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

Hi Rob, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Believe it or not, open heart surgery at age 37 had a lot to do with it. I was a senior copywriter for a big ad agency in the Southeast, with clients like the Carolina Panthers and Snyder’s-Lance. However, I wasn’t properly managing the stress and my mitral valve exploded.

I awoke from the surgery to find I now had a mechanical heart valve and would be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. Naturally, that meant alcohol was off the table. I asked if cannabis was a possibility and every one of my doctors told me it was fine.

It was my experimentation with cannabis that led to the creation of Twisted Foot, LLC, shortly after which we received our first patent. (We now have six.) Our mission: to solve universal smoking and vaping problems.

What should our readers know about your business?
Twisted Foot, LLC makes patented promotional products for cannabis brands and fans. Unlike our competition, we create products that are as useful for the end user as they are for marking departments and budgets.

For the individual, Vape Charms magnetic, silicone cart cushions protect vape cartridges if dropped, while allowing upright storage on any magnetic surface. Our Lighter Charms feature interchangeable refrigerator magnets that fit in a silicone band around disposable lighters. Individuals can change the look of their lighters whenever they want, and the borosilicate magnets make excellent bowl snuffers.

For cannabis brands, our premium swag generates a minimum 9,900 impressions for pennies per thousand, all while keeping your brand out of the landfill and increasing web traffic by 600 percent.

Has it been easy? Definitely not. Cannabis companies cannot deduct anything, including marketing expenses, meaning they pay 70-80 percent in taxes each year. That doesn’t leave a whole lot for swag. Until national legalization (which will lead to a sensible tax policy), it is a daily battle for swag dollars.

Luckily, our competition costs a minimum of 2x more than we do, while delivering fewer impressions. Most of our competition also only offers one sku. We currently own six patents with two pending.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Golden, Colorado, a small mountain town just outside of Denver, and a trip here will blow your mind.

Day 1: Brunch near Sloan’s Lake, then a tour (with audio description) through Meow Wolf, and finally a first night dinner in the Highlands
Day 2: Idaho Springs for whitewater rafting
Day 3: Estes Park for hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, then dinner at the Stanley Hotel (where Stephen King came up with the idea for “The Shining”)
Day 4: Take the light rail to Union Station, featuring amazing restaurants and easy access to some fantastic museums, like the Denver Art Museum and the Museum of Illusions
Day 5: Head south to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs
Day 6: Prowl Golden and Morrison, finishing the day with a show at Red Rocks

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 have to recognize my heart surgeon, Dr. Eric Skipper in Charlotte, NC. Without him, I wouldn’t be here.

As for the business, our investors are amazing people. They are professionals from all walks of life, who provide a wealth of knowledge and experience we rely on daily.

Most importantly, we’d like to give a shoutout to our customers, which include individual buyers and massive cannabis brands.

Website: twistedfoot.com

Instagram: @twisted.foot

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/twistedfoot

Twitter: @twistedfootllc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twistedfootllc

Image Credits
Qazi Islam, Leslie Matzinger

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