AACE INTERVIEW: Seibo Shen of Hanu Labs

It is purely an educational issue why Asians, or anyone for that matter, would be against cannabis.

There had been decades of misinformation being thrown out there to deter those that haven't tried cannabis or to make those that enjoy cannabis feel guilty about their use.

I met Seibo Shen in 2016, I was just a year into building StockPot Images and a newbie. We met on a very rainy day up in San Francisco at a conference. A group of us went up to my hotel room and Seibo pulled out his Vapexhale Evo, I stared at it and watched him set it up and say to all of us “WHO WANTS A DAB?”. I’ve never dabbed before, I only smoke flower because I have a very low tolerance. So I looked at Seibo and knew he was someone I could trust and deep down I knew we were going to be life long friends. So I got my first Baby Dab and it was quite magical. I was immediately lifted and my brain went into this soft haze, it lasted about 5 minutes, it’s something I don’t do often but I enjoyed the experience, especially since it was administered by this Jedi Dabby Master. I have the highest regard and respect for Seibo, I’ve been next to him and watched him grow his business through sheer will and on his boundless energy. Today I present to you my good friend and mentor Seibo Shen of Hanu Labs. - Ophelia Chong

How have your views on cannabis changed?

Growing up, I had been apathetic about cannabis, I knew it wasn't that bad but it wasn't something that interested me that much. When I got to college and had the first-hand experience with the plant, I immediately became a proponent as it changed the way I perceived myself and the way I perceived the world. I didn't quite understand it at the time, but it gave me a new lens to see the world through and by doing that made me a much more empathetic and sympathetic person.

What was the impetus of that change?

Prior to trying cannabis, I had a very narrow perspective of the world and how it functioned. While I didn't get good grades in school, I always did very well on the tests and just believed that I was the smartest guy in the room even if my grades weren't reflective of that. I recall the first time I really got high, it was after taking a bong rip and I began having an out of body experience where I could vividly see and hear myself interact with others from a different perspective. I found myself being disgusted with the words coming out of my mouth and how narcissistic and self-centered I was about virtually every topic we discussed. 

At first, it felt like I was having what most people would call a bad trip but after reflecting the next morning about the previous night’s activities, I began my personal journey to improve my own self-awareness and to be open to more viewpoints other than my own. They often say cannabis is a gateway drug and I have to agree, it is a gateway to deeper, more analytical, more critical and constructive discussions with yourself.

Now, I am in another transition of how I view cannabis. I had been such a proponent of its positive effects that I turned a blind eye to some of the more negative aspects of consistent cannabis use and consumption. I had bought into the story that since cannabis is not toxic for you, as long as it isn't impacting your productivity, feel free to use it as much as you like. For myself, I had previously viewed my cannabis consumption as something that brought more joy to all the things that I would normally be doing. With hindsight being 20/20, I can see that there were times I was using cannabis to enhance my enjoyment but there were also plenty of times that I was using it to numb myself from emotional trauma. Having that understanding of the different ways I would use cannabis has allowed having a much healthier relationship with the plant.

How did you enter the cannabis industry? 

Back in 1997, I bought my first vaporizer right after I began consuming cannabis. While I liked the way it made me feel and how it opened up my mind, I did not like that we had to roll joints, blunts, or smoke out of a stinky pipe or bong. Shortly after, I bought my first vaporizer and while it was better than smoking, the user experience left much to be desired. It got me high but it wasn't intuitive to use, the taste was horrible, and never seemed to be as strong as smoking. From 1997 to 2012, I had accumulated over 100 vaporizers and just couldn't find one that met my own needs and began to get increasingly frustrated as I bought the latest model after the latest model only to be disappointed by what came in the mail. After all of these disappointments, I decided to try and design my own and we ended up winning the High Times Cannabis Cup in 2013 and the rest is history.

Did you do research into cannabis before entering?

There wasn't a lot of what many could call "real research" when I first got started so I used myself as a guinea pig. Most of the articles that I researched online just stunk of bro science and in my quest to find the truth, I began to experiment using my own body. The 100+ vaporizers that I bought gave me a framework of what to do, and more importantly, what not to do. Social media also began to gain a lot of traction around this time so I began to use the wisdom of crowds and began throwing out questions into the universe of the internet to better understand the science and physics involved for vaporization. The amount of great advice and information I received was invaluable and the reason why we were able to design a vaporizer that launched in 2014 that still wins awards in 2020. This collaboration with the digital cannabis community really motivated me to create something that was far beyond the status quo because of all the support I felt from people that I never met in real life.

How does your family feel about your cannabis businesses?

At first, my family wasn't very supportive of my career change because I had a great career in high tech. While they thought I could have chosen a "better" industry to segue into, their biggest concern was that I would be starting from the bottom again. As they began to do more research and became users of cannabis themselves, they are now 100% support and proponents of cannabis themselves. Above everything else, this is the one area that makes me the happiest when I think about how being in the cannabis industry has changed my life. 

What is the most frequent question you are asked about cannabis?

People used to ask me for from cannabis and free vaporizers all the time in the earlier days. Now, I get a lot of questions on how to incorporate cannabis with a healthier lifestyle. Jim Mcalpine and I had been talking about how much more enjoyable training and competing is while using cannabis and at first, we were ridiculed for this belief system until more and more professional athletes began saying the same. While cannabis is great for medical patients to improve the quality of their life while they are recovering, I believe that if you are healthy, you can also use cannabis to further optimize your life.

What is your favorite way of ingesting cannabis?

I love all ways of consuming cannabis but my favorite is vaporization. The speed of delivery, the taste of the flower and oils, and the effect that I get from it are the reasons why I prefer this methodology. I also really enjoy edibles as I found that if you use cannabis to sleep, inhalable methods are great for falling asleep but there is nothing like a strong edible to keep you asleep.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in five years?

We will continue to see the industry evolve and gain more mainstream acceptance. Unfortunately, I don't see the products becoming more unique but I do think that we will get better at making the products that are currently popular today. Edibles have always been difficult to titrate and with more drinks and nano infused products coming to the market, I think it will make it far easier to dose for those that enjoy edibles. I hope to see the return of smaller brands that made products that might not be mainstream success stories but have a rabid local following like Kush Nuts, Oakland Extracts, and Hepburns. In my ideal future, we would see a handful of major players that have national businesses but I would also like to see a lot more of the artisanal brands that we used to have pre Prop 64.

Why do you think some Asians are against cannabis?

It is purely an educational issue why Asians, or anyone for that matter, would be against cannabis. There had been decades of misinformation being thrown out there to deter those that haven't tried cannabis or to make those that enjoy cannabis feel guilty about their use. Educating a group of people on a topic that isn't top of mind for them is a tough and arduous task but as more and more people begin focusing on mental health and the lack of viable solutions that are currently available, we will see Asians become more open to using cannabis and other plant medicines as alternatives to prescription drugs.