Blog

I’m doing my best to stick to this weekly blog, but damn, this shit is hard! With work, bills, babies, and my own ADD pulling me in a million directions, sitting down and writing can feel impossible. But hey, I’m here! Look at me now, Ma!

So, where were we?

Oh yeah—the moment I realized cannabis was more than just a plant. It was medicine. It was community. It was a commodity that could be monetized. For a 19-year-old kid from a small town in Kentucky, who barely had a pot to piss in (as my brother-in-law likes to say), it became my way out. Out of small-town life. Out into the world—specifically Los Angeles. But let me tell you, that shit didn’t happen overnight.

The saying “it takes money to make money” is true, and at that point, I didn’t have any money to start with. I worked two jobs and tried to go to school. I say “tried” because college just wasn’t my thing. Neither of my parents went to college, so they didn’t know how to guide me through the process. All I could see were dollar signs I couldn’t afford, so I bailed. No classes, just the stress of being poor.

And let me tell you, being poor is a fear that still lingers. It gives me anxiety even now. As an entrepreneur who’s always been involved in cannabis, I’ve lost a lot of money over the years. But I keep pushing forward, always investing with a growth mindset. Live modestly, invest heavily—that’s been my mantra. For me, freedom isn’t about endless money or being the richest, most powerful prick around (insert your own idea of who that might be—I’ll leave mine unsaid).

Freedom is being able to paint, surf, and have income that gives my kids the ability to choose their own paths as they grow. None of this would be possible without my wife, my best friend. She’s the badass who keeps me going.

So yeah, school wasn’t my path, but learning? That’s a whole other story. I love learning—by doing. That’s always been my thing. And at 19, I was doing a lot of learning.

At the time, I was working at a restaurant and slinging boxes at UPS. Around then, I had a cousin who was selling small amounts of weed to friends in Lexington at the University of Kentucky. That’s when I bought my first ounce, broke it down into eighths, and sold it. That was my crash course in math: grams, eighths, quarters, half-pounds, pounds. (Fun fact: there are 454 grams in a pound, and if you’re using a gallon freezer or turkey bag, it’s about 467 grams on average.)

Of course, I didn’t start with pounds, and it took a while before I saw any real profit from selling weed—sorry, cannabis. It was just another hustle, and I was grinding hard. No real profits yet, just a lot of effort.

But that’s where my journey really began, learning how to hustle, adapt, and build.