Olympic Effort for Ross' Gold

Get ready to embark on a journey with our esteemed guest, Ross Rebagliati, a world champion, dedicated father, Olympic Gold Medalist and staunch cannabis advocate. Ross brings to the table his inspiring tale of launching his brand, Ross' Gold, exactly 25 years after clinching the Olympics. He is determined to shatter stereotypes while advocating for cannabis legalization and sharing his experiences from before and after Nagano.

Ross's life underwent an enormous shift post winning the 1998 Nagano Olympics. From being shunned by his sport to embarking on a promotional tour with Roots, Ross bore it all. Woven into the fabric of these experiences are unforgettable memories, like partying with Dan Akroyd and supermodels in Soho and smoking a joint with Keith Richards before a Rolling Stones concert. Ross also lifts the veil off the exciting line of products that is about to launch in Ontario. 

On a more personal note, Ross shares the story of his transition from ski racing to snowboarding. He opens up about his adventures leading to the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the politics involved in the snowboard federation. Through heartfelt sharing, he explains the importance of quality over potency in choosing cannabis, and throws light on the entourage effect where a mix of high THC and other components can enhance the overall impact. This conversation is all about understanding the world of cannabis, its impact on athletes, and how it's slowly morphing into a culturally accepted norm.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I'm Sean and I'm Charlie, and this is higher orbit.

Speaker 2: 0:10

Episode 16 we got a special evening episode.

Speaker 1: 0:14

Yeah, with our first guest from not in the studio, we're welcome to welcoming a world champion. He was featured on the cut on high times magazine. A father, he's an advocate, advocate and a fucking gold Gold medal champion Ross probably welcome to the podcast and how are you?

Speaker 3: 0:38

Good to be here, just getting through the summer, the dog days of summer out here.

Speaker 1: 0:43

How's that been? I know that you're working on a new. You got a brand launching. We were, you were telling me like very soon in Ontario. Are you guys already in other provinces?

Speaker 3: 0:53

Yeah, the Ross school brand is finally alive and launching in Ontario on August 16th Fuck yeah, and. I know can't believe it is that it's real and it it's actually happening, because really I was in jail. I know we're gonna talk about this later, but I was just like you know when it is Just gonna right yes maybe five years later. We're launching into Toronto August 16th and we actually launched in British Columbia for our first launch in store February 8th.

Speaker 3: 1:34

Okay, this is my years, 25 years to the day that I won the Olympics, and it was in plan and out that had nothing to do that. It just happened on the same day. So it was just. Yeah, it was a great little omen there.

Speaker 1: 1:48

That's so special.

Speaker 2: 1:49

That's awesome. Have you been like working on that, like basically ever since? Was it, like you know, after?

Speaker 1: 1:55

well, obviously not right after, but it was like I'm gonna start a weed company you know, you always knew you were gonna be in this kind of this businessman, like after your snowboarding kind of kind of came to an end there.

Speaker 3: 2:06

Yeah, you know, I totally. I mean, to be honest, I was already in the business before Nagano, just helping my friends out trimming and stuff like that.

Speaker 3: 2:16

There you go um, it was like entrenched already like 10 years before Nagano, and so we we basically had to go through like, as we got closer to the Olympics, drug testing came and so we conformed to that and and everything. But yeah, no, the whole thing is just surreal. I was actually thinking at the time like this is gonna take time for it to come full circle where I'm gonna be able to have my own brand.

Speaker 3: 2:43

But I literally thought of it 25 years ago that this is what I was gonna do and for the whole entire time since Nagano, I all I've been doing is Advocating for the legalization of cannabis, smashing stereotypes and stigma, trying to explain to people with the hell of an endocannabinoid system is and why you need cannabis in your Body and why it's good for you know so many different Reasons and how it works for me, and anyway, that's what my and I. We started doing trade shows Back in 2012 when we launched we initially launched the Ross school brand in 2012, kind of.

Speaker 1: 3:21

I want to ask you one thing Before I forget one thing before I forget and I mean my brother were thinking about this. Do you remember what you were smoking?

Speaker 2: 3:29

Before Nagano like like you, remember that you remember what bag you were.

Speaker 1: 3:33

You were smoking on, like leading into your training.

Speaker 3: 3:38

Yeah, I totally remember. It was in a Ziploc and it was called weed.

Speaker 1: 3:44

That's great man. That makes total sense. I'm like thinking back down. I'm like you know it was probably like kind bud. If anything, it was like you know, or whatever you got right.

Speaker 3: 3:53

So it was whatever you got and I could never understand why we always ran out in the summer until I figured out that's when the week grows and, yeah, it was hilarious just learning about, you know, the whole process of weed and and you know I had friends growing it back in the day, but even then, like they just called it Jair, hmm, like generic.

Speaker 3: 4:19

It was like a high output, super resilient against like PM and all that kind of stuff. Like bugs didn't even know it was a plant right and so they just kept cranking it out and they just called it Jair and and, but, to be honest, like if you run out of weed man, you're just buying weed from anywhere from anybody. Didn't you know it was?

Speaker 1: 4:42

a far cracker.

