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Smart Cups Exposed: The Tech Revolution You Can't Ignore | Chris Kanik DSH #728
00:32:19
🚀 Smart Cups Exposed: The Tech Revolution You Can't Ignore! 🌟 Join us on Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly as we dive deep into the groundbreaking world of Smart Cups with Chris Kanik! 🤯 This isn't just a podcast; it's a journey into the future
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- [00:02]
A
Hey, music fans, there are some great concerts headed this way. Don't miss out on all the shows in your favorite venues, like Deftones at Madison Square Garden, Eagles at the Sphere, and Foster, the people at the Ryman Auditorium. Tickets are going fast, so don't wait. Head to livenation.com to get your tickets. Now that's livenation.com. you're dealing with house money like kids. Like, you need a piece of paper. So, like, kids will always come up to me and say, hey, do I really need to go to college? Because, like, Zuckerberg didn't go, you know, Gates didn't finish. And. And I'm like, listen, those are anomalies. Like, you still need, like, a piece of paper because it shows that you are committed to something and that you're employable.
- [00:57]
B
All right, guys, Chris Canik here, founder of Smart Cups, coming for in from Orange County. Thanks for coming on, man.
- [01:02]
A
Oh, thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm just a dumbass. And thanks for the invitation.
- [01:08]
B
Appreciate it. What an intro. I'm just a dumbass.
- [01:10]
A
I'm just a dumbass.
- [01:11]
B
But you have accomplished some things. We got to talk about that.
- [01:15]
A
Yeah, I guess. Yeah, yeah. Accomplish some things.
- [01:18]
B
What exactly is Smart Cops? For people that don't know, Smart cups.
- [01:23]
A
Somewhat is the bane of my existence. Smart Cups is, I guess, my life's work at this point. SmartCups is a technology that I helped develop that allows for the printing of ingredients on surfaces. It was developed originally to be a drug delivery system for patients who suffer from dysphagia. That's the difficulty swallowing tablets. But I commercialize it in food and beverage first for proof of concept. And so we launched in 2018 with a line of printed energy drinks. So it's 10 energy drinks, 10 cups printed with the caffeine, amino acids, B vitamins, the flavor, the sweetener. You grab one, you add water, and then you have an energy drink. And so I tell people I can ship 5,000 energy drinks from California to New York for 60 bucks.
- [02:10]
B
Wow.
- [02:11]
A
You know, no powder. It's not powder. It's microencapsulated and it's adhered to the surface to the inside of the cup.
- [02:18]
B
Oh, wow.
- [02:19]
A
And so it's an amphiphilic polymer that's plant based, so it's completely safe. We're not adding any chemicals to it. And the outer shell does a really nice job of adhering to surfaces. And then when it comes in contact with liquid, it activates, releasing the ingredients. And there's a self stirring mechanism in there. So you have a completely homogeneous product. And so what's the benefit to printing ingredients on surfaces? And so by printing ingredients on surfaces, we eliminate liquid from consumer goods that significantly reduces storage, transportation requirements, unnecessary packaging, shipping costs, as well as carbon emissions. And so I was just doing the Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything event, and we showcased a number of possibilities from printed antibiotics, where by printing the isolated ingredients and keeping them isolated, we eliminate the need for refrigeration. Printed laundry detergent on shirts. We did it to demonstrate that we can print on any surface. So it kind of plays off of that Willy Wonka's wallpaper thing.
- [03:28]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [03:29]
A
So we can make the schnozberries taste like schnozberries, I guess. Printed soups, printed eggs, printed soy sauce, printed hot chocolate with micronutrients, printed potassium iodine. Something that we're developing potentially for the national stockpile program and a number of other possibilities. So everything from pharmaceuticals, even to pets. So we just signed a enterprise deal with a global pet product company printing pet supplements and recyclable and disposable dog and cat bowls. And so they're excited about it because we're killing two birds with one stone. Pet bowls are havens for bacteria and getting supplements to your pets is a pain in the ass. And we're killing both of those is just add water and give it to your pets.
- [04:20]
B
Wow.
- [04:20]
A
Yeah.
- [04:21]
B
Pet bowls are disgusting. I have to wash mine every week.
