Glass Gripper’s Philly Blunts Interview
By Jeremy Norrie
The marijuana industry never stops evolving.
As such there are always new products and new innovations coming down the line. Sometimes a company will start with one product and eventually the popularity takes them to new product designs. One of these companies is Glass Gripper, who we have featured before.
They are back at it again with a new product and yet another huge party in sin city, Las Vegas. The most recent party took place in the hardwood suite in the Palms and let me tell you, this was one hell of a good time.
First of all, we have to mention the previous parties Phil has thrown were epic and amazing. The first was the Playboy Suite then the next one at that huge suite in the Palms. Both were really excellent parties, so we expected nothing less from Glass Gripper but I was pretty blown away even still. We got to the party and there was a bas- ketball court in the suite.
It was not small either, it was like an NBA style court, it looked like a basketball fan’s dream. The place was huge in addition to that, there was a bar and full catering. If that was not crazy enough, at one point beds literally folded out of the walls in the basketball court area.
There were a number of celebrities there and my friend gave some of them their first introduction to dabbing! We invited some lovely ladies we met at CHAMPS and they could not have been more impressed. It was an amazing night. Lets hear from the man behind it all, Philly Blunts!
Thanks for taking care of us in Vegas and for tak- ing the time to talk with us again.
Philly Blunts: It was my pleasure, you guys always bring the best goodies and the best people.
Our readers will remember the party at the Hugh Hefner Villa Suite
at the Palms, it was
incredible for us too!
First tell them a little about the party
you had in the summer
of 2011 at the Champs
show in Vegas.
Philly Blunts: That’s a party I’ll never forget at the Hugh Hefner Playboy Penthouse, that night was epic. The party we threw in the summer of 2011 wasn’t as big of a room as the Playboy Penthouse but the party was just as crazy and we put it together in only a couple of weeks. I wasn’t planning on putting that party together until the last minute, that’s why the room wasn’t as big but the amount of people that showed up was twice as expected. The room was only 2,500 sq. ft but we packed the place up with plenty of dabbing stations, (courtesy of Dub Glass), and Tarantula blunts (courtesy of Raymond Johnson of Swisher Streets). The whole night we worried about secu- rity kicking down the door and shutting the party down, because the maximum capacity was 90 and we reached well over 190 people!
The party you just had for the first Champs show of 2012, that took place at the Hardwood Suite in the Palms, was absolutely crazy! What were some of the highlights and some behind the scenes VIP secrets?
Philly Blunts: Thank you so much it was a lot of hard work but it turned out even better than expected. I would like to give a big shout out to all my sponsors who helped make it an absolute success. First and foremost our main sponsor Couchlock, I highly recommend taking a shot of their product and smoking a fatty, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
:-). I
would also like to thank my other sponsors, 420 Times, Twine Hempwear, TKO Novelties, Pot
Bunnies, Arizona 420 Clinic, Doc Rob 420 Clinic, Green Glass Clean, Tokeez,
Diffuser Beads, The Digger One Hitter, SKUNK Magazine,
TY Magazine, ReLeaf Magazine,
Magnum Detox, Hemp Beach TV, Hot Breath Magazine, Bad Habitz, Mary Jane Smoke Wear,
Dime Piece Models, B.I.G., C.K. Wholesale Expo, LSQ Magazine, Rolling Fire Glasswork,
MediCali, Along Came Mary, Battlestudies, Bootube, Hemp Vision TV, Inetworx Magazine, Blackout Entertainment, RAW Vaporizers and I have to give a special
thank you to the DJs that tore down the house, DJ G-Kidd, DJ DUBBZ, and DJ Crime.
One of the major highlights
was waking up in a 11,500 sq ft penthouse
with an NBA Basketball
court in the living room, there was a unisex
locker room which had about 8 showers, and in the basketball
court there were beds that folded out of the wall!. I had a remote con- trol for the scoreboard and throughout the night I guaran-
teed no sleep by pressing the buzzer every time I found someone passed out throughout
the penthouse, if you don’t believe
me ask Sota I wouldn’t let him get one sec- ond of sleep without
hitting that buzzer (and that shit was
fuckin loud!). There was a 7 person jacuzzi in the living
room, and up on the second floor there was a pool table
across from a rotating couch were a lot of crazy shit went
down. Some other highlights
were being able to have the chance to smoke some of the best weed (courtesy
of Along Came Mary) and dab some of the finest oil (courtesy of S.F. Stoner Family) out of some of the best glass in the industry (courtesy of Rolling
Fire Glassworks, Dub Glass
and MediCali). Some of the celebrities that we CAN men- tion are, Sleepy Brown of Outkast,
Coolio, Adrianne Curry,
and a couple of NBA and NFL stars that we can’t name because we don’t want to get them in trouble
LOL! We had great performances by Philly
Blunts Productions artists,
Yungn and Sota, and other artists that also killed the mic were, Kush House and Real One. There were many artists in the building
Such as, Swisher Streets (Meen Green), Sky Writer, Ed King, Andrea Parnell, Blackout Entertainment
(Kasper) and a few more that I can’t remember because I was so fucking high! I wish I could give away my V.I.P. secrets Jeremy, but I can’t ;-). One thing I can tell you my friend, is that there will be more G.G. V.I.P. after parties to come, so sponsors get at me!!!
I understand you got a new product, what a bril- liant idea it is! Whoever helped think of that is very clever. Can you tell us a bit about it and how it came to be developed?