Speaker 2: 4:44

I have a quick personal anecdote, just because you were saying you you've been doing trade shows and I mean the idea for Ross's gold must have been around for a while. But I dug this up and I actually have this from 2017. This was from left, I don't know if you were there, oh, the Ross's gold lighter. Yeah, oh, we had the lift convention kind of the start of me and Sean's journey in a way in the legal space, because it was like the first time we had gone to a convention.

Speaker 1: 5:09

I remember that.

Speaker 3: 5:10

I wonder if you were there, I don't really remember.

Speaker 2: 5:12

I guess maybe I was really baked.

Speaker 3: 5:14

Yeah, if you got that later, then I was there and that was our second generation. We'd already gone through a whole font. Nice yeah, there's an earlier. There's an earlier fun earlier, later than that. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 5:30

I can't give it to you. I'll never give it back.

Speaker 3: 5:33

That was probably around 2017 when you got that later you got it exactly 2017 and in 2012.

Speaker 3: 5:42

We had a blowback later with a different font. Anyways, man, you know I've been in in the game for 25 years I'm not even kidding and Just literally like didn't even know what to do. Like how was I gonna get into his illegal? You know, I had to transition away from my snowboard career and all kind of weird shit. Like kind of fell apart after the Olympics, like to do with sponsorship, right, getting on the no fly list and not being able to travel to the States and all kind of weird shit. And so it was just like this Rebirth of like who, who am? I? Right, I was like building houses, operating excavators and just like for ten years. So I was like that's well all as I did Kind of in the meantime, doing podcasts and interviews about. You know, like when Michael Phelps I was the guy when Michael Phelps had his little.

Speaker 2: 6:37

Right story. I remember that was a back them up.

Speaker 3: 6:40

Yeah, I was. I was on NBC, I was the backup and but at the time there was only there. I was like the only athlete with nothing to lose. That was credible. I had my medal. Still, that would talk about it. And so I'm like, yeah, there's a lot of reasons athletes would use it. It's, you know, fat-free, zero calories, helps you sleep, blah, blah, all that stuff. And then the anti weed guys like, well, why are there more people and cannabis rehab than any other illicit drug? And if it's so safe or whatever, and it's you know, every, it's kind of common knowledge nowadays. But in the state since you get an ultimatum if you get picked up for possession of either jail time or we have so I mean his jaw just dropped, he couldn't believe, like I knew that you know the comeback was out when then.

Speaker 3: 7:33

This was for Phelps.

Speaker 1: 7:34

yeah, yeah, I think more recently you were supporting Shikari Richardson too, right, I think, if I read that correctly as well, and God bless her in the fight she was fighting. That was fucked up, right? That needs to be a ban.

Speaker 2: 7:44

Yeah, well, now we have-. That's it. I mean, hopefully something like the Olympic Committee is that right. You worked with them to allow for cannabis use.

Speaker 3: 7:54

Well, what happened was that when I got my medal back again was because they discovered weed wasn't on the IOC list of banned substances, and then they added it through that list that summer and since then, which was 25 years ago, to now, it's still on, but the threshold is 1,000% more than what it was when they first added it. Oh wow, so you wouldn't get your gold now is what you're saying.

Speaker 2: 8:26

That wouldn't have even happened now.

Speaker 3: 8:28

Yeah, it wouldn't have happened and the whole thing was obviously they didn't know how to handle it, they didn't know what to do, but it was a little bit of a mystery, but yeah, Crazy man, it was a wild experience.

Speaker 1: 8:46

I know you took note that the NBA took cannabis off their banned substance list. I don't know, I just wanted your thoughts on that and if you think that, I kind of heard the players still might be kind of nervous. You mentioned sponsorships. Like sure it's not on the banned substances list, but I'm sure there's a lot of brands that still unfortunately, I guess, wouldn't want to be associated. Would you kind of agree with that statement?

Speaker 3: 9:09

It's a tough one. I mean, the NBA kind of has that sort of culture around it to begin with, and the whole sponsorship thing with regards to the NBA is a little bit more lenient than some of the other big sports. I would imagine that's just my own opinion, but what it does is it just relieves the stress of the players.

Speaker 3: 9:31

Because, first of all, they're using cannabis to feel better and to relax without drinking, and so that they can be on point the next day again. But what comes with that is the anxiety of a potential drug test and how the fallout with their sponsors might be or might not be, and so the fact that they're just taking it off their testing protocol just gives them peace of mind. These players know how to get product without getting in trouble.

Speaker 3: 9:59

Man, the shit's waiting for them when they get where they're going, and the nature of cannabis isn't like they're not blazing in the locker room before the match. Cannabis is something that you do at the end, when the game's over and you're back at your pad chilling with your homies. I've heard some players do, though.

Speaker 2: 10:19

You didn't like to blaze before you ran, of course.

Speaker 1: 10:21

Yeah, I heard some NBA players claim that they did smoke before they played.

Speaker 2: 10:25

but Sometimes maybe not when- you're performing at the highest level, but here's the difference, right?

Speaker 3: 10:30

Yeah, I love blazing when I have stuff like that, but when you're at an NBA game and there's cameras and all the fans and stuff like for me when I was at the Olympics or a World Cup event it's just not conducive to smoking. Weed man. There's cameras and families. You don't want to be baked, right then, right.