- [04:23]
A
Yeah, yeah. So here. And, and the paper is made out of recyclable material. It's biodegradable at the end. And even the simplest application that we can do, printed mouthwash, I think is the best demonstration for the impact this technology will have on the, on the planet. So you stack of cups made out of recycled paper with the mouthwash printed right inside. Add water, you have mouthwash. So you're eliminating the liquid and you're eliminating that bulky plastic bottle.
- [04:59]
B
Yeah. So now you could travel with it too.
- [05:01]
A
Yeah.
- [05:01]
B
Cuz that's always my issue when I travel. I can't bring all my dental stuff.
- [05:04]
A
Yeah.
- [05:05]
B
So if I had something like this, that'd be very convenient.
- [05:06]
A
Yeah. Ucla just a study came out that showed that the average 6 or 7 class 6 or 7 truck can deliver 31 times more product in it using smart cups. Technology.
- [05:22]
B
Holy crap.
- [05:23]
A
And so, and then when you look at sustainable, we're viewed as a sustainability technology. And in 2021, we're on time magazine.
- [05:30]
B
All right, guys, shout out to LinkedIn, today's sponsor as a B2B marketer you know how noisy the ad space can be if your message isn't targeted to the right audience, it just disappears into the noise. Luckily, with LinkedIn ads you could precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach them by job title, industry, company and more. Stand out with LinkedIn Ads and start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. LinkedIn Ads allows you to build the right relationships, drive results and reach your customers in a respectful environment. You'll have direct access and build relationships with decision makers. There's over a billion members on their platform. 180 million senior level executives and 10 million C level executives. You'll be able to drive results with targeting and measurement tools built specifically from B2B. In technology, LinkedIn generated 2 to 5x higher return on ad spend than other social media platforms. You'll work with a partner who respects the B2B world you operate in. 79% of their content marketers said LinkedIn produces the best results for paid media. Me personally, I've found some great podcast guests and it's been incredible platform for finding out new information. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. We'll even give you a hundred dollar credit on your next campaign. Go to LinkedIn.comSocial to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.comSocial terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be.
- [06:47]
A
We're recognized on Time Magazine's best inventions of the Year list. We're viewed as sustainability technology. But the impact to deliver micronutrients and medications to underdeveloped regions around the world I think is our main focus and a long term focus. How to positively impact people's lives and improve the quality of life for people around the world.
- [07:13]
B
Right, Yeah, I could see that because now you're able to get all these supplies over there for cheap.
- [07:17]
A
Exactly.
- [07:18]
B
Before it was so expensive. And that's why it probably held us back. Right.
- [07:21]
A
Logistics, carbon emissions, unnecessary packaging.
- [07:25]
B
Yeah.
- [07:26]
A
And so imagine one plane, there's a disaster and you want to get clean water to people you can transport. You know, I'm working on a project and I have been trying to develop this but you know, because of bandwidth we, we haven't been able to fully develop this. But water purification printed inside of the cup.
- [07:47]
B
Whoa.
- [07:47]
A
So instead of shipping bottled water, a case of bottled water, you know, what do you get? Like 24 bottles of water? Yeah, you could ship that same case size with 500 to a thousand cups, ship it to the location, they could use their existing water supply and now have potable water.
- [08:03]
B
Holy crap.
- [08:04]
A
Yeah. And so that's some of the long term applications that we're trying to develop to make an impact in the world.
- [08:11]
B
That's incredible. You're also helping traffic.
- [08:14]
A
Yeah, yeah. You decrease the number of trucks on the road directly.
- [08:17]
B
Yeah, that's major.
- [08:18]
A
Yeah.
- [08:18]
B
And you were a scientist. That's your background, right?
- [08:21]
A
Yeah, it was a. I have an unorthodox background.
- [08:25]
B
Little comedy in there.
- [08:27]
A
A little comedy, yeah. Although my kids don't think I'm very funny anymore.
- [08:31]
B
I've never seen a scientist. The comedy space. Because scientists are so logical.