Philly Blunts: Well the first thing we did was upgrade the old foam G.G. to the all new G.G. 2.0. The G.G. 2.0 is hand made out of super high quality epoxy gel (and each one takes 3 days to cure), and are also made with a really strong 3M adhesive sticker, that peels and sticks to the bot- tom of your bong to protect your piece from chipping or breaking. They now come in 10 different colors, 3 differ- ent sizes, and are available with different logos for whole- sale or custom orders. The product you’re referring to Jeremy is our new G.G. Glow, that lights up any water pipe, hookah, mug, cup, or anything you can think of. It’s a plastic G.G. available in different sizes and colors, that has a bright LED light with 3 different modes, fast blinking, slow blinking, or continuous glow. In the last four years since I’ve made G.G. people have always said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a light?” So after hearing it probably 5 or 6 times I eventually decided to look into it. I found a few different types of materials that would work, but did- n’t because the light or battery was too big, so I gave up. Then one day at Champs, speaking with you Jeremy you brought up the same point, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a light in it?” So after a year of giving up on the light you gave me the incentive to start up the search again. By this time they had created an LED light and battery that was thin enough for what I needed it to be and the G.G. Glow was created!!!
We know how seriously you handled the original glass gripper designs, how was the process of getting this design manufactured up to your high standards?
Philly Blunts: They both took me awhile because I had to find the right materials to do the right job. The original
G.G. had to be improved. One of the complaints I got from the old G.G. was that the sticker would eventually come off when exposed to condensation. Another improvement we had to do was apply other companies logos, pictures, and find the right individual packaging. That’s what I had to do for the all new G.G. 2.0. Now the G.G. Glow was a little more difficult. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to use the same material I used for G.G. 2.0 and incorporate a light into it, so my next choice was a thin plastic material that was able to hold a thin replaceable battery and an LED light and at the same time have a removable adhesive sticker on the back. Now that I knew what I had to do I had to find the right place to get all of it manufactured at the best price. Like I said before, I can’t reveal all my secrets, but I can say that I did smoke a lot of blunts and spent a lot of long hours Skyping people all over the world and eventually did find the right companies. After lots of trial and error, we finally received the first batch of G.G. Glows, (they were made out of a GOLD plastic material). They were almost perfect, but the light wouldn’t stay on and the foil part that held the battery kept falling out, but not on all of them. That was definitely a problem, but something that can easily be fixed :-). Our second batch of G.G. Glows were 100% perfect and, (and were made out of a BLACK plastic material). If anyone has a defected (GOLD Glass Gripper Glow, any size or color), you can send it back to our address and we will send you TWO new Glass Gripper Glows on us!!! One thing I did learn is that hard work does pay off, and you always have to take care of your cus- tomers.
I know you already have other new products in the mix, can you tell our readers about the newest innovations you have been making?
Philly Blunts: One of our new products coming out are our all new G.G. 2.0 Grinders. They are one of the best grinders on the market. What makes these grinders stand apart from the rest is the fact that our grinders come equipped with the G.G. 2.0 on the bottom, so after you’re done grinding your herbs you can pack it down on any sur- face to get the keef through the screen with ease and you don’t have to worry about damaging your grinder or your counter top. We have other products also in the making such as our GravCap, so stay posted stoners.
We expect big things from Glass Gripper in the future, any hints as to what might be coming along down the line? and of course where can everyone buy your products?
Philly Blunts: Well as many of you now know G.G. is more than a product, it has become a brand name. Not only do we
deal with products, we’ve ventured off
into parties, promotions, events, modeling, fashion, music, and much more. G.G. has now
branched off into Philly Blunts Productions which handles all of the above. I just recently
signed these 2 new up and coming
artists, Yungn and
Sota, that now go by “Yungn & Sota”
A.K.A #TeamGG who caught my eye for not only having
million dollar music
but for having a million
dollar hustle. Right off the bat not only was the music on point but their work ethic, drive, and determination reminded me of myself with G.G. Just like them from the beginning
I knew I had a good product but I just had to get it into the right hands and right peo- ple. Since they reminded me of myself I decided to take them under my wing and create Philly Blunts Productions. They started with a buzz in FL and since traveling
with me and performing at my crazy
penthouse parties they have taken that buzz to an international level with their latest
single, Addicted. Their next big show after the Hugh Hefner Playboy penthouse party (On 3/27/12) will be, at Sex On The Beach Expo in Miami, FL (9/28/12-9/30/12). At the Sex On The Beach Expo they will be opening up for A- list entertainers such as Gucci, Luda, and many more well know
artists. You can check out their
music at www.GlassGripper.net and for booking
info email:
GlassGripper@Gmail.com or call 941-349-0879. Follow us on Twitter @GlassGripper @thatboysota @iYungn
Thank you for everything, we all look forward to future Glass Gripper products and parties!
Philly Blunts: You’re very much welcome, it’s always a pleasure doing business with wonderful stoners such as yourself. Make sure you check out www.glassgripper.net for future parties, events, shows, booking info, and latest products. Book your next convention show party with us and become a sponsor
Make sure you all catch up with us again next time, I hope you will be able to use this article to find yourself a Glass Gripper 2.0 and a Glass Gripper Glow. Maybe you have been thinking about some way to protect your water pipes and add a bit of electronic flavor. Contact Phil at Glass Gripper for your future parties as well, he throws the best ones. Next issue we will talk about more cannabis relat- ed news. If you enjoy these articles, follow me @Professor420 on Twitter for more personal stories & behind the scenes details & pictures from my articles, including things that don’t make it in the magazine, and get them as they happen live. We have a new website for high end art including functional glass, www.BoroLehr.com. Also don’t forget to check out www.VapeontheGo.com to get the absolute best perform- ing, most economical, portable, and re-chargeable essen- tial oil vaporizer on the market. Take it easy, have fun, don’t believe the hype! Find success and make it work for you. Good Luck.