VAPE Magazine February 2015

Calvin Klein Suit Vala Moj Red Dress Wonderland Corsets Fur Shrug

CREATE

Juice

Calvin Klein Dress Shirt and Pants Wonderland Corsets Intimates

Columns

8 Mastering the Vape Space 10 Let’s Ask GrimmGreen 12 Vaping From the Outside 20 Lifting the Fog 30 Crowd Chasers 80 Eurozoned

Departments 14 36 52 82

Events 28

Vapor Shows to Debut

Six Regional Events in 2015

76

Vape Nights: Different Does

Not Always Mean Better

Features 16

Creating the Next Vape

Space Millionaires

Letter to the Editor

23

On the Road Again: A Vapor

The Juice Judge

Association Tour Update

VAPE Photo Spread

26

The Marquis RDA:

VAPE Vixen

A Candid Overview

32

E-Research Foundation

Launches

34 38

40 44

Rebuildables Demystified

64

Vapentine’s Day His and

Anyway?

Her Gift Guide

66

Vaping and Life in the Fast Lane

with Star Studded Collection

J-Wraps Business

70

VAPESOX Entrepreneur

Partners Look Toward

Provides Worthy Home

What Are We Paying For,

Vape Bling Company Innovates

Company’s Future

for Mods

46 48 50 58

Building the American Dream

72 78

Ohm’s Law and Safe Vaping

Better Tomorrow

Vape Cleaners Add Polish,

86

By the Numbers

Shine to Today’s Devices

Meet VapourArt Oregon Group Lobbies for

Q&A with DJJROCK

and SnwBunni

62

Los Angeles-Based

88

Entrepreneurs Find Buried

Second Year

Treasure, Vape with the Stars

VAPE Magazine Celebrates

AT THE INTERSECTION OF

SENSATION & FLAVOR CALL (844)642-6246 TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR EXCLUSUVE TERRITORY.

NOW AVAILABLE!

letter from the editor When I tell people what I do for a living, that I’m the editor of a vaping magazine, I get looks and questions similar to what most vapers have described to me. “How in the world did you get into that? What is that—the e-cigarette thing?

I see those everywhere now; it’s the trend. Can you get me one?” The latter question mainly comes from those who aren’t smokers, those who just think vaping looks cool.

This issue, not just of the magazine, but of the issue of vaping in and of itself, is becoming more and more near and dear to my heart with every passing day, interview and story written. March 7 will mark 20 years since my dad died of lung cancer. He suffered horribly, most of it while I was in high school, and while I will spare our faithful readers the gruesome details, I will say that he never once put down cigarettes. I literally watched my hero’s last breath leave his body in the hospital after the long and brutal fight.

What would’ve happened if vaping would have been around then?

Would it have prolonged or saved my dad’s life altogether? Would he still be here today? Think of all of the people vaping is saving yearly, monthly, even hourly. Yes, I’m aware that there are years of research ahead and the battle of whether vaping is better than smoking rages on. Doing what I do solidifies what side of the fence I stand on, along with VAPE’s countless readers and amazing contributors to the cause.

Our first issue of 2015 is an exciting one, filled with more technical stories than ever before, unique accessory stories, shop features, statistics of 2014 and our columnists’ views on the vaping life.

As I look on to what lies ahead in 2015, I dedicate this issue to all of those gone before us and those who are fighting the good fight to keep vaping—and yourselves—alive.

Happy reading.

NEWS, BUSINESS & CULTURE VAPE Magazine is the only international vaping industry focused magazine with more than 35,000 readership in the United States, Europe and Asia, where vaping professionals find the latest news, products and trends.

