TRANSCRIPT
0:00 – 1:13 | Introduction and the Palm Tree
Jay: Michael Baron Boy, thanks so much for being here. Jay, great to see you again.
Michael: Thank you. Great to see you bringing us in again.
Jay: Well, every time we talk, I see a little like, uh, palm tree behind your head, and uh, it makes me jealous because that looks lovely. You're in Florida, obviously.
Michael: Yeah, I am in Florida, and this is my favorite cat's, uh, tree. So, he unfortunately chews the palm tree.
Jay: Oh, is that right? I didn't know they did that.
Michael: Yeah, unfortunately they do. And then, uh, you know, I have to kick him out of the balcony.
Jay: So you kick him out of the balcony because he's getting on the palm tree. Well, we don't have palm trees here. So, if your cat wants to move north, uh, there will be nothing for that to chew on there. I wanted to connect with you because something came across our desk that seemed really interesting: a partnership with Rohan Marley's brand, uh, Lion Order. Um, give us a little bit of background about how that came to be and what it means for you and Weedgets... and um, yeah, we'll go from there.
1:14 – 3:35 | Global Expansion and the Science of Filtration
Michael: Well, since our last time we spoke, um, um, you know, the company is growing and we're growing very fast. And, uh, Weedgets is, uh, now represented in so many different countries. We ship direct to um, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, uh, uh, South America, and uh, we have big distribution channels in Canada and obviously the US.
And the reason why I think we are so successful is simply because we focus only on one thing. We're trying to make smoking safer for people through rigorous filtration. And all we're doing is we're removing resin and tar away from the smoke. So what that does, it does a couple of things. Um, besides the filtration, it lowers the smoke temperature as well. So people cough a lot less and at the same time they're filtering the smoke.
So Maze X Pipe, which is our primary product, filters the smoke in three different places. So triple filtration before even you can use an additional fourth filtration through our, uh, best seller, which is our charcoal filters as well. And our charcoal filters are quite different from everybody else because they don't produce charcoal dust. So as a result, I think Maze X Pipe is not just a pipe—it's a system. The system rotates around filtration and cooling, and people appreciate it.
Uh, obviously you need to um, uh, use it in a specific way because this pipe generates a lot of smoke with small, um, short puffs. Uh, and at the same time, when people overdraw—because they don't feel the heat, because the smoke temperature is so low—they continue to pull. Because the only indication for us with the direct-flow pipes was, "Okay, it's hot, right? I got to stop." So with Maze X Pipe, because the smoke temperature is so low, people continue to pull. So it takes them about 15 to 20 seconds to understand they cannot do it because it produces a lot of smoke. So it's the same thing as, you know, when we eat chicken, we don't put the whole chicken inside our mouth and chew it. We take little bites, little bites.
Jay: Exactly.
Michael: So, and people are smart. They understand it very fast. And when they do, this pipe becomes their favorite pipe to go to.
3:36 – 4:51 | Customer Education and Support
Michael: And we receive so many emails, besides uh, uh, reviews on our website and through our uh, other distribution channels and on their websites. People send us emails thanking them—thanking us—for changing the way they smoke. We are not just a device company. We are also an educational company. If you read our blogs, we teach people how to use it. And, and a lot of people, you know, it's very hard to, you know, drop the old habits, and people like to rip, some people like to do it a specific way. But we also educate people. If you want to continue to cough, if you want to continue to hurt yourself, you can do that. But if you want to listen to us, listen to us for five minutes.
And we're also the only company that connects with people directly. If somebody emails us and says, "We're having an experience... we're having a problematic experience with a pipe. We don't know how to use it," we set up a FaceTime call or a Zoom call to teach people how to do it. Tell me if there's any other company that's out there to do it. Our goal is not just to sell products. Our goal is to educate people and help people, and the emails that we receive is a testament to what we're doing and that we're helping people. Yeah.
4:52 – 6:27 | Partnering with Rohan Marley and Lion Order
Michael: So uh, because of that, uh, you know, we draw a lot of attention from other brands, from bigger brands. And it just happened that, um, you know, our teams—our marketing teams—connected with Marley's team, and they really liked the product when we sent it to them. And, uh, you know, I eventually met, uh, Bob Marley's son. We became friends. And I think the reason why we're doing this together... we are collaborating, and we just released a new Maze X Pipe for Lion Order, which is exactly the same pipe. But because he loved what this pipe does, and I think our goals and our passion aligns with what his father said once: "If you're not helping people, why would I want to do something, right?" So we're helping people, and that's what he likes. I think it's in their—in his—family tradition to help people.
And we got together, uh, you know, we played with our products, and, uh, he really, really liked it, and we started the new collection: Lion Order Pipe. It's on our website. Uh, and, um, you know, I can show it to you if people...
Jay: I got you. I have it right now. Hold on.
