It all started out with a LinkedIn search “Cannabis Industry Insider” and boom there he was Matthew Wagner. I read into his bio a bit and talk about someone with a story. “I have applied at 200+ cannabis jobs on LinkedIn, and even more on other platforms; not a single interview, and not a single call back. I found my way. and I was meant to be here.”
Our conversation lasted over 2 hours and we put about an hour on tape, there will be a part 2. Matthew is sitting in front of a store smoking a joint and starts to share his path to where he is now.
It all started in Missouri hard to think someone could be an aggressive advocate for cannabis. Well, leave it up to Matthew to buy an armored truck for his bar, paint it with a HUGE NORML logo on the side of it while subsequently driving it around town.
After numerous raids on his business in Missouri, he was over it, Matthew is a renegade. He feels that the marijuana leaf is a “fuck the man” symbol. He loves weed so much he just wanted to be in the cannabis industry. The next step wasn’t weed though.
He found himself in Beijing China working on crypto mining hardware (sketchy as hell in Asia), depressed and feeling the need to get back to America and more importantly get back to cannabis. After spinning through Thailand and managing numerous bars in the paradise of Phuket, Thailand legalized medical marijuana… it was time to go home.
He landed in Houston and decided to load his car and drove straight to Northern California and sequester himself in the Emerald Triangle. He went though a couple harvests, the farm got robbed and he was not willing to get shot but loved the plant so much.
“I’m going to LA babayyyy!” After he got to LA he realized he was in his element, he began to work on marketing for brands, throwing events and focusing on his amorous relationship with cannabis.
I am going to go on record that this is episode 1 with Mr. Wagner we managed to get you a cliff notes version of his path to cannabis. Next episode we will dive into pieces of his story to expound on his adventures in weed.
Matt’s closing message is to help those in need and in general. Be a good human.
Follow him on Instagram @industrydisruptor