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief Alyssa Stahr content@vapemz.com 800-958-6427 x2 Art Director Van Avanzado Graphic Designers Joe Buehner, Laura Camp, Matt Ritzenthaler Contributors Steffanie Atkins, Norm Bour, CJ Caswell, Dave Cross, Jenee Fowler, Ron Given, Nick Green, Erin Hedrick, Leigh Oates, Susan Oser, Bill Vernetti, Maria Verven ADMINISTRATIVE Chief Executive Officer Matt Schramel Vice President Jon Laverde Chief Operating Officer Alyssa Stahr National Event Coordinator Norm Bour Administrative Assistant Erin Hedrick ADVERTISING Mike Schramel, mike@vapemz.com 800-958-6427 x1 Jon Laverde, jon@vapemz.com 800-958-6427 x4 Jacob Barger, jacob@vapemz.com China-based advertisers contact Wingle Group Electronics LTD +852 51759256 dev@winglegroup.com CONTACT News news@vapemz.com New Products newproducts@vapemz.com Employment jobs@vapemz.com VAPE Magazine is wholly owned

by Starpixel Marketing LLC 2230 Highland Hill Dr., St. Peters, MO 63376 info@vapemz.com 800-958-6427

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@ vapenewsmagazine / VapeMZ

@ VapeMZ

MASTERING

the

VAPE SPACE

By Norm Bour When we think of those who have the power to save peoples’ lives, we usually think of just one category: doctors. These magicians of medicine spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and many years in school to learn what they know. The irony is that hospitals and the doctors hold a high risk of failure.

You probably did not spend that kind of money or put in that time to get your medical license, but you have a similar power: to save someone’s life. YOU have the ability to STOP someone from smoking.

You, the reader; why are you here? Are you a casual student or user of e-cigs or vaporizers? Are you in the vape space or looking to be?

Whatever your motivation, you probably are a former smoker or know someone who is. What is the best way for you to make an impact on lives and get props for doing so? Encourage someone to get on the stop smoking bandwagon.

I get asked by many people to get involved in their mission or cause or business and one that caught my eye is called “BLO away The Habit.” This 24-month program is designed to wean smokers off combustible cigarettes or nicotine and is a stepped down program in three-month increments. It involves a declaration and promise to quit, and as an incentive they offer e-liquid at a 50 percent discount. The beauty of the program is that they bribe you (for your own good) to stop smoking and to stop you from backtracking.

At the beginning of the program you can get any nicotine level you want amongst various different lines and flavors from name brand companies. Let’s say you started on Jan. 1 and decided you do not want to smoke anything higher than 18 mg nicotine.

For the next three months you can get that level or lower and on April 1 you must step down to 15 mg or lower in order to get the discount. You can no longer get 18s, so you must stick with your commitment.

Will people cheat and go outside the program? Of course. But, by offering liquids at half price they incentivize users to stay on track.

Vaping Goes Mainstream! Part I I believe that 2015 will be the year that vaping and e-cigs break out of the fringe arena and go mainstream. Did you know that amongst other incentives to stop smoking, some life insurance companies, like Prudential, will offer a substantial discount for vapors and they distinguish between them and smokers? I met one of their agents named Jacob at a vaping convention and I asked, “What is Prudential Insurance doing here?” I heard that some insurance companies offered discounts on health and life insurance for vapors but was not aware that one of the biggest companies out there was included.

8

MAGAZINE

Jacob told me that “they have six different levels of rating.

Smokers are at the very bottom, even lower than someone that has diabetes and if you are a vaper you would normally be rated at a level three.” I asked for an example of the price differences and he offered the following:

For a single male, age 35, $100,000 30 year term life insurance policy.

As you can see the premium for a vaper over a nonsmoker is less than $100 higher on an annual basis, whereas a smoker is more than three times the price. Do you need another incentive to offer a smoker to vape instead? Here you go. Ladies don’t worry; there are discounts for you as well.

Vaping Goes Mainstream! Part II Even though city councils are uniformly banning public vaping there continues to be a grassroots movement of the people who ask “why?” as in “Why are you doing this, city council members?” In Great Britain they recently ran ads for e-cigs on TV and caused an uproar. Jennie McCarthy gets heat for advertising blu. Julia Louis Dreyfus caught flack when she lit up an e-cig at the Golden Globes last year.

Will we see Johnny Depp (or Meryl Streep!) come up and get an Oscar with an eGo in his or her mouth? Maybe Jack Nicholson or other rebels of Hollywood will break through the log jam, get the heat and cause real, meaningful discussion.

