Meet Austen Brinker | Fungus Farmer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Austen Brinker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Austen, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
When you first start any business you’re most likely going to be spending too much time working and not enough playing, hoping in the end its all worth it. The good thing with the mushroom business is it’s seasonal so durning the winter I get a lot more free time for snowboarding and other extra curricular activities. Eventually once the business and myself grow I’ll be able too hire more employees to help with the summer work load. until then I’ll try and enjoy my 100 hour work weeks.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I think one of the biggest things that sets Fungus Farm apart is that I’m a professional stand up comedian as well as the employees I  have come from comedy so we are some ‘Fun guys” if you will. I have managed to bring the two words together, stand up and fungus farming. I wrote some great jokes/stories about mushrooms and sell fresh one after shows as my merchandise. This has given me a whole new audience to get my product in-front of besides just farmers markets.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would most likely head up to the mountains for some hiking and backpacking for a few days ending in some mountain town, maybe “Bueno Vista” and stop at Eddyline brewing for food and delicious beer. after that well come down the town and go to some comedy shows at my favorite spots (Loonees Comedy Corner).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First is both of my parents who both have the entrepreneur spirt, they both started and ran their own companies. Watching them while growing up taught me valuable work ethic and most importantly a drive and determination to bring my vision to life. Second would be the book how to grow medicinal and gourmet mushroom by Paul Stamets which sparked my interest and taught me almost everything I know about growing mushrooms.

Website: fungusfarmcolorado.com

Instagram: @fungusfarmcolorado

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