Hydrolife Canada February/March 2017
It is amazing how an event from almost 20 years ago can remain fresh in the mind. It certainly doesn’t seem that long ago that Canadian Ross Rebagliati rocketed down Nagano’s Olympic giant slalom snowboard course, ripping through the finish line to claim the first-ever Olympic men’s snowboarding gold medal despite starting the final run in eighth position. Since then, Rebagliati has become a cultural phenomenon and advocate of marijuana
use, and it is no coincidence that since that foggy day on Mount Yakebitai near Nagano, how we perceive the use of marijuana in society has changed for the better. Hydrolife recently caught up with Rebagliati to talk about Nagano, his thoughts on marijuana, and the launch of Ross’ Gold.
It is amazing how an event from almost 20 years ago can remain fresh in the mind. It certainly doesn’t seem that long ago that Canadian Ross Rebagliati rocketed down Nagano’s Olympic giant slalom snowboard course, ripping through the finish line to claim the first-ever Olympic men’s snowboarding gold medal despite starting the final run in eighth position. Since then, Rebagliati has become a cultural phenomenon and advocate of marijuana
use, and it is no coincidence that since that foggy day on Mount Yakebitai near Nagano, how we perceive the use of marijuana in society has changed for the better. Hydrolife recently caught up with Rebagliati to talk about Nagano, his thoughts on marijuana, and the launch of Ross’ Gold.
feature HL: You started [cannabis company] Ross’ Gold in 2013. What opportunities do you see in Canada for treating people with medical marijuana? R: The number one reason why I want to do this is so that we can help as many people as possible. I know through my own experiences that it helps me get out of a lot of, you know, not depressions, but depressants, disappointments. And how I had different expectations of what it would mean to go to the Olympics, I had different goals. Life is never how you think it’s going to be and I think that from my experience using it and being able to be positive throughout everything, I think that is something that people struggle with on a regular basis. Like normal day-to-day life; like give me a break already, you know?! And I think that cannabis is a healthy alternative to alcohol. For a lot of those same reasons, you can easily categorize things in your head like what your priorities are. They come flying at you at 100 miles an hour and you know what you need to do. Where as with alcohol, you’re like, ‘Well, I’m drunk now, I can’t do anything.’ And then you wake up in the morning, you feel like crap, you don’t sleep, and you don’t eat right, and that just leads to more and more unhealthy things. HL: Even on a pharmaceutical level, you know? Everyone is always so quick to go to the doctor and get pharmaceuticals. R: Absolutely, and being able to tell people like, ‘Look, it’s not only healthy to use cannabis, but its family-oriented.’ You can have a family and use cannabis. The idea might be shocking to people that you would use cannabis and raise a family but, I’m telling you, you totally can do it and it helps tremendously in a million ways. But you know, if you’re having a couple of beers on the patio, okay, fine, whatever. But you know, you can’t treat yourself with beer when you’re stressed out because your kids are driving you nuts. But you can go and have a little quick puff somewhere and, you know, deal with the 64 grow. heal. live. enjoy. myhydrolife.ca
“I FELT LIKE it was my responsibility after Japan to not turn my back on it, but to make people realize that it wasn’t a mistake that I was using cannabis before the Olympics.” situation and be totally capable and be yourself. Also, the specific aliments that are out there in regards to medical cannabis like cancer treatments, arthritis, and epilepsy. There is new research on brain trauma that I think is especially promising, with regenerating certain damage with brain cells from a concussion and the plasma that protects itself around your brain from a future concussion. I think it’s just amazing stuff. For all this science to be done and to prove these things is beyond, I think, anyone’s expectations. HL: How many joints do you smoke a day? R: Uh, I would say… (laughing). Let me count. I probably have one in the morning before I go to work and I probably have, like, three to four, maybe up to five joints at work throughout the day and at the end of the day, it depends if my neighbour comes over. But, it could be anywhere from three to 20 joints a day, depending on what I have to do in the day. HL: So, it’s more recreational for you. It’s not medicinal. R: I’d say there is no such thing as recreational pot smoking. It helps you whether you want it to or not and for me, it gets me through my day in a really positive way. HL: You sell a $24,000 gold plated water pipe. Obviously, you are kind of confident that pot isn’t just for your stereotypical stoner anymore. R: You’re right. Yeah, it’s gotta fit into the Maserati somewhere. HL: So, you’re pretty confident that there’s no such thing as the stereotypical stoner? R: There is a