- [08:35]
A
I, I actually, I did a keynote speech in March in Chicago for a room full at, at the Rosemont for a room full of scientists from around the world. And I just said, you know, I probably just have Tourette's and I'm on the spectrum and I just communicate better than most scientists. Yeah. Just trying to throw some humor in there. But yes, most analytical minded people, mathematicians, engineers, scientists overall don't communicate well and don't have that funny bone, I guess, for lack of a better term. But yeah, My unorthodox background. I took my first chemistry class at a university when I was 10. Wow. Yeah, not that impressive. They gave me. Yeah, 10. And I, they so stupid, you know, because today they, you know, now with everything that's going on in the media where a 10 year old can decide what gender they want to be and I think about how dangerous that is. Well, when I was 10 years old, they gave me a course catalog and they said, here, pick your future. Right. And I liked MacGyver. And I was like, man, I wanna, I wanna do that. And that was it. I could have picked basket weaving and I'd be a basket weaving prodigy, I guess, quote unquote. But then I went on and I started working at Stevens Institute of Technology when I was 12. I did that for about a year and a half and then I moved over and did research at Rutgers University.
- [09:59]
B
Oh, that's where I went.
- [10:00]
A
Oh, did you?
- [10:01]
B
Yeah.
- [10:01]
A
Oh, what campus?
- [10:02]
B
New Brunswick.
- [10:03]
A
Oh, yeah, I was there. Department of Nutritional Sciences.
- [10:06]
B
Nice. Yeah, I didn't last long, but it was fun.
- [10:09]
A
What did you try to study then?
- [10:10]
B
I tried to do marketing.
- [10:11]
A
Okay.
- [10:12]
B
I couldn't get into business school because of pre calc.
- [10:15]
A
Are you from Jersey? Originally?
- [10:16]
B
Yeah, I grew up.
- [10:17]
A
What part of Jersey?
- [10:17]
B
Bridgewater.
- [10:18]
A
Okay, cool. Yeah, I'm from Union City.
- [10:20]
B
Nice.
- [10:21]
A
If. Yeah. So small world. Yeah, small world. Bridgewater is a lot nicer.
- [10:24]
B
Yeah. I would say I grew up pretty.
- [10:26]
A
Privileged than Union City. Union City is hood upper.
- [10:30]
B
Upper middle class. I'd say Bridgewater.
- [10:32]
A
Yeah. Yeah. So I grew up. Both my parents are immigrants. My mom's from Cuba, my dad's from Turkey. Wow. Neither one of them went to college. And I just went on this thing because they imprinted on me that if you want to get out of perpetual poverty, education is the most important thing. And I, like, I think at 5 years old I was like, I don't want to live here for the rest of my life. 5.
- [10:55]
B
So you gotta grow quick.
- [10:56]
A
Yeah.
- [10:56]
B
And so you skipped eight grades, you went to college at 10.
- [10:59]
A
No, because my mom. My mom's one of these overprotected Cuban moms, so she never wanted me to go off to college.
- [11:05]
B
Oh.
- [11:05]
A
So like, I stayed home and went through the normal course and she like. I remember when I went off to college a couple times for like studying different courses or whatever, she had like breakdowns. She's like, I lost my baby and she's like saying prayers in Spanish and all this.
- [11:22]
B
Helicopter parent.
- [11:23]
A
Yeah. And so then I actually, I continued on in the department of Aerospace at Rutgers, I worked on a NASA funded project developing biologically based nano robots. Wow.
- [11:38]
B
This was back then.
- [11:39]
A
Yeah, 20 years ago.
- [11:40]
B
Because those are making a comeback now.
- [11:41]
A
Over 20 years ago. Yeah.
- [11:43]
B
Nanotech's huge now.
- [11:44]
A
Yeah, nanotech's huge. We were developing, I guess, the foundation for self replicating, self maintaining, all biological robots. Wow. And so, like, for example, taking the protein off of HIV that extends out to our white blood cells, the way it triggers is that there's a change in ph as the HIV gets closer to white blood cells. So there's this motion. And so by extracting that protein and manipulating the ph, you have this motion, which is an actuator and the building block to a robot. And so it was all in liquid and whatnot, but very fascinating stuff. And then I ended up going to Cornell. I was an American Chemical Society throughout it all.