In 2015 I plan to start my own nationwide campaign and bring attention to the positive aspects of the industry. Keep reading this column as we get closer to announcing the details of the Vape Freedom Tour.

I wish you all the very best in 2015. If you are in the vape space and have stories to share, please let us know. I am always looking for “movers and shakers” to profile in my blog posts or on www.VapeNewsRadio.com.

Norm Bour is the founder of VapeMentors.com, the first and largest business consultancy focused on helping brick and mortar stores, e-liquid companies, online businesses, importers and other entrepreneurial channels in the vape space. He is the author of “Vapreneur: Your Guide to Mastering the vape space,” and the soon-to-be released book: “Masters of Vape: The New Millionaires That are Crushing It in the e-liquid market.” In addition to writing for VAPE, he also is the host of Vape News Radio and the founder of Vape U: Six Pillars to Vape Space Success, an innovative six-week training program that is launching February 2015. He can be reached at norm@VapeMentors.com.

By Nick Green

Photo by Metal Jeff

John: So, I’m thinking about picking up a new Eleaf 20w box. Whats the best tank to go with it? I’m very new to vaping. Thanks.

GrimmGreen: Hey there, John The new iStick from Eleaf is a surprisingly awesome little device. At 75 mm it’s barely bigger than a Bic lighter. Add in the fact they managed to get a 2200 mAh battery in there, as well as 20 watts of power.

While 20 watts might not seem like a lot, when there are 100 and 180 watt mods being released nowadays, 20 watts still is nothing to sneeze at. Twenty watts easily is enough power for a Kayfun or (Kayfun style tank) built to 1.5 to 2.0 ohms. At 2.0 ohms you only will be using 12 to 14 of those watts.

As far as the ideal tank to use with the iStick mod, I would suggest taking a look at the Nautilus Mini tank from Aspire.

It’s a very simple fill-and-vape system that will work wonderfully. I suggest starting your wattage low and working your way up until it feels right.

Hope that helps out -Grimm

Let’s Ask GrimmGreen is a column exclusive to VAPE Magazine. Have a technical or general vaping question for Nick?

Email content@vapemz.com and your question could be addressed in the next issue! For all things GrimmGreen, visit http://www.grimmgreen.com/.

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Vaping From The Outside Bridging the Gap Between Online and Offline Vapers

By Susan Oser I’ve been an online host for the vapenet channel for almost a year, and I can honestly say that I’ve seen some interesting things happen.

I’ve seen a lot of unity when it comes to helping someone in need and raising money for him or her. On the flipside, I also have seen a lot of infighting between hosts or channels for ratings and just for drama’s sake.

Thus, it stands to reason that the online vaping community is just like any other community out there when it comes relationships. After all, more than our real-life relationships we develop a lot of close friendships online (and even find love). It’s just the nature of the game. In addition, just as the vaping industry is currently, the online world sometimes becomes a combination of high school and a bad Spaghetti Western combination. In other words, some of what is said and goes on ends up being better than scripted reality television at times (sadly).

I’m not immune to online shenanigans. Way before I found vapenet, I was hosting my own show on my own channel on a now defunct website called Blogtv.com. It was here that I discovered a whole new world of interests, friends and even snatched a boyfriend that I’ve been dating for five years. I’ve also have had my share of trolling and literally been schooled in the art of it. Once you have that hardcore experience and get that training, when you host your own vape show for an hour or two, they just become comic relief and another number in the audience.

While I’ve enjoyed my time with the online vaping community, I will say that there is nothing like meeting people in real life.

Thus, this is why small or large vape meets are important assets (as well as brick and mortar stores). When meeting people that perhaps at one time you had a misunderstanding with or just felt like you didn’t connect with online, it becomes a whole different ball game. One of the things you learn is that what you see on-screen is not necessarily what you see in real life, and that on-screen hosting thing can be nothing more than a mere persona. Of course, suffice it to say, there are some people who are jerks online as well as offline (but generally those are some of the more mere exceptions to the rule).

