ISSUE 53 - JANUARY 2024
CONTENT 18 51 97 ISSUE 53 | JANUARY 2024
Then and Now By CHAMPS Staff
The Masters Finals By CHAMPS Staff
Las Vegas 2024 Winter Details By Kevin Dankman
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CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
ADVERTISER
ISSUE 53 | JANUARY 2024
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1836 KRATOM 31 ABR 90 ADYAH 42-43 AFG 16-17 AK WHOLESALE 21 ART ROLLS 53 BDD WHOLESALE 73 BENTFISH TRADING 29 BLACKWOODS WRAPS 98 BLUSH 94 CALI KULTURE 10-11 CHAMPS 13, 19, 40, 54, 78, IBC CHOICE BOTANICALS INSIDE FRONT COVER SPREAD DURITY DIST 47 EARTH KRATOM 22-23 EAST WEST TRADING 27 EMPIRE GLASSWORKS 90 FANTASY GIFTS 80 FREEZE DRIED SWEETS 79 FORMULA 420 68-69 FUME 12 GREENBEAR 99 GS NUTRA 32 HEMP LIVING 76 HERBAL SALVATION 46 HIGHLY CONCENTR8TED 87 HIXOTIC 88 HUSH KRATOM 104 JELLY EDIBLES / NOT YOUR BAKERY 86 KASHMIR 67 KRAKEN KRATOM 55 KRATOMADE 8-9 LOOPER 56-57 M DISTRIBUTION 77 NEVA NUDE 98 OMNI DISTRIBUTION 60-61 OPMS KRATOM 62-63 OXBAR 59 PARTY NUTS 48-49 PAYLESS DIST 72, 105 PHRESH PICKS 65, 107 REMARKABLE HERBS 41 ROYAL BLUNTS 92-93 RYOT 52 SBK 14-15 SMOKE BUDDY 82-83 SMOKE HOUSE 2-3, 38-39 SMOKE ODOR 30 SMOKE TECH ONE 36-37, 95 SOL TRADING 85 SOS 102-103 STACHE 96 STR8 BRAND 5 STRIO 74-75 SWAG 44-45 TORO IMPORTS 50 TRIANGLE WHOLESALE 84 ULTIMATE PRODUCT DISTRIBUTORS 34-35 VAPE GUYS INC (VGI) 89 VAPORESSO 91 VAPOR TECH 26, 58 VIVAZEN 66 VPR 25 WCG INC 110-111 WHAT’S UP WHOLESALE 108-109 WILLIAM R SEIDE LLC (INSURANCE) 71 WORLD OF LOTUS 24 ZION HERBAL BACK COVER
CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
ISSUE 53 | JANUARY 2024
Writing CHAMPS Staff Kevin Dankman
Photography CHAMPS Staff Dabsel Adams
Design & Layout Sixxx
Publisher CHAMPS Trade Shows
Editorial Director Kevin Dankman
Ad Sales Kevin Dankman Office 818-616-7424 CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
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Here is a set of Then and Now pictures from 2013 to 2023. Oh, how the times have changed! The historic 25th Anniversary of CHAMPS Trade Shows is here, so we looked back to just ten years ago and found some excellent photos we could compare. Here is a set of Then and Now pictures from 2013 to 2023. Oh, how the times have changed. Sponsors like Choice Kratom, Zion, Party Nuts, Got Vape, Sean Dietrich, and many more!
Check out these photos and walk down memory lane with your favorite brands and personalities!
