Numerous individuals follow faith all through the world, and it holds sway over their beliefs and even their livelihoods. Some discover non secular beliefs to be a necessary solution to discover that means outdoors of the self or to know their function or future on the planet. For Brendon Wilder and his spouse, house owners of latest Oklahoma-based hashish model Highest Intent, faith was as soon as an enormous a part of their lives. Finally, they realized that they had been sad with their faith, they usually selected to have a good time their very own lives and step away from Christianity. As soon as that occurred, hashish entered Wilder’s life which led to the launch of his hashish model. Wilder shares his journey from Christian to hashish enterprise proprietor, and the trail that has led him to launch a brand new model in Oklahoma, one of many nation’s quickly rising hashish markets.
You beforehand practiced Christianity with a “megachurch.” What made you allow the church, and what did you hope to perform afterwards?
It’s fairly loopy, however I grew up in that church for 15 years. It was the primary affect in my life above college, my dad and mom, and the rest from the time I used to be 10 years previous. As I gave an increasing number of of myself to “God’s plan,” I used to be rising more and more sad. It was actually a matter of time earlier than all the suppression of my very own feelings would boil over.
Trying again, it’s clear to see that I didn’t actually respect and love myself. As a substitute, I used to be attempting to earn that love, respect, and approval from different individuals and “god.” Towards the top of my time there, I keep in mind repeatedly asking myself: “If that is what the remainder of my life seems to be like, am I pleased with that?”
Lengthy story quick, I left faith/church as a result of for the primary time, I felt that I deserved my very own model of happiness. I’d had sufficient “struggling for Christ” and was prepared to start out having fun with my life. I used to be leaving my profession, the passions I had developed, and all of my 10-15 12 months friendships. I actually had NO CLUE the place I might go subsequent in life, I solely knew that I needed out of faith. For the primary time, I used to be able to reside my life for myself.
How did that call coincide along with your journey into the hashish trade?
The primary time I smoked hashish was nearly one 12 months after I left my “church life.” Summer time ’16 will all the time be remembered fondly for that motive (shoutout my homie Jimmy that rolled the blunt)! I grew up round hashish being a “drug,” so it took some time to unlearn and reprogram my views on issues. One quick 12 months after my first puff, I discovered myself taking hourly “vape breaks” from my nine-to-five workplace job in Dallas, Texas. It was changing into apparent that hashish was the medication I wanted to heal and develop past my previous. Hashish allowed me the house to really feel issues deeply, handle these feelings, and develop from them, relatively than suppress them.
As I started to see the private advantages of consuming extra often, I started to hunt out alternatives that might permit me to maneuver to a state the place hashish isn’t a “drug,” not like Texas. I had a deep need to be taught extra about this plant and the tradition that surrounds it that has solely grown with time. I all the time had goals of ultimately beginning my very own enterprise, however had by no means discovered the factor that impacted me sufficient to earn my ardour. Hashish had performed that.
You initially moved from Texas to Oregon, after which most lately to Oklahoma. Are you able to inform us extra concerning the driving elements for these strikes?
My spouse and I moved from Texas to Bend, Oregon in January of 2018 with such pleasure to press the “reset” button on our lives and start once more. We had each taken distant jobs working within the hashish trade for the primary time. This opened up an entire new world of alternative, together with dwelling in a brand new and exquisite place. Whereas in Oregon, I used to be the Director of Operations for a hashish wellness model that was transitioning into the California leisure market. Anna and I additionally partnered with a licensed processor within the i502 Washington [state] leisure market to create new manufacturers, advertising, and distribution into dispensaries. One among our final tasks in Oregon was our high-end hemp flower model referred to as Good Fortune Flowers that we had been transport nationwide. Unknowingly, we launched proper earlier than OG COVID dropped and Texas (our major wholesale marketplace for our new model) modified their legal guidelines round smokable hemp.
