Tyrel Waddell (@mudcvt) is a budtender and shift lead who supports day-to-day operations at Archive in Portland. A PNW native, he originally got his start in the Cannabis industry as an extraction tech processing concentrates. With a natural astuteness, Waddell absorbed knowledge from the role and was quickly promoted to lab manager, where he oversaw production until the coronavirus hit in 2020. In 2021, he took a chance at budtending and has been a frontline staff member at his dispensary ever since.
“I’m blessed and spoiled to be at Archive,” Waddell explained. “I have such a vast range of people coming in wanting the best of the best. Something we can all agree on is we are all here for Cannabis.”
Waddell loves the eclectic nature of Cannabis retail and helping the diverse customer base that visits his store. His passion for the plant is palpable, as is his immense thirst for knowledge of all things ganja related.
“I love getting to see the exploration of Cannabis from seed hunts to genetics to new SOPs for lab techniques,” he noted. “Anything that has to do with micro fine-tuning the plant to be its best — I absolutely nerd out on that.”
Wadell’s relationship with the plant runs deep, serving as a source of inspiration and medication. He has developed a pain management routine where he layers RSO and flower usage during the day, then finishes out the evening with hash.
“I have really bad stomach issues, body filled with hardware because I’ve broken it so many times,” he articulated. “It helps me mitigate the pain early before it ruins the rest of the day. … For me, it’s better than any kind of pill regimen or taking something along those lines.”
While Archive stands out as a staple in Waddell’s personal consumption preferences, he also enjoys the work of local Oregon producers like Livetia Farms, Brave Hearts and Echo Electuary.
“They have this unbelievable level of execution and passion for the plant. That separates anybody in this industry for me,” Waddell noted.
When he’s not at work, Waddell enjoys building Gunpla, or “Gundam” models, and watching movies with his girlfriend. On the weekends, they can be found exploring farmers markets for fresh, fun new ingredients.
“I’m a huge cook. When I wasn’t doing lab stuff, I was in a kitchen somewhere. I have cooking in my blood. Anytime that I’m not doing something Cannabis related, I’m probably thinking about cooking,” he said.
When asked what else he wanted Oregon Leaf readers to know, Waddell shared the following:
“I just want to give a shoutout to Adam at the grow, Commonwealth Seed Co. and definitely Mac,” he said, referring to Archive co-owners Adam Bush and Mac Laws. “They’ve given me a huge opportunity. It feels like I’m on the ground floor of something special that’s constantly turning and moving. I’ve met some of the coolest people I’ve ever met. They’re doing the hard work so people can enjoy very beautiful things. … It’s very cool to be part of this.”
