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Music was Chris Potter's first journey as a professional performer. In 1980, just before the start of the University of Western Ontario's football training camp, Chris told his parents he was quitting college to pursue a rock 'n roll career. "It came as kind of a shock to my folks," Chris admits to reporter Ian Gillespie in an 1988 interview. "I said, 'Mom, I'm going to do this and in five years I'm going to be the best lead singer in Canada.'" "Good luck. You'll starve," his mother reportedly told him before elaborating on the hardships he faced to succeed in the music world. But Chris was confident and determined. For three years Chris supported himself as lead singer and guitarist for a Loverboy-influenced rock 'n 'roll band called Licks. But it was a subsistence living, surviving on a Mr. Sub sandwich a day while ploughing profits back into equipment, crew and staging. It was also frustrating. Chris discovered not everyone in the band shared the same goals and dedication. In his interview with Craig Miller, Chris explains, "That was what I thought I was going to be -- a musician. But with acting I was only responsible for myself. And when I played with a band, we had five guys trying to make decisions. I found acting to be something I had more personal control with."
But before accepting the inevitable move to acting, Chris worked in a number of other jobs. At 18, oil was booming and Chris spent a summer working for Dome Petroleum in the Beaufort Sea, "as far north as you can get without sitting on a pole." The vast power and beauty of the Arctic Circle and harsh realities of survival made a lasting impact on him. After his sojourn in the frozen North, Chris sold cars and formed Frontier Productions with his brother. Frontier Productions organized the Sum Fun outdoor rock concerts around London. Eventually, he accepted a position selling health insurance for his father's firm, London Life.
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