- [12:28]
B
What's up?
- [12:30]
A
American Chemical Society is, I guess the, like, if you were a hunter, you would belong to the, like a prestigious hunter group. Right. So it's like a global. Well, yeah, it is global, but the American chapter, it's just a bunch of chemist nerds. Yeah, chemist nerds that all pay membership fees and they get to high five each other. Like, yeah, we're chemists. You know, I stay up to date on all the chemistry stuff, but they help, you know, subsidize my education. And at Cornell, I decided you know what? Fuck this shit. I want to tell fart jokes for the rest of my life. So I became a stand up comic and I never finished with a degree in science. I actually was going to drop out of college, drop out of Cornell, and my roommate talked me out of it and he's like, dude, you're, you're dealing with house money. Like kids, like, you need a piece of paper. So, like, kids will always come up to me and say, hey, do I really need to go to college? Because, like, Zuckerberg didn't go and, you know, Gates didn't finish and. And I'm like, listen, those are anomalies. Like, you still need like a piece of paper because it shows that you are committed to something and that you're employable.
- [13:48]
B
Okay.
- [13:48]
A
Because especially for kids who grow up in poverty, I think, like, that's your safety net. That's something that no one can with looking back. Yeah. You know, like, I regret never getting my PhD.
- [14:03]
B
Wow.
- [14:03]
A
I do. Like, people ask me all the time, what's your, you know, what are you a doctor in, you know, what's your PhD? And I never got it, you know.
- [14:11]
B
So how far were you, like year one or year four? You dropped out?
- [14:15]
A
I dropped out year two.
- [14:17]
B
Oh, year two.
- [14:18]
A
Year two. I need to take a couple credits to have my chemistry degree from Cornell. I actually reached out to the chair couple years back and I was like, hey, can I finish this? And they were like, why? You've accomplished so much more than what a PhD is going to give you. And I'm like, yeah, it's just nice to have that piece of paper. Right?
- [14:39]
B
Get that honorary degree. Maybe.
- [14:40]
A
Maybe I got to donate a library somewhere. I can't say that out loud. Right.
- [14:44]
B
Because now you'll get canceled.
- [14:46]
A
I'll get canceled. But yeah. And then I was a standup comic for about seven, eight years. Traveled the world. Started in New York, performed. I was fortunate that I hooked up with some really good comics that taught me the ropes.
- [14:59]
B
Nice.
- [14:59]
A
And I was one of the first comics to figure out how to leverage social media back in 2005. Six, seven.
- [15:06]
B
Damn, that was early.
- [15:08]
A
Yeah.
- [15:08]
B
Comics for, for anything.
- [15:10]
A
So I was known as the so like Internet comedian, but I was selling out shows and running my own shows. Is the only way, as a young comic, the only way you get better is with stage time. And the only, the only way you get stage time is it by being good. So is this catch 22 thing. And so I figured out how to get better in a short amount of time. Just by leveraging a social media presence before, it was actually a thing I always. My brothers and I, we always joke around. I go, you know, I fucking invented the selfie. And. And I, like, I was. I was dealing with catfishing before. Catfishing was a term. That's what I tell people. But it was interesting. I think that set the skills and the experience that I learned. Doing stand up helped me be the CEO of Smart Cups, because that's what really gave me. It was one of the most stimulating things I've ever done, really, because you're on stage, and it's just you with, you know, a room full of people with their own prejudices and biases, and you have to make everyone laugh.
- [16:21]
B
Right?
- [16:21]
A
You know, and you could lose them. You got to bring them back. You got to read the room. And so. And no audiences, no two audiences are the same. So it was very stimulating for me.
- [16:32]
B
Instant feedback.
- [16:33]
A
Instinct. Feedback. And, you know, I. I used to run this, like, thing to keep me stimulated where I would purposely win a room over and then purposely lose them to see if I could bring them back.
- [16:50]
B
Wow.
- [16:50]
A
And see if I could ride that wave.
- [16:52]
B
You were that good.
- [16:53]
A
I sometimes, trust me, there were some times where, like, I couldn't bring them back, and I was like, yeah, I'm not gonna do that ever again.
