel Noriega.
- The company I make a presentation in front of has ties to Noriega.
- I have had my eighth knee surgery.
1990-2003
- Family is gone. I’ve now been a best man 6 times.
- Ron Deutscher died while trying to save two boys from drowning. (3)
2003 (March 3-July 19)
• Relationship Ends.
• April 14: Uncle Roy dies. I spoke with him on the phone the day he died. (4) (3)
• My young friend, Brandon, commits suicide. (5)
• My aunt Priscilla calls me to tell me she might be dying.
• May 24: Priscilla dies. (6) (4)
• My oldest sister, Bernice, calls me to tell me my last remaining uncle, James, died. (7) (5)
• Relationship Ends.
• April 14: Uncle Roy dies. I spoke with him on the phone the day he died. (4) (3)
• My young friend, Brandon, commits suicide. (5)
• My aunt Priscilla calls me to tell me she might be dying.
• May 24: Priscilla dies. (6) (4)
• My oldest sister, Bernice, calls me to tell me my last remaining uncle, James, died. (7) (5)
The Core Secret: A Life Built on Deception
- The Sudden Discovery: At age 43, Wincherauk accidentally found out that the people who raised him were not his biological parents.
- The Deathbed Introduction: In 2016, he stood alongside his actual biological mother’s deathbed, essentially introducing himself to her for the first time while saying hello and goodbye simultaneously.
- The Birth Certificate Lie: He later tracked down the man listed as his birth father, only to discover via DNA testing a week later that his biological mother had lied on his birth registration. He still does not know who his biological father is.
July 19, 2003
- After trying to renew my passport, I discovered my parents I watched die, they weren’t my parents, and everyone in my family is not as they seem.
- I travel to Europe with my friend Dave.
- While I’m in Munich, Germany, I am informed of the identity of my birth mother and father. My mother is my oldest sister.
- My father, I don’t know. I need my family, but they have ostracised me.
The Darker Backstory: "Unfit Mothers"
- Shame and Secrecy: Wincherauk's birth took place in a hidden, religiously sanctioned facility where society and churches isolated women deemed "unfit for motherhood" to shield families from social shame.
- A Perilous Start: In these institutions, newborns were frequently sold or adopted out to farm families, meaning his entire early life was structured around hiding the truth of his survival and lineage.
- The Identity Crisis: Finding out his life was a "dark family secret" sent him into a psychological spiral to cobble together his true identity.
- Compounding Trauma: As he wrestled with this news and his sexuality, he simultaneously became a key witness in a violent gay-bashing incident (which resulted in a significant Hate Crime designation) and suffered a catastrophic stroke.
2006
November
- I meet my birth father for the first time. We do a DNA test.
- One week later, I called him to tell him he’s not my father and my birth mother had lied on my birth registration. (8) (6)
2009
March
- I witnessed my friend Ritchie (62 years old) being punched in the head. I stop the assaulter on the street – without escalation. The crime receives a hate-crime designation.
- In April, I spoke (alongside dignitaries) to 5,000 people at a rally condemning violence: “Enough is Enough.”
- The story goes viral.
- At the time, I’m running a labour agency, because this is a “HATE CRIME” — I face verbal taunts most days. I handle them with calm.
2015
January
- Ritchie dies. I had visited him 100s of times in the hospital and care facilities. (9)
2016
- Our new landlord is the Honourable Anthony Gubbay (Former Supreme Court Justice of Zimbabwe)
- Good Friday: My niece Allison dies (10) (7)
- June 21: A childhood best friend, Bernard, dies. (11)
- October 8: I meet my oldest sister as my mother for the first time. At the side of her deathbed.
- October 15: She died. The second time I watched my “mother” die. (12) (8)
- I still don’t know who my father is.
- December 21: My youngest sister (aunt) Beverly died. (13) (9)
2017
- Four of my workers at the labour agency died. (14-17)
- April: I’m diagnosed with Sarcoidosis – requiring monthly visits to a specialist.
2018
- Jan 5: I suffered a stroke.
- Feb 24: Close friend, Jeff V, died. (18)
- The labour agency owners keep asking me what I want my future with the company to be—and keep asking if I would like to run the Surrey Office? I repeatedly answered, “NO,” that the stress of the commute could kill me.
- May: It is confirmed that I have suffered a stroke. The neurologist says he can’t do anything for me.
- I’ve now been best man eight times.
2019
- Feb 16: My uncle, Gordon, died. (19) (10)
- June 1: Transferred to Surrey to run the office.
- November: Diagnosed with Alpha 1 deficiency. Life expectancy = my current age.
- December 12: My friend, Jason D, died. (20)
- Dec— the Labour Agency (TLC) has me start training Lito (my replacement).
2020
- January: The Alpha 1 was a misdiagnosis.
- March 2: Asked about career future?
- March 9: (Start of Covid): Told to train Lito quickly in case I am stricken with Covid.
- March 12: My fifteen-year tenure is terminated. Lito replaces me.
- July 16: Turned 60.
- August: A law firm tells me, “I have the truth on my side…” and they will secure a large settlement for what the labour agency did.
- September 29: I have life-saving surgery.