Speaker 3: 10:53

You're just happy that you were able to smoke as much as you wanted after the race or during the off-season, so that you could get your training in, stay motivated, stay focused and just continue to be healthy. I mean, it's a fucking workout just to be healthy.

Speaker 2: 11:08

Right, but you didn't blaze in Japan though, right, you said you went to jail. No, yeah, wow, wow, what happened.

Speaker 3: 11:18

there was the drug testers that tested me, did my urine test in the finish line in the Army tent. When they saw I tested positive for a schedule one substance which is different than a steroid, they went behind the IOC and reported me to the cops, to the authorities. Wow, and so when I went through the whole appeal thing to try to reverse their decision of taking my medal away which obviously I was successful and there's a whole story there but the last thing was the cops wanted to go up and take me up to the police station. There was an open case on me. This was literally like I didn't know it. But the decision to give me my medal back was gonna come at the end of that day, but I didn't know that.

Speaker 3: 12:15

So quick turn out and whether they're gonna give me. Yeah, it could have been the next day or whatever, but what happened was I ended up in the jail and they were interrogating me in one of the jail cells for like three, four hours and then they made the decision. The IOC decided to reinstate me because the judges from the court of arbitration realized the simple fact that it wasn't on the list of banned substances and I didn't actually break any rules, and that was the only reason why they let me out of the jail. That police chief was like you know what we can't keep you in anymore because your gold medalist, it'll get too political. And so they released me. But yeah, man, I'd just be getting out now if they hadn't reinstated me.

Speaker 1: 13:04

That's fucking crazy man that's fucking wild, yeah.

Speaker 3: 13:09

So I was like a roller coaster from the day before where I won, which was an unbelievable experience, like the four years of buildup for one race and then to be in jail like literally like 24 hours, 48 hours later.

Speaker 1: 13:24

When was the moment that you felt that something was a rye and you're like all right, I'm in trouble right now. I know I'm in fucking deep shit and is there like a moment?

Speaker 3: 13:33

you can remember. Yeah, there's a moment man. There's a moment man, and the whole where the race was, and it was the morning after and my room was full of people coming, milling around checking out the gold medal. We didn't, none of us had seen, you know, Olympic medals before. And then the coaches came into my room and there's like three coaches came in. They basically like ordered everybody to leave and that I better stop.

Speaker 1: 14:13

Oh, no, ross, we lost you in second.

Speaker 3: 14:15

That was the moment. That was the moment.

Speaker 1: 14:18

Can you say that one more time? We cut out there really quickly, so I know I haven't even lost you on that moment. What was the moment? Say it one more time.

Speaker 3: 14:27

So the coaches came in.

Speaker 1: 14:28

Three coaches came in. They told everyone to leave. Yeah, we were there with you.

Speaker 3: 14:34

They told everyone. They told everyone. Besides, they said everyone get out except for Ross and Ross you better sit down. And that was the moment and they were like, do you have an idea? Because they didn't know what it was at the time. They just know. I tested positive for something.

Speaker 1: 14:53

And they wanted to know.

Speaker 3: 14:54

Maybe you know what it could be. I'm like you know what. There's absolutely nothing that it could be. But if there was actually something, it would be weed, Because that's the only thing.

Speaker 1: 15:05

You're like guys, I smoke some weed.

Speaker 2: 15:07

And that's what I could be around. This was from the end of a test on the run, or this was like an old test.

Speaker 3: 15:16

No, this was right at the end of the race, after like literally 10 minutes after the race was over, right in the finish line of Nagano.

Speaker 2: 15:26

That's interesting how, when you're like too good, they're like, ah, he must be doing something, he must be doing drugs, right?

Speaker 1: 15:32

He must be doing something. I feel like man what?

Speaker 2: 15:35

a story of highs and lows.

Speaker 1: 15:37

It's like what? The highest high to the lowest lows, and then they gave it back to you. I just can't imagine it's still brutal.

Speaker 2: 15:44

Like were you able to compete after this? Like was it political after? Did you get, you know, blacklisted?

Speaker 3: 15:51

Yeah, I got blacklisted and it got political and there was a bunch of like those hardcore conservatives Like they're not just here, right, they're all around the world, and so, like my first race the next year was in Austria and I managed to pull my life back together again after that. Summer was crazy with the whole, like Jay Leno and going around Canada with roots and the roots guys. You know I packed the Eaton Center with something like 7000 people or something like that. It was those hats right.

Speaker 1: 16:26

We all had one of those hats, man, I remember. Remember the backward Kangl style yeah.

Speaker 3: 16:31

Yeah, it was insane, like the poor boy hat.

Speaker 3: 16:35

And yeah. So it was just like pull myself back together, get back on tour. The first race back in Austria, there was like 50 media that never came to a race, as before, and they're all asking me like questions about weed and if I think I should be a role model and you know what, what? You know all that kind of stuff. And I was. I was losing my focus more and more. Like, of course, like the Olympics was a huge distraction, and then the whole summer long tour, promotional tour and things like that for roots there was a massive. You know, I didn't get any summer training in and then I actually won the first race the next season, which was great, but I got disqualified because I think they thought I jumped over one of the gates, which I don't think I did, but my riding was still on point was my point to make it.

