Sometimes, the wildest empires start with a single moment of inspiration.
Henk de Vries never planned to become the godfather of Amsterdam’s cannabis culture, but something just clicked when his mates kept trying to buy his personal stash at a music festival in 1970.
Just picture it: a young Amsterdam guy, backpack full of weed, ready to share with friends at the Dutch Woodstock. Within hours, Henk accidentally invents The Bulldog, the world’s first coffeeshop empire.
What started as a random act at a festival turned into a movement that rattled laws, kicked off an industry, and proved that sometimes you need to break a few rules to write better ones.
This isn’t your average story about spreadsheets and stuffy boardrooms.
It’s about a guy who saw his neighbourhood falling apart, inherited a sex shop from his dad, and decided to toss the whole lot into the canal to build something totally new. From basement police raids to global fame, Henk’s story shows that the best businesses often start when someone just refuses to accept the status quo.
A Glimpse into Henk de Vries’ Early Days
Before he became Amsterdam’s cannabis pioneer, Henk lived the kind of life plenty of young Dutch guys knew in the 60s, stuck between tradition and rebellion, looking for something real in a world that just felt… flat…
Dreams in the Shadows of Amsterdam
The old Amsterdam streets promised different things back then. Henk wandered those cobblestones, watching tourists stumble past coffee shops that offered nothing more exciting than bitter espresso and stale pastries.
He’d inherited a sex shop from his dad, and the shop just sat there, collecting dust, like a relic of someone else’s ambitions.
So what the heck did he actually want? That question haunted him daily.
Most mornings looked the same. Check the shop, count the cash, and watch the neighbourhood slowly get swallowed by hard drugs and sketchy characters.
But Henk wasn’t just watching—he was studying. Every customer, every chat, every weird request taught him something new about what people actually craved. Spoiler: it wasn’t another sex tape or lube product, it was experiences.
Early Influences and Restless Curiosity
Then came 1970, and with it, everything changed. The Holland Pop Festival at Kralingsebos—think Dutch Woodstock—called his name.
He didn’t go to make money. He didn’t even have a plan.
He just wanted to be a good mate, bringing weed for friends. Cannabis packed in matchboxes, handed out with a grin. Simple, right?
But then, strangers started offering cash for his stash… Suddenly, Henk realised: if people were going to buy cannabis anyway, why not do it properly?
That festival planted a seed. Not just about weed, but about building places where people could hang out for real. Where community actually meant something.
A Life Between the Ordinary and the Unconventional
By 1974, Henk came back from Germany (unfortunately, imprisoned for trafficking cannabis across the border, spending around two years in jail) to find his old neighbourhood had changed. Hard drugs had moved in and stolen the soul of the place.
Suddenly, that old sex shop felt more like an opportunity than a burden.
One morning, Henk did something wild. He chucked the entire sex shop inventory into the canal. Every last item—splash. Gone.
The empty basement became his blank canvas for creating something Amsterdam had never seen: a living room for cannabis fans. A spot where neighbours could feel safe, and tourists could actually experience Dutch hospitality.
The police raids? Oh, they started right away. Henk promised visitors that if they got busted, they’d get their stuff replaced within thirty minutes. No joke.
Now that isn’t just customer service…it’s rebellion wrapped in hospitality.
Those days dodging cops, restocking inventory, and keeping his word weren’t glamorous. But they were real. Every tiny act of defiance built the foundation for a global cannabis empire.
The Spark: Planting the Seed for The Bulldog
So Henk started thinking…why should hard drugs get to tell the story of Amsterdam?
That question burned in his mind as he looked at his changing neighbourhood. Cannabis offered something softer—a way to connect, not isolate.
The law? Meh. Cannabis was illegal, sure, but watching his community fall apart felt worse. Henk figured sometimes you’ve got to break the old rules to make better ones.
He wanted to prove that cannabis culture could fit with community values. People could gather safely, without the violence that came with hard drugs.
Envisioning a Safe Haven Amidst Chaos
The idea came together: a living room for everyone. Neighbours, friends, curious tourists—they were all welcome. Everyone got a break from the harsh world outside those basement walls.
Henk’s “no hard drugs” rule was ironclad. That line in the sand would define The Bulldog Amsterdam for decades. He wanted a space where people could chill without fear, and where cannabis culture could grow into something real.
The basement setting felt perfect. Underground, hidden from the judgmental eyes above, but warm for anyone who found it. Like the best speakeasies, it thrived because it broke the rules.
Henk obsessed over every detail. The vibe, the people, the products—everything had to support his vision of community over profit. This was the start of a cultural revolution!
Battles, Beliefs, and Building the Bulldog Coffeeshop
Building the world’s first coffeeshop? Not just about business. It was about surviving a never-ending parade of police raids and sticking to a vision that most folks would’ve abandoned at the first sign of trouble.
The Struggles and Police Raids
The numbers are nuts: 1,000 police raids in the first year that the Bulldog Amsterdam opened. That’s almost three a day!!
