When did you begin beekeeping?

I began beekeeping in Portland, Oregon in 2014. 

What got you into beekeeping?

In Portland, Oregon, there was a local beekeeping company called Bee Local run by Damian Magista and Ryan LeBrun. At the time, I was working as a chef at the Nines Hotel with a desire to establish beehives on the hotel roof, so I called them for help.  Damian and Ryan sensed that my interest went beyond just hiring them to set up hives.  Week after week, they would come to check the hives, and week after week they would loop me into doing different tasks.  

Before I knew it, I was holding frames, identifying queens, and asking a lot of questions.  By the next spring, I was at the beekeeping store buying my own hives and nucs. That season I started with four hives and enrolled in a beekeeping apprenticeship through Oregon State University. So, I blame it all on Damian and Ryan.