Michael: Yeah, sure. Of course.
Jay: Well, that... that's him holding it. But that's... that's the...
Michael: That's right. That's right. But this is... this is a black version of that pipe. So this is the Maze X Pipe Lion Order. Yeah, right.
6:28 – 8:35 | Better Flavor Profiles and Future Drops (Wu-Tang Clan)
Michael: So, and it has the same technology. It filters the smoke in three different places under the glass bowl, collects resin inside the maze, inside the filter tip itself. It also can catch some of the debris if they continue to fly. And on top of it, you can add an additional charcoal filter.
But what's amazing about this pipe is that not only it filters... so imagine if you have, um, you know, water and you're drinking and it's contaminated, it has other additives, and you're drinking and you're tasting it. So what happens with the smoke when it removes resin and tar? You can't remove all of it, but when you do remove a lot of it, you start tasting terpenes better. Because now you eliminate this nasty taste of resin and tar itself, and you're now tasting terpenes. So we have a lot of emails from people that say, "Oh my god, I'm starting to taste something different."
So, uh, and that's what we're doing. Uh, we released this product. We already started selling it. Uh, and I think there will be a lot of um, publications, a lot of uh, podcasts coming with, uh, the Marley family, Rohan Marley and his, uh, brand Lion Order, which is great. Uh, we're also going to do some filters for them as well in, in their own packaging. So, uh, you know, I think this is very exciting for us as well because it allows us to tap into a much bigger market as well, uh, and we have an opportunity to help a lot more people. Right.
So, uh, this is... this is great for us. Uh, this is great for, uh, the Lion Order brand as well because when you're doing something like this, you're also showing that you care for people. You put a priority to make it safer, and you find specific solutions. How do we help people? How do we help more people? And this is great. And it's not just, uh, Lion Order and Marley. We're also talking to other brands as well. We, uh, just signed a deal with, um, uh, with TKL, which brand represents Method Man and the Wu-Tang Clan. Uh, so we're working on that collection now for the same Maze X Pipe. So because they have a lot of followers, and I think they will also appreciate that TKL cares about, um, you know, their well-being, and, and we'll do the drop of the Maze X Pipe in, in a very short period of time.
8:36 – 11:22 | Cannabis Rescheduling & Medical Background
Jay: No, I, I like that too. I want to ask you a question because you talked about, well, helping people for sure and a cleaner way to smoke. I want to ask you a question about the context of the US right now. Um, right, since last time we smoke... we, I was going to say last time we smoked... last time we spoke, um, you, uh, since the last time we spoke, obviously medical cannabis in the US has been rescheduled, right? And we're all trying to unpack what that means. But it seems to me there's going to be a renewed focus on medical cannabis and sort of the benefits of it. And I think along with that, there'll be a renewed focus on sort of inhalation and how to make that safer, cleaner, uh, temperature, and, and contaminants—like getting that out, uh, when you're actually smoking it. Talk a little bit about if you've seen that a little bit and sort of how you lean into that from Weedgets because it really is a focus on what you're talking about, right? How to actually help people inhale in a cleaner, safer way. Have you seen a renewed focus, and do you expect a renewed focus on that?
Michael: Well, I think there are two sides of the story. One is companies that actually produce, cultivate, and, and sell cannabis itself, the herb. Uh, and there are companies that design and develop devices that help people to consume that. Um, and I think we fall into the second category where we design and develop devices. Uh, my background is in medical devices, and we still do a lot of medical devices with my other company. Um, you know, it helps me, um, in a way that I know what needs to be done in order to help people. I know what needs to be done to make it safer.
So for us, uh, rescheduling, uh, is not probably going to affect us at all because we are still, unfortunately, in the eyes of federal law, illegal. Um, I think, uh, you know, besides the talk, there's a lot less restrictions at customs as well. Uh, but we're still having issues. Uh, they're holding our, uh, shipments for a lot... a little bit longer. We still have to provide a lot more documentation because this is not only for herb, but people can use it for other legal herbs, um, as you know, and tobacco as well.
And, uh, at the same time, I, I think rescheduling is a great step toward full legalization. This is where, uh, things are going to get better for everyone. Uh, but for us, um, you know, maybe for cultivators and producers of cannabis, it's a really big step because now, you know, they are, uh, allowed now to, uh, tax deduct other things. They're allowed to do more things in, in banking. Uh, we are not affected at all. Uh, we're still having the same, uh, problems. We still have the same issues for paraphernalia, as they call it.
11:23 – 14:04 | Product Engineering and Solving Consumer Problems
Michael: Um, but at the same time, I think it's a little bit easier for us because people are not considering this as a drug, per se, anymore. So which is great. And what this allows to do, it allows better companies—companies that focus on well-being rather than just the looks—to do better things for people. So it all comes down to what can be done for people, for Americans, for people around the world. What can we do? And I think, you know, we're going to continue doing what we do, and we're going to continue to provide solutions.
