Corey Hunt: #illegallyhealed
A camera blurs into focus to reveal a little boy and his parents on either side of him. He takes a deep breath and draws us in as he conveys his struggles, his pain, and his frustration with a failed political system that’s limiting his access to the only medicine that works: cannabis. This little boy’s story is one of many and it’s a maverick like Corey Hunt, co-founder of #illegallyhealed, who is committed to sharing stories like his to empower legalization across the United States. He’s strategic, focused, sharp and in the business of changing the unjust laws of our country.
What was the deciding factor for you to join this particular industry?
After I found out how cannabis was positively affecting so many people, particularly children, I could not sit idly by and do nothing for the cause. I had to use every ounce of my creativity to create change and re-educate the world.
What were you doing before the green rush?
I was a creative director for one of the largest repair companies in the mobile industry. I also have been at the forefront of digital media and marketing for the past 15 years.
What are you doing to impact the industry?
We are storytellers, content creators and community builders. We focus on telling the patient stories and pairing those stories with the science. This creates a loyal community of people that are hungry for more cannabis education. With engaging media, we can help people understand the power of this plant. We have been able to change the hearts and minds of thousands of people, including state Governors.
With engaging media, we can help people understand the power of this plant. We have been able to change the hearts and minds of thousands of people, including state Governors.
Describe your work ethic to us in one word.
Driven.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader in this space?
We are constantly working to create lasting relationships with professionals and advocates in our industry that are experts in their niche. We create opportunities for their talents to shine through our content and our calculated efforts. My philosophy is to let them do what they do best and integrate that into what we are doing.
Also, we never settle. We are constantly on the lookout for what we can be doing better. We are continually reworking our strategy and dialing in our skills. Growth is a continuous process. Right now, we are taking the next step and developing MedicateMate, a revolutionary platform for patients to connect and discover cannabis in an entirely new way.
What book have you read that you’ve been inspired by? Any particular read we should put on our list?
‘The Four Hour Workweek’ by Tim Ferris is an absolutely brilliant read. If you want to learn how to live your life, be happy and make a truck load of money, read this book. Also, ‘Medical Marijuana in America: Memoir of a Pioneer’ by Alice Oleary-Randall is an exclusive look at the beginnings of medical cannabis in America.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
How would you advise someone who wants to join the industry?
Don’t even attempt to enter this industry without a solid team. I have sought out the top journalist partners and the top medical professionals and brought them all on board. You need to realize that you can’t do everything yourself and aligning yourself with other talented people is crucially important. If it were any other industry other than cannabis, you may be able to succeed without a strong team, but in our space, you absolutely need it. It doesn’t need to be a big team, but it needs to be a solid team.
You need to realize that you can’t do everything yourself and aligning yourself with other talented people is crucially important.
What is a skill or trait that you think is necessary to make an impact in this industry?
Don’t be afraid to fail. Our biggest failures have given us insight to create our biggest successes. We’ve spent a lot of resources reworking the promotion of our content. It’s those little tweaks that make the difference. If it’s not performing, we modify it and republish it. It goes back to what I said about never settling – Commit yourself to reworking the solution until it’s something that exceeds your goals.
What are your thoughts on large corporations entering the space?
Large corporations are already here. They’ve been here and are nothing to fear. There’s plenty of room in the cannabis space for small, medium and large businesses. If you focus on what you do best, have a great product and stay in your lane; you will be just fine. To put it in perspective, we are outperforming all the ‘top players’ in drug policy reform 3 to 1 with growth and engagement, and we spend a fraction of their yearly budget.
Large corporations are already here. They’ve been here and are nothing to fear. There’s plenty of room in the cannabis space for small, medium and large businesses.
If we are sitting across from each other a year from now, how will our conversation about the ‘green rush’ be going?
That all depends on what happens on the federal level in 2016. Hopefully, we will be educating millions of new patients (and physicians) on cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.
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