Jimmy Darbyshire (born William Norman James Darbyshire – 11 June 1981) to the parents of Dr. James Darbyshire and Margaret (Micki) Darbyshire, is a notable figure in Vancouver, BC best known for his regular appearances on the Granville St bar scene. Also well known as the unofficial “Mayor of Osoyoos,” Jimmy is a fixture in the small town of Osoyoos, B.C., Canada in the summers where his family keeps their summer home. In some of his most public appearances, he appeared as the character “The Darby” in two flare bartending movies titled “Bottleslinging,” although both of these films had limited distribution. Jimmy may also be credited for bringing to life the term “getting awesome” as this has widely replaced the term “partying” among the Generation Yers.

Childhood:

Jimmy was raised just outside of Vancouver, in North Delta, B.C. by his parents Dr. Jim and Margaret (Micki) Darbyshire, and was the younger of two children. His sister, Christie (Darbyshire) King, is seven years his senior and continues to play a monumental role in his life. As a youth, he was active in archery, roller blading, swim team, and bowling. In 1988, Jimmy made it to the National Championship for Bowling in his age division in Winnipeg, AB. Although he didn’t take home the championship, it was perhaps one of the first indications that he was a strong athlete and would go on to do great things. At the age of 11, Jimmy took up football in his home town of North Delta, B.C. and his father took on the role as the Medical Trainer for the team. Attending Seaquam High School, Jimmy went on to play two years high school football and went on to make the B.C. Allstar team as a Tight End his Senior year.

Post Secondary Education:

Following high school, Jimmy enrolled at the University of British Columbia where he quickly became involved on campus. Joining the fraternity Beta Theta Pi, he was the social chair and a prominent member among collegians and alumni. He also walked-on to the UBC Thunderbirds football team but was sidelined after 1 season due to a groin injury. During his time at UBC, he could be found at the Beta house or frequenting the Pit Pub, the nightclub in the basement of the Student Union Building on campus. After two years at UBC, Jimmy moved to Edmonton, AB not only chasing a girl, but chasing a dream to play football once again. He enrolled at Edmonton’s Grant MacEwen University’s football team and completed his College degree with a B.A. in Business.

Dot.com era:

Following High School, Jimmy worked for his brother-in-law in the investment world, just in time for the dot.com bubble. His hard work afforded him the opportunity to drive his Chevy Corvette around Vancouver and earned him a small fortune totaling a quarter million dollars. The good times didn’t last too long as he lost his holdings when the dot-com bubble burst in the tech industry in 2001. Although Jimmy lost what was a small fortune for an 18 year old, this was his first taste of success as a young entrepreneur. Following this time, Jimmy worked odd jobs and owned a number of his own companies including an industrial power washing company known as Lakeshire Industries. Although this was not wildly successful, it allowed him and his business partner, Jordan, to "work" for a few hours in the morning and socialize in the evening.

Red Bull Soapbox Derby, Vancouver:

In 2008, Jimmy and a close childhood friend Wes Baker teamed up to take on the challenge of the Red Bull Soapbox race down 4th Ave in Vancouver, B.C. With nothing but their pride on the line, they spent much of the summer developing, building, and fine-tuning the task at hand. They were the perfect duo – as Wes had the engineering abilities to build the car and Jimmy had the creative vision of a “Top Gun” themed vehicle. After sacrificing their summer and more than 100 man hours devoted to building the best Soapbox Derby car, Wes and Jimmy raced their fighter pilot masterpiece down 4th Ave in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighborhood with the fastest time of the day, winning 1st prize overall in the tournament.

Work Experience

Following a two year stint as Night Manager at Cactus Club in Vancouver, BC, Jimmy went on to re-invent the Kings Head Inn on Yew Street as its General Manager.