Master Bong: MasterBong420.com
If you spot a gentleman with a large wiry afro on his head, a pair of large shades over his eyes, a snazzy glass bong gripped in one hand, and a smile across his face that is bigger than a kid could even attempt… you have crossed paths with the infamous radio personality, MasterBong, ‘The McGyver of Pot’. Now, before you light up and cheers him for a persona well-mastered, take some time to sit in on this conversation we had with him. His passion for what he is doing will send goosebumps up your arms. He is not only succeeding in being the voice of the industry, but he is inspiring people to think differently and act more positively towards the plant and on an even broader spectrum, towards life. And that… is insight you just can’t pass up.
What was the deciding factor for you to join this particular industry?
For me, it was very easy because I was following my heart, following my passion. I had always smoked and loved cannabis, so I figured when I was learning internet marketing, what better to do it with than something that I would actually spend endless amount of time studying and learning, than with an industry that I love like the cannabis industry. So, for me, it was a time in my career than I was growing and learning how to do some different things online and I decided that I would much rather spend my time and energy doing something that I love and care about. So, I joined the cannabis industry.
What skills from your previous experience helped you in what you are doing now?
I’ve always worked with people in past careers. I was an after-school director and so I worked with kids and their parents and teachers for many years. I’ve always worked in the service industry; I worked with people. I went to college to get my degree in social work which where I learned about how to deal with people and how to interact and engage with them on a different level. And that is the very base of what I’m doing; my business is all about relationship building with clients and creating and maintaining these bonds with people. We get to know and trust each other and we can eventually come to do business together. That’s what it’s all about; this industry is a tight-knit community and building relationships with people is how you can really get far.
this industry is a tight-knit community and building relationships with people is how you can really get far.
I would say, a really influential factor for me in understanding how to build these relationships came from studying for my degree and working in social work. It was that as well as my background in internet marketing that led me be successful in starting Master Bong 420. The internet is a very powerful tool and we invest a lot of time and effort in learning how to leverage it and all its resources to grow our brand, grow our business, and grow the businesses of others that we work with as well.
Right now, where are you guiding your passion and energy towards?
I am guiding my passion and all my energy in building the brand to be a household name, especially with the way that the legalization for recreational use is progressing. I only see this being a prime opportunity; the iron is hot, so it’s time to strike. So, we are focused on having Master Bong be this recognized persona across the industry.
Describe your work ethic to me in one word.
Persistence. There are things you have to go through to get where you want to be. It’s all part of the process, it’s all a part of the growth. You should appreciate all of it because it really does make you who you are.
What do you consider your weakness as an entrepreneur? Your strength?
I would have to say that my weakness is having so many ideas and wanting to jump in and do all them. I have to remind myself that while it may be a great idea, it may not align with what I’m focusing on right now. I struggle with that, but at the same time… it’s a strength. Having all those ideas are important because that’s how you develop your business and grow is to being constantly open to new ideas.
My strength is that I can recognize that, yes that’s a great idea, but no it doesn’t apply to what I’m directly focusing on right now, but let me write it down and come back to it later when I have more time to explore it. The strength lies in being able to say ‘No’ despite really wanting to say ‘Yes’. It is a constant challenge for me; there are often times when I’ll catch myself off-track and I’ll have to physically stop myself and refocus my energy. It’s all about having that laser focus.
How are you differentiating yourself from the competition?
There is never really competition; It’s always you versus you and it’s how much you’re doing compared to how much you could be doing as an individual living up to your full potential. I would say that what I do and the approach that I take on things is very different than a lot of people in this industry. I feel like it comes from how I started it all. I started at a point of zero and had to take the very little amount of extra funds I did have to fuel this business. When you have this as a starting point, you get very very very very creative with how you’re going to do marketing because when there is no budget to do marketing or very little, you are forced to think harder to make things happen with what you’ve got.
I feel like what we are creating is different and that’s what really sets us apart. The creativity and ability we have to do things to help our brand grow with an overhead cost of basically nothing is uniquely us. It’s as little as branding wet wipes for people at cannabis events and handing them out to people. You know people need them; they need to wipe off their dabs, so we branded it and spread our name. We’ve always done marketing the grassroots organic way and when I say that, I mean that we’ve never bought ad space. Yes, I’ve cross-promoted with a lot of people, but I’ve never paid for marketing persay. There are a lot of things that we do differently but there are definitely two major ways that we set ourselves apart and that’s how we are creative in how we market our unique content and how we have this unique mindset of bringing positivity to the table and looking at life in that way… because it sure as hell makes life a lot easier.
