I didn't realize how many people would see our show, love it, and reach out to tell us they've now bought their first lizard or snake.
From hobby to habitat
Greg West attributes his success to always putting the customer first, even when those customers are cold-blooded and fork-tongued. West is the founder of Cornel's World, North America's premier custom reptile cage builder, and the star of Scaled, an Animal Planet TV series.
After graduating from SAIT in 2000 (CVT '00), West got a job in civil engineering. When he realized it wasn't sparking joy, West shed that skin and turned what was once his hobby, building reptile habitats, into his career. "Now my work has gone beyond cool," he says. "I'm proud of what I've created as a business."
West admits there isn't a lot of real life in reality TV, but he convinced producers to include family ties in the show. Our favourite: Bella's Terrific Terrarium, a reptile clubhouse for a monkey-tailed skink. He also likes inspiring families to get into the world of reptiles and to embrace their loved ones' childhood fun.
"I didn't realize how many people would see our show, love it, and reach out to tell us they've now bought their first lizard or snake," West says. "My daughter Emma, now 13, was in the show's education segments, and being able to include family was really special."
Read the original feature in SAIT's LINK magazine: LINK spring 2019, page 44.
For the full story of the show, read the wild ride behind Scaled.