In any event, and with my future writings for VAPE Magazine, one of my goals is to introduce you to those people who do a lot of work online as a vendor, modder, channel owner and even a few channel hosts that I believe you need to know more about. Why? Because these are people that I personally support and I believe you should too.

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In addition, I feel that there should be more of a bridge between the online and offline worlds. It is great knowing that there are a few brick and mortars out there that will air a YouTube video or even a vaping channel on their television screens, via their computer or even air an online show from their store. I would like to encourage more brick and mortars to do that because that exposes customers to more information, networking and some pretty cool friendships.

How many brick and mortars actually KNOW about the online branch of the vaping community or having online access to CASAA, the Vaping Militia and other vaping advocacy groups?

Chances are it’s not that many. Thus, that is also one of the reasons brick and mortars are encouraged to get involved on that level. Not only does it help their business look legit, but it also helps to gain more respect and customers.

Recently, there have been some big changes in the online community that I am happy to see become a reality. This includes vaping channels coming together and supporting each other under one website umbrella and doing it for the community sake, sans the drama. The reason I mention this is because lately there has been a lot of infighting online with vapers. Quite frankly it’s putting us in a bad light and giving ANTZ more fuel for their fires to sneak proposals and other legislation in while there is all this hyped-up tension and drama concerning he said/she said, and why some channels have certain hosts when they shouldn’t. In addition, if someone from the outside (or the real world) wanted to make connections with the online community and saw all the drama, do you think he or she would want to make some important connections for their business, sales, etc.?

If you are a vaper who already is active online, I hope you have enjoyed this column and share it with your fellow hosts, sponsors, etc. If you are a brick and mortar or someone looking to expand your network in the vaping world, consider checking out sites such as http://www.vapetv.com, http:// vapingunderground.com, http://www.casaa.org, and http:// thevapingmilitia.org. The more you network and connect, the greater the opportunities you have to meet others like you and share your personal story. Every vaper has one and yours should not be any different. You might get inspired to create something you never thought possible or even expand your customer base and business just a little bit more. As I have personally discovered, the true art of networking is definitely put into practice with vapers. It’s also one of the reasons why I appreciate the people I’ve connected with, and I hope to connect with more in the future.

Susan E. Oser aka Angelwriterspeaks is a host on Monday nights on Vapenet (http:// http://vapenet.com/); (https://www.facebook.com/CreativeAngelwriter).

For her day job she is an online tutor. She is a passionate activist for vaping as well as equal rights. Find her at http://twitter.com/angelwriter78 and https://www.facebook.com/Angelwriterspeaks?ref=hl. You can also buy her knitted accessories (esp for you the vapor) at https://www.facebook.com/ knitzyknitz. To contact her directly, email angelwritercreations@gmail.com.

Letter to

the Editor

We at VAPE pride ourselves on being a voice for the vaping industry, however we certainly don’t want to be the only voice. Over the past several months we’ve received a couple letters to the editor, and we thought we’d share with our readers what the hot topics have been.

Infuriated with politicians taking bribes from tobacco companies to criminalize vaping! So much so I am getting involved after new anti-vape proposals in my area. If they can ban plastic tubes of water vapor, what can’t they ban? It’s official we are living in a fascist state unheard of a decade ago. Personal rights are a thing of the past until we take those rights back. I notice they have to do it without public consent. A state popular vote would get vape banners laughed out of town. They want to ban vaping by city ordinance now in Worcester MA. I think of myself as very liberal on social issues, but, because of bribes to liberal politicians, I have lost any sense of association with them.

I even think this is meant to divide liberals, which this is doing. It’s certainly not helping reclusiveness or cynicism today.

Keep up the great, informative work with the site and I will stay tuned. Thank you.

-Jim Whorton, Auburn MA, quit tobacco with e cigs 4 years ago and loving it.

