From Passion to Print: Dustin of Fat Nugs Magazine, Shares His Story

When Dustin Hoxworth, founder of Fat Nugs Magazine, sits down to chat, you can bet the air is rich with stories of cannabis, community, and culture. This latest episode features this trailblazer's journey from a childhood in a military family to spearheading a publication that's become the heartbeat of the cannabis community. Listen as we unravel Dustin's ethos behind Fat Nugs Magazine, a beacon for authenticity in an industry that sometimes grapples with integrity. This is not just about a magazine; it's about shaping a responsible image for cannabis enthusiasts and giving voice to the diversity within.

The term 'stoner' gets a makeover in our vibrant discussion around the dynamic personalities that make up the cannabis world. From high-flying athletes to the diligent home growers, we talk about the multifarious faces of cannabis. Fat Nugs Magazine stands as a testament to inclusion, with a mission to foster a sense of community and sharing that transcends the outdated stereotypes. Our conversation takes you through the pages of the magazine, where art and education intersect with heartfelt personal successes, demonstrating the true scope of cannabis culture.

We also glimpse into the future of Fat Nugs Magazine, as we dream big about establishing a physical space to channel our creativity and envision a subscriber community that's as passionate about cannabis as we are. This episode is not just a listen; it's an invitation to join a movement that celebrates the plant and its power to unite us all.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Welcome back, friends. It's your host, Marge, and I'm excited to present to you a conversation I had recently with CEO and founder and wearer of all the hats at Fat Nugs magazine, Dustin Hawksworth. Welcome to the Faces of Cannabis interview series, where we take a break from talking about edibles and focus on the people behind the plant, Whether it's fellow podcasters, bud tenders, gangiers, advocates, cultivators, cannabis lovers all have their stories to share and I want to share them with you. Greeting friends, welcome back to another fantastic episode of Bite Me. If you're just tuning in for the first time, I'm glad you found me and I'd love to hear how you discovered the show. If you've been around for a while, my heartfelt appreciation goes to you. It is not easy creating a show from scratch when you're competing against studios with famous names and huge budgets. But I'm not doing it to compete. I'm doing it because I love it and we're all united as people, as humans, who love edibles and cannabis in all its myriad forms. So, whether you love cannabis for pain relieving topicals or for mind mashing concentrates, there's something for everyone here.

Speaker 1: 1:19

Now I'm in Berlin, Germany, as this episode gets released, which has been super cool. Berlin is just a bit bigger than the city of 100,000, from which I hail, and the weather here in the last few days has been absolutely gorgeous. The flowering trees are starting to open up, the lilacs are blooming. You can smell the flowers in the air. It's so nice. Now I don't know if it's going to stay as warm as it has been the last few days, but I am going to enjoy it. And while this episode was actually recorded back home, it will be the first time I'm recording an intro since I've been away, so I hope it sounds as good as I think it does Now.

Speaker 1: 1:59

When I listened to this episode to prep the notes for the show, I was struck by how passionate Dustin is about what he's doing. The work that he's doing and I think that's what attracted me to him in the first place is the fact and the fact that he's a connector of people. We get into a number of topics in this episode. His first experiences with weed he probably started younger than you think. His first experiences with weed he probably started younger than you think. Celebrity culture what sets Fat Nugs magazine apart from other print publications, why he started a print publication where he's going with it, and so much more. And just so you know, his magazine is also available to read online if print isn't your thing.

Speaker 1: 2:43

This was a great conversation, so, without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Dustin of Fat Nugs Magazine. Oh, it didn't count down, but regardless, welcome everyone to Bite Me, the show about edibles. Today I have a special interview. This is a Faces of Cannabis interview and I'm joined today by Dustin of Fat Nugs Magazine. And, Dustin, could you introduce yourself to the listeners of Bite Me?

Speaker 2: 3:29

founder, creator, editor at large, art director, shipping guy, marketing person of Fat Nugs Magazine. We've been around doing this for, I guess, a little over two years now, and we have sort of developed a pretty cool community platform through Fat Nugs Magazine. So that's who I am.

Speaker 1: 3:44

Right, so you're wearing all of the hats, which has got to be really challenging, but I know, I know you do have some support. But before we get into, you know the experience of running a magazine that you've been doing for the last couple of years. Let's first talk about your first experience with weed, because obviously you wouldn't be running a magazine based on cannabis content if we weren't really into smoking, consuming cannabis.

Speaker 2: 4:06

Yeah, yeah for sure. Um, my well this. There's kind of two parts to this, because my my first experience with weed was when I was a very, very early child. Having a large military family, uh, really meant that we had a lot of PTSD in the family, a lot of aggression in the family. So weed was smoked from the earliest moments of my childhood. It was just around in my family. My uncles always smelled like it, my dad always smelled like it. That was just what it was. So that's really my first experience with it, and that lasted for a long time. I also lived with an indigenous stepfather who was a consumer, so it was just always around, no matter where I was in life.

Speaker 2: 4:50

And then, really my first experience with it, I think I was nine years old. My brother is six years older than me. He had a party at the house when my parents were out of town and I came back from like the roller skating rink with my friends and they, the house was so packed and the whole place was filled with with pot smoke, right With weed smoke, and I couldn't even get up to my room so they had to pass me up the stairs, like at a concert, uh, and while they were doing that they were like here kid hit this, hit the, you know, like doing the things you shouldn't do as kids but as teen, you know they're teenagers. So what do you expect? Teenagers are terrible people, to be honest with you. And then my real first experience of, you know, smoking on my own. I was probably around 16, um, maybe early 17 year old and then, you know, pretty much had a bag from from there, from there on.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Right, well, I guess I mean. That's how it's so interesting to talk to people about this, because my own childhood um, I wasn't nine when I first started smoking. That's pretty young, admittedly. And when you said teenagers are terrible, it made me think of myself, because I was an asshole teenager. For sure, most of us were, yeah, but I also came from a very religious upbringing. So there was, I did not have all the weed around me all the time. I definitely had to go out and find it myself. But I'm curious now how do you feel about edibles? Because, as somebody who runs an edibles podcast, I'm just curious about your opinion on edibles.

