As soon as we saw Vi. Zona's page we were obsessed! The aesthetic and vibe are just gorgeous, and we loved the work she was doing through The Vi. Show to support others, create education pathways and just work towards breaking stigma when it comes to the world of cannabis. As you likely know, (if you are visiting through one of our social pages), is that we love that Vi is merging the worlds of both cannabis and ASMR (both of which we love)!
We were super excited to virtually sit down with Vi, and take a deep dive into the show, cannabis, content creation, and beyond!
Vi's first experience with cannabis is what you could call intense, it is a big reason why it took her some time before warming up to the idea of consuming again. "Honestly the first time I ever smoked cannabis I was in high school." Which makes sense because Vi was hotboxing with a friend when she had a very close call and missed nearly getting caught by her mom. "I was so nervous and scared I was like I'm never going to smoke again!" It wasn't until she was 22 that she started officially smoking cannabis again. "I had a lot of time to educate myself on it." It was around that time that she felt confident in her ability to balance consumption. "I was like alright I know I mentally can do this, and it's not going to affect me in the way that people make it out to seem. That's how my whole cannabis (journey) started, and now we're here so I'm super excited I took that puff off that blunt again (lol)!"
Vi had us laughing the whole interview, and has a personality that is just so warm and magnetic.
Growing up, Vi recalls viewing cannabis as a gateway drug. She contributes a lot of that stigma to what she observed with her dad as he became addicted to opioids because of a pain treatment prescription for Rheumatoid Arthritis. "I thought it was because of cannabis that he went down the road that he went down." Vi began educating herself about cannabis, and people, and why people do the things they do. "Someone's life could be impacted and they take the route they take for a certain reason."
Vi also witnessed a lot of stigma directed towards her because of her father's experiences. "People would tell my mom, 'Be careful with your daughters, they're probably going to end up like their dad’, you know addicted to something."
These kinds of statements used to get to Vi, but she now focuses on education and finding solace in the fact that the cannabis community is so embracing and warm. "I feel like a lot of women are in the cannabis community, like a lot of women are supporting women. That is the main thing I love about cannabis!"
Education is key when it comes to both experimentation and research, and Vi is super excited to see what's next in the industry.
Vi has faced stigma when it comes to her consumption but has been embraced because of her tenacity for breaking stigma & crushing her goals, all while creating stunning content as a maker and creator. She uses an approach of honesty to explain how beneficial the plant has been for her, “I tell my mom like, mom you should see how this is actually changing my life, and I really hope it can change all our lives.”
Vi draws inspiration for her content from her younger sisters, who she describes as vibrant and colorful. They often collaborate to conceptualize the various looks and aesthetics showcased in her feed. While Vi prefers to be behind the camera sometimes she finds that a self-timer and her vision are just the right fit. "Honestly I smoke a big fat bowl or a big blunt before I take any content photos and I let it flow."
Outside of her stunning feed, you can find Vi working on her show, The Vi Show. We love how she is showcasing members of the cannabis community to work towards education, normalization, and community. Vi started the show as a pathway to help people help each other. It is important to her that people understand that you can be a success and smoke cannabis. She also wanted to start helping support small businesses to help spread the wealth in a way that is so necessary these days. “No disrespect to the huge corporations because they have helped us a lot, and feed us, and provide for us, but it is time to stir away from big corporations and help us, the people! If we do that, we could really change, we could have more power as people, we could help people more, and we could live the lifestyles we want to live.”
We have to support each other and work together for change to make major changes as a community and the world!
When it comes to dreams about collaborations and mission, Vi was quick to say she would love to pair up with Snoop Dogg! Outside of that major item on her bucket list, Vi’s focused on who she can help through her platform. She dreams of having a cannabis show on a platform like Netflix, that represents the new era of cannabis programming.
Vi does not need to wait for the future for exciting things to come. She is working on a ton of exciting projects from her interview with Sublime Brands (which she will be posting on her youtube channel shortly), getting her LLC for her Vi. Zona collection where she will be launching a ton of exciting goodies, she is also interviewing Jim from the Errl Cup Festival (which will be held on 4/20). We love that she issued the callout to “Stay stoned” for all of these exciting events (we know we will)!
When it comes to her personal consumption she is a big fan of the Sublime Pretzels, she also loves Fire OG, the elemental experience of smoking a bong, and a vape for convenience.
One of the things that we love about Vi is that she puts out amazing ASMR cannabis content. It was actually her girlfriend that gave her the idea of combining her love for cannabis and ASMR. Vi explained an almost immersive cannabis consumption experience she can achieve by listening to her own voice and trigger sounds as she prepares to smoke. We highly recommend you check out some of her super satisfying ASMR clips, and can't wait to see (and hear) more!
Vi is very passionate about getting back to a place where cannabis is normalized and is allowed to be facilitated as the tool that it is meant to be, whether it be industrial application, medical, and beyond. When it comes to living her own life she follows the goal and mantra of trying to be the best human she can be, which is something we should all do more of. She says we should strive to be our own role models and focus on connection and humanity. In the words of Trevor Hall, “There are so many rivers but they all reach the sea.” she said this resonated with her when it comes to viewing humanity as a whole.
She has found a way to bond with similar-minded people through cannabis, she feels like, despite our different beliefs, we are on the same page with supporting each other. Focusing on common ground instead of differences, “We want to see everyone go up, whether it be smoking that blunt and feeling high or going up in life and being successful. I feel like we always want to see everyone go up in life.”
We couldn’t agree more, and it was such a pleasure to sit down and talk with this amazing woman. We know she is going to continue doing amazing things, and we can’t wait to see what’s next from Vi.Zona! To learn more about Vi follow her on Instagram @vi.zona and subscribe to her YouTube Channel Vizona here.