stereotype of a stoner, but weed smoking comes from all walks of society —from the billionaires right on down to the guy begging for money on the side of the street. HL: What other projects besides Ross’ Gold do you have going on? R: We have a bunch of stuff going on with the store and the products that we are licensing out. So, we are in in touch with the 420 Games to be involved. I’m not allowed down to the US, I haven’t been since Nagano, basically. So, we are waiting for them to come here, like Kelowna or Vancouver. That’s on the back burner. We’ve got TV shows. Trying to figure out how to do a show; there might be a movie that is being produced right now by some producers that you would be familiar with. I don’t know if I can say very much about it right now. We have a bunch of cool stuff coming out. I’m just trying to get ready for ski season right now, cross country skiing and downhill skiing. I went back to downhill skiing. I used to ski race, right? I kind of got addicted to it all over again. Taking it one step at a time. We got the store, it’s the number one thing; it’s about to open and there has been some delays with construction and stuff, so it’s driving everyone nuts. HL: That’s ok. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Everything in moderation and time, right? R: I tell the guys, ‘Don’t worry, it’s only going to open one time and then it’s always going to be open after that.’ We’re planning for 99 more stores across Canada, so a lot on the go! myhydrolife.ca grow. heal. live. enjoy. 65
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“I FELT LIKE it was my responsibility<br />
after Japan to not turn my back on<br />
it, but to make people realize that<br />
it wasn’t a mistake that I was using<br />
cannabis before the Olympics.”<br />
situation and be totally capable and be yourself. Also,<br />
the specific aliments that are out there in regards to<br />
medical cannabis like cancer treatments, arthritis,<br />
and epilepsy. There is new research on brain trauma<br />
that I think is especially promising, with regenerating<br />
certain damage with brain cells from a concussion and<br />
the plasma that protects itself around your brain from<br />
a future concussion. I think it’s just amazing stuff. For<br />
all this science to be done and to prove these things is<br />
beyond, I think, anyone’s expectations.<br />
HL: How many joints do you smoke a day?<br />
R: Uh, I would say… (laughing). Let me count. I<br />
probably have one in the morning before I go to work<br />
and I probably have, like, three to four, maybe up to<br />
five joints at work throughout the day and at the end<br />
of the day, it depends if my neighbour comes over.<br />
But, it could be anywhere from three to 20 joints a day,<br />
depending on what I have to do in the day.<br />
HL: So, it’s more recreational for you. It’s not medicinal.<br />
R: I’d say there is no such thing as recreational pot<br />
smoking. It helps you whether you want it to or not and<br />
for me, it gets me through my day in a really positive way.<br />
HL: You sell a $24,000 gold plated water pipe.<br />
Obviously, you are kind of confident that pot isn’t<br />
just for your stereotypical stoner anymore.<br />
R: You’re right. Yeah, it’s gotta fit into the<br />
Maserati somewhere.<br />
HL: So, you’re pretty confident that there’s no such<br />
thing as the stereotypical stoner?<br />
R: There is a stereotype of a stoner, but weed smoking<br />
comes from all walks of society —from the billionaires<br />
right on down to the guy begging for money on the<br />
side of the street.<br />
HL: What other projects besides Ross’ Gold<br />
do you have going on?<br />
R: We have a bunch of stuff going on with the store and<br />
the products that we are licensing out. So, we are in in<br />
touch with the 420 Games to be involved. I’m not allowed<br />
down to the US, I haven’t been since Nagano, basically.<br />
So, we are waiting for them to come here, like Kelowna<br />
or Vancouver. That’s on the back burner. We’ve got TV<br />
shows. Trying to figure out how to do a show; there<br />
might be a movie that is being produced right now by<br />
some producers that you would be familiar with. I don’t<br />
know if I can say very much about it right now. We<br />
have a bunch of cool stuff coming out. I’m just trying<br />
to get ready for ski season right now, cross country<br />
skiing and downhill skiing. I went back to downhill<br />
skiing. I used to ski race, right? I kind of got addicted<br />
to it all over again. Taking it one step at a time. We got<br />
the store, it’s the number one thing; it’s about to open<br />
and there has been some delays with construction and<br />
stuff, so it’s driving everyone nuts.<br />
HL: That’s ok. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Everything<br />
in moderation and time, right?<br />
R: I tell the guys, ‘Don’t worry, it’s only going to<br />
open one time and then it’s always going to be open<br />
after that.’ We’re planning for 99 more stores across<br />
<strong>Canada</strong>, so a lot on the go!<br />
myhydrolife.ca grow. heal. live. enjoy. 65