Speaker 2: 6:26

So I love edibles, and normalizing cannabis that way through food and beverage, I think, is super important first of all. But I'm a big edibles fan, especially when it's around normal food. It doesn't always have to be candy, it doesn't always have to be cupcakes or cookies or brownies. So I love I don't know, maybe an elevated experience when it comes to edibles. I guess you could say I will eat edibles, but admittedly they don't really affect me very well. I tend to have to eat a lot. 60 to 75 milligrams is not a big deal for me. I could probably eat 150 to 200 milligrams in a sitting at one time and be a normal functioning human being. That's sort of sad, and I end up also when I this is the bad thing about edibles for me when I try to take one for sleep and it's, I inevitably wake up in the middle of the night with a headache. I don't know why that is, so I just don't really eat them that often.

Speaker 1: 7:35

Right? So I'm assuming that it's not your preferred way to consume, and just so you know, there's no wrong answer to that question. Yes, I love edibles myself, but cannabis is so beautiful it can be enjoyed in many different ways, depending on what works best for you. So what is your favorite way to consume them?

Speaker 2: 7:53

Obviously, I don't know. I was smoking earlier. I like to smoke a joint, I love it, but honestly, dabbing has become more of a thing here lately because I have a new PAX, which is kind of cool, oh nice, I engraved Fat.

Speaker 2: 8:09

Nugs Magazine. Pax sent me a gift, just kind of a congratulations to launching Fat Nugs Magazine, and engraved a new PAX Plus with Fat Nugs Magazine. So I was like, oh my God, so I had to learn how to dab more often. I'm not a big concentrates person, but I have had more here lately, which is something different.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Right, I have a Pax 2. I happen to love it and that's an excellent gift to get, for sure. Yeah, Now I am curious what inspired the creation of Fat Nugs Magazine and what do you think sets it apart from other cannabis publications?

Speaker 2: 8:47

Oh, wow, we could be here all day with this question. Uh, so you know, I I've always been kind of a creative, silly, creative person, I guess. Um, I've written and released three albums on my own. I play a lot of different instruments, I do a little bit of painting, blah, blah, blah. So I'm always looking for sort of a creative dump, I guess you could say. And really, when I stepped into cannabis a few years ago, I noticed there were some things about some of the media that we have that just didn't feel right, I guess, and I saw some things that I didn't like and that really pushed me to create something different.

Speaker 2: 9:37

Now I would be lying if I said I went out to create a publication Absolute lie there. I would not be able to say that with a straight face. I was sitting on my couch one night, stoned, playing on my phone. Two weeks prior I'd created something that sort of raised hell in the industry and became kind of viral. And from that, after things calmed down, I said you know what? I want to do this on my own. I want to do this on a regular basis, but have it my own. So I was sitting around one night on my couch, like I said, stoned as normal, and creating just a cover on my phone using a few different apps that I used to create things, and it turned out to be the very first cover of Fat Nugs magazine and I posted it on a.

Speaker 2: 10:36

What was it? What do I call it? Fat Nugs Friday? It was a Friday and ever since then I've posted consistently every Friday call it Fat Nugs Friday whether it be a new cover, and these covers are not real magazines.

Speaker 2: 10:50

It didn't start out that way. It was just a way for me to create something fun, post it on LinkedIn and have a good conversation about it. That's it. That's what it was. It was to talk to my growing network in a much more, I guess, broad fashion, because there's a lot of stuff on LinkedIn, a lot of text. It's text heavy, so it's a lot of black and white. So when you put something artistic in cannabis on LinkedIn, people generally stop scrolling and at that point you have a chance to sort of share something cool with them a story or a headline or whatever and create conversation, and that's really how this started. So February 1st 2022 was right around the time that I posted the first one Fat Mugs Friday. Sometime during that week it was that Friday and then May 6th of that year was the very first edition that came out, and it was digital only so you started out on LinkedIn.

Speaker 1: 12:01

I find that really interesting because it's not like I'm on LinkedIn but it's not where I tend to post. Do you find you must find that LinkedIn is pretty cannabis friendly?

Speaker 2: 12:13

Oh, wow, yeah. So anyone who is in cannabis and is not on LinkedIn and using it regularly is absolutely missing out. So LinkedIn is the only real social media platform that we have where 98% of the things that we want to say about cannabis we can say and do and share without being scared of getting kicked off of the platform. We all know that Instagram and Facebook and well, meta in general, you know sort of sucks when it comes to cannabis. So LinkedIn is the place and that's where your CEOs, your vice presidents, your thought leaders, the people who hold the purse strings, the marketers, the creators around cannabis that's where they are. So building this on LinkedIn means it's an industry publication made for consumers, knowing that consumers make up our industry. So what I'm doing is making sure that every single little move that I make with this publication is 100% transparent within the industry. It's creating a community platform. People get to see it on a daily basis and watch how it's developed from scratch, from what it was as a fake publication, so to speak, with just a cover, to now having over 3,000 copies sell out every single time that we put out an edition. So that's what's going on here, and LinkedIn is the driver of that. That is really how I've built this thing and it's because of the eyeballs of the CEOs, the thought leaders, the vice presidents, all of those people. They are the ones that are seeing this, so they want to be a part of it because they see the authentic part that we're doing within the space.

Speaker 2: 14:00

We're uplifting, we're positive, we're always pushing positive stuff about the plant and when you do that on LinkedIn, people love that stuff.

Speaker 2: 14:09

People think that a lot of negative shit on social media garners attention. I am the complete opposite of that. I don't believe that negative is good in any way, shape or form around this plant period. So I don't fucking touch it, and if I do, that usually means I'm also offering up an alternative, so that maybe this is how we could do it a little better, something along those lines, so that we at least ended on a positive note. So it's extremely positive and uplifting and helpful and supportive, and all of that on LinkedIn is transparent, and so you get to build a community with like-minded people who love the plant, who enjoy timely, relevant content around cannabis and they get to be a part of it because, guess what, it doesn't cost you $2,500 to get an article done here, right, and we don't do the whole pay to play bullshit. So it's authentic journalism, storytelling and badass art, and doing it on LinkedIn has been the greatest move I could have ever done with this magazine.

