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Five Enlightened Questions With Cannabis Professional: Heidi Minx

This article is more than 4 years old.

Heidi is in the know, but through her deep humility, you’d never know a thing about her, unless took the time to dig a bit deeper. And that doesn’t happen overnight, as it takes effort to learn about someone who has a rather public face in the cannabis industry in California and way beyond. Heidi Minx is a specialized public relations professional in the luxury cannabis field. But don’t let that fool you. Heidi is deeply enlightened, cannabis is just an extension of her true inner being.

The business of cannabis is different from the business of alcohol-where I came from initially. I’m pleased to say that we are an enlightened bunch of misfits in cannabis. Our nerd upbringing is not a curse, but a gift. I’m more enlightened today because of cannabis. Alcohol? Not so much, it was a means to an end for me from a health standpoint.

When I met Heidi, it was over a broader expanse of the human experience. My book, Cannabis Cocktails certainly helped bring us together. Flow Kana,  where she consults, the ultra-luxury cannabis company was the catalyst and our further conversations during the Hall of Flowers sealed the deal for a robust friendship based on inner strength and trust.

Heidi is different than most in her path of cannabis. She has an inner core of genuine humility and kindness that comes from hours of meditation and self-reflection.

Thank you, Heidi for just being.

Warren Bobrow=WB: Tell me about your company? Who is your inspiration? Do you have a mentor(s)? Who are they?

Heidi Minx=HM: I operate under MinxLive, but in essence, I am my company. My background is in the agency-side of marketing, PR and communications, but 19 years ago, I went through a radical shift, and changed the types of clients I worked with.  I only wanted to work with companies that I felt could really benefit from having their stories told, companies that truly worked to make their communities stronger, that believed deep down that they were doing something right, and that had a commitment to justice. 

It’s easy for a company to say these things, and in the past decade we’ve seen a trend in companies sharing their CSR initiatives. This is a good first step, but amplifying and sharing the works of companies that truly believe this in their core – where it's ingrained in their DNA – and especially when their beliefs are a ‘risky proposition’ in terms of what the mainstream might believe – that is inspiring to me, and who I work with.

In 2008 I put my career on hold, and started my own nonprofit, Built on Respect. I worked closely with refugees, former political prisoners, and also taught at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in northern India under the office of the Dalai Lama. I spent three years documenting stories, and sharing these with youth in the west. This documentation led to my fellowship with Rutgers University’s Center for Human Rights, Genocide and Conflict Resolution.

As far as mentors, I might be better served by quoting Bruce Springsteen: “When they said sit down, I stood up.” I look up to people who stand up. I admire conviction. I spent years interviewing what people often call unsung heroes as part of my work with Built on Respect. One of my favorite activists is a young woman, Deeyah Kahn. Herself persecuted for being a female musician, Deeyah was forced to flee her own country, but has harnessed all forms of media to educate others. She drew light to the barbaric practice of honor killings through her film work – these were recent honor killings happening in the UK. Not only did she bring put faces and stories to this travesty, she worked with the police to help them better understand the signs, and protections needed for potential victims.

WB: Why cannabis? Indoor or outdoor grown? By whom? When did you discover the plant?

HM: Growing up on the east coast, my brother was a ‘dealer’. I hate to have to use that word in regard to cannabis, but growing up under Nancy Reagan’s ‘Just Say No’ campaign – it was pigeonholed into something bad. 

Having lived in countries that didn’t have such harsh views, that truly understood it as a medicine – I began to recognize its medical benefits about a decade ago. Since then, I have been fortunate to be in a community in Northern California that has really allowed me to meet some of the best of the best – scientists, herbal healers, cultivators – and every day I learn more. 

Like anything I consume – I want it to be sun-grown, and ideally by someone I know. There is a difference between eating something, and inhaling something, so knowing the cultivator, their inputs, their practices, that is paramount to me. Some of my favorite cultivars are Remedy, grown by my friend Jaesen, Equinox by Emerald Spirit Botanicals, and Buddha’s Passion, grown by my friend Adam. 

WB: What is your six month and twelve month plans for your company? 

HM: To be doing what I love in cannabis. Perhaps it’s the fact that I deeply respect Buddhist teachings, but in all honesty, even on the day we die, we wake up thinking about ‘tomorrow’. I’ve been fortunate to work with some visionary clients across the cannabis supply chain, including SC Labs, Flow Kana, the Emerald Cup, Sonoma Lab Works, Sonoma County Growers Alliance, and Agricola.

I understand that this belies the traditional business aims of growth, budgeting, and projections – and I do indeed believe that these are necessary; they are how we as humans create aims and goals, and how companies are able to track meeting targets and projections. 

I personally though try to identify present and future, and work daily to make sure that I am doing good, that the people I work with are growing and giving to their communities. Though I have consulted for 25 years, I am slowly coming to the realization that I want to go ‘in house’ with one company, ideally in their early years, and help them grow. The fact that cannabis prohibition is in sight, this fascinates me. Prohibition forced cannabis out of the mainstream, and it developed in to a very complex subculture. I want to see it responsibly enter the mainstream, and make sure the stories of those that carried its torch are told.

WB: Do you cook? What is your favorite thing to prepare? Do you have a favorite restaurant? Style?

HM: I do cook, and it’s usually quite a unique effort. I got my first passport and traveled internationally for the first time at 6 months. Everywhere I go, I squirrel home unique condiments and spices. My spice cabinet is mostly stocked with items from Japan. I would say that traditional Japanese foods are some of my favorite. 

As far as restaurants, I adore Bar Pitti (beautiful simple Italian) and Kyo Ya in downtown Manhattan. In Tokyo, I religiously visit Kamiyama and Yashima – which specialize in homemade soba and udon respectively. 

I seek out small restaurants, that prepare traditional dishes by hand. I don’t want a complex menu, I want a generations-tested simple small meal, with different tastes and textures. I suppose the experience can trump the food – so if I find a restaurant where the owner tells me the history of the dish, where they sourced the ingredients, how they may have perfected it through years of effort; that then becomes a favorite spot for me.

 WB: What is your passion? 

HM: Equality. There are enough resources in the world for everyone to receive an education, to have food to eat, to be able to contribute their skills, knowledge and traditions, and to be fairly and equally paid for their contributions. This is deep-seeded, and perhaps explains my other passion, travel. As a child, my father told me travel was the best education in the world. I have lived internationally for years at a time, and am most content, when I know I have a ticket for my next international jaunt lined up. We are all interconnected, and observing the cultures, mores, norms, beliefs and ways of living – this expands our views and promotes understanding. These experiences lead me to my third passion: communication. Communication is how we learn about those that came before us, about those who surround us now, and helps us identify our purpose.

www.minxlive.com

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