As we explored the thought of getting into into the leisure hashish market, we shortly realized the barrier to entry within the extra mature leisure markets might be very excessive. The extra that we started to look into our future, the extra arrows had been pointing to Oklahoma as the best rising marketplace for us and our concepts. We aren’t afraid of a saturated market and plenty of competitors as a result of we really feel it brings out the most effective in us and our skills. Though we nonetheless miss the mountains and forests of central Oregon, Oklahoma and its individuals have actually been so good to us since we moved right here in April 2021. We’re excited to be launching new manufacturers right here and hope to in-time earn the respect and sign-off of the native Oklahoma group.
Inform us about your model, Highest Intent. What does your product supply to shoppers in Oklahoma? Something totally different from different rivals?
Our thought with Highest Intent was to make a hashish product that is also an addition to anybody’s each day wellness routine. We notice that lots of people stress out throughout their day, then eat hashish to de-stress within the night. The pandemic additionally actually shifted our pondering within the route of “proactive” wellness as an alternative of all the time taking a “reactive” strategy. We additionally needed to create a product that’s not nearly “feeling excessive,” but remains to be efficient for a variety of customers. Relatively than creating one other pretty-packaged distillate product in fancy packaging, we selected to create a product that we as sufferers wished existed available in the market.
We put our greatest concepts and intentions ahead to carry you—Highest Intent. Our sublingual tinctures unite full-spectrum Nano THC with choose historic medicinal herbs and adaptogenic mushrooms which have supported our minds and our bodies for 1000’s of years. Nano water-soluble THC permits for elevated absorption and bioavailability, whereas the particular entourage of herbs and mushrooms in every formulation assist in ways in which hashish alone can not. All of our tinctures use natural and mushroom extracts (not merely “floor up mushrooms”) that include no alcohol. Our merchandise are gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, 100 proportion constructed from crops, and completely tasty. We imagine that these merchandise will open the door to a extra conscious expertise in life for a lot of, many individuals.
Are there any challenges you will have needed to overcome as a way to create the Highest Intent model, or its merchandise?
Undoubtedly, the toughest a part of this entire course of has been discovering the best individuals to belief and construct with. From wasted money and time on “consultants,” to going via a number of totally different herbalists and extractors, we have now actually flexed our problem-solving muscle tissues this previous 12 months. We’ve excessive requirements as sufferers and like a excessive stage of accountability and transparency from the manufacturers that we love and help. Due to this fact, our manufacturers should meet these similar requirements, in any other case I can’t personally ethically be happy with them. Sadly, not everybody operates this fashion.
We create merchandise with the mindset that “we’re sufferers at the beginning,” that means that we are going to by no means put out merchandise that aren’t fully as much as our private commonplace of consumption. Enterprise college tells you to chase bigger margins, however we determined to make this a premium, quality-first product at an inclusive value level. It took about eight months of product R&D to lastly have a product formulated that we’re genuinely happy with.
When do you count on Highest Intent merchandise to be out there in Oklahoma?
We only in the near past launched to the fantastic OMMA (Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority) sufferers of Oklahoma! Our Day by day Wellness Tinctures can be found in two dosage choices in our “Energy & Ease” morning tincture, in addition to two choices in our “Chill & Restore” night tincture. Every formulation is use-specific and is created by our group of herbalists and ayurvedic practitioners.
Are there any plans within the works for 2022? The place do you see your self and your model sooner or later?
These first 4 Highest Intent merchandise are actually solely the start for us! We’ve huge plans for 2022 that embody a lot of growth. We plan to increase our THC line of Highest Intent merchandise inside Oklahoma to incorporate extra ratios of particular cannabinoids, in addition to launch merchandise designed for particular makes use of akin to allergic reactions, ache administration, respiratory well being, and many others. Highest Intent may also be launching a nano CBD line of merchandise containing mushrooms and herbs later this 12 months. We totally intend to increase our mannequin and product providing out from Oklahoma to many different rising markets as effectively.