Speaker 2: 17:33

Oh, and roots didn't just the distraction. Sorry to cut you off.

Speaker 3: 17:37

My drawing.

Speaker 2: 17:39

No, no, no, roots didn't drop you through all this. That's kind of cool. They had your back.

Speaker 3: 17:45

Yeah, Roots was all about. You know the whole weed thing, and Michael and Don are blazers.

Speaker 1: 17:52

Hey, I don't know if you guys know that.

Speaker 2: 17:55

I think they open.

Speaker 1: 17:56

I got dispensary called canoe, I believe I think roots was involved in that. I think they did there you go. That makes sense to me now. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 18:04

So it was like the perfect mix, like the perfect sponsor and for after the Olympics for me, and they did a great job, you know, with their marketing and promoting and you know they got me all around in front of people Like the one of the coolest things. There's two cool things that I can remember doing with roots. There was partying in Soho, New York, with Dan Akroyd and a whole bunch of super models and a bunch of other wild people.

Speaker 3: 18:32

And then the other one was that in Denver, backstage of the Rolling Stones concert, smoking a joint with Keith Richards right before he goes on stage, and then we're all in the front row after that.

Speaker 1: 18:42

Legendary. That's very cool.

Speaker 3: 18:44

And stuff like that. You know cool stuff. So, yeah, roots roots was a great sponsor, but, yeah, I ended up having to like, take a step back.

Speaker 1: 18:55

Oh, how old are you when that happened? When, when the show with Keith Richards?

Speaker 3: 19:01

How old was that Remember?

Speaker 1: 19:02

year that was, I guess, just yeah, I was.

Speaker 3: 19:05

I was 26 and 98. And this probably been a couple of years later, so probably I was around 28 or 29 by then.

Speaker 1: 19:13

That's pretty awesome time, man. So what a wicked time to be alive. That's sick. I'm back. What are you most excited about? What products are you guys launching with your your first round in Ontario? What should we, what should we be getting excited about ordering in Cosmic Charlie's?

Speaker 3: 19:29

Yeah, 100%. So we've got like five SKUs out in British Columbia right now. Getting into Ontario was a bit more of a process than what it is here, and so what we've? We've got our three half gram Black Diamond Indica pre-rolls.

Speaker 1: 19:45

Okay.

Speaker 3: 19:46

So we got into the OCS. You know it was, it was touch and go Like they almost didn't. You know like it was with nail biting, very exciting moment. But yeah, super pumped to get into Ontario. It's not. Everybody gets into Ontario Like it's not, it's not a thing you can just do, if you want to. Yeah, it's tough.

Speaker 1: 20:07

Do you have any idea? Why? Is it? Just because there's a lot of pre-rolls and they were just, they were suspect about your, the strain, do you think? Or the the? You don't know, who knows?

Speaker 3: 20:16

No, no, it's because the OCS controls the whole thing right. So they only want products that they think they'll get sell through with because they're in it for money. They're not. It's not a charity project for a bunch of guys that want to start weed companies.

Speaker 1: 20:29

Got it.

Speaker 3: 20:31

And so they just want to make sure that it's going to sell, let's be honest, during on point, it's going to sell.

Speaker 3: 20:38

They want to know what's going to sell. So that that was you know. That's kind of you know. The advantage that I have over some of the other brands is just a little bit of name recognition. But, to be fair, like not everybody knows who I am. Man like. There's a lot of people that are like in their twenties that never even heard of me before, which is great, I don't. I mean, there's a new person every day coming into the cannabis scene and all the brands in the whole business are new. Let's be honest, we've only been out for a couple of years. Are we cutting it A little bit? So are you going to?

Speaker 1: 21:17

be with us. Can we take a quick break and see if we can figure this out we're going to do. You want to have a quick smoke break? Can we take five? I'm loving the conversation we're having. I would love to continue chatting with you.

Speaker 2: 21:26

Oh, what do you got there?

Speaker 3: 21:28

This is the organic mango gold. Ooh and it's the sativa and it's packed full of terpenaline, which is like that. Oh, interesting Makes you feel awesome, yeah, and so, anyways, it's our sativa, it's called organic mango gold and it's super like when you grow now west it smells like fucking like yop mango, yop Yopole.

Speaker 1: 21:54

Ooh, I love that. A little yogurt, some yogurt, yopole, what about yeah?

Speaker 2: 21:59

dude.

Speaker 1: 22:01

Would it call it Instagram? Instagram?

Speaker 2: 22:05

Yeah, we can. Where can we?

Speaker 3: 22:05

follow you buddy? Where can we find?

Speaker 1: 22:07

Ross's gold. What's your Instagram handle?

Speaker 3: 22:09

Okay, so the company is Ross's gold cannabis. So at Ross's gold cannabis my main account is Ross Rebliatti and the number 98. So Ross Rebliatti, 98. 98, big year. And that's my main account. So hit me up there If you guys DM me on either account. I get back to everybody. And yeah, man, I've been working on my main account now for since 2015,. Like when I was working in the black market, and there's some.

Speaker 3: 22:42

There's a. If you go right back to the beginning you can see a few things. I kind of scrubbed it a little bit for a couple of things we were doing.

Speaker 2: 22:49

Makes sense, makes sense.

