Pure Genius

Cory Dingle

Owner, Pure Pharmacy Health Centre

photo by Jaime Kowal

“It’s going to be the most beautiful pharmacy in the world,” says Cory Dingle of his brand-new baby, Pure Pharmacy. The beauty of the White Rock store extends from the lush cherry wood interior and Italian tiling, all the way to the pharmacy’s philosophy, which endeavours to change the face of medicine by housing MDs, naturopaths, nutritionists, herbalists, and pharmacists under one roof. It’s an innovative idea that reflects Cory’s creative past. A classically trained musician and former band manager, he is well versed in the arts scene, both from a performance and management stance. He has no qualms declaring, “Health is an art. My ability was always to marry art with business.”

Cory’s biggest inspiration: “Every customer that walks into my store is an inspiration. You don’t know how many times people have said, ‘I’ve had this problem for 10 years, you guys got me through it, and now I’m better.’ I think one of the first times that happened, I started weeping.”

On the challenges of using all-natural ingredients: “The challenge is that people are living outside a state of nature. When we heal them using natural products, they return to a natural state of being.”

Pure Pharmacy’s most sought-after item: “Knowledge.”

Cory’s hottest beauty secret: “Water and sleep.”

His biggest cosmetic pet peeve: “The irony that things meant to make people look better generally make them feel terrible.”

In his former life, he worked as... “Which life? I’ve had a few dreams of different ones.”

Cory wishes all 12-year-old girls realized that “they are the most powerful force of nature.”

—Jennifer Croll