THE INSIDE STORY OF THE CHAMPS TRADE SHOW

The organizer of the biggest smokeshop trade show tells us how it all started, why it’s successful and why you should be there If you’re reading this magazine, then there’s a really good chance the CHAMPS trade show isn’t foreign to you.It’s where wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers in the smoke shop world meet up twice a year -- well, three times now, but we’ll get to that. They congregate to discover new products, network, place orders and...

Read More

STUFF WE DIG: ISSUE 2

Movies “The Dictator” We’ve seen Sacha Baron Cohen as the bumbling “Borat” and the flamboyant “Bruno” now let’s see what he can do as an outrageous Middle Eastern dictator. In “The Dictator,” Baron Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen and goes less mockumentary and more scripted comedy. (Out May 11) “The Avengers” It’s like a superhero orgy. You take Ironman, The Hulk, Thor, Captain America and the rest of the Marvel crew, put them together...

Read More

The Main Man

Bill Kleppinger brings the happy, hippie vibe to his friendly smoke shop 632 Main Bill Kleppinger never really intended to open a smoke shop. It just kind of happened. One day he was a landlord renting out a building on 632 Main St. in Toledo, Ohio. Not too long later, he was in business there himself, running a shop that would eventually be called 632 Main. When he was the landlord, Kleppinger says his tenants never seemed to “make a go of it”...

Read More

WIZ KID

Budding hip-hop superstar Wiz Khalifa joins the elite circle of music’s most famous potheads with a little help from Snoop Dogg The hip-hop collaboration that got the most attention in 2011 was Watch the Throne -- the tandem album from megastars Jay-Z and Kanye West. But while Jigga and ‘Ye postured and bragged about how rich and famous they were, another hip-hop twosome was -- metaphorically speaking -- sitting in the back row, blazed out of their...

Read More

Extreme Athlete Profile: RANDY JONES

Flying high off creativity, on camera and off Ask any extreme athlete and they’ll tell ya what separates their sports from more traditional athletic conquests is the danger, the risk. But there’s another thing too: the creative flair. No diss to Albert Pujols, but there are only a few ways to hit a baseball. And LeBron, well, he can only put a ball in a basket so many ways. But a skater or snowboarder? In their worlds, creativity reigns supreme. Just...

Read More

POP CULTURE PANEL - ISSUE 1

This month: What’s your favorite movie about pot? HALF BAKED “I wanna talk to Samson! Fly me to the moon like that bitch Alice Kramden! 'Cause it's hard being black and gifted! Sometimes I wanna throw it all down and get lifted!” - Peter, Seattle “Dave Chappelle said his best friend was an Abba Zabba bar.” - Mike, Visalia BLOW “‘Blow’ was essentially an herb movie about the incremental steps of moving small end to making deals with a...

Read More

MAN ON A MISSION

Phatmanz Alley devoted to great pipes and making customers to feel good Rick Zimmerman knows the importance of owning a good pipe. Don’t believe us? Listen to this story.  One day a few years ago, he was driving down the freeway, window down, arm hanging out, pipe in hand. Suddenly, he lost his grip, his pipe flew out of his hand and went clanking down the road. He was bummed. It was his favorite. About a year later, a customer came walking...

Read More

THE VAPE CRUSADERS

From humble beginnings to a worldwide network, Got Vape has been on the forefront of the vaporizer movement The folks at Got Vape are predicting a big boom in vaporizers in 2012. If they’re correct, then the Got Vape crew -- the leading distributor of vaporizers and vaporizer related products -- is in for a big year. “Usually there's like one or two new vaporizers per year, this year we have about eight,” says Nano Donlin, the marketing and promotions...

Read More

STUFF WE DIG - ISSUE 1

STUFF WE DIG (aka stuff we’re high on at the moment) Music El Camino -- The Black Keys The stomping bluesy-rock duo recently unveiled its latest album and it’s more of what they do best -- great guitar riffs, groovy baselines and infectious songs. Is it time for them to finally crack into full-on mainstream stardom? Perhaps. A$AP Rocky Rocky is a New York rapper with a Houston drawl -- a guy whose music is equal parts Mobb...

Read More