Hey, bro! Heard of the seed bank Brothers Grimm Seeds? At the center of this story is a nuclear engineer who became a legendary cannabis breeder: Rick Campanella, better known as MrSoul.
His journey is almost a Cinderella story, only in the cannabis world: from secret home experiments to worldwide fame, from being forced into the shadows to a triumphant return. Let’s follow this chronicle, full of unexpected turns, vivid details of the era, and human persistence.
Meet Rick “MrSoul” Campanella
Rick Campanella was born and raised in the US, and at first nothing suggested his future role in the cannabis industry.
A turning point came with a letter Rick sent to the famous Dutch seed bank Super Sativa Seed Club (SSSC) in 1987. Imagine: still a student, he was already officially distributing elite Dutch seeds across the States! This gave him access to rare genetic lines and a vast body of knowledge, accelerating his development as a breeder.
The Overgrow forum and the birth of the Brothers Grimm
In the mid-’90s, the internet brought cannabis enthusiasts scattered around the world together on the legendary Overgrow forum. Under the alias MrSoul, Rick actively shared his successes and discoveries there. It was on Overgrow that fate brought MrSoul together with like-minded people who played a huge role in his life.
He met another passionate breeder known as Sly, and they quickly connected over their love of genetics and experiments.
Riding this wave of enthusiasm, Soul and Sly decided to take a bold step: establish their own seed bank to give the world their exclusive strains. That’s how Brothers Grimm Seeds appeared in 1996, the cannabis world’s “Brothers Grimm,” named after the storytellers for a reason. A truly fairy-tale story of creating new strains lay ahead.
The Brothers Grimm gained fame as suppliers of incredibly stable, productive genetics. Their plants had short flowering periods, abundant resin, and exotic terpene profiles. In an era when feminized seeds were only gaining popularity, and many had problems with “herms,” that reputation was worth its weight in gold.
The Amsterdam spark: how Cinderella appeared
Every legend has a starting point. For Brothers Grimm, it was a chance discovery Rick made on a trip to Amsterdam. In 1997, or 1996 according to other accounts, MrSoul traveled through the Netherlands looking for new seeds and stopped at Sensi Smile, a coffeeshop belonging to the famous Sensi Seeds seed bank.
After buying some Jack Herer buds there, he was surprised to find several seeds in one of them.
Of course, preserving genes like that is every breeder’s dream. Rick set out to turn Princess into a full-fledged seed strain without losing her magical qualities.
That was the birth of Cinderella 99, a.k.a. “Cinderella 99.”
The story itself also inspired the new strain’s name.
MrSoul decided to play on that analogy, naming his masterpiece Cinderella, because the humble discovery’s journey to “royal” heights was obvious.
Beyond Cinderella 99, in those golden years the Brothers Grimm gave the world other masterpieces. According to legend, she was Princess’s “sister,” with special properties. Genius became a key part of creating the Apollo line, particularly the famous Apollo 13 hybrid, named after the space odyssey in which a bold experiment nearly became a catastrophe but ended in triumph.
There was also Café Girl, the third successful female from those Amsterdam seeds, which became the mother of Rosetta Stone, a hybrid based on Jack Herer and White Widow. All these names, Princess, Genius, and Café Girl, were essentially chance gifts from fate, found in a bag of Jack Herer.
It’s worth mentioning that Brothers Grimm’s fame spread beyond a narrow circle of forum members. By the late ‘90s, respected publications were talking about Cinderella and Apollo.
The Brothers Grimm’s genetics spread quickly around the world, and other breeders began using them to create new hybrids, many of which later won cup awards.
Dangerous times: into the shadows (2002)
But the fairy tale couldn’t last forever, at least in an era when cannabis remained illegal.
In 2002, MrSoul and Sly suddenly announced that the seed bank was closing. The official reason was security concerns. The environment was getting too “hot,” and Rick made the difficult decision to lie low.
He tried moving the business to Europe, relocating to Belgium in 2002, hoping to find refuge and start over, but in 2 years he never managed to establish a new base. Ultimately, MrSoul had to return to the US and completely leave his beloved craft for a time.