Because every time when we design a product, it's not about the look. It's not about, um, the feel. It's about solving a set of particular problems. And that's how we approach things in the medical device field, and that's what we do with Weedgets. We design things to help people to have a more comfortable way of cleaning things, a more comfortable and easier way to, uh, carry products.
As a matter of fact, now we're changing from a, um, you know, packaging for our Maze X Pipe in, in this box. We're trying to make the packaging now functional, where we have this EVA case where you put the product. It also reduces the smell. You can also attach it to the shoulder strap and carry it, and it looks great.
Jay: I like it.
Michael: It's, it's much better. Uh, but at the same time, we're still going to continue developing better products in each category. One-hitters—we design and develop one-hitters that are solving a set of particular problems. I don't know if last time I showed you the X7 One-Hitter, but basically it, uh, you know, if, if anyone who listens to you had an experience using one-hitters, they know that cleaning on the go is an issue. That falling, uh, flower into your pocket, the smell—it's all really bad. Having a stick in your hands that's resiny and then gets all this resin around your clothing—it's, it's really bad. So we're trying to solve those problems as well. But we are very excited about collaboration with other brands.
Jay: They're the... That's right. One of the... the one-hitter. Yes.
Michael: And it's, it's all pre-packed at home. So you don't need to, uh, uh, clean and pack on the go. You pre-pack the pods at home. And while you are traveling, fishing, hiking, you simply swap the pods by screwing and unscrewing them off and put the used one back into the case. And it reduces the smell, and at the same time, it keeps your hands clean, and also it uses the charcoal filter as well. So every system that we design allows people to use, uh, charcoal filtration.
14:05 – 15:40 | The "Holy Grail" of Product Development
Jay: So it's, it's, um... you're creating these suite of products to help people smoke cleaner, smoke better, um, uh, and making it more convenient for them. Um, like, is there a... um, like what's the holy grail for you? Like you, you've created these amazing products, you've had consumer... you've had... you've innovated around the world, and you're shipping it around the world. Like, is there like a, a gold standard for you that you're, you're trying to achieve, or the ultimate product you're trying to create? I mean, you're a very creative guy. You create products to fill a need. Like, is there something that you're looking to the future and saying, "When we do this, it's going to be bang on," or are we there already?
Michael: Well, this is a very simple process for us. We take each category in the cannabis space, and we try to make it better, right? So we... the first thing we do when we design a product, we write a list of issues that people are having, and it's very easy to find. You go to Reddit, you go to all over the internet, and you learn what people are saying. And for us, when people are complaining about things, it's the best quality control, uh, department a company can have because some companies take it, uh, as an offense. We, we take it as an opportunity to improve.
And every time when we place a new order with our manufacturers, we make small changes, small, uh, uh, design changes to address those issues, and this way the product becomes better and better and better. And we're growing at an exponential rate. We have now over 80,000, uh, uh, customers worldwide. Uh, that's a big number. Uh, and, um, you know, if you read and you see, uh, all our reviews on our website, they're all done through, uh, a third-party company. They're all verified with purchases. Those are real people. We have very little negative reviews, very little.
15:41 – 17:31 | The Vape Market & Conclusion
Michael: And usually when that happens, uh, when people leave reviews instead of contacting support, we try to reach back to them and explain it to them, and then they realize that they haven't been using the product correctly. And when they try, they, they are very happy. So that's how we address the, the, the problems.
For us, the holy grail is to continue developing better products, uh, and introduce smoother, smoother inhalation through filtration, through lowering the smoke temperature. With us, even with the vape market, we have a set of products that allow people with vape products to inhale smoother because regardless of what vape manufacturers are saying, people still cough and people still burn their throat, and they get, uh, nasty allergies from smoking cannabis through vapes. We have a set of filter tips for vapes and filter charcoal filters as well that make it very, very smooth. And those charcoal filters, they don't filter anything except, uh, they lower the temperature and they remove resin and tar. They cannot, uh, filter THC.
Jay: Right. So I, I want to... I'm going to put up how to get in touch with you, but also the products you have, the array you have. See, because I think it's fascinating to look through and see what you're doing. Uh, and also the educational component as well, so we appreciate that. So, I want to thank you, Michael, as always for joining us here, even if you're trying to make us jealous with the, uh, with the palm tree over the back. Because here in Toronto, like it's okay, but today's a little bit chilly. Uh, and I think it did snow a little bit last week. So, we'll see you hopefully in Florida at some point, uh, once the weather turns here. But again, thank you for the work you're doing and, uh, for spending time today.
Michael: Thank you, Jay, very much. And next time, I promise you I'll put the, a snow mountain on, on the background so you, you don't get jealous.
Jay: I... not to make me jealous, I appreciate that, Michael. We'll talk to you soon. Take care.