CHAMPS Registration 2013
Choice 2013
Continues On Page 20
Zion Lucky Kratom 2013 CHAMPS Registration 2023
Zion Lucky Kratom 2023
Choice 2023
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Cones 2013
Cones 2023
Futurola 2013
Futurola 2023
Futurola Booth 2023
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Hugh and JOP 2013
Party nuts 2013
RAW 2013
Party Nuts 2023
Hugh helping Amorphous Glass kiln his piece 2023
RAW 2023
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Sean Dietrich 2023
Sean Dietrich 2013
Seedless 2013
Seedless 2023
Smoke Tokes 2013 Smoke Tokes 2023
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Shuhbuh
By CHAMPS Staff
Dellaluna
Jerry Kelly
Pyro
Kyru Glass
The final list has been whittled down, and artists have committed to attending. Are you ready to go down the rabbit hole? $65,000 in cash and prizes will be up for grabs. You can bank on some of the best pieces of the year being made at the masters. The theme is Take A Trip Down The Rabbit Hole This year’s theme for the CHAMPS Glass Games Masters competition is “Take a trip down the rabbit hole.” Life is a vortex of details. Artists will be asked to present a piece representing a deep dive into a topic of their choice, aka a rabbit hole. Continues On Page 64 CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
Down the rabbit vortex sticker
Rose Glass Art
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Here is a list of all the current competitors who have confirmed their attendance. Shuhbuh Jerry Kelly Pyro Dellaluna Kyru Rose Glass Art Blurd Gavin Boehme Steven Boehme Puntington Wigwag Dave Strobel Aj Manger Terry Sharp Ryno Sarita Glassmith Habitat Glass Amorphous Symphony Hardman Art Glass Guido Glass Moo Glass Hendy Grime Glass Smitty Faltermeier Glass Empty 1 SenOiH
Guido Glass
Blurd
Empty 1
Amorphous Symphony
Faltermeier
Continues On Page 70 Senoih
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One of these artists may be crowned the 2024 CHAMPS Glass Games Masters Winner and take home $20,000 in cash, plus more in Prizes. This is one of the most prestigious events of the year for Glass Artists. It will propel their career forward in the years to come. If you want to know who wins, you can come to the glass arena at 4:20 on Saturday the 17th to hear the winners announced live. Continues On Page 81 Dave Strobel
Gavin Bohme / Conversion Glass
Continues On Page 81
Hendy Glassmith
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Habitat Glass
Hardman Art Glass
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Ryno
Pedro Grime
Sarita
CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
AJ Manger Rest In Peace
Smitty Glass
Puntington Wigwag
Steven Boehme
Terry Sharp
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Gold Coast sign
CHAMPS 1st floorplan
By Kevin Dankman This February, CHAMPS Trade Shows will join an elite list of businesses that have been in the industry for 25 Years or more. CHAMPS Trade Show started its humble beginnings in 1999 at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino. That show had thirty-four 7’ x 8’ booths. That's 1904 sq ft. This year, the show will be 2500 10’ x 10’ booths and over 250,000 Sq ft—two floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For you mathematicians out there, that's a 13030.3% increase, a staggering number by any judgment.
CHAMPS Winter 2024 floorplan
2500 booths full of the best, most exciting products on the market. CHAMPS Trade Show is the show everyone wants to be seen at. Some refer to it as the Superbowl of counterculture B2B Events in the world—more celebrities show up every year to entertain and invite the industry to enjoy their newest product. Continues On Page 100 CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
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Ad Sales
Kevin Dankman Office 818-616-7424
Las Vegas Convention Center
Jason Harris of Jerome Baker Designs with Tommy Chong
In the past years, you have had visits from a massive list of celebs, including Berner, The Trailer Park Boys, Snoop Dogg, Tommy Chong, Mike Tyson, Stunna, Birdman, Hulk Hogan, Pauly Shore, Rick Flair, Afroman, Flava Flav, Darius McCrary, Xzibit, NBA Legend Dennis Scot, Dennis Rodman and many more. The List grows each year, and you can expect some top-tier talent to show up this year. Xzibit and Dankman
The 25 Year Anniversary will bring out everyone to celebrate with CHAMPS,
Darius McCrary
Flava Flav and Hugh
CHAMPS has supported the counterculture 420 industry every step of the way. They weathered the Pipe Dreams of Ashcroft to the Spice Raids of the 2010s. The buyers keep coming, and the vendors keep growing! In the most recent growth, CHAMPS has added specific Adult Shop and Mycology sections to the show floor. These two product lines alone can add thousands to the bottom line in your shop.
NBA Legend Dennis Scott
High Margins and High quality can always be found at CHAMPS. 100
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Snoop Dogg at CHAMPS 2023 Photo by Dabsel Adams
Trailer Park Boys - CHAMPS 2023 Photo by Dabsel Adams
Tyson and Dankman
CHAMPS Trade Shows Winter show is also home to the Glass Games Masters Competition, where 28 of the industry's best glass artists have earned their way in to compete for over $65,000 in cash and prizes. The winner will take home a check for $20,000. That can be a life-changing amount for an artist. Some of them have worked their whole careers at a chance to win. The prestige and love they will receive the following year are immeasurable.
Birdman showing the Stunna Brand
CHAMPS SHOW MAGAZINE
No other show has the vibe and excitement you find at a CHAMPS Trade Show. If you aren’t there, you will wish you were. So come February 14th-17th and spend Valentine’s Day with us! Continues On Page 106 101
Fungus Among Us 1st Place Faltermeier Glass
Smitty Glass
Hendy x Hic Dogg
Grime Glass
For all you sports fans out there if the Super Bowl is on your bucket list… here is your chance to pay for the trip and write off a large portion of your trip on your taxes!! If you stay for the show the week after, it all becomes an expense. Mark your calendar and set some flight reminders on your favorite apps so you can get a great deal and be where everyone makes money. Thanks to all our Sponsors for their support. Here is a full list of all the sponsors, so be sure to find them and thank ‘em for all the great deals! 106
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