William “Pineapple” Cassin

“My uncle told me if I wanted to travel, people have to eat and people love to drink, so learn to be a chef or a bartender and you can get work anywhere in the world.” This was all the advice Pineapple needed to start bartending at age 14 in his hometown of Werribee, Victoria in Australia. Since then he’s come a long way, and like many career bartenders with more than a decade behind the stick, is looking toward the next chapter, as well as ways to find a healthy mental and physical balance with what can be a stressful vocation. We sat down with Pineapple to get his thoughts on bartending and hospitality in today’s bar culture.