Speaker 1: 15:15

Huh, that's really interesting because, as someone who is currently shadow banned once again on Instagram, I should probably be looking into that a lot more. And I do have a LinkedIn platform and followers and stuff, but it's really refreshing. And I do have a LinkedIn platform and you know, followers and stuff, but it's really refreshing to hear that there is a social platform out there that will embrace cannabis content instead of punish the the content creators for it. So, and I do really like your approach to positivity as opposed to negativity, because we get enough of that shit. You can get it everywhere, you can get that anywhere and it's not only yeah, and it's not only in cannabis.

Speaker 2: 15:48

You just step outside of cannabis and mainstream media is fucking negative. You can go and you can see some of the coolest, most inspirational stuff on social media. Go into the comments and half the comments are garbage and I'm like I don't want to be those people. You know. I want to be somebody who folks actually want to have a good time with. You know, fuck off with the negative stuff. I just don't do it.

Speaker 2: 16:11

It's not worth my time and, by the way, the main reason behind that is because how cannabis has affected my life, what it's been to me and my family, or my family and I, my family and me. It's also provided a way for me to pay for my college education by running pounds from Atlanta, georgia, down to Georgia Southern University for years in the nineties to help me pay for school. It afforded health, so to speak, to people in my family who had massive PTSD issues and still do to this day. My family has been plagued with suicide and violence and all kinds of crazy shit because of the stuff we've gone through. Weed cannabis is the only thing that has ever really worked to make people calm in my family, to allow a sense of normalcy, so to speak. So the only way that I look at cannabis is in a positive light. So if I didn't share it that way, I would be inauthentic to myself and I would be pissing on my fucking family, and I won't do that. So that's why you get the positive stuff from me.

Speaker 1: 17:25

Yeah, I love that. Now, fat Nugs Magazine how do you approach cannabis culture and lifestyle content differently? And so, and do you hope? What do you hope readers take away from each issue?

Speaker 2: 17:39

It's a good question. So I think there's a lot of stuff that differentiates us here. I think one of the things that we're able to do is talk to people outside of this industry. So we're known as a global perspective of cannabis and stoner culture, as a bridge to the rest of the world, and what that means is I can talk to people like you and I all day long about cannabis, science, education, fun, silly, um, edibles, blah, blah, blah. We can talk about weed all day long, right Through this magazine, this publication and media company that we are. We can do that very easily. That's who we are.

Speaker 2: 18:12

But one of the things that we're able to do is speak to people outside of this industry that don't understand that there's a community and culture connected to this plant. And the reason we're able to do that is because we understand science and education are extremely important when it comes to cannabis. But what's more important is making that science and education personal, because you want to tell stories, right? You want to-old grandmother who sits in her rocking chair and smokes a fat-ass blunt because of a rheumatoid arthritis. When we share those stories with people outside of this industry and don't understand that there's a community and culture connected to this plant. What we're doing is the number one thing we are meant to do in this industry and here is our number one goal, which is to uplift the plant into its rightful place in the society. Period, that's what we do. So we tell those stories in a positive way, pull people into the plant, uplift the plant. We get everybody connected to it. They understand it from a health perspective. It's not just something to get stoned with. You know, we sort of elevate the conversation, we make it okay, all of that kind of stuff right. That is important work to do for normalization. So that is an important approach that we do.

Speaker 2: 19:31

And I think one thing that can differentiate us in this space. Other stuff like I refuse to work with anyone who has ever lobbied against homegrown caregiver rights. If I did again, I would be spitting on my family and what that effectively means. And not to call out anybody's companies or and you know in a negative fashion. But it's my choice to not work with companies who are lobbying for things that destroy the industry, that destroy small businesses, that lock out people from getting licenses from the state of Florida, right, those types of companies. So we don't really do corporate cannabis. We don't take money from those companies, we don't ask for anything from those companies and we don't want them here, honestly. So that's another thing that differentiates us in this space. I say no. Another thing that differentiates us is I don't have a board to answer to. We are an ICP Independent Cannabis Publication and Media Company. What that means is we have no backers, no investors, no one telling us what we can and can't do, what we can and can't say and when we can do all of that stuff right. So I get to do what I want to do and what my team wants to do, and usually that means we're serving the plant first and we're uplifting everyone else around that, and that's what we're doing here. So that's also something that is making us different in this space. That's what we're doing here. So that's also something that is making us different in this space.

Speaker 2: 21:07

I can go on and on if you want me to. Is it the art? Probably. Is it the fact that I don't really put people on this fucking cover of the magazine? Probably another one. And you can't come here and bully us. We don't do the pay to play nonsense. You can't come here and say here's $5,000. Let me get my CEO an advertorial or whatever a story inside your magazine. Or here's 20 Gs, let me get my CEO on the front cover. It's never going corporate nonsense. It's not about pay to play bullshit. It's not about supporting people that do terrible things through lobbying. We don't do any of that stuff. Now, I don't know if that makes us different than everyone else, but I tend to think it does. So there you go. There's another one.

Speaker 1: 22:02

I do tend to think it. Those too. Yeah, Because honestly-.

Speaker 2: 22:05

So here's another thing. Here's another big one. So my team is essentially and myself we've all been volunteers for the past two years for the most part, and what that means is for about two months every 10 weeks or so is when we release a new edition. For two plus months we work for free. None of us get a fucking thing around here and we just want to support and do the right thing and tell stories and create stuff and have fun. That's what we do here, and then once we go to print if and when we get to go to print, if we have anything left over from our advertisers that's what the team gets to split. So think about that. Think about what we're actually doing here and why we're able to do that. The only reason is because we have selfless people on this team that just want to see the right thing done in this space and uplift things all over the place period. There's another differentiator. There you go.

Speaker 1: 23:02

So, basically, the people on your team, yourself included, are earning money from the actual sales of the magazine and not from advertising specifically, like most publications.

Speaker 2: 23:16

So actually it's both. So advertising is what allows us to go to print and then, if we have anything left over from that from our advertisers, that's what we all get paid from. And then on the backend, as our distribution grows, yes, that also pays us. So it's just a slow grind, Because when you're not doing the pay to play stuff, when you're not charging someone $2,500 for an article and think about it I have 10 articles in this thing. That's what 25 Gs that I would be sitting on just for writing articles.