Speaker 3: 22:52

Yeah, there's a couple of things that aren't there anymore, but no, I've been like working Instagram and and the whole thing just in the, the hopes that we would eventually finally get something to market in a legal space where I wouldn't you know like we would be able to. We were all like we had the MAM, ARs and the ACMP ours and we were under our numbers or whatever. But yeah, no, I was like entrenched in the business for like I don't even know over like we're looking at around 15 years of growing and and just learning about, you know, the cannabis industry and how we move forward. Like when Harper finally went medical, we weren't sure if it was going to be medical or not, but I think it was. It was.

Speaker 3: 23:36

And then there was a huge price tag to get involved as far as having any kind of licensing and and everything. So I kind of just had to like play it out. We started the brand and we hit the trade shows and we were getting brand traction with a line of glass that we did and everything. But just the whole thing was impossible to break into for a guy like me, and so it was just a matter of kind of waiting and watching to see what happened. And then finally, I noticed there was some wiggle room, with the regulations changing in the last 24 months, and that's when we were able to start executing and getting our brand out on some quality and one of the beauty things. I know you guys want to go to a break and but I'm just in the middle of this, it's great.

Speaker 1: 24:21

Yeah, man, keep going.

Speaker 3: 24:23

These guys that I'm working with that grow. The black diamond that you guys are getting about a week is that I used to work at that facility.

Speaker 1: 24:32

No one yet. That's cool.

Speaker 3: 24:34

I know, I, yeah, and I know these guys and very cool, great, so like legacy friends that you're kind of doing this together with what's the strain in there, that black diamond?

Speaker 1: 24:45

Black diamond man. I've had that before. That's a very, that's a old school strain. That's a very old school strain for me, man.

Speaker 3: 24:51

I remember getting black, so I don't know if you can see this picture here, but this, this is a bud that I grew at living cannabis when I was there growing, and that's just a picture I had in my phone, but the the lineage of it is triangle Kush, constantine Kush and master Yoda.

Speaker 1: 25:12

Yeah, it's not heavy heavy stuff.

Speaker 3: 25:14

Yeah, nice, heavy behind my lids what I want to just make a point of, as well as when we launched with the black diamond here I have a different batch than what we launched with, but I launched with 3.5. Terps and 23% THC. I could have had whatever pick of the crop Like. I could have had any levels of whatever, but the the honest to God's truth is that this fucks me up every time and that 23%, when you mix 23% with 3.6% Terps, I mean you're, you're dead.

Speaker 2: 25:51

It doesn't matter yeah.

Speaker 3: 25:54

But what you guys are getting it's a little bit different. It's just a different round and it comes off different every time. Nobody really knows why it's one thing or another.

Speaker 1: 26:02

What part of this you guys are getting Sorry to cut you off there. What? Where are you guys on this?

Speaker 3: 26:06

In arm strong.

Speaker 1: 26:07

Okay.

Speaker 3: 26:08

North North Okanagan and we're just north of Vernon in Armstrong.

Speaker 1: 26:12

Sick. That's very nice Beautiful down there yeah.

Speaker 3: 26:16

Mountains and a really amazing like big, huge trees growing over top of the facility. It's super nice, but you guys are getting I'm just going to pull it up here but it's like a sick we had over 5% Terps.

Speaker 2: 26:32

Wow, and it came at like I don't know if you can't see that.

Speaker 1: 26:38

I can see it now. There we go.

Speaker 3: 26:39

Making it invisible. It's making it invisible. What it says at the bottom is 30.7 THC and 5.1 Terps. I shouldn't even say what the THC is Like. Actually, I think I'm going to take THC off my packaging and just focus on the Terps.

Speaker 1: 26:54

I love that man.

Speaker 2: 26:55

Yeah, we talk about that all the time and all the like out west. Is it the same Like everyone wants this THC here. We know they're fudging numbers.

Speaker 1: 27:03

We know that everybody's like not being completely honest about what's you know actually the results are, so we feel it's all silliness too. You know, it's like talk to your blood tenders, man, like that's where you find the good weed. You know, you know and they know what's good I agree, they do here we'll take this, I mean, that's what we're all about Basically.

Speaker 3: 27:25

It's just we want to get you guys the information that you want, right, and the consumers want to know. I mean, it is what it is the consumers want to know. It's our job to kind of let them know that. Yeah, that's part of it, but it's not like what makes you get baked. It's not the part that makes you feel high, it's just it's one of the ingredients that goes together with a bunch of other shit that all work together in an entourage and then you know at the end of the day.

Speaker 3: 27:53

If you have a high THC and no turps, you're not getting baked.

Speaker 1: 27:56

That's it. Well, we always say that it's almost like when you're a teenager and you're looking for the highest percentage alcohol, right, you start drinking and I don't know, as you get older, you realize that, like, maybe if you want to find a good you know, it's not necessarily ever clear being the highest.

Speaker 1: 28:10

You know what I'm saying, so yeah, similar kind of analogy it kind of works right, and I guess a lot of consumers aren't as educated as we are and they haven't been doing this as long as some people have and they'll figure it out. We can all.

Speaker 3: 28:22

All right. Well, I didn't know what it's.

