Meet Heidi Keyes | President and Founder of Puff, Pass & Paint/Cannabis Tours

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

Hi Heidi, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It’s not something I’ve thought much about before, but my parents were both entrepreneurs, so I grew up accustomed to the ups and downs, mental challenges, and lack of security that comes with being self-employed. It’s not an easy life, but for me it was always the right decision. Working for someone else has never been something I’ve fully enjoyed, as I’m willing to put my entire heart and all of my time into something I truly care about and that is mine.

Art has been something that has been a part of my life since I was a baby, and that my parents encouraged. I then got my Bachelors degree in Fine Arts and immediately started the hard work of trying to “make it as an artist”, which included teaching private classes as well. Cannabis use came when I was in my mid-teens, when I started using it to help with my anxiety (in rural Wisconsin, this wasn’t exactly approved of!). When CO legalized Cannabis in 2014, I started Puff, Pass & Paint as a joke, because it was two of my favorite things combined and I thought I MIGHT get a couple of students to do something fun. It kind of just took off from there, and over the past 8 years I’ve moved out of teaching classes in my kitchen, merged businesses with Michael Eymer and Charles Conti of Colorado Cannabis Tours, and together we’ve expanded to 14 different states with classes, tours, and other 420-friendly offerings around the country.

Looking back, I don’t think I could have even imagined where this journey would take me. Mentally and physically it’s been really challenging in a lot of ways, and with the pandemic, I wasn’t sure if we would have a business to come back to. We ended up closing a lot of our bases, scaling back, and opening things up slowly and correctly as the world came back to life and people were able to emerge from their homes again. Being a business owner, ESPECIALLY in Cannabis, requires the ability to pivot constantly and without complaint. By now, we’ve gotten used to that! It’s not for everyone, but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. I’ve been in thousands of classes by now, but every time I look around at a room full of people painting, consuming legal Cannabis, and laughing and celebrating with their friends and families, I remember why we do what we do. Cannabis and art both bring people together without judgment, and it always reminds me that people just want to be accepted for exactly who they are.

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?
Oh my gosh, I am so proud of this business! And not in a braggy way, but in an I-cannot-believe-we’ve-come-this-far kind of way. For the first few years, my 2 business partners and I did EVERYTHING ourselves, from sales to tours and classes to social media posts. I used to carry a work phone with me at all times and take orders at 2am if the phone rang, because we desperately needed that income, and we didn’t have anyone else to help. It’s necessary, but also so so hard, to give up that control when it just expands beyond what you’re capable of as just one human being.

I’ve learned that you just need to let go a bit, and bring people on that have the same vision and the same passion for what you’ve created. You have to let the baby bird out of the nest to fly at some point.

I want people to know about how much I care about what I do. I don’t teach as much anymore unless we’re starting a new location and I’m training people, but if I’m having a bad day, I love to go into the studio and see our amazing instructors doing their thing, and the students enjoying themselves, learning something, and having fun and celebrating legal Cannabis while doing it. It cheers me up every time. It may have evolved into a national business (and despite that, we’re a very small company!) but this is still just a little girl’s dream that somehow became a reality.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I LOVE a good happy hour, and Linger is one of my favorite spots for a great happy hour and also awesome views of the city (their duck buns have been my favorite food in the world for the last 10 years!). I love local dives like the Dive Inn and Grandma’s House (both on Broadway) to sit and chat or play board games with friends. L’Eagle dispensary is awesome for long-cured and organic Cannabis. Other than that, in the Summer I like to take people up to Kittredge and Evergreen area for some hiking, and in the Winter we’ll do the same but snow-shoeing or cross country skiing. Stop at Revival Brewing in Evergreen for a beer and some wings after, and that’s pretty much a perfect day for myself and a guest!

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?
I could not be where I’m at without the unconditional support of my business partners and dear friends, Michael Eymer and Charles Conti. We have run this company together for now 8 years, and over that time, they have become such an integrally woven part of my life that I hear their voices in both my dreams (and my nightmares!) for better or worse. All of us focus on different things within the company, as Mike handles the tours, legalities, and overall infrastructure, and Charles handles all of our website design, marketing, and SEO. I am in charge of the creative classes and expansion, and more of the day to day operations. Everyone is always willing to help each other out and also encourage the others’ strengths, and in no way am I pretending to have been able to build this company on my own. To have a business relationship where you can work out problems together with someone you can laugh with over a beer or a joint, is often unheard of, but I’m grateful we have that. They are the voices in my head that never let me sell myself short.

Website: www.puffpassandpaint.com; www.cannabistours.com

Instagram: @puffpassandpaint @cannabistours

Facebook: Facebook.com/puffpassandpaint; facebook.com/cannabistours