Meet Blake Smedley | Holistic chemist and healer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Blake Smedley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Blake, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I was studying chemistry and physics in school and making cannabis products as my real world chemistry experiments, and my roommate suggested I try making topical products. I immediately dismissed it since it sounded like too much work, but the next day my father gave me a call to let me know he had been struggling with shingles for the last few days. I decided I would make a lotion and send it to him to see what it would do.

I honestly wasn’t expecting much, but he reported it alleviated around 60-70% of the pain and made it totally bearable. It also cleared up entirely in just over a week. Naturally, that surprised me and forced me to do my research on the matter. I was shocked to discover the endocannabinoid system my initial product stimulated was the most researched system in the body with over 40,000 papers on it at the time and hundreds of patents. Patents are the best place to find good science backed information, and not as surprisingly, the U.S. Government themselves had dozens of patents claiming rights to synthetic cannabis based pharmaceuticals and other medical modalities.

This excellent research is what got me rolling way ahead of the curve almost 9 years ago now. I am very grateful for their guidance around the efficacy of illicit plant medicines because it pointed us in the right direction and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Here at Begin, we are a little different than most companies because we do our best to make quality products that help heal the environment, the people and our societies while still generating enough money to keep everything rolling. This requires way more research and work on our end, but it is worth it to us since we get a guiding feeling of deep fulfillment from the work we do. We aren’t trying to be the biggest company, as we are not motivated by financial gain, but we do want to be our personal best and make as large of a positive impact as we can while we are here on this beautiful planet. Naturally, the bigger we get, the more money we will make to spread our message of healing one another, but our most important metrics of success are focused on the legacy we will leave behind. Were we good stewards of the land? Did we leave the world and everything on it better than we found it? Did we continue to improve and grow each day personally and as a company, and resist taking the easy roads of instant gratification that inevitably leads toward corruption? Our course has been made more difficult because of our regenerative multigenerational way of thinking, but we fully believe it brings about the best results that contribute to the greatest possible good for all things. We will always strive to fulfill this goal, and work to become the best possible versions of ourselves personally and as a company. Always in beta, always growing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We feel the best way to explore a new area is to do things that give us an appreciation for the culture of that region. It’s food, history, nature, people, music, etc. Naturally, we would start by giving them the lay of the land by taking them on a hike or two of the highest and most beautiful points in the region with a view that would allow us to point to areas of significance that we will go visit and can give a brief history of to see what interests them most. The Trans-Catalina Trail and any trail near Big bear, Mt. San Jacinto or Mt. baldy, among many others are all great options.

From there, we would go explore those place we talked about to find all the best local food spots and shops. The best quality is always at the mom and pop shops of the area and keeps our money circulating locally, so that is always our first option! We would go for the best parks, like balboa, to play in and places to dance, sing, do some art or whatever else strikes us along our journey! We would certainly take them all along the coast to the beach towns and get in the water as often as possible, ending each night with some beach yoga and a bonfire or some local music at an intimate local venue.

Overall, we would go everywhere that sounded fun to them, from Balboa to Echo park, Coronado to Santa Monica beach and the Getty to the Midway! Whatever floated our boats in each moment, we would be down to go with it and see where the river of life took us! This is our preferred mode of operation as we have found it brings us the best results by staying in a state of flow and balance with nature and all things within it.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are too many to name, as I have had many wonderful mentors in my life, but without the support of my amazing wife and business partner Valerie, I would not be in a good situation. I had many paths to choose from when we met, and she kept me from making emotional decisions and giving up virtually all of my business to several interested parties.

At that crucial junction in time, the guidance of two other very influential women in the hemp world made a huge impact on me, Barbara Filippone of Envirotextiles, and Judith Schreuder of Dutch Farms Organics. They affirmed that my products were great, and that organic growth was the best way to grow and retain my integrity.

Also, I wouldn’t have been led down this path I’m on without my family who supported my curiosities throughout my life, and always had an ailment for me to figure out how to heal. Finally, a huge thanks goes to the government and industry patents that guided me toward the plant medicines that work the most efficaciously, and without the side effects of pharmaceuticals when they are made in a minimally processed, full spectrum way.

Website: https://www.beginbotanicals.com

Instagram: @beginbotanicals

Facebook: Facebook.com/beginbotanicals

Image Credits
3/6 Photos (Val holding bongers, Lotion bottles, and bongers on table) by Soul Purpose Photography – Amanda Smedley Ig: @soul_purpose_photography