- [16:59]
B
So what would you say to lose them?
- [17:01]
A
Just really dark. I mean, one time in Allentown, Pennsylvania, I was doing this show, and I figured, all right, it's towards the end. I did probably 45 minutes, and I did this day. I did this bit. I'm not gonna repeat it. Yeah, I did this bit, and I. I go, mom, I'm like, 21, 22 at the time. I'm like, mom, come see what I'm doing is that they had a big poster board with my face out front. I swear, Allentown, Pennsylvania, is, like, this small town. I feel like in this one, like, restaurant auditorium that the whole town was there. And I told this joke that didn't hit well. And I just kept hitting differently with, like, my responses. And the next thing you know, I'm. I get forks and ketchup bottles thrown at me.
- [17:51]
B
Holy.
- [17:51]
A
And not plastic ketchup bottles. I'm talking the old school glass ones.
- [17:54]
B
Damn.
- [17:55]
A
And I had to go, like, back door, because people were waiting for me in the front.
- [18:01]
B
Holy crap.
- [18:01]
A
Waiting to beat the crap out of me. And my mom, the whole car ride back was just, like, yelling at me. She was like. I'm like, yeah, but did you see the first 45 minutes that was awesome. But that's just. That's the dumb stuff that, you know, you do when you're young and you're a kid now. If I were ever to go back, it would just be pleasant. Yeah, Yeah. I wouldn't do any of those juvenile things. But, yeah, it was, it was a good, good experience doing stand up.
- [18:27]
B
And then from there you went on Gordon Ramsay show, right?
- [18:30]
A
Yeah, I. Yeah. Recently, season one of Gordon Ramsay's food Stars, I was invited to be on the show, and that was an experience. We actually shot one of the challenges right here at Caesar's Palace. Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [18:47]
B
What was the challenge?
- [18:48]
A
Um, we had to develop a entertainment dinner experience in the absinthe tent.
- [18:58]
B
Oh, yeah, it's packed in there. I've been to that show.
- [19:01]
A
Yeah. But we had no audience except for judges.
- [19:04]
B
Oh, got it.
- [19:04]
A
Got it. So it. It is. The food stars experience was probably the most interesting experience of my life. Probably the hardest thing I've ever done, really. Today is actually the two year anniversary that they surprised me in the final episode with my family.
- [19:22]
B
Wow.
- [19:22]
A
And to this day, every time I see my daughter run up to me in that episode, like, I tear up.
- [19:27]
B
Holy crap. How far, how long are you away from your family?
- [19:29]
A
At that point, it was like nearly two months.
- [19:31]
B
Damn.
- [19:32]
A
Two months.
- [19:33]
B
That's longer than Survivor.
- [19:34]
A
Yeah, it was. It was about two months.
- [19:36]
B
I didn't realize that show filmed that long.
- [19:37]
A
And the whole time, like, I'm going, I don't know how to cook. Like, what the am I doing here? Right. And I'm like, at any given moment, like, I'm gonna something up and I'm gonna get sent home for like, undercooking burgers or something like that. But, you know, seeing my kids there is the whole reason I was on the show.
- [19:58]
B
Wow.
- [19:59]
A
And, you know, and. And being able to provide a platform to gain visibility and. And increase the profile of this technology that I've devoted most of my professional career to developing. Bring it to the marketplace and have adoption. So it all worked out at the end in that final episode when Gordon said what he said, you know, it really did change the trajectory of smart cups.
- [20:30]
B
Wow. Just from him saying that it. It could change the world.
- [20:32]
A
Yeah. Yeah. When he in that room, when he said what. When he said, young man, your. Your product could very, quite possibly change the world, I'm in my head going, holy, this is the next. It's like the rebirth of my company. It's this. This technology has made it.
- [20:54]
B
Yeah. Because the product's great. I Feel like you just needed more marketing.
- [20:57]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [20:58]
B
Because. And you, you, you did this a while ago, right.
- [21:00]
A
This product, 2018 is when we first started selling it.
- [21:03]
B
Got it. So six years.
- [21:04]
A
Yeah. So. And then even before that, developing for my kitchen table. So. And, and some trial and error projects and you know, we had to scale all the manufacturing equipment.
