For Maurice Wallace, bartending is equal parts showmanship, resilience, and heart. At 40, the Fort George native is now a fixture behind the counter at Margaritaville, Montego Bay, known for his broad grin, quick wit, and even quicker hands. Still the path to “startender”, his preferred title, was anything but straight.

“I grew up in a big family, six of us kids,” Maurice recalls. “My father was a farmer, my mother stayed home. We didn’t have plenty, but we had each other.” Those early days in the countryside shaped his outlook on work and life. Family meant everything, and the lessons learned from his parents’ perseverance set the foundation for his own.

Athletics was his early passion,  he ran track and field for Claude McKay High and represented Jamaica at the junior level. Track gave him not only discipline and focus, but a sense of pride. Still, dreams can shift. “I wanted to be a pilot, until I realized how high 35,000 feet really is! So I just decided that farming was in my blood, so that’s what I was going to do,” he shared. 

That moment of realization, high above the earth, grounded Maurice in more ways than one, steering him back to the land and then, eventually, in a new direction.

After high school, Maurice dabbled in agriculture, working as a demonstrator at Ebony Park. The work was honest and familiar, echoing his father’s footsteps, but there was an itch for something more. It was his brothers, both bartenders, who recognized his people skills. “They told me, “You’re more jovial than us, you belong behind a bar.’” Their encouragement planted the first seed of a new adventure.

Taking their advice to heart, Maurice took a porter job at Margaritaville, lugging ice and supporting bartenders. “I was strong from athletics. Some called me Hulk, some called me The Rock,” he says, flexing a smile. The transition was challenging, but his athletic strength and cheerful nature quickly made him a standout. Soon, he was mixing drinks—and mixing with people.

Maurice quickly discovered that the real skill of bartending was understanding people. “Bartending isn’t just pouring. You have to be a friend, a psychiatrist, sometimes a comedian.” Over time, he learned to read the room, knowing when a guest needed a listening ear, a laugh or simply good service and good company.

His journey hasn’t been without heartbreak. In 2015, Maurice lost his brother in a tragic accident. The pain of that loss cut deep, a wound that took years to heal. “That was the hardest time of my life. For years, I blamed myself. But I’ve learned you can’t outrun fate.” Through sorrow, Maurice found new strength and compassion, using his experiences to connect with others who were struggling in their own ways.

Perhaps that is also why, for Maurice, the work has never been something to approach casually. He takes pride in getting better at it, constantly sharpening his skills and setting a higher standard for himself. “I never call myself a bartender. I aim higher. I’m a startender. Always learning, always elevating.”

That determination has led him to pursue every opportunity to develop his craft, including the Desnoes & Geddes Foundation (D&G) Brewtender Programme. Supported by Red Stripe, the programme covers advanced beer service, responsible alcohol management and the art of creating memorable customer experiences, and has so far trained 140 bartenders since it’s inception last year.

Maurice credits the D&G Foundation’s investment in hospitality workers as a turning point in the industry. “Being part of the Brewtender programme made me realize how much opportunity there is in this field. It gave me the confidence to take my craft seriously, to see myself as an ambassador for Jamaica, not just someone behind the bar.” He remains grateful for every chance to train and grow, always seeking the next opportunity to elevate himself and those around him.

Looking ahead, Maurice hopes to open a bar of his own, taking what he has learned over the years and creating the kind of experience he believes Jamaica can offer. “I’ve seen bars in the US and Canada. I want to bring that level of service home.”

He also wants young people to see bartending as a profession they can take seriously and build a future in. “Not everyone’s going to be a doctor or lawyer. If you work hard and treat people right, bartending can take you far. Be confident, be conscious, always be learning.”

For Maurice, that last lesson may be the one that best captures his journey. From a young athlete in Fort George, to farming, to finding his place behind the bar in Montego Bay, he has never stopped learning or looking for the next opportunity to grow. And somewhere along the way, the young man who once said farming was in his blood found something else that felt much closer to his calling.