- October 15: My friend Scotty L Died. (21)
2021
- June 29: Legal deposition.
- July 16: turned 61.
- December 12: Last living sister (aunt), Sadie, died. (22) (11)
- December 17: Heart episode.
- December 24: CT scan.
- Scheduled for Heart MRI.
2022
- June 7: I now have a cardiologist.
- February: Heart MRI.
- March 25: Former GF, Danell, died. (23)
- Life savings disappearing. Law firm assures me I have nothing to worry about.
- April 1: Heart stress test.
- May: The Law Society of Alberta reached out to me. My mother had a small trust that would have to go to me as her only offspring.
- The executors of the will (family members) tried to get me to say “thanks” for them saying the trust should go to me.
- The Law Society told me the funds would be released in five days.
- November 1: Heart follow-up.
- I wrote six manuscripts. And have now reviewed over 250 books.
- I start applying for work.
2023
- May: The law firm that told me they’d take care of me tells me I should accept whatever offer my former employer makes. It turns out to be less than normal severance.
- May 5: Jim E, a childhood friend, died. Jim was two years younger than me. I’m looking for work. (24)
- July 16: I turn 63. I have now sent out over 300 job applications—no takers.
- November: My cardiologist says I no longer need him.
2024
- By March, I have sent out over 1,000 applications—no takers. Only one interview: to be a clipboard person on the street hassling passersby. In the interview, I’m told, “We normally hire high school students.”
- Jay films a TikTok of me pointing at the signs of the places that didn’t hire me.
- A Starbucks manager sees the video and reaches out. He offers me a job.
- I’m grateful.
- In my first weeks, a young supervisor tells me, the manager showed people the video and had them guess my age.
- In my first month, the oldest barista called me “Stupid” to a customer.
- In my first months, coworkers screamed my name, and supervisors started treating me like I was old and fragile.
- The Store Manager insisted I file an HR report against the coworker who told me I was stupid.
- I did, against my better judgment.
- The coworker started bullying me.
- I told the store manager the varied shift times were hard on me. He said, “A reason for hiring someone your age was that you’d be available at all times.”
- A coworker told Jay, the store manager, that he told her the reason he hired me was that I was “Old, white, and spoke perfect English.”
- Because the coworker who called me stupid was treating me poorly, the store manager tried to give me a book on how to remove drama from my life.
- I refused the book.
- The coworker who called me stupid began treating me like I was a disease.
2025
- Eventually, I started winning over my younger coworkers.
- June 26: My friend Larry Michael Flatman died. (25)
- September: I’m accused of whispering a profanity into the warming oven. I’m then, by the District Manager, read the anti-harassment and retaliation policy for something that never happened. I considered filing an HR report against him , but feared retaliation.
- October 10: A repeat offender under a court order enters the café. I de-escalate the incident without violence.
- October 22: The District Manager tells me I didn’t follow policy and would face Corrective Action or possibly termination.
- I filed an HR report.
- October 30: I’m fired. I filed a second HR report against the DM.
- I reached out to the Law Society of Alberta to inquire about the trust fund. They replied that I should contact the law firm handling the trust and stated that the release had been approved.
- November 27: The law firm told me the funds would be released by Christmas.
- December 23: My friend and brother at heart messages me to tell me his Mother died. (26)
- December 26: J’s Grandmother died. (27)
- December 27: J returns to Korea to memorialize his Grandmother
- December: An acquaintance, Scott Finch, died (Known for 20 years). (28)
2026
- The funds have not yet been released. My mother died almost ten years ago.
- January 15: “The Barista” is requested by a major talent agency.
- January 19-20: I was struck down by illness. Aggressive coughing. At least one thousand times. Sunday night, zero minutes of sleep. Level 9.5 pain: Head. Throat. Stomach. Chest. Blood leaked from my nasal passageway. One upchuck: Dark. Blood.
- March 11: 2G a dear friend died. (29)
- More than 400 book reviews (Thoughts on Books).
- July 15 (Booked to perform in the Comedy Underground)
- July 16 (Performing my 20th set at Trees Organic)
- Coming Soon: CAA Literary Agency signs me (The Barista). It is now written, so...
Lindsay Wincherauk has a staggering number of manuscripts and new books at various stages of production. He actively manages a sprawling “literary multiverse” with over 20 completed or near-completed manuscripts, mapping out a diverse slate of upcoming releases:
1. Temps (Social Commentary / Exposé)
The Stairs (Psychological Thriller)
Satire, Thrillers, and Autofiction
Wincherauk has teased several other distinct, genre-bending concepts on his production slate:
1. Temps (Social Commentary / Exposé)
- The Concept: Drawing heavily from his time running a labour agency (TLC), this powerful exposé is designed to humanize workers who feel invisible.
- The Core Theme: Subtitled “Hard Hats + Hard Drugs = Hard Life,” the book pulls back the curtain on the predatory practices of modern labour companies, which Wincherauk explicitly likens to modern-day economic slavery.
The Stairs (Psychological Thriller)
- The Concept: A surreal narrative about a man named Lindsay who gets corporate-fired at age 60.
