Vapor Digest #3 The Trade Publication For The Vapor Products Industry
Issue link: http://vapordigest.epubxp.com/i/442928
07 Getting involved with the review videos has given me the opportunity to share something I'm passionate about, help people get off of cigarettes, and put a smile on people's faces in the process. For me, it filled the creative and entertainment aspects I lost when I left DJing. Patrick V*: Are you still active in this career, or has vaping stuff become your full-time job? Phil: Still here!! Patrick V*: What was your history with smoking before you starting vaping? Phil: Blame my cousin Nancy and friend Chuck! They were both smokers, they were both cool. I looked up to them both, so I started. Mom smoking and Dad smoking a tobacco pipe didn't help much either. So I started prob- ably around the ripe old age of 16. I was, for the most part, a pack a day smoker. I'm happy to report that no one in my life still smokes. All of my friends now vape. My mother and brother now vape. My wife now vapes. My father gave up the tobacco pipe after a heart attack at the age of 36. Patrick V*: Do you remember the first you saw someone vaping? if so, what was your reaction? Phil: I don't because I think I was the first person I ever saw vaping. I started doing research on electronic cigarettes around March of 2009. I researched both devices and the risk reduction of vaping. I purchased several different el cheapo models to see if I could make the switch. I thought the sensation was pretty good and decided that I would try. After doing even more research, I decided to go with an original Joye 510 manual. I went cold turkey on July 7th, 2009. I have been a happy vaper and have not had single real cigarette since. Patrick V*: What do you remember about your first vaping experience? Phil: Saying to myself… "Hmmm… this ain't bad. There's something to this." Patrick V*: What would you say are your 3 favorite flavors to vape? Phil: I'd say my primary vapes are fruits. But I enjoy many different flavors from many different vendors. Patrick V*: When someone starts a new venture and is trying to build an audience, there is usually a "things are really starting to click here" moment. What was that moment for you? Phil: The first experience is when reviewing became REAL to me. This is when I looked at the J-Tank carto tank. Why? To that point, I had been a low profile vaper, using smaller devices and cartos. I said I never wanted to look like I was vaping a "science experiment". When cartos tanks came out, I made the conscience decision to have a look realizing that if I was to continue in the review space, I had to look at all things for all people. This is when it became real for me. The other experience is when it became IMPORTANT. That was when I received my first email that, in a nutshell, thanked me for what I did and for saving their life. WOAH! "Saving lives??" That first email put the importance of what I was doing into perspective for me. To this day if you tell me I "saved your life" I will tell you, "NO! I didn't. You did! You made the effort and had the strength to get off of tobacco cigarettes; perhaps I helped a little bit, but give YOURSELF all the credit." This is why my most prized possessions in vaping are not some mod or some rebuildable tank, it's the "Success Stories and Validations" section of TasteYourJuice.com. These are my trophies and my inspiration to continue on. Patrick V*: What was the reaction from your family and friends to this new venture? Phil: They have been extremely supportive and I very much appreciate that. The effort takes up most of my free time, thus my time away from those who are most important to me. Patrick V*: Who were some of your early supporters, encouragers and mentors? Phil: Nick (AKA Grimm Green) was the guy who inspired me. I've come to know him as a great guy. Scott (IGetcha69) was the guy who taught me to build and answered a bunch of questions for me at the beginning. Justine (Just Waaa) is a friend who I used to talk to a lot in the very early days. Now, there's the great Pink Greek Dimitris who has become just an amaz- ing friend and a valuable resource in business and advocacy. Patrick V*: More than most, you have the "ear" of the vaping community. What is the best part of being an influential vaping enthusiast? What is the most frustrating part? Phil: The best part, first and foremost, is to be able to help people; help people make the transition away from tobacco to a far healthier lifestyle. Another "best" part is to be able to influence the industry, pushing them to create better, more dependable, more consistent, and safer devices for all of us to use and enjoy. The most frustrating part is getting people to enter my damn contests correctly! Patrick V*: Both Gabe and I can report that it often is difficult to find a balance between our obsession with vaping and the rest of our lives. What are some things that you do to help strike that balance between vape stuff and the other aspects of your life? Phil: LOL! I haven't figured that one out yet. My wife told me the other day that she's working late the entire week and I'll be able to "catch up". HA HA !!! I told her there is no such thing as "catching up" at this point, there is only "keeping up" and even that is a challenge. In the summer, I try to dedicate my weekends to family and friends, but it's a constant challenge. You have to remember that the entire review and TasteYourJuice.com effort is me. I have no assistants, I have no help. So, as you can imag- ine, using the devices, gathering data on the devices, shooting the videos, editing the videos, publishing the videos, keeping up on all of the correspondence, responding to all of the comments, updating and working on the website, attending events, all take up a tremen- dous amount of time and effort. Like right now, I would LOVE to redo my home office, but I know it's going to take time away from the vaping effort. There are times when I need to make time for Phil and people are just going to have to understand that, and they have been very understanding (for the most part) to date. Patrick V*: One of my favorite hobbies is to make predictions about the future of vaping. What, in general, do you foresee on the vaping horizon for 2015?. My predictions are often a bit wacky and ridiculously specific . Is there any wild-ass prediction that you would like to make for 2015? Phil: I've been asked to write my predictions again this year for the ashtray blog. So most will be contained there, but I really think 2015 is going to be the year of temperature. It's why I invested so heavily in some new gear to test that. I think, on the heels of the DNA-40, we're going to see a lot of devices giving you the ability to adjust and protect via temperature. My other prediction is (and I'm going to continue to make it until it happens) "No wick, no wire, this IS a game changer" only for real this time. Continued on page 36 "The best part, first and foremost, is to be able to help people; help people make the transition away from tobacco to a far healthier lifestyle."