Speaker 2: 23:50

If that was the case, we don't do that stuff, so we have to do it in a way that we have to go ROI, no shit. And we do that in very different ways as well. Here's another differentiator for you I do something called media blitzes for everyone that advertises with us. No other publication and media company does this. I don't think they can do it in this space team. Once we go to print and once we release this edition digitally, we then take those advertisers and we start to push them all together as a team on our socials their advertisement specifically from that particular edition, and what that does is create a wall of information that you cannot get around If you are in the industry, you're going to see Fat Mugs Magazine stuff period.

Speaker 2: 24:44

We do that on purpose. It serves our clients, it serves our writers, it serves the people who are enjoying the magazine period. So we're doing things here very different in every single way. None of it is pushed by cash at all. It's all desire, passion, love, acceptance, normalization, all of that kind of shit. Sorry, I keep banging my desk. You know, all of that stuff I get a little passionate yeah you're excited, that's okay.

Speaker 2: 25:15

Yeah, I apologize, anyway. So a lot, I can keep going on the different stuff.

Speaker 1: 25:20

Well, and you said so many things there. But one thing I really like about what you're talking about is that, essentially because of the way you're doing things, you can have, you know, small business alongside home growers, alongside edibles companies and people who are making them themselves, and like they can all sort of be together, because I find in a lot of spaces it's either it's legacy or legal or it's's, or it's buying from a legal dispensary or it's growing your own, and there isn't really a place for both of those things, even though there's room for both.

Speaker 2: 25:54

So yeah, that's a, and that would be really stupid to do, because the industry is made up of all of that. Yeah, right, yeah absolutely, If you're, if you either be inclusive or don't be here, right, that's kind of I don't. It doesn't make sense to me otherwise. So yeah, absolutely. We include everyone from small business owners to relatively large business owners.

Speaker 1: 26:17

Um you can also be there with the, with the person who's growing their own weed in their backyard too.

Speaker 2: 26:24

Exactly, bingo, the home grower right, we have a homegrown series here with Jim Barry. We always do a food and beverage here. Always, in every single edition, we feature, you know, not only a chef or a infusionist or whatever they are called these days, but also a recipe. And you know, I think it's important to be able to mash all that cool stuff, cannabis stuff, together, because we get to again, we just we show it in a really cool, positive light that maybe a lot of people aren't used to seeing. Um, especially when you do combine all of this stuff and you wrap it up into a nice little bow with some art, it's just appealing, I believe, and I think it's something that does hold your attention and I think that's important. So when you mash all these things together, there's something for everyone. But when it comes to cannabis, a lot of us touch a lot of different parts of cannabis, so it's more than just one thing in there that's going to be appealing to you. I promise You're going to want to know about the home grower, right?

Speaker 2: 27:35

You're going to want to read who that chef is or that infusionist is and what they're cooking. It's just how it is. You're going to want to read the interviews with all of the sports stars that we have in this upcoming edition that we're building right now. So I think it's important to be able to mash all those things together when it comes to cannabis. So, yep, you're spot on.

Speaker 1: 27:58

Yeah, I totally agree. Now, you also touched on something earlier about how a lot of people don't know about cannabis culture and community outside of the industry, outside of the cannabis space, and I think a lot of people do know that there's a culture around it, but unfortunately it's really narrow and it's typically that lazy stoner stereotype that refuses to die or it's going to take a while for it to die. So can you talk a little bit about how the magazine is breaking stereotypes and challenging those stigmas and introducing you already touched on how you're introducing, you know, the culture around cannabis, which is very it's varied, it's a myriad of things, it's not just one thing.

Speaker 2: 28:38

Well, it's, it's, it's comes down to one word normalization. So everything is done because, and for normalization here, um, you know that uplifting of the plant, you have to normalize it. So it means from, um, you know mothers who may possibly be pregnant consuming cannabis, right, and what those conversations are like to people who are blowing their own glass and all of that kind of stuff, um, to you know the, the dad who takes, uh, a CBD, cbg, cbn tincture every night, uh, to help his arthritis, or you know all of those types of things. You know it's, it's all just about normalization. I mean, I don't think it's difficult to be able to do that, right, we own that shit. So that's something we do here is, we own that word and we own it proudly because, just speaking about myself, not only have I written and released three albums on my own, I graduated college, I played college volleyball, I've done a lot of things in my life period being completely baked I'm not kidding Things in my life period being completely baked, I'm not kidding, and there are millions of us that are that way.

Speaker 2: 30:24

So owning that word, that stigma, is extremely important to be able to break it, to punch it in its face. Because when you see a dude who is stoned, or when you talk to an NBA player who is a stoner and they are everywhere in professional sports. I promise you, when you see the level of skill that these people possess men and women both it should tell you that your stigma or your thought or your narrow view that you spoke about is absolutely fucking wrong. I mean it. And if it doesn't tell you that, then you're a close-minded buffoon and that's on you. It's not anybody else's fault that you don't have the capability of capability of of thought. So there are plenty of instances of normalization of cannabis consumption through the highest levels of skilled people in this world and have been doing it for many, many decades at this point. So we do and push and say and um all of those things on a regular basis to bring about normalization and really again punch that stigma nonsense in its face as much as we can.

Speaker 1: 31:35

Right, and I do like that. You're talking about owning the word stoner, although I I think that there's also people who are just coming in and dipping their toes in. You know, maybe, like you said, it's the, it's the grandma who's using a topical just to, like you know, manage her arthritis in her hands or whatever, and she may not see herself as a stoner, but once she sort of realizes how this, how this thing can help her, she doesn't necessarily have to get stoned to do it, but you know, there's so many ways that it can help people and uh, that's and that's why, you know, in the culture, you know, on every magazine, every edition, at the bottom, on both the front and back cover, we have something that says cannabis culture welcomes us all.

Speaker 2: 32:14

And I mean that, and that means from our stoner to our hate to say these things like your, your soccer mom and stuff. Right, it's just. I hate separating people like that. It's ridiculous. It really is. We're just people.