For the next decade, Rick lived like an ordinary person. He took another engineering job. Meanwhile, the cannabis industry wasn’t standing still: although federal prohibition remained in the US, individual states began moving toward legalization. Rick watched from the sidelines, wondering whether a chance would come to return to the scene legally.
The legend returns: Colorado calls
After a long 13 years, that chance finally came. For MrSoul, it was a sign from fate. In 2015, sensing change in the air, Rick packed his bags and headed for the wild west of the cannabis business, Colorado, with the clear intention of reviving his “Brothers Grimm.”
Old connections came to his aid. Duke, a big fan of Brothers Grimm genetics, eagerly agreed to become a partner in relaunching the legendary seed bank. Together, they founded a new legal venture, registered the company in Colorado, and began reviving what had been carefully hidden all those years. Though the original mother plants were gone, MrSoul had preserved a whole treasure trove of seeds and knowledge. There were enough genes to recreate the beloved Cinderella 99, Apollo, and other strains in a new century.
Recreating the old legends wasn’t easy. Rosetta Stone, for example, had to be remade: as MrSoul explained, the original parents, Café Girl and White Widow, were lost back in 2001, so modern Rosetta is Jack Herer × P75, a Princess-derived line, and the feminized version is Jack Herer × reversed Cinderella 99. Other projects were painstakingly restored in similar ways.
Brothers Grimm Seeds got a second wind, officially this time. After contributing to the relaunch, Duke Diamond eventually decided to branch off and develop his own projects, later creating Dominion Seed Co. MrSoul stayed at the helm of his own creation, bringing in a new team and his family.
A family business: MrsSoul and the Brothers Grimm team
In this new chapter, Rick was joined by people who helped take Brothers Grimm Seeds to an even higher level. His main ally became his wife, Laura Campanella, now known in the industry as MrsSoul. Before moving to Colorado, she had made a name for herself by founding Cannabis Oklahoma Magazine and actively promoting legalization and support for small producers.
Taking the helm of the revived “Brothers Grimm,” MrsSoul got to work with heart and energy. Her contribution was so tangible that Rick entrusted operational management to his wife: Laura became the company’s COO, chief operating officer, and in 2023 effectively took on the president’s responsibilities.
Marc “Marc Eden” Emmelmann also helps the Campanella family in the business, serving as Brothers Grimm’s vice president. Marc is responsible for brand development, marketing, and public relations.
The industry changed considerably during the forced break. Whereas Brothers Grimm had previously focused on classic regular seeds, in 2016 MrSoul began actively working with feminized seeds, trying to apply his high standards to them. Cinderella 99 Fem (XX), Rosetta Stone XX, and other all-female lines appeared. Rick had long avoided feminized seeds for fear of unpredictability, but new technologies allowed him to achieve nearly 100% stability and no “herms.” Brothers Grimm is now also known for its female seed stock, and MrSoul himself admits he’s very excited about progress in this direction.
In 2018, the US passed the so-called Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp and generally softened the federal attitude toward cannabis. This opened even more opportunities for companies like Brothers Grimm. By 2025, Brothers Grimm Seeds was more than a legend of the past: it was a modern boutique seed bank that remains independent, faithful to its traditions, and unafraid to experiment.
Significantly, in 2025 Laura Campanella officially became CEO of Brothers Grimm Seeds, the first woman to lead the company in its history. “Laura brings heart, talent, and incredible hard work to the company,” Rick said about his wife. “She’s not just the best candidate; she’s the only person who can carry this legacy forward.” This family partnership has proven brilliant: MrsSoul manages the processes and vision, MrSoul creates new genetics, and a team of dedicated colleagues stands beside them.
The story of Rick “MrSoul” Campanella and Brothers Grimm Seeds is a living chronicle of cannabis culture over the last three decades. It reflects an entire era: from enthusiasts’ illegal experiments in the ’80s, through the flourishing internet forums of the ’90s, to the dangers of the 2000s and, finally, revival in the legalization era.
It was for those gardening enthusiasts that MrSoul once risked everything, and for them that he returned when the time allowed.
He no longer needs to hide. On the contrary, he happily talks to fans at exhibitions, gives interviews, and shares experience.
Like a good fairy tale, it had trials, miraculous rescues, and its own happy ending, which, however, is only the beginning of new adventures.
Sources: publicly available publications about the company and the strain.