- [21:16]
B
Right.
- [21:17]
A
So we finally, a year ago, installed our fully automated production line. That's patented. It took four and a half years.
- [21:23]
B
Damn.
- [21:23]
A
To put together.
- [21:24]
B
So you're about to take off.
- [21:26]
A
Yeah. So now we can take on enterprise business. You'll probably never see a SmartCups branded product in the marketplace moving forward because our technology has applications in practically every industry.
- [21:37]
B
Yeah.
- [21:39]
A
It'll be more B2B. So it'll be someone else's brand powered by smart cups technology. So we're trying to be the intel inside.
- [21:46]
B
Yeah.
- [21:47]
A
Essentially a replacement for bottling and packaging.
- [21:50]
B
Yeah. I could see them for like sports drinks, energy drinks, maybe even coffee. Like, this is crazy coffee.
- [21:55]
A
Coffee is a no brainer.
- [21:57]
B
Yeah. This is huge.
- [21:58]
A
Yeah, hopefully.
- [22:00]
B
And you patented it, which is smart.
- [22:01]
A
Yeah, it's patented. We have a number of patents around the manufacturing that creates protections for us.
- [22:09]
B
Yeah. So which industry are you most optimistic about with this technology?
- [22:14]
A
I would say pharmaceuticals, because there are some bioavailability attributes where your bloodstream will absorb whatever active it is that you're consuming. So I feel like that has some, some, some long term positive impact potential for, for patients.
- [22:38]
B
Yeah, that could be useful for sure.
- [22:40]
A
But I think even like the simplest of applications will be probably the more successful ones commercially. You know, like printed electrolyte drinks, printed probiotics, printed soy sauce, you know, printed ramen noodles.
- [22:56]
B
You can print ramen noodles?
- [22:57]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I actually, I did a video back in December where I brought a carry on to downtown Minnesota with social media star Josh.
- [23:08]
B
Josh Richards.
- [23:09]
A
No. Damn. He's gonna get pissed off because I can't pronounce his last name. But he, he does a lot of like goodwill stuff for the homeless. Got it over there. And he reached out and he was like, hey, do you want to, you know, team up on something? I said, sure. I have this idea. Let me bring a carry on and see how many homeless people we can, we can feed. So I just brought my carry on packed in probably 100, 150 stacked bowls of ramen, hot water fed, you know, over a hundred members of the homeless community there. Like super cheap too, in like 30 minutes.
- [23:46]
B
That's incredible.
- [23:47]
A
Yeah. I'm planning a trip. I want to go to Cuba with the allowable luggage and distribute. With a goal of feeding over a thousand Cubans.
- [23:56]
B
Wow.
- [23:57]
A
With printed milk and printed rice and beans.
- [23:59]
B
Incredible.
- [24:01]
A
So that's a goal that. That I have probably within the next six to 10 months.
- [24:06]
B
Yeah. This technology has the potential to fix world hunger and world thirst.
- [24:10]
A
Yeah, that's. That's the. That's the bigger goal here. That's what we're aiming to do, you know, and then creating strategic partnerships with charities organizations globally.
- [24:20]
B
Right.
- [24:21]
A
That can adopt and then distribute.
- [24:23]
B
Yeah. If you get Red Cross as a partner or one of those big ones.
- [24:26]
A
Yeah.
- [24:26]
B
That's massive.
- [24:27]
A
Red Cross. Is there a camera that I could look at?
- [24:30]
B
This one.
- [24:30]
A
This one. Red Cross. If you're listening, call me. You know, always a shameless plug.
- [24:36]
B
Yeah. Have to. Man. Used to work with Mike Tyson.
- [24:40]
A
I did. I did work.
- [24:42]
B
I did my research.
- [24:43]
A
Yeah, I did. I did work with Mike. They brought me on board to help pass a Fortune 500 audit. Essentially, they were looking for the purest CBD that no cannabis company could produce. And so, you know, it was an interesting couple years. Hung out with Mike. He's. Who's a great guy, by the way. And I hope he wins and beats the crap out of Jake, you know, he's just a monster. Yeah, he's just a monster. And it was great working with him and being exposed to that world.