Speaker 2: 32:37

So this is for and the plant is for, and the publication is for anyone and everyone who has ever had the thought of cannabis on their mind. Period, that's what it is. It doesn't matter if you consume just CBG, I don't care. Or if you're ripping bongs 24, seven. Good for you. Dope, you're going to love the magazine we're all a part of. You know this culture of, of uplifting the plant. That's what the culture is really about. It's about acceptance, it's about community. It's about being able to share the plant in any form, fashion that you want, to enjoy it at your leisure, consume it for whatever you want and be accepted for doing so. That's what this culture really is about Sharing, helping, showing, giving all of that stuff when it comes to cannabis. That's it. It doesn't matter if I'm rolling fat ass blunts and dipping them in the banging this fucking THC oil. Or if I'm at home just taking my tincture that has CBD, cbg and CBN in it, and I do that as well. Right, so it includes everyone.

Speaker 1: 33:43

Period. I totally agree. Now you've mentioned a couple times community. What role do you feel like community engagement plays in the ethos of Fat Nugs Magazine and how do you help foster connections within the cannabis community?

Speaker 2: 33:56

Yeah. So this thing wouldn't be at all if it wasn't for the community itself, especially through LinkedIn. So the entire thing has been built on the back of the community and the community has been a part of it. Writers come here just to write about the things they love and they're passionate about, because they don't have an assignment, we don't have money, that kind of stuff. Now, once you get into the publication, you actually do get paid these days because we're growing right. So that's cool. But this is a place where it's a community platform. First, because we're telling the stories of the small mom and pop equity legacy, veteran women own cannabis businesses and voices Right.

Speaker 2: 34:37

So it's the community, it's a part of the community. That's all we're doing. As far as how do we foster connections within that community and build networking and stuff? That's really easy Because we're connecting all of these people that don't necessarily have a chance to connect on their own. We're putting them together in this publication, not only that, through our socials, good Lord, all we ever do is talk about other people, is uplifting other people's businesses and what the hell they're doing. That is how you foster connections. That is how you help make good. I guess, like cross sections of connections as well. People can trust you, right? They see Fat Nugs Magazine, they know we're here doing good work, we're not being bullies or assholes, or we're uplifting the right things, we're doing the right things. So they look at us, I believe, I hope, and see that the people that are a part of it are supposed to also be good, supposed to also love the plant. So fostering connections that way, I think, has been important.

Speaker 2: 35:43

Physically, doing this regularly, on a daily basis, is something I do. So after we released this health and wellness edition and I normally do this after we released this we released this health and wellness edition three weeks ago, less than three weeks ago. I then followed up with everyone that was a part of it and introduced each other and said you know, thank you for being here, please talk to each other, all of that kind of stuff, and I think that's super important to do. I don't know if other businesses do that. I don't know if other media companies do that. I take the time to contact everyone that was in the edition together and throw them together in an email chain and have a conversation and tell them how much they are appreciated because they are If they weren't here with us, we wouldn't be able to do what we are doing.

Speaker 2: 36:34

Their voices mean something in this space. They are the people that we look up to, that we believe in, that we want to take part in. When it comes to collaborate partnership, when it comes to this industry and building it the right way, that's the thing that we do here. So there's how we, I guess, build the community up and connect people.

Speaker 1: 36:56

And I do love that and I have seen that and experienced that myself, cause I think I'm trying to remember I think when we first connected it was probably via Instagram, cause that's the platform I tend to be most active on and we spoke and you did connect me with Chris Fontes and he came on the show as a guest. We busted some cannabis myths together and it was a great episode. Smart dude yes, he is Great guy. So I have personally benefited from that connection that you you put us together. So thank you for that. I appreciated that very much.

Speaker 2: 37:33

Thank you. I think you, you know you being open to wanting to connect with each other is just as important as me making the you know, the, the contact itself, or the the introduction itself Right, Because without you all wanting to actually talk to each other, the introduction means shit. So the fact that you all were able to follow through and do something together, I think that's the important thing.

Speaker 1: 37:54

Yeah, Cause that's the other side of the coin, right, like, you can make the introductions but you can't force two people to come together unless they're willing to do it. But that's the kind of shit that I love honestly is because that's how I've built my podcast is being able to connect with other people, and I've been really blown away by the number of people in this space that have been willing to, especially earlier on, who've been willing to take a risk and come on this you know, my little corner of the internet to talk to me on my show. Because when I first started, like you know, you're like well, I'm going to ask this person if they want to be a guest, and I remember the first time I got a yes, I was like holy shit. And I have to admit, every time I start an interview even though I've done probably 50 of them now with all kinds of really cool people I still get a little bit nervous. But then when I get off that interview, I'm usually so jacked up on adrenaline. It's like yeah, that's.

Speaker 2: 38:48

That tells me that you love what you're doing, which is fucking rad. Congratulations on that Because a lot of people in this world don't get to do something that they love and that they, you know, get to enjoy, even if it doesn't pay the bills it's still something that you get to.

Speaker 2: 39:02

You know that you love to do. Um, I can, I ask you, you know, why do you? Why did you, um, I guess, have the feeling or or thought like why would anybody want to come on the show? Do you know why did that thought kind of pop in your mind?

Speaker 1: 39:19

Well, in the early days, like I've been doing this show now for four and a half years and like A risk.

Speaker 2: 39:25

You called it a risk. I'm sorry, that's what. I'm sorry, I forgot the word.

Speaker 1: 39:29

But it was just. I'm in Canada, I'm this tiny little show. I'm not in like a big city or anything. And uh, yeah, like sometimes I'm asking people who have a lot more, a bigger platform, more experience, like all those things.

Speaker 2: 39:46

And so what? What? What you're experiencing, marge, is the community aspect of cannabis. So most people who are good human beings in this space are willing to just talk to you. They're willing to have conversations about cannabis, about and learn about you not only to to to talk about themselves, but hopefully learn about you and what it is that you're doing, what you're bringing to the space. How can they possibly help that kind of stuff? That is the norm in this space. A lot of people may not be able to experience that, maybe because they, um, don't either have the opportunity or they don't want to take the opportunity, or they're too nervous, or whatever the case may be, but if you're open in this space, people will absolutely bend over backwards to speak to you about just literally, just about anything, right, yeah, and that's been my experience.