Speaker 2: 28:26

That's all. We're going to take a smoke break. We'll be right back with Ross from the Audi. We are live Still at the back of the shop with our homie Ross. We're going to be talking in conversation about weed shredding I feel like we didn't even talk about I mean, I never really I'm not good at snowboarding or I'm not a great snowboarder Any kind of full, full transparency.

Speaker 2: 28:56

That has to do with ice or snow, but we didn't really talk about how you killed it and I am very curious just being a little toasty myself what was it like, like just finishing cross that you know?

Speaker 1: 29:12

and knowing that you won, you fucking won.

Speaker 3: 29:16

Dude, it was crazy. I can't even say like the buildup, for it was insane. Like I started off, I grew up as a ski racer and so I gave that dream up to go to the Olympics right when I was 15, when I started snowboarding and then that was an 88. And then in 98, 10 years from not being allowed to snowboard in Canada at any single ski resort, and then 10 years later for it to be in the Olympics and I was there the whole fucking time. You know my hero was Craig Kelly and like all the old school guys, like Sean Palmer and stuff. And then to be a little grom and look up to those guys and be like I wanna be a pro snowboarder and then make it Now, just make it.

Speaker 3: 29:57

But early on before the Olympics, like I was in trans world and the cover and going to Alaska and doing all the World Cup races around the world and everything, just the World Cup tours. And then we find out we go to the Olympics in four years, we have this huge fucking buildup and then I get my Olympic dream back from ski racing that in a different sport you know there's a lot of depth of, you know, getting to the Olympics and the whole like struggle between the two federations, that the snowboard federation wasn't allowed to take snowboarding and the whole politics. So like to accomplish something like that that you grew up dreaming about and knowing you weren't going to the Olympics, and then finding out when you're ranked in the top three in the world that you are going to go to the Olympics. Like, I was ranked in the top three in the world three years consecutively before I got to the Olympics.

Speaker 2: 30:49

And it was just like and snowboarding or skiing.

Speaker 3: 30:51

Yeah, no, and snowboarding.

Speaker 2: 30:53

Okay, so wait, you skied and then you were just shredded at snowboarding.

Speaker 1: 30:58

Yeah, yeah so that's exactly what he said, you fucking stoner, I know, I know.

Speaker 2: 31:03

Keep going.

Speaker 3: 31:04

In 1981, I started, or 1980, I started ski racing and I ski raced up until 1987. And that's when I discovered snowboarding and quit ski racing. My dad couldn't even believe it that I wanted to do a sport that we weren't even allowed to do, like he had to drive us to Mount Baker in Washington to go snowboarding. And I was a good ski racer. But that, as you can see, the ski racing came into play at the end because we all started doing freestyle in the early days. But then you had to specialize by the time the Olympics came. Like you couldn't just be a halfpipe guy and a racer Like that's impossible. So because of my ski racing, I gravitated towards the Alpine events instead of the halfpipe, even though I was good at halfpipe. You had to have a name in halfpipe to win, like Craig Kelly, jeff Brushy, sean Palmer, like any of those guys, if you have a big name Michael Chuck, mike Michael Chuck you have to have that name. Terry Hackinsen, you know, sean White Like you have to be that guy to get the points.

Speaker 3: 32:08

Right, we're in racing. It doesn't matter who you were. If you're the fastest, that's it. It doesn't matter. And so it just has a business decision. I decided because of my ski race background that I had an advantage. You know just because at the time not a lot of guys snowboard racing, had ski race backgrounds and to this day it's like snowboardings entrenched. People don't know that it wasn't always allowed and kids are growing up snowboard racing with coaches and shit. We didn't have that growing up, right. So it's a different ball game.

Speaker 2: 32:40

So I mean the whole winning Crossing that line. Yeah, what was that like Just?

Speaker 3: 32:48

I mean, that's it, man. It was just like your whole life. You know, all of a sudden making sense and everyone that had ever told you you couldn't do it. Or you know that, like even right before I left, one of my good buddies. He's like so you really think you can win the Olympics and I'm like dude, like I just beat all these guys for the last 10 years and all the World Cup. So it's the same guys, it's not different people at the. Olympics, it's the World Cup tour.

Speaker 1: 33:18

It's so fucking cool dude, I think, to be like to just be, yeah, to be the Olympics, little on, that means you're in the top 1% and then to be the best of the top 1%. It's so fucking a cool accomplishment, dude, yeah.

Speaker 3: 33:30

And that's like yeah, start to believe. You can't believe it. That's how, that's what it feels. Like you can't believe it. Like I lost sleep over it for fucking months leading up to the Olympics. Like I actually had anxiety about testing positive for week.

Speaker 1: 33:47

I was gonna ask you that you did like. You did have that thought crossed your mind before they even tested. You Like are they gonna find it, is it gonna be an issue? And you're like, ah, fuck.

Speaker 3: 33:56

Like every day, every single day, because, like we did in those days, like we didn't know, like, how long it stayed in your system. We knew it stayed a long time. That was like the scary part. But there was no internet to look it up, like we're not going to a library and as if there's any books on it, right, like you, there's no science on weed in those days. And I remember going up to UBC to talk to the sports doctors up there and everything, and with the whole team, and we were all asking him, like how long does weed stay in your system? We didn't care about all the other shit and he didn't know. He's like, the more you smoke, the longer it takes to get out. And we're like, oh, okay, great, you know, like it's gonna take forever. So that's why we like we stopped smoking weed. We stopped smoking weed in the spring of 97. We figured that was gonna be enough time, like, even if we. No way, man.