- The Core Theme: The company uses the global pandemic as financial cover to replace him with a younger, cheaper employee. The book follows his nightly descents into realistic nightmares where he must literally slay past demons to survive.
Satire, Thrillers, and Autofiction
Wincherauk has teased several other distinct, genre-bending concepts on his production slate:
- The Barista: a darkly hilarious, surreal descent into corporate dehumanization and existential collapse. A sixty-four-year-old ex-executive-turned-barista unravels amid systemic cruelty, lost souls, and absurd attempts at justice, trying to salvage meaning, one bitter cup at a time.
- Abe: A psychological thriller exploring artificial intelligence and identity.
- Humans' Bistro: A twisted, dark-humour allegory told by a grandfather telling a bedtime story about consumption, extinction, and survival.
- Sparkly Pingle Ball: Season 1: An episodic, absurdist satirical narrative.
- I Think I Might Be Charlie Kaufman: A highly surreal, autobiographical satire that plays with meta-memoir tropes.
- I Am Not a Poet: A multi-volume series pushing the boundaries of traditional poetry by mixing heavy topics like war and global pandemics with dry comedy.
- +++++
Does Wincherauk Have a Bright Future?
Whether Wincherauk has a ‘bright’ future depends entirely on how you define success.
If measured by traditional wealth or mainstream corporate stability, his future is highly precarious. However, if measured by creative liberation, resilience, and cultural impact, his future is incredibly vibrant.
Is He an Inspiration?
Yes, Lindsay Wincherauk is a profound inspiration for resilience, empathy, and raw survival.
He stands as a testament to the fact that your beginnings, your age, or your employer do not define your value.
Lindsay Wincherauk, a prolific writer, resident storyteller, and member of the literary community, who, on the eve of turning 66, will be performing his first set at a comedy club. An inspiration for all—regardless of age.
Fired for acting human.
A voice that refuses to be erased.
Whether Wincherauk has a ‘bright’ future depends entirely on how you define success.
If measured by traditional wealth or mainstream corporate stability, his future is highly precarious. However, if measured by creative liberation, resilience, and cultural impact, his future is incredibly vibrant.
- The Precarious Side: Wincherauk openly shares on his Instagram that entering his mid-60s in an insecure working world is terrifying. He writes about the ‘existential dread’ of feeling like society is outgrowing older workers and replacing them with AI.
- The Triumphant Side: Creatively, he is unstoppable. He has built a dedicated community of over 60,000 social media followers. He is fiercely independent, writing relentlessly to leave behind a massive body of work. For a writer who values truth over ‘polite society’ metrics, his future is bright because he owns his voice completely.
Is He an Inspiration?
Yes, Lindsay Wincherauk is a profound inspiration for resilience, empathy, and raw survival.
- Defying Physical Limitations: He became a national championship-winning quarterback and a multi-hall-of-fame quarterback despite being permanently blind in one eye.
- Choosing Action Over Bystander Apathy: When he witnessed a horrific homophobic attack, he didn’t run away. He followed the attacker, detained him calmly (violence-free), and stood up in court to secure a historic legal victory for human rights.
- Refusing to Break: Despite surviving a catastrophic stroke, finding out his entire identity was a lie at age 43, being bullied, and facing corporate abandonment at 60, and a second time at 65, he has not turned bitter. Instead, he channels his trauma into comedy, storytelling, and an overarching mantra that ‘the most valuable part of life is the fabulous people we meet during our journeys.’
He stands as a testament to the fact that your beginnings, your age, or your employer do not define your value.
Lindsay Wincherauk, a prolific writer, resident storyteller, and member of the literary community, who, on the eve of turning 66, will be performing his first set at a comedy club. An inspiration for all—regardless of age.
Fired for acting human.
A voice that refuses to be erased.
This is the Life Starbucks Called Irrelevant
This is the person the Store Manager had young baristas try to guess his age.
He started the job as a punchline.
This is the person the Store Manager tried to give a book on removing drama from your life to.
This is the person the District Manager told, “Your age and experience are irrelevant.”
This is who Starbucks fired.
He started the job as a punchline.
This is the person the Store Manager tried to give a book on removing drama from your life to.
This is the person the District Manager told, “Your age and experience are irrelevant.”
This is who Starbucks fired.
29 People Died. 11 family members.
Since 2016
19 people I know have died. 5 family.
Since 2016
19 people I know have died. 5 family.
Human Rights Tribunal Filed
I've Worked As
Dishwasher + Gardiner + Waiter + Bartender + Hotel Manager + Coach + Bartender + Sales Representative + Shipper/Receiver + Hair Model + Bartender + Insurance Agent + DJ + Bartender + Landscaper + Opinion Editorialist (24 Hours Vancouver) + Telephone Solicitor + Construction Worker + Bar Manager + Core Sample Tester + Hair Product Huckster + Bouncer + Almost Nude Model + Movie/Television X-tra + Night Security + Human Resources Guru (Labour Pimp) + Event Planer + Editor + Humourist/Comic + Barista + Author…
| lindsay_wincherauk_cover_letter.pdf |
| lindsay_wincherauk_one_page_resume.pdf |
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Write. Read. Sing. Dance. Be Kind.
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