Speaker 1: 40:34

I've interviewed all kinds of people who are doing all kinds of cool things and all walks of life, and so I've been very blessed. But you're right, the cannabis community has been super welcoming, so it's you won't find this anywhere else.

Speaker 2: 40:46

Yeah, you, you. You will not find that anywhere else in any other industry. In the industries that I have been in, it's never been that way, right.

Speaker 1: 40:56

Which is why one of the reasons why it's worth the challenges for me, because there are the challenges of producing cannabis content and putting it out there Like, as I'm sure you've experienced, getting shadow banned on social media or all the other bullshit sometimes you have to put up with, but it's worth it in the end. So I've met a lot of cool people like yourself, and now my next question for you is do you have any like really memorable stories or interviews that you feature in your magazine, and what was it that made them stand out for you?

Speaker 2: 41:27

Yeah, I mean there's a lot of people that we've had in the magazine that I have been completely enthralled with, not only them themselves, but what they're doing. So Doc Ray is someone who is a grower, who's very well known out of California, out of the Emerald Triangle area, been doing this a very long time Veteran. He grows specifically to treat his PTSD from being in Vietnam. He was someone that I was super happy that we were able to have in the magazine. But I mean this honestly we don't do a lot of like celebrity stuff. I'm not your typical, sorry to your listeners, I'm not a star fucker, so to speak, is what we call them.

Speaker 2: 42:24

So I'm from before I got into the cannabis industry. I came from the film industry here in Atlanta, which is one of the largest in the world, and I worked on some of the greatest films you could ever want to work on. So I don't do celebrity, I don't care, it doesn't matter to me, I don't care, it doesn't matter to me. So we tend to just focus on having us. I guess, that framework, I guess, or really just telling the stories of the smaller people, so to speak, in this space, I think is the best part of what we do.

Speaker 2: 43:13

But having someone say, like Montel Williams, that I was able to not only have in the magazine but he brought me on his show and I was able to talk to him for a while. We also hung out in Boston last year and smoked together and talked and you know, uh, shot the shit at a thing called mass grass, which was an event that we um were a part of last year. You know, that kind of stuff is really cool because seeing people from my childhood who you saw on TV and um you know also have heard about over the years battling MS and, uh, you know, consuming cannabis to treat that, you know, to help him through that or help him with it, I guess um is pretty cool for me to actually be able to talk to someone like that um.

Speaker 2: 44:04

To know someone who has such a platform, who also is dealing with MS, who is also an advocate, who is a consumer, who smokes keef on a daily basis, regularly to help with his pain and all of those things. That is impressive to me. And writing the piece on him I actually wrote that piece in that particular edition. That was pretty special. I don't do a whole lot of interviews and writing anymore. I don't have the time, unfortunately. I love to write. It's something I do, but I don't get a whole lot of time to do it. So that Montel piece that I did personally was pretty important to me.

Speaker 1: 44:48

That sounds pretty cool, and I didn't know that stuff about Montel, so I'll have to find that article and read it myself.

Speaker 2: 44:53

Oh shit, yeah, no, I didn't know that Really.

Speaker 1: 44:55

And that he's such an advocate either. I mean, sometimes I don't really follow a lot of celebrity news either and I do agree with what you said about, you know, chasing that celebrity story, because a lot of the times most celebrities aren't really that interesting and when I'm looking to get guests on my show I want to have interesting people within the cannabis space where if I was to tell somebody who's not really into cannabis they'd be like who are you talking to? Like who's that?

Speaker 2: 45:20

But I'm so excited so the story of every like everyday.

Speaker 1: 45:27

regular people are super fascinating because people are doing some really cool shit, but they just don't have like a platform with a million followers on it or something, so bingo.

Speaker 2: 45:37

They don't have the backing right, they don't have the investors, they don't have, you know, people hyping them up everywhere.

Speaker 1: 45:43

They don't have that big entourage.

Speaker 2: 45:46

Yeah, exactly, they're doing, they're putting in the real work. That's the real work, right? That's the backbone work of our industry period. So, and I'm not, I don't want to bash, I'm not a celebrity basher either, I don't I just don't care. So, if and when and I'm not stupid, I know they'll come just know that they'll be treated just like everyone else is here, because I don't do all of that stuff, you know, I just don't care. Um, and there are other publications that I know of, out of Canada actually, um, that kind of work, the exact opposite of that, right? Um, so, yeah, I find that interesting.

Speaker 1: 46:28

Yeah, now I am curious as the founder of fat nugs magazine. Now I am curious as the founder of Fat Nugs Magazine. How do you see the magazine evolving over the next few years?

Speaker 2: 46:41

Where is it going?

Speaker 1: 46:42

Profitability that's a goal for everybody. I think who's doing something?

Speaker 2: 46:57

That would be cool, but I honestly see it just hopefully being more and more involved within the industry, being able to sort of step on the scales, so to speak, and leveling the playing field for the backbone side, instead of the corporate always getting everything and the voice and controlling everything it's. I'm trying to help any way that I can, so I would like to be able to grow that influence. I think that's super important. I believe that eventually there will be an actual Fat Nugs office somewhere where I hope to actually have my team at some point be able to come in and out whenever they choose. That would be really cool.

Speaker 2: 47:36

I think, when it comes to media, one of the things that can you know. Obviously, media can be anywhere and everywhere. You know internet is anywhere and everywhere. But when you get a team together that is creative, that bounces and lives off of energy from each other, it's like being in a band. You know I've played in bands throughout my adult life and having those that that untold connection and energy between each one of the band members is super important to be able to experience true creative growth in a team. So it would be really cool to be able to actually sit amongst my team and create these additions eventually. So I would love to be able to do something like that, possibly Because I think of National Lampoons getting together and doing their thing as a team back in the day. You know that that, that is that nostalgia. That would be really, really cool. Not that that would ever be. You know a thing these days, because of the internet, Now that we're post pandemic too.

Speaker 1: 48:45

I think we went through that whole phase of everyone just being siloed in their own separate spaces, and I think people really do want to come together, so having that as a goal for yourself.