Cashinbis featured on Master Bong Radio Show
(Cashinbis interview segment starts at 38:00)
How do you find inspiration in this industry? What have you found that has inspired you?
I am inspired by the progression and watching everything grow. Back in the beginning of 2009, I was just barely getting started with Master Bong. I was really just learning and observing what was going on. So, from being at that standpoint and seeing the progression from then to now is really inspiring. Just over the past 6 years, so many things have changed; we have a total of 5 states that have gone recreational now.
But, what’s most inspiring to me on a personal level is when I’m able to connect with fans and hear the positive stories of how I’ve impacted their lives in a great way with my show. I’ve met people who’ve told me that they found my shows when they were depressed and watching it brought them out of their depression simply because, how you could you be sad when I’m so happy all the time? I’ve had super deep encounters with younger people who’ve come to me to tell me how they grew up without a mom or dad or any solid family support; and that they grew up with me as their role model to be positive and do good in the world and that, to me, is the greatest reward of all of this.
To have a career like this where I can share information, share my positive outlook, and show my viewers who I really am as a person and inspire them is a really profound thing. I want everyone out there to know that they can do whatever it is that they are passionate about. We are trailblazing the way in how we do things and you can follow us or you can make your own path; you can do whatever you want to do!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
To listen to Your Wish is Your Command by Kevin Trudeau because it was the ultimate game changer in how I chose to run my life. His teachings really hit the tip of the iceberg in regards to getting to the core of understanding how the world works. There are various teachings in there that have enormously impacted my life. Just recently I posted what I had learned from there on Instagram, “You go as far as you can see and when you get there, you’ll see further.” While that is just a small piece of information, you can relate that to business in a countless amount of ways. The truth in business is that you can only take a few steps at a time and while you may not be able to see that final destination, set your sights on conquering the space in front of you first.
You go as far as you can see and when you get there, you’ll see further.
What I got from this was to focus on your radar screen. Yes, there are other things happening outside that realm, but focus on what’s ahead of you first. It doesn’t matter what you want to do whether it is business or just having a happier, more fulfilled life… the teachings in that literature are relevant to everyone.
What’s your newest knowledge about the marijuana industry?
I stay up-to-date on products, events, and marketing. And I think that product-wise the newest knowledge to know about in the industry is Mary’s Medicinals breakthroughs. They are busy doing a lot of things, but one thing that I love is that they have a cannabis patch, an actual patch that you put on your skin that injects THC into your bloodstream. 10 years ago everyone was claiming this to be an impossible product, but Mary’s Medicinals took on the challenge and succeeded in creating this revolutionary patch. They have indica strands, sativa strands, hybrid strands, and even a CBD strand that will relieve your pain without getting you high. They are doing really great things with these patches and making it easy for people to medicate for long periods of time since the effects last 10-12 hours. This product is important to me personally because it has helped my dad who has a titanium plate in his back and suffers from a lot of pain. He said the patch has taken his pain down from a 9 to a 4! It works for him and I love what they are doing in both their locations in Colorado and Washington.
I’ve also been smoking a new strain which has actually been around for a long time but is one that I want people to know about. It’s called LemonTree and it tastes like it smells, which like a fucking lemon tree! Like I said, it’s been around awhile, but I know it’s going to be popularized here very soon!
Let’s see… what else do I have that is new… Oh! I have a product that I’ve been rocking lately and that would be none other than the LighterBro. It’s basically the swiss army knife of the cannabis industry and it has scissors, a poker, a bottle opener, a lighter holder, and a straight-edge razor blade that is sharper than sharp… a little scary actually 🙂
If you could rewind time to 5 years ago, how would your business be different?
I would get done what I have gotten done in 5 years, in 1 year. I’d be at the place I am now in my business… 4 years earlier. I am going to take the cognition of what that question asked and I am going to say that’s what I would do because then my business would be even further ahead in this industry!
What will we be seeing from you and MasterBong420.com in the coming future?
In the coming future, you will be seeing a lot more from us here at MasterBong420.com. We want to be at booths at these various industry events that are happening across the nation! I’d love to have a booth where we could smoke people out, shoot some video, partake in conversations, and continue on traveling and creating new content for our followers.
One thing that I would love to see and is something that we’re working on right now is getting up a store for our fans and viewers where we can sell all the MasterBong swaggersitic swag that everyone is asking us for! That’s something that I am definitely excited about. Other than that, we will of course be continuing with the radio shows and working to really grow and expand that content on there.
AND ohhh my god… I almost forgot! We will have a product that will be for sale soon that is a Master Bong collaboration that is a grinder card that I designed that you wear as a necklace. It’s different than anything that is currently out there and I’m super excited about it!