14

MAGAZINE

Mr. Shaw writes an article titled “How Much is E-Liquid Really Worth?” (in October 2014’s issue of VAPE). Though he’s clearly an advocate for DIY vape juice, he seems to have a negative opinion of premium e-liquids. There are e-liquids out there that he is probably unaware of like my company, Elixir Vape LLC (www.elixir-vape.com) that are different from slapping a few liquids together. Our e-liquids contain organic herbs that create effects such as Awake, Breathe, Calm, and Enhance. To provide not only the best, purest mixture of natural herbs, but also premium flavors using certified organic flavors that do not contain diecetyl acid, it’s expensive. Mr. Shaw seems to look down upon premium e-liquids. I would invite him to try ours, and I would gladly send him samples of my entire line.

-Bill Vernetti, co-founder Elixir Vape LLC Epothecary Editor’s Note: See an in-depth look of Bill Vernetti’s rebuttal in this issue of VAPE.

Do you have a Letter to the Editor? Shout it out to content@vapemz.com.

Creating the Next

Vape Space

MILLIONAIRES

By Norm Bour

The vape space has been very generous and over the past few years many millionaires have been created in industries and segments that were unknown until the vaping industry exploded on the scene. E-liquid manufacturers, wholesalers, online portals, affiliate program exports, and brick and mortar retail opportunities have burst upon the scene and caused people to ask: “How did they do that?”

For someone who wants to start a brick and mortar store, online or e-liquid company, where do they (you?) learn this stuff?

Until now it has been a combination of being in the right place at the right time, finding an example or person to follow, seizing an opportunity and just plain hard work, but now a track has been developed to increase your odds of success.

VAPE U Launches to Help Develop Vapreneurs!

Since the summer, VapeMentors has fielded many hundreds of questions about monetizing the vape space. What are the seven most common questions that are asked?

How much does it cost to open a brick and mortar shop?

What kind of money can I make?

What kind of licenses are required to open a shop?

What products, hardware and juices, sell the best?

How do I find suppliers for what I want to sell?

I make (or wish to make) my own e-liquids; how do I take them to market?

Will the FDA shut down the vaping industry?

The truth is, there have been no easy answers to any of those questions. Until now.

Rolling out on Feb. 2 is an innovative program called “VAPE U: Six Pillars to Vape Space Success,” a unique six week webinar series run by yours truly.

This program has been in development for almost one year and VAPE U has brought in a host of Thought Leaders and guest instructors including David Collins, CEO of California Vaping Company; Michael Guasch, CEO of Molecule Labs; Maria Verven, the original Vaping Vamp (and fellow writer of this magazine); Raymond Yang, from R2MediaHub, the social media power behind many famous brands; Matt Longley, CEO of Ecig Media and Ecig Advanced; Tom Campbell, CEO of Vapor Beast, wholesale distributor; and one of the most famous icons of the industry, Grimm (Nick) Green, master reviewer of products since 2009.

The Vape MASTERS Degree program What ARE the Six Pillars to Vape Success?

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I. Successful Business Strategies & Models, which includes identifying and understanding your strengths and weaknesses and applying them in business strategies for success.

II. Branding and Competitive Positioning: What makes YOU and your business unique? Find it, share it. Creating a winning brand, exploring the weaknesses of your competition and CRUSHING THEM! III. Product Selection: How to know what hardware to carry.

Which e-liquids sell and where do you get them? This session addresses those questions and more.

IV. Customer Acquisition, Retention and Service: The trinity of success is a process like any other. If you can master these steps you will never want for business.

V. Dealing with the Law: Local governments and cities have been the most oppressive but the FDA is outside the door.

Understand the RULES of the game and win.

VI. Social media: Being there is just half of it. Just having a Facebook page and posting a few pictures is futile. You must use an effective and proven strategy behind Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

There also will be a Special Bonus Session MasterMind Part Seven with all students to share his or her stories and to learn from each other.

At the end of the last class in March there will be a live workshop in San Diego, Calif., held at the conclusion of the VaporShows.com B2B event March 11-12.

For more information visit www.VapeMentors.com. The normal price of $597 will be discounted to $497 for readers of VAPE Magazine.