Speaker 1: 34:53

Spring of 97? No shit, cause I was gonna say I figured you were gonna say like a couple of months. I was like it was in your fat cells for that long and they found it, eh, wild, maybe you're fair.

Speaker 3: 35:04

No, that's not what happened. So we I stopped smoking weed, but I didn't stop chilling with my bros the whole time.

Speaker 1: 35:12

Got it. Who blazed that secondary smoke?

Speaker 3: 35:16

Yeah, man, and it was like. So I did three drug tests before I went to Nagano and no news is good news. I didn't hear anything back. I did my three drug tests. That was like over a course of like four or five months.

Speaker 3: 35:32

I wasn't smoking any weed, which wasn't the first time like the World Cup Tour had gotten taken over by the Ski Federation to take snowboarding to the Olympics and they had their own drug testing. So we were already doing drug testing for a couple of years and weed was on the list of banned substances on the World Cup Tour on the fifth tour and we were already not smoking weed, but after the season was over we would try to sneak a few sessions in and then stop smoking weed again and get ready for the next season. So this is kind of something we were already doing and things were coming back good. The problem was that the IOC had a different list of banned substances than the FIS. They didn't have the same list and but yeah, it was just like I even forgot what I was talking about.

Speaker 1: 36:20

Well, everything happens for a reason, man, and I gotta say thanks for sticking. Look at the dude like I'm just thinking, like whether it was like snowboarding or cannabis, you're kind of, you really are a pioneer dude, like I don't know if you see yourself as that, but you really are. So thanks for sticking with it and not giving up.

Speaker 3: 36:38

Yeah, Thanks. Yeah, there was a lot of chances to give up Like cave in the way for the rest of us.

Speaker 1: 36:42

you know like I just I'm serious yeah you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 36:45

I'm in sports and we don't like it. Yeah, seriously yeah.

Speaker 3: 36:48

Thanks, man. Well, I appreciate that. You know, and it wasn't always like that. You know I first started becoming someone talking about weed. There was a lot of people that I was looking up to at the time that had been in the game. You know way before me, like Jody Emery, for example, mark Emery, all the other people that you know you always grew up with, like Bob Marley, peter Tosh, talking about it in music, and then you know like Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. You know in the early nineties and shit, and you're just like don't feel like you're the first person to do it. But now, like it's gone by and everybody's getting a little older, like I just turned 52, right.

Speaker 1: 37:30

Was it your birthday?

Speaker 3: 37:31

recently.

Speaker 1: 37:31

Happy birthday, man.

Speaker 3: 37:33

Yeah, in July. Thank you, yeah, sick. So yeah, a lot of water.

Speaker 2: 37:39

Do you think eventually and I wonder if maybe you even have an impact on that something like the Olympics would allow for athletes to use weed, or is it just not? At all Like you're dealing with them. Is it like no chance? Yeah, eventually.

Speaker 3: 37:54

Well, I think it's a generational thing, I would imagine. I think once Europe goes legal with it because that's where the IOC is from, from Switzerland then once Europe, the EU, goes for a recreational cannabis, then you'll start seeing something. The problem is that other countries in the world don't view it the way. Canada, america, germany, whatever countries Spain, portugal that are going legal are already did. In some places you get killed for it, right? So the IOC has to kind of juggle the whole thing between doing the right thing, which would be to allow athletes who come from countries where it's culturally accepted or that it's legalized, to be able to use forms of cannabis, probably things like CBD and topicals and stuff like that. But sometimes it's up to the Olympics to champion these things and sometimes it's not. I mean they have corporate sponsors too, right? They pay for the whole nine yards. I mean that's where the pro athletes kind of get into trouble is with the corporate sponsors. And until it goes legalized in America at a federal level then I don't.

Speaker 2: 39:17

You're right, we won't see it.

Speaker 3: 39:19

Yeah, it's a tough one, but they are allowing more and more of it. So that's.

Speaker 2: 39:24

Well, like the NBA, they've kind of alluded to it. We talked about that earlier when you were grabbing the sodas OK.

Speaker 3: 39:31

And the IOC did allow the use of CBD.

Speaker 1: 39:36

Oh.

Speaker 3: 39:36

OK, so that's good.

Speaker 2: 39:38

That is good, see. That begs the question, though, I feel like I mean, is it performance enhancing?

Speaker 3: 39:43

though.

Speaker 2: 39:43

I feel like CBD.

Speaker 3: 39:44

Why would argue that it's not in the traditional sense of the word, where you take it and all of a sudden you're running faster. But my argument for a performance enhancement out of cannabis is just that it keeps you focused, it keeps you motivated to go work out again and again and big recovery tool.

Speaker 1: 40:06

right yeah, Recovery.

Speaker 3: 40:07

Big recovery tool, like physically and psychologically, and I think those are two huge bonuses for anybody, not to mention an athlete that's under a lot of pressure and away from home all the time.