Speaker 2: 48:57

And that's why events and shows and expos tend to do really well in this space. Right, Because we're all so remote. We get to come together every once in a while, so it would definitely be cool to do that. So profitability hopefully a space of our own one day and then really the distribution side, I think is something that I see growing with us to truly help the team do what we're meant to do here and that's bring authentic, timely, relevant content to the industry to be able to grow the industry, push the community aspect of cannabis, help not only entrench and never let the culture die out of the actual plant, but to grow the culture and actually invite more people in. You know, that's what I'm trying to do here. So a thousand locations and a thousand subscribers would change the game for us.

Speaker 2: 50:12

And that's not even a lot because, think about it, in in the U S alone there's, like I don't know, 12 to 15,000 dispensaries, I believe, and getting just a. That's not counting smoke shops, glass shops, head shops, your mom's shop, right, I don't give a shit shop, whatever. Um, there's millions of gas stations blah, blah, blah, anywhere that you can buy a gas stations. Blah, blah, blah, Anywhere that you can buy a magazine, grocery stores, Barnes and Noble I don't give a crap. Let's get this thing everywhere. Let's get it into airports, Seriously everywhere, why not? So just a thousand locations that are here as our partner, knowing that every time we release an edition we're in a thousand locations, that is a massive game changer here, Having a thousand subscribers massive fucking game changer here. So that is something that is the goal, Hopefully within five years of our first five years of existence. We're nowhere near that at this point, but small, slow, baby steps.

Speaker 1: 51:17

It's the consistent action. And are you familiar with Kevin Kelly's thousand true fans? You wrote a piece a while ago.

Speaker 2: 51:24

You know what I yes, I, I did. I think I had a conversation about that the other day If you had like a thousand true fans, spend a hundred dollars with you or a month, or a thousand dollars with you every year, whatever the case may be you.

Speaker 1: 51:38

Yeah, you have a viable business.

Speaker 1: 51:40

So when you said a thousand subscribers, it made me think, because he basically says that sort of thing Like I can't remember the actual economics and he did write it quite a while ago, but it was like a thousand. If you have a thousand people who are willing to buy from you whenever you put something out, because they're true fans, then you've got something, and I think that's really interesting because it's such a doable goal. Most people think, oh, I have to start like a YouTube platform and get 5 million followers or subscribers in order to succeed, and this guy's just like actually a thousand, hit that number of a thousand and you've got something.

Speaker 2: 52:17

Yeah, so think about this. So we print 3000 additions, they're gone, right, they're gone. You're well on your way. So think about that. I mean, we're already we're, we're heading down that road, as long as just what you said we are consistent, we continue to put in the work. It's not easy, don't get me wrong. I'm here 12 hours a day, every single day, and that's usually six to seven days a week. No lie, I'm on my phone constantly. It's something like we have to build this media company from scratch, so I know the work that it takes to do that.

Speaker 1: 53:01

And as long as we show up, or as long as I show up, you know we'll be fine Right Now. The other side of that where do you see the cannabis legalization landscape in the States or globally being in, say, five, five or 10 years?

Speaker 2: 53:08

Good Lord, if you would have asked me this five years ago, I would have said something completely different. I just keep seeing the nonsense just being perpetuated over and over and over again into every single state. It's a complete joke. I can't stand it. Industry being legalized or federally decriminalized which is what needs to happen or descheduled, and all of that.

Speaker 2: 53:39

I don't see any of that happening within five years. I think they continue to use it as sort of a carrot stick kind of thing here in the US against us and it really it just bothers me to no end to say that I hate it so much, but I do think that's where we're going to be. I do not see the old dudes that we have here running things changing anything anytime soon. Money talks we don't have it. They have a big group that we are not allowed in to play with. So I don't see anything changing significantly to better things for us and by us I mean the backbone side of this industry the small mom and pop side of this industry, the small growers, the people who are growing our craft cannabis and making our craft products.

Speaker 2: 54:40

I think it just continues to be a grind and if you're still here, thank God you're still fucking here. That's just what it's going to be, I think, and again, I fucking hate to say that it really sucks to say that. What I would like to see obviously is the exact opposite and what I said prior, which is, within five years we have complete decriminalization, federal decriminalization, federal back off, states back off, and we're not treated like the redheaded stepchild, so to speak. Right, um, you know, that's the way I would like to see it. I don't see it happening anytime soon, and you can see. You know, thought leaders around this space are pretty much aligned, I think, on that for the most part um that schedule three nonsense at one, I don't see it being done Um.

Speaker 2: 55:37

And two, I don't really know. You really know how much that's going to hurt or help, and really I think it opens the floodgates for big pharma and other big companies to come in and lock down the industry, so to speak, through the courts in each individual state. So I think what we have coming up here is probably another long fight. We're going to see a lot of people lose their shirts continuously, as we are now, and it's going to continue to be a bloodbath, so to speak. So it kind of sucks, but let's hope that I am utterly fucking wrong.

Speaker 1: 56:13

I'm curious though, though, like as we record this, germany is about to legalize, and obviously the most populous country in europe. Would that have any kind of influence on american policy? Possibly?

Speaker 2: 56:29

no, no, the only thing that has, no, the only thing that has any influence on policy whatsoever here is cash, right, and there's 400 billionaires in this country and they're the ones who have the money and they're the ones who get to make all the laws for the other 350 million of us. Right, so that's how this country works. We're not. You know, we get the illusion of freedom here, right? That's kind of how things happen Money talks. No one cares about Germany here. No one cares about Spain here. No one cares about Canada here.

Speaker 2: 57:02

We say we do in the industry and we do, we absolutely do, but we're so focused on hopefully not drowning because of our own government's bullshit it's hard for us to pay attention to anything else outside. That's another reason. The global perspective that we have here is pretty important. We have writers from all over the world, including Canada. So, yeah, it's, yes, great for Germany, awesome. Until the US federally legalizes in a positive light, in a positive way that helps everyone, the globe is going to, um, either one, leave us behind and or two, um, not truly feel like uh, you know, legalization is everywhere and accepted everywhere. You know, I think the US has such a deep culture when it comes to cannabis and a deep history and a subculture that's always been connected to it, that we drive a lot of cannabis stuff around the globe, so especially California weed right yeah. So it's important that the? U's important that the U? S get on board, but I don't see it anytime soon.

