Rubén, popularly known as “Uncle Kush,” is the founder of The High Cloud, a pioneering platform in the cannabis industry. With a dynamic approach that combines entertainment and education, Rubén has been instrumental in changing public perceptions of cannabis. His journey in the world of cannabis is deeply personal and driven by a commitment to normalize and educate people about the plant’s benefits.
What was your main motivation for founding The High Cloud, and how has the platform evolved since its inception? What specific challenges have you encountered in trying to change public perception of cannabis?
We started in 2022 because I felt there was a significant lack of content about cannabis in the Netherlands. There is a lot of information online in English about the responsible use of new forms of cannabis consumption, like vapes, dabbing, and all kinds of edibles. I felt that Dutch consumers weren’t receiving the message that was being spread internationally. So, I thought it would be a great idea to create something in video format because there are some written magazines and a few online ones, but they weren’t showing everything to the new generation of cannabis consumers. I thought podcasts were trendy at that time, so I said, let’s make a podcast with videos and try to inform people about the various uses of cannabis and show the different aspects of the cannabis industry.
Here in the Netherlands, we have the idea that cannabis is legal in coffeeshops and that it’s normal, it’s the status quo. But there’s more to it; the cannabis industry is what makes it all work, and that’s not always shown. It’s more than just growing a plant and smoking it. There are many things around it, so I thought the best way to show that was by talking to people who are on that side of the industry, doing things beyond just growing and smoking the plant. So we started inviting all kinds of people from different areas of the cannabis industry to try to convey a message that was entertaining enough for young people to watch, but also informative enough to be educational and not just a ridiculous portrayal of cannabis consumers online.
Cannabis gives us positive vibes and helps people relax a bit, but it’s also something very serious that helps people with their health and mental well-being within families. It’s a stabilizer in many families, for example, so I thought it was very important to show that. It’s challenging when you try to showcase something that’s illegal or discuss topics that are still taboo or when you try to give cannabis a positive image while there is still a lot of propaganda demonizing the plant and its users. I receive a lot of criticism in the media and comments on social media. People find what we do strange, they think we are drug addicts or this or that, but for every critic, there are 1,000 people who tell me we’ve inspired them, helped change their relationship with cannabis, and it was for the better.
Our content has helped people because we try to provide them with a perspective on what’s out there. Many cannabis consumers in the Netherlands are used to a certain way of consuming their weed. They go, buy €10 of Haze, roll a joint, and smoke it. It’s not like that anymore. For some people, it might still be, but there is so much more out there that is better or might suit people better, and that’s something we’ve been trying to convey for the past two and a half years. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback but have also faced challenges during that time, challenges like any entrepreneur.
The High Cloud emphasizes both entertainment and education about cannabis. How do you balance these two aspects, and what do you consider the most important message you want to convey to your audience?
It’s very difficult to find a balance between information and entertainment in the content because I can be quite heavy on the information sometimes. Cannabis is very important to me. I’ve experienced a lot of benefits from it in my life, and I have a lot of experiences. I want to share this with people, but I have to be careful because if I just give them information and tell them what to do and what not to do, people will get tired of me. They won’t like the content and they won’t get the message. So I try to keep it light, use humor but not too much, invite normal people and in between keep the spirit of cannabis in the conversations we have.
Luckily for us, a lot of the people in the cannabis world aren’t so corporate or strict. They’re just normal, fun people who are maybe also artists or have things to do. They’re often very interesting people, so there’s a lot to talk about. That’s the vibe, and I try to stay true to myself, just be me. I don’t play a character, I don’t exaggerate. I don’t do things that I wouldn’t normally do. What you see is what you get, and sometimes that’s Uncle Kush in a certain state of mind because I’m also a human being with things in my life.
Sometimes I’m really happy and enthusiastic, and sometimes I’m relaxed with things on my mind, but that’s the way it is. I’m always myself, I try to always be my most authentic self with an open mind, trying not to always just defend my ideas. I’m all for giving people a stage. If you have an idea that’s not my idea about something, you can say it and maybe I’ll say something that I’ve been taught differently, or I’ve always thought it was this way or that way. But I’m not going to be the guy that says you’re wrong. That’s not my podcast, I’m not going to be in discussions. I’m not going to have that kind of content. A lot of people have asked me why I don’t like debates. I tell them that’s not fun, that’s not fun to watch. Who wants to watch frustrating debates? And that’s where we would lose our audience and our potential to bring information to that target group.
Is there a specific person you would like to interview one day?
There are still a few people on my list, one of them being Henk de Vries, the owner of the Bulldog Coffeeshops. Simply because he is a kind of entrepreneur, a rebel, someone who always stood up to the system and went out to find the boundaries just to be able to break them, you know. And to be able to pave the way for many entrepreneurs who are now active in the business, this is something impressive. I think he has been active for many years and has been growing exponentially, impressive. That is why I would love to have him on the podcast and ask him about his journey and how he has developed his career over the years, the decisions he made and his relationship with cannabis during those years, especially to know if it has changed or has it always been the same.
What role do product and strain reviews play in your mission to educate your audience about responsible consumption?
Strain reviews definitely help educate people a bit about the strains that are available, the benefits they can have, how different strains affect the body and mind differently, and what’s out there. Product reviews can help introduce people to new ways of consuming cannabis, like vaping, for example.