- [25:13]
B
You take mushrooms with him?
- [25:15]
A
No, but I did. I did make him some printed things that were very interesting.
- [25:23]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [25:23]
A
Per his request. And I prefaced it, and I said, listen, I don't do drugs. I just can make them. Okay. I don't know what this will do to you. Don't me if you have a bad trip. Okay? So the funny thing about Mike is I think he thought I was a child because I'm so short. So one day I was in Miami with him. I'll tell this story. I was in Miami with Mike, and I'm in his bungalow. I'm sitting next to him, working on my laptop, and he looks at me, and it's just, like, dead quiet. He looks at me. He's like, man, quaith, you thought. You thought, man, what do you want to do when you go up and I look at him and I. No pause, just look at him, and I just say, I want to be in a room with Mike Tyson. And I go back to working on my computer. He sits there, and he's like, you doing it? Quiff he. You're doing it. You're doing it. He was, like, legitimately happy for Me. It was like he just granted a Make a Wish foundation wish or some shit. And I'm like, yeah, I'm doing it. All right. So I've got so many of those stories where it's just like. Like, he'd just pick me up and, like, spin me around and hug me.
- [26:31]
B
That's legendary.
- [26:32]
A
He's like, you my scientist? And I'm like, yeah, I'm just your scientist.
- [26:35]
B
The day you left, did you tell him how old you were?
- [26:39]
A
No. I'm like, yeah, like, me, Hezbollah, and that other kid that was on the Man Show. Yeah, we're all like, men.
- [26:49]
B
He picked up Hasbulla.
- [26:50]
A
Yeah, he picked up. Yeah. Oh, man. When that video went out, all my buddies are sending me that video saying, hey, this is you and Mike hanging out. Huh? But, yeah, it was interesting. But, you know, at the end of it, I was able to help put together. It took two and a half years. It was me versus teams of toxicologists from this, like, multibillion dollar company putting a process in place to streamline the production of CBD from, like, 10, 11 days to making a kilo every 90 minutes. And it's the purest CBD on the planet. Wow. Yeah, so that was pretty exciting. We had FDA clinicals approved and nice partnerships with some other universities to do some clinicals. And. Yeah, it was. It was a pretty exciting experience.
- [27:37]
B
That's cool. I had a big CBD phase when I had anxiety. Yeah, it definitely helps.
- [27:41]
A
Yeah, it helps. It really does. You know, when I got into the. Into the industry, I thought it was all snake oil. And then I started reading all, like, the journals, the research papers coming out of Spain and Israel, and I was like, holy crap.
- [27:54]
B
Yeah, there's something there.
- [27:55]
A
Anecdotally, I can tell you a ton of stories. Yeah, just Rick, Simpson, Oil. All, like, different. Different stories. I mean, I don't want to get in trouble, but just how it has positively impacted so many people's lives and just healed them.
- [28:14]
B
Just cbd.
- [28:15]
A
CBD and thc.
- [28:17]
B
Oh, THC too.
- [28:18]
A
As well. Yeah. And just. But cbd, too, for pain.
- [28:22]
B
Yeah.
- [28:22]
A
They were going after the pain indication, chronic pain, and how it just. And it's not a catch all, like, it's not a miracle herb. You know, everybody's body's different. Everybody's gonna accept it differently. Yeah. So it was. That was. That was a very interesting chapter in my life.
- [28:40]
B
Yeah. And that was back then where it wasn't as accepted. Right. Like, that's right. Regulations.
- [28:44]
A
Yeah.
- [28:44]
B
Yeah. They did not want CBD on the Market. I remember, payment processors wouldn't allow it.
- [28:48]
A
No, this is. Yeah, just before. And even two years after the farm bill, you know, people just didn't want to touch it. Yeah, even. Even. Yeah. Like, I would say, even four years after the farm bill, people were still, like, weirded out by it.
- [29:05]
B
Holy crap.