Speaker 1: 58:16

Well, I hope you're wrong, and I'm sure you do too, but it's switching gears a little bit. Um, what would surprise people about you?

Speaker 2: 58:26

Huh, goodness. Um, I don't know, I'm a softie.

Speaker 1: 58:31

I don't know.

Speaker 2: 58:33

Surprise me or surprise people about me? I guess that I, you know. I spent 14 years in corporate America getting my ass handed to me, deeply depressed, anxiety out the ass on medications that no one should be on Um, I was in a very bad place for a really long time. Um also come from a family that has, you know, suicide in it prevalent. You know a very large military family. You know all of that stuff.

Speaker 2: 59:07

I think most people have no idea about any of that Um and that the publication is connected to all of that, any of that Um, and that the publication is connected to all of that. You know, one of the things that tends to really surprise people is that I was, uh, separated from my, my family for 21 years. Oh wow, and um, I didn't see my dad or my twin sisters for 21 years. I have about 90, I think there's about 94, 95 of us in my family, just on my dad's side, by the way, and after connecting, reconnecting with my dad, I watched the VA shove Percocet down his throat and he was on Percocet for 20 plus years and they ended up killing my dad years. And they ended up killing my dad Double massive heart attack and a subsequent aneurysm from it. And you know, being on Percocet for 20 plus years, that's probably going to be the case when you hit about 65 or so, right, so you know those types of things. I guess maybe that's a great answer. That's a great answer.

Speaker 1: 1:00:11

Especially, you know it must have been hard being separated from your twin sister for over 20 years, Twin sisters so.

Speaker 2: 1:00:18

I have twin younger sisters. Oh, I see, okay. Yeah they're twins to each other, not my own twin sister.

Speaker 1: 1:00:23

You have a huge family and you have twins in the family too. That's pretty remarkable.

Speaker 2: 1:00:27

Oh yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, we have multiple twins in the family.

Speaker 1: 1:00:31

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:00:32

Yeah, separated from my dad from a very long, for a very, very long time. And um one really cool thing when we got back together, the first thing that we did was roll a fat joint.

Speaker 1: 1:00:40

Nice, yeah, we brings people together. So that's beautiful, great answer. Now do you have any? I guess my final question for you today, cause we need to wrap this up, cause you probably have a million more phone calls to make this afternoon, but I'm already late to my next call. Where can people find Fat Nugs magazine in the wild?

Speaker 2: 1:01:00

Yeah, absolutely so. We are in a lot of different dispensaries right now Embark dispensaries all over California. They have like 13 locations, 20 by the end of the year. We have a few other dispensary partners around the country as well. You can get us on fatnugsmagcom, obviously, and order copies there, although they're all sold out at this point. We have sold out of every single edition we've ever created up to this point, which is kind of insane to think about.

Speaker 1: 1:01:26

Even the current edition.

Speaker 2: 1:01:29

Even the current edition is gone as of yesterday.

Speaker 1: 1:01:31

Wow, because it just came out like a couple weeks ago.

Speaker 2: 1:01:32

Yeah, less Even the current edition is gone as of yesterday. Wow, because it just came out like a couple weeks ago. Yeah, okay, less than three weeks ago and it's gone. So otherwise you can read every edition for free on fatnugsmagcom anytime that you want. Also, would love people to sign up for our free newsletter. It's a small zine. We send out a small magazine to your email every other Friday. Actually, this month it's every Friday. Other than that, socials LinkedIn I'm there. Fat Nugs Magazine has its own page there.

Speaker 1: 1:02:04

And then, of course, instagram, so we try to be in as many different places as we can. Is it available in Canada? Are there dispensaries that carry it in Canada?

Speaker 2: 1:02:10

So I have had dispensaries purchase boxes individually here and there, but I don't have a dispensary partner or a retail partner in Canada yet that actually wants the addition every single time and guarantees that purchase with us. So that hasn't happened yet, but hopefully we'll get there Okay.

Speaker 1: 1:02:28

Yeah, I would love that, because I am old school and I like to have the paper copy in my hand myself. So I mean I like reading it online too, but like to have the paper copy in my hand myself. So I mean I like reading it online too, but I love having the hard copy that I can flip through. There's nothing like having a hard copy?

Speaker 2: 1:02:40

Yeah, absolutely, and we, we do centerfolds in the hard copies.

Speaker 1: 1:02:44

Right. So, you can't get that online, that's right. It's not the same, that's awesome. You know this, this right here, you can't get that, yeah, and the art in the magazine really is phenomenal too.

Speaker 2: 1:02:55

So yeah, we have an excellent photographer, and Casey and myself now do all the art. So, that's how that works.

Speaker 1: 1:03:04

So everyone listening, go find yourself a copy of Fat Nights Magazine, maybe for the next edition, when you can actually get a hard copy and find them online. And, dustin, thank you so much for taking your time out of your busy schedule to spend it with me today.

Speaker 2: 1:03:16

Thank you, Marge. I definitely appreciate it. The Bite Me podcast is dope. I think it's. You have one of the most catchy names in the industry, so well done.

Speaker 1: 1:03:24

Awesome. Thank you Well, friends, I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I enjoyed having it, and, as always, I'm going to post all the show notes over on the website so you can find it at bitemepodcastcom and you'll be able to see where you can find Fat Nugs magazine the website. I'll link to that over there too, because if you can't get your hands on a hard copy of the magazine, then you can read the issues online as well, and perhaps that's your preference. Anyway, I prefer having something in my hands, but we live in a digital age. In any case, if you enjoyed this conversation, consider sharing it with somebody that you care about who might also enjoy it, because word of mouth is one of the best ways to help get this show discovered to a wider range of lovely edibles loving humans.

Speaker 1: 1:04:16

You can always talk to me by email or the podcast hotline, or you can DM me over on Instagram. That's the platform I tend to be most active on, though maybe you'll see me more on LinkedIn after having this conversation. You can also stay up to date with stuff via the email newsletters. You can sign up for that, and then you can also get a copy of the Bite Me Edibles Cannabis Cookbook that I created a little while ago. And, last but not least, consider using the products and services on the Marge Recommends page. That really does help to support the show. I'm your host, marge, and until next week, my friends stay high.