Norm Bour is the founder of VapeMentors.com, the first and largest business consultancy focused on helping brick and mortar stores, e-liquid companies, online businesses, importers and other entrepreneurial channels in the vape space. He is the author of “Vapreneur: Your Guide to Mastering the Vape Space,” and the soon-to-be released book: “Masters of Vape: The New Millionaires That are Crushing It in the e-liquid market.” In addition to writing for VAPE, he also is the host of Vape News Radio and the founder of Vape U: Six Pillars to Vape Space Success, an innovative six-week training program that is launching February 2015. He can be reached at norm@VapeMentors.com.

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Lifting the Fog Hype and

Hyperbole

By CJ Caswell The Aspire Atlantis. Just saying the name brings up an emotional reaction from some people right now; the talk is so heavy and opinionated. Everyone has something to say about this thing, like, we’re pushing a religion or hating on a religion or fashionably turning your nose up at a religion. This is ridiculous, isn’t it? Richard from Twisted420 shot a review, which captured this beautifully, showing an employee at his shop saying, “Before the Atlantis, I was straight. But now I’m gay. Thank you Aspire Atlantis!”

He still gave the Aspire a great review, and with good reason.

It’s a fine tank and an innovative tank. No tank using a factorymade coil produces as much vapor, and the thing is sturdy and good looking and available at a reasonable price. It opens up clouding to … well, a few new people. Maybe.

If I were to write a review on the Atlantis, I would be pleased, and I would recommend it to people who don’t get enough vapor off of a normal clearomizer, but who don’t want the ass pain of recoiling and rewicking all the time. Even serious modders can get use out of it, throwing it on their mod when they want something zero effort for when they’re driving and shouldn’t drip. It has shortcomings: the tank capacity is less than 3 ml, and it won’t work with a mod that has a direct-to-battery atty connection, AKA hybrid mods. That’s because the positive pin doesn’t descend any further than the negative pin casing that acts as the negative. No big deal, and it might still work if you use button top batteries. All in all, it’s great. I’ve been using this thing for two weeks now when I drive, and I like it a lot.

Does this mean that it’s what Aspire advertised it as? You’ve seen the ads: “Game over for the pro cloud chasers!” Oh really?

Nope. Not even close.

Cloud chasing, rebuilding, these activities are not defined by convenience, they’re defined by maximum performance and customizable tinkering. Let’s use my usual convenient analogy, the automotive industry. When the Pontiac GTO and the Ford Mustang came out, they did not displace hot rodding.

They were cheap and pretty fast, but it was not the end of guys souping up their cars for late night drag races.

And really, Aspire is the only party saying that they’re going to be displacing anything. The Atlantis is convenient. It’s a step forward in the market for people who want convenience, allowing them to enjoy more performance—albeit not professional performance—in their daily driver. A cloud chaser will use it in the same way that a pro drag racer drives home in a Camaro after a night of quarter miles. You will not be taking an Atlantis to a cloud comp, sorry. If Aspire ever hires a guy to go to cloud

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comps, he will have to rebuild those factory coils to run fewer than .5 Ohms to stand even a slight chance.

Face facts: We presently enjoy the benefits of a hot market, and in this market, hardcore claims result in hardcore sales. There is a reason Lazarus Vintage spends God knows how much money creating an image of sophistication for their brand and carting Cleopatra to the stage at VapeBlast. Hype matters. And the hype can mutate into borderline dishonest hyperbole.

Aspire has promoted the Atlantis with hyperbole, while Lazarus has simply amplified hype. There’s a difference. Nothing really wrong with that, but it should teach you something about advertising.

That doesn’t say Aspire has lied, exactly. But Aspire certainly knew that they weren’t ending the rebuilding industry. They got a lot of attention claiming that they could, and attention is the most valuable currency in business. Meanwhile, Atlantis fans get pulled into this: from all the talk, you would think the Atlantis could prevent prostate cancer while helping you produce a hit single on the Top 40 charts. Without rebuilding, it can make you better, faster, stronger. The opposite sex will be intrigued, your family proud. Maybe you’ll get your dream job and become the toast of the town!

Chill out, Aspire people. I like the company and I like the products, but they don’t have an answer for every question. People who are just jumping in may be better served by looking for something less focused on max vapor and more for practicality and cost efficiency. Both Kanger’s Genitank