- [29:06]
A
It was really, really just Shade of gray. I had a funny story. Like, I was. I drive a Smart Car, and it was Tupac's birthday, and I was. We were building out the Smart cups facility, and I had a bunch of CBD in my trunk, and I'm. I was on the phone. I'm blasting Tupac because of Tupac's way and that. You were in California. You just hear Tupac all day long. And I get pulled over by a cop. And he pulls me over, and he's like. And I'm in my head, I'm like. Like, this is bad for cbd. And he pulls me over, he goes, do you know why I pulled you over? And I said, racial profiling. I mean, because, you know, I'm a minority blasting Tupac, and I've got $100,000 worth of cannabis products in my Smart car. And he started laughing, and he's like, man, people like you, it's so hard to give tickets to. So he comes back, gives me the ticket, he, listen, man, you know, if you go to court and I don't show up, it gets wiped away.
- [30:11]
B
Wow.
- [30:11]
A
And I was like, telling the truth really does work.
- [30:15]
B
Damn.
- [30:15]
A
Yeah.
- [30:16]
B
So you admitted you had the weed.
- [30:17]
A
I. I told them the truth.
- [30:19]
B
Holy.
- [30:20]
A
I'm a minority blasting Tupac with cannabis in my Smart car, so.
- [30:25]
B
And it worked.
- [30:26]
A
And it worked.
- [30:26]
B
I guess it depends on the cop.
- [30:28]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you get a different. Everything is. Is situational. Yeah, everything is.
- [30:33]
B
The cops would have been licking their lips with the.
- [30:35]
A
Oh, yeah. Yeah. But he thought I was just kidding.
- [30:38]
B
Oh, he did?
- [30:39]
A
Yeah, I just said it, and I was just, like, smiling the whole time. I was like, goofy little, you know, white guy in the stupid Smart car that looks like a unicorn pistol over it, so.
- [30:48]
B
I used to be so scared driving with weed in Jersey, man. They don't around there.
- [30:52]
A
No, they don't.
- [30:52]
B
Oh, my gosh. You have, like, a little nug. You're getting rusted.
- [30:55]
A
Yeah, I never. I. You know, growing up, I never smoked weed. I never. I never did any of that stuff. I. I don't. I still don't.
- [31:04]
B
You never smoked?
- [31:06]
A
This is not going to be like a Bill Clinton moment, but, you know, I think when you Go through working with Mike for so many years, eventually, you know, you get contact exposure, but. Or peer pressured.
- [31:20]
B
Yeah.
- [31:20]
A
Or threatened by someone.
- [31:22]
B
It's hard to deny that.
- [31:23]
A
Yeah. But it. It. I. I never was interested in it, I think, because weed was, like. Because I grew up in the hood, so all the bad kids were smoking weed.
- [31:35]
B
Yeah.
- [31:35]
A
And I was like, well, if I smoke weed, I'm gonna be stuck here and this is gonna be my future. If I don't, you know, then I have a better probability of I could see that. Doing something better with my life.
- [31:49]
B
Yeah. Same with my town.
- [31:51]
A
Yeah.
- [31:51]
B
Yeah.
- [31:52]
A
So I just. I just stayed away from it all, and it just imprinted on me.
- [31:56]
B
Yeah. So. Yeah. Same with Bridgewater. I caved senior year, but I held off for a while.
- [32:01]
A
Yeah.
- [32:02]
B
There's just nothing to do in Jersey, man.
- [32:04]
A
You know what I mean? Like, go to the mall.
- [32:07]
B
Yeah, that's it. Go to the Bridgewater Mall.
- [32:09]
A
Yeah.
- [32:10]
B
That's about it, man.
- [32:11]
A
Yeah.
- [32:11]
B
Well, Chris, it's been fun. Where can people learn more about you and smart Cups?
- [32:15]
A
They could go to smartcups.com we're actually about to launch a capital raise. So if anybody's interested in investing and being a shareholder of smart cups, we're doing it on StartEngine, which is an equity crowdfunding site, and smart cups on Instagram. And then my personal Instagram is CEO dad Life. I've got three kids, and, you know, I just post funny videos with them.
- [32:39]
B
Awesome. We'll link it all below. Thanks for coming on, man.
- [32:41]
A
I appreciate it. Thank you.
- [32:42]
B
Thanks for watching, guys. See you tomorrow.
- [32:43]
A
Thank you.