Meet Michael Briggs | Psilocybin Coach

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

Hi Michael, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Starting my business has been the process of bringing my values to life in a very tangible way. I have long been passionate about mental health and have done my best to advocate for mental health in my own life. I have had my own struggles with mental health and have seen how social stigma, lack of access to services, and limited treatment options have created significant hurdles for many people in my community.

Under the Personal Use provisions of Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act, I began cultivating psilocybin mushrooms to explore their healing potential in my own life. While I found their use to be incredibly powerful in my own life, I also discovered that I had a knack for cultivating. This is when I realized that I had a skill that I could put to use to bring Natural Medicines to more people and, hopefully, help bring more healing options to my own community.

I was interested in starting a business in the regulated market in Colorado, but knew that the regulations here were lagging behind those in Oregon, where I have a considerable number of family and friends. In the interest of cutting my teeth in the business world, I began Spiritus Oregon, Inc., the nation’s first legal psilocybin edibles company, operating the brand Horizon Edibles. I spent considerable time and effort perfecting the cultivation, extraction, and edible creation process within the rigorous regulated market.

My intent was to move into the regulated psilocybin market in Colorado once the rules for regulated businesses were implemented here, but my work in the regulated space uncovered what I see as significant issues that have resulted in the creation of an industry that only caters to the wealthy and that significantly limits access, something that was completely counter to what I intended to do at the outset of starting my own business.

Thankfully, under the same Personal Use provisions in Colorado that allowed me to cultivate for myself, I can operate a psilocybin coaching business, ShroomFinder.co, that introduces people to psilocybin, encourages safe use, provides a detailed set of dosing recommendations, and walks people through best practices for safe and supported use for their own healing journey. Additionally, because of the work that I’ve done in Oregon, I have developed the expertise to be able to create the same high-quality edibles that you would get in the regulated market, but available under the Personal Use provisions. In accordance with Colorado law, edibles are provided for free during coaching sessions. After the coaching session, empowered with a considerable amount of information and recommendations from an industry leader, my attendees get to decide when, where, and how they want to explore psilocybin.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business in Colorado, ShroomFinder.co, provides legal psilocybin coaching services to individuals 21 and up who are seeking guidance on how best to use natural medicines safely and legally. My sessions are booked individually so people can have a safe and private conversation about their own journey with psilocybin, mental health, and any other topics that they would like to discuss.

As a leader in the legal psilocybin manufacturing industry, I have dedicated years to learning everything there is to know about psilocybin. To manufacture high quality products, it is critical to understand how those products are used, what sorts of effects they may have, and the best practices for getting the most out of them. I have also worked closely with legal psilocybin facilitators to understand how to best use psilocybin in a supervised session, what some of the common pitfalls are, and how to get the most out of an experience.

Working to develop this base of knowledge has been a labor of love. I have a passion for learning and enjoy falling down rabbit holes of research. I’ll regularly encounter a question or problem that will require hours or days or reading through scientific studies, textbooks, and articles to piece together an answer. Almost everything related to operating a legal psilocybin business entails operating in uncharted waters, so my days are frequently spent learning as much as possible to make the best-informed decisions, be that product development, navigating a new and complex legal and regulatory landscape, dosing best-practices, or anticipated effects on the mind and body.

I have also dedicated numerous hours working with local and state regulators to educate them on how psilocybin works, how to ensure safe methods of cultivation and edible creation, and how to best serve the interests of consumers. Working with the government to develop rules and regulations has been an incredibly eye-opening process. This has been the first time I have experienced how the sausage is made, so to speak. It has not been easy to work closely with regulators through incredibly complex matters, but it means that I have built the expertise to be able to offer my clients with a completely legal avenue for accessing high quality psilocybin services adjacent to the regulated industry, similar in quality, in much more affordable and accessible ways.

All of that means that clients can expect to receive expert guidance in how to legally use psilocybin to enhance their state of mind, no matter what their goals may be. My coaching sessions are focused around three types of dosing: microdosing, moderate dosing, and macrodosing. I provide microdosing services that walk clients through the various dosing strategies and protocols, supportive practices to enhance their experience, and recommendations for their personal goals. My moderate dosing services provide support to clients that are looking to have a more perceptible psychedelic experience, whether that is to dip their toes in and see if psilocybin is for them, or to help elevate their mood and engage with the healing power of fun and joy. Finally, my macrodosing services provide my clients with the tools to ensure they have a safe and supported large-dose experience. Large doses can be very therapeutic, but also have many pitfalls that can lead to a negative experience. I’ve put significant time and effort into aggregating best practices for ensuring a large dose experience is as beneficial as possible.

As part of the coaching process, clients can also receive psilocybin doses free of charge. They can choose the time or place for using these edibles, rather than being constrained to a licensed consumption site, as is the case for the regulated industry. Clients can also be confident in the edibles they receive as part of this service, knowing they are made by someone who is an expert in psilocybin manufacturing. Their edibles are rigorously tested (using an Orange Photonics potency testing device, pictured in uploaded photos), dosed properly, cultivated cleanly, and made in a clean and safe environment, and in a manner that legally complies with Colorado’s Natural Medicines Health Act.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Denver has so many wonderful locally owned businesses that I try to frequent as much as possible. I love spending slow mornings in local coffee shops, easing into the day with a good cup of coffee and a pastry. My favorite, and most frequented, is Pablo’s on Sixth. It truly is my “third place” and I love the people and atmosphere. I also love visiting St. Mark’s, especially for late night working sessions followed by a drink at Thin Man next door, owned and operated by the same lovely people. If I’m visiting friends a bit further south by my alma mater, DU, I always try to stop in at Stella’s Coffee House on Pearl. It’s a great atmosphere and the patio is fantastic during the summer.

I love exploring Denver’s local food scene and some can’t-miss spots are Kaos Pizza on Pearl, or Tacos Selene on Santa Fe, La Pasadita Inn on Park Ave are fantastic spots. Naturally, Denver has some incredible spots for a more upscale meal, my favorite being Work & Class.

As far as to-dos, I adore Denver’s music scene. Of course, we have a ton of great big-name artists that pass through, but I’ve spent a considerable amount of time at smaller venues and checking out a show at Lost Lake, Marquis, Bluebird, or at the Hi-Dive. The Sofar music series is always a must if you can make it work as well.

A lot of Denverites lament the growth of the city, and it certainly has grown and changed by leaps and bounds since I first moved here in 2005, but everyone brings their own culture and history to the city, making it a fun and interesting place to live. Over the 20 years I’ve lived here, Denver has never bored me!

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 cannot thank my friends and family enough for all of their love and support. Anyone who has started their own business knows how incredibly challenging it can be to navigate the incredible challenges. The highs and lows can hit incredibly hard, and being surrounded by an amazing community has been integral to my success and survival during this process.

I have also met some amazing individuals over the course of building this business that have been truly a joy to work with. Notably, Leah Noyes, who recommended me for this Shoutout, has been an amazing cheerleader, throwing herself into completely uncharted waters and being willing and excited to jump at every opportunity to learn and help. She has been an incredible inspiration for my coaching work here in Colorado.

Of course, I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank my partner, Emily (an our two pups) for all of the love and support over the years. She’s had a front-row seat to all of the good, bad, and ugly, and has been there every step of the way. (Picture of the two of us uploaded).

Also, getting the chance to host Reggie Watts at the facility in Oregon was definitely one of the highlights of starting this business (picture uploaded). Those unique and fun experiences have definitely made all of the hard work and struggle worth it!

Website: https://www.shroomfinder.co

Instagram: shrmfinderco

Image Credits
All images taken by me and all artwork created by me.