Imagine this scene—your doors just opened, customers are lighting up, and boom—20 cops storm in. Again. For the fifth time today.
This wasn’t the chill Amsterdam we know now. Back in ’75, selling cannabis was illegal, and The Bulldog was operating in a very grey area.
But Henk and his crew? They didn’t fold. They invented their own warning system—when a raid was coming, staff would roll an orange down the serving hatch to tip off the basement dealers. Oranges became the unofficial mascot of resistance.
Don’t forget the legendary “stash stool”. If you sat on it, you were basically part of the covert operation, hiding Amsterdam’s cannabis history right under the cops’ noses.
Staying True to the Bulldog Amsterdam Vision
Through all the madness, Henk kept his eyes on the prize. Yes, he was selling cannabis, but he was also building a living room for the world.
The vision? Simple, but wild for the time: a place where anyone could walk in, buy good weed, and feel at home. No secret knocks, no sketchy backrooms, no nonsense.
When Harold Thornton (aka “Harold Kangaroo”) painted that psychedelic mural across the whole front, it was designed to be a declaration. This was the future – Different. Bold. Unapologetic.
The Bulldog turned into a beacon. Not just for the trippy art, but for what it stood for—freedom, authenticity, and the guts to do things differently.
Even as the police kept crashing the party, Henk made sure the place felt welcoming. Locals, tourists, artists, musicians—they all showed up. Every raid just made the community stronger.
Learning, Adapting, and Growing the Dream
Each raid taught them something. Every setback was a crash course in resilience and creativity.
Henk’s crew got sharper, faster, and smarter. Surviving became an art, and that art turned into a recipe for success.
The raids eventually slowed down, but The Bulldog’s legend only grew. What started as a tiny coffeeshop in the Red Light District was morphing into something huge.
Expansion just sort of happened: more locations, then hotels, bars, merch, energy drinks… and Bulldog Seeds let people everywhere get a taste of Amsterdam.
These days, The Bulldog Amsterdam is global, but No.90 is still the beating heart. Folks still line up outside that trippy mural, still sit on the old stools, still soak up what Henk started back in ’75.
Legacy, Lessons, and the Unfinished Road
Henk de Vries’ story is packed with lessons about authenticity, community, and the guts it takes to wander off the map, and what started as a single, slightly smoky room has now exploded into over 30 locations worldwide. Not bad for something that began with a few mismatched chairs and a dream!
But scaling up a vision like that? It’s not just about cranking out more shops on a conveyor belt. De Vries ran into the same headache every entrepreneur faces: how do you grow without losing your soul?
The Bulldog’s expansion meant walking a tightrope. Each new spot had to keep that OG vibe alive, but also play nice with local laws and customs.
De Vries set the rules:
- A Super Authentic atmosphere in every location
- Quality cannabis products sourced responsibly
- Welcoming environment for both locals and tourists
The brand basically became Amsterdam’s unofficial mascot. Tourists didn’t just pop in for a coffee—they soaked up a slice of Dutch cannabis culture that Henk had stitched together with care and a little bit of chaos.
The Bulldog Amsterdam – Giving Back and the Spirit of Community
Success didn’t just mean more locations and better snacks—it also meant responsibility. De Vries saw The Bulldog as more than a business; he wanted it to anchor the community in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.
He poured money into local projects and backed cannabis legalisation efforts all over Europe. De Vries knew his own wins depended on bigger social changes. If cannabis culture was going to stick around, it needed business folks who could also be activists—maybe even troublemakers, in the best sense.
The Bulldog chain threw community events and ran educational workshops. These weren’t just for show—they genuinely tried to get people talking about cannabis culture and how to use it responsibly.
De Vries didn’t hoard his secrets, either. He mentored other folks jumping into the cannabis game, sharing what he’d learned about dodging red tape and building something that lasts. He wasn’t afraid of a little competition—he just wanted the whole scene to grow up together.
Reflections on Courage and Possibility
Looking back, Henk de Vries’s story hits on some pretty fundamental truths about entrepreneurship. He jumped in before cannabis was cool, before “disruption” became a buzzword, and way before anyone had a playbook for what he was doing.
His courage wasn’t the loud, Hollywood kind. It was quiet, persistent grit—the kind that keeps you going when regulations shift, critics pile on, and the future looks like a foggy Amsterdam morning.
De Vries spotted a possibility where everyone else just saw headaches. Restrictive drug laws? He figured out how to work within them.
Social stigma? He chipped away at it by giving people consistently good experiences—nothing fancy, just reliable vibes.
The Bulldog’s founder showed that timing isn’t everything—vision matters more. He didn’t wait around for the stars to align. He just decided to make his own moment, powered by stubborn belief in his mission.
Honestly, his legacy is a reminder that powerful businesses often start with someone who just can’t stand the idea that things have to stay the same. Sometimes, you need one person with a dream willing to go first. Maybe that’s all it takes.