Speaker 2: 40:23

So yeah, no, it's definitely in my view it's performance enhancing Like fucking water.

Speaker 3: 40:28

Is performance enhancing? You fucking die if you don't drink it.

Speaker 1: 40:31

Yeah, seriously fuck.

Speaker 3: 40:35

So I don't know how you view performance enhancing Like I don't know. No, you don't. I don't know if I didn't have weed, I don't know if I would have retired before the Olympics. Like it's a tough thing to do.

Speaker 2: 40:48

You have to push yourself to that limit.

Speaker 3: 40:50

Yeah, to help you get to that Right Just mentally being away from home and all the things that you take for granted when you're not away for 10 years and a run.

Speaker 2: 41:02

I have a question for you when do you remember any of the other? Like I mean, I'm sure you had some athlete supports, but any like big athletes who came and like, had your back or what was it like, like you know, being on the other side, obviously being on that high?

Speaker 1: 41:16

Yeah, maybe they didn't publicly support you, but maybe they say an email or I don't know. That's a good question.

Speaker 2: 41:22

Shout out to anyone who was like you know, forget that.

Speaker 3: 41:26

No, there was definitely support, you know, from athletes. I think right across the board there was a few athletes that were kind of they're not used to having to talk about cannabis and they didn't know what to say to the media and whatever.

Speaker 3: 41:42

But I definitely a lot of people confided in me after the Olympics that they smoked weed at a high profile events like business people or, like you know, judges and doctors and stuff like that, and there's just a lot of red tape and politics involved with prohibition, right and, as we know, right. Finally, it's been legalized and there's not been mass car crashes or, you know, emergency rooms filling up with overdoses or whatever right.

Speaker 1: 42:15

So this guy hasn't fallen, yeah.

Speaker 3: 42:18

No, this guy didn't fall. If anything we're gonna see regulations, you know, slowly loosen up and, you know, become more normalized. Where you'll get. Wherever you can buy alcohol, you'll be able to buy a cannabis drink too, type of thing.

Speaker 1: 42:34

You know, man, we need more consumption spaces too. I feel like I know that you guys are lacking that we have the book club, which we're excited to get out to I've heard good things about it, actually but we don't really have anything like that in Toronto. But I've heard it's a cool vibe.

Speaker 3: 42:49

Yeah, it's a cool vibe man. You go there. There's all kind of people, different people, every time you go and there's some just regular Joe's off the street to you know, some high profile brands will set up.

Speaker 2: 43:02

Sash box where.

Speaker 1: 43:03

It's called book club in Vancouver and it's kind of like I don't know, for lack of a better, it's just a social club for cannabis in a safe space where we can consume, and I was just saying that we need more of that, I think. And as the market kind of progresses and as we see, you know, everybody open up a little bit more. It would be nice if we had them like bars, coffee shops in Amsterdam, et cetera kind of thing. I wish we could do that for sure.

Speaker 3: 43:25

Yeah, Back in the day when we were on World Cup, we would go to Amsterdam for Christmas instead of flying home. And yeah, it was such a novelty to go there and see the coffee shops back. This would have been like in 92, 93, just in the heyday of Amsterdam. What dreams were made of?

Speaker 2: 43:45

Maybe we'll get there one day. Whenever you're in Toronto Ross, we definitely got to have you by the shop man. We can't wait to get those Black Diamond pre-rolls.

Speaker 1: 43:56

Yeah, your Black Diamond pre-rolls and a 3.5 jar dropping too. Is that our bag coming out? Yeah?

Speaker 3: 44:03

we got the 3.5 coming out as well a flower, super nice. And then we just launched our one gram. We have a three one gram pre-roll.

Speaker 1: 44:13

Nice.

Speaker 3: 44:14

Just launched. I think yesterday was our first day with it here in BC. So that's all coming down the line, plus the organic mango gold our sativas coming.

Speaker 2: 44:24

For you, sativa divas out there Shout out.

Speaker 3: 44:27

We're doing a collaboration with a concentrates company. I can't say who it is, but we're gonna come out with concentrates and infused products and drinks and, yeah, we're gonna have a lot of fun.

Speaker 1: 44:41

That's fucking awesome, man. I'm excited for all that new stuff to come out and, like I said, when you're in Toronto next time, drop us a line, man, we'd love to hang out with you 100%, 100%.

Speaker 3: 44:52

thanks for having me on.

Speaker 2: 44:53

Follow Ross's gold right. What's the full handle?

Speaker 1: 44:56

Yeah, plug us one more time, or should they find you, ross, before we sign off here?

Speaker 3: 45:01

Check me out at RossSchoolCannabiscom or at RossSchoolCannabis on Instagram, and then my main account is RossRevliati98 at Instagram. Beautiful.

Speaker 2: 45:12

Dude, I can't stress Follow him be there.

Speaker 1: 45:14

Such a fucking pleasure to have you on the show. World champion, very legend Ultimate Shredder.

Speaker 3: 45:19

Thanks guys.

Speaker 1: 45:20

We'll see you soon, pal.

Speaker 3: 45:21

I'm honored to be on this show. Thanks for having me. See you next time I'm in Toronto.

Speaker 1: 45:25

Later Raffles Bye Peace.

Speaker 2: 45:32

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