I found that for me, I started doing strain and product reviews because I learned that the more channels you have to support your platform, the better. It’s a whole funnel. What I really wanted to do was have people who are interested in a strain or a product that I’ve reviewed come to the website and see that there’s more to it than just a product review. There’s a podcast here. If any young bloggers want the opportunity to do cool content on The High Cloud, I would say get in touch with me and we can give them a shot at writing content.
What impact do you hope the podcast will have on public perception of cannabis?
My main goal is to normalize marijuana, so what I would love to see is that it becomes as normal to smoke weed at a birthday party as it is to open a bottle of wine. That you don’t need to go through the whole “what the hell are you doing? That smells bad” discussion, but more like, “oh, you smoke marijuana, that’s cool, good for you.” That’s it, you know. Because it’s a lot less dangerous than alcohol, for example, but it’s still treated a lot worse. Those are the perceptions I’m trying to change, and I feel like it’s working.
A lot of people tell me, “I don’t even smoke weed and I watch the podcast because it’s just interesting and it has a cool energy.” And it taught me a lot about cannabis and changed my perspective on the plant. That’s exactly what we wanted to do. If cannabis is something you’re really passionate about, go out and consume it. If you like cars, make cars. It’s as simple as that, and that’s something I really want people to understand. It’s a holistic lifestyle, and cannabis can support a healthy, active lifestyle.
Sometimes it can be something that stops you from getting where you want to go, and that’s also the point where I tell people that maybe they should stop smoking marijuana or change their relationship with the plant in some way.
On your podcast, you’ve featured several influential figures in the cannabis industry. Can you share a story or interview that changed your perspective on some aspect of cannabis? What surprised you or taught you something new?
Maybe not necessarily about my perspective on cannabis, but about life, I changed when I talked to Jaïr Velleman. He’s a very successful entrepreneur who started out in the lights company, sold it for a lot of money, and then became rich but deeply unhappy. He stopped working, got a nice house and some sports cars, but was unhappier than ever. He would wake up crying in his multi-million euro mansion, in his Maserati, or whatever. He had always been working towards growth and having things to do, and when that stopped, his drive was gone, and he had nothing to do.
Years later, he started over with a new lighting company, traveling the world, getting involved with the market, and doing marketing strategy. That’s what made him happy, not the money, but the process. It really made me realize that we can always work toward more, but we can never sit back and say, “I did it.” You never really do it; you always have to keep yourself busy, have goals, and have something to do. That’s what makes you happy: contributing in some way, having a routine, a rhythm, going out and selling stuff, or whatever. Find something you love and start doing that because then you’re not working anymore. You’re living your life the best way you can. We all have to do something to make money and live in this society, so why not do it with something you love?
In your experience, what are the most interesting emerging trends in the cannabis market and how is The High Cloud adapting to or contributing to these trends?
What we’re seeing around the world now is legalization. More and more countries are working towards a legal system for home cultivation and a commercial system where cannabis can be grown and sold. We’re trying to do more about legal cannabis, so we’re definitely working towards new forms of content and maybe even new platforms where we’re going to share other types of content about legal marijuana, everything that’s going on, the growers, even the people transporting the marijuana. We want to show the whole chain and everything that’s going on.
We are definitely focusing on modern forms of cannabis consumption, like dabbing and vaping. We might do a series on different products and have more product reviews on videos. Another trend we see is live streaming, which is more about media than cannabis, but also in cannabis we see more and more streamers. That is something we have been doing recently, reviewing strains live online, where people have the opportunity to interact and ask questions. That has been a lot of fun and is something we are developing as well.
The concept of ‘canna-infotainment’ is central to your work. How do you think this approach helps demystify cannabis use and educates audiences about its uses and benefits in an accessible way?
Canna-infotainment is really the funnel that we created to have the entertainment aspect for people who consume cannabis to attract them and give them information about cannabis. This helps change perspectives on cannabis for both consumers and non-consumers. We try to educate and develop the industry as a whole, and I think that’s what it encompasses and how we’ve contributed to the normalization of cannabis, just by informing people and making sure that there’s more content about cannabis. Where we just talk about it like it’s just another thing instead of demonizing it like a lot of other media outlets do when it comes to cannabis.
How do you see the impact of cannabis on today’s youth culture and how do you think The High Cloud can positively influence the perception and use of cannabis among young people?
I think helping people understand that cannabis is not an unhealthy habit if you do it consciously and choose the right way for the right time in your life. Some people might start their day smoking sativa to get things done, and others might need indica to relax in the evening. If you don’t know those things and you start smoking indica in the morning, it might not help your productivity. So I’m trying to teach people that they can use cannabis as a support in their lifestyle if they know something about the plant and what they’re using. I hope that will help young people change their relationship with cannabis in a positive way and help them develop in life.
What final message would you like to convey to your followers and the community at large about the future of cannabis and its normalization? How can consumers and businesses positively contribute to this process?
I think it’s really important for people to keep an open mind and understand that cannabis is for everyone, but not all cannabis is for everyone. There may be people who enjoy smoking their weed with tobacco, others who prefer BHO, some who lean towards pure cannabis or live hash rosin, and others who don’t like smoking at all and prefer edibles. All of that is fine, as long as it contributes positively to your life. If you’re happy with it and it brings you what you’re looking for, that’s great. But if you find that it doesn’t make you feel good and you’re still using it, that’s not what we want. It’s important for people to keep an open mind, be willing to try new things, and also be willing to accept other viewpoints and opinions. This way, we can learn from each other, and expand the cannabis industry and not work against each other. We want change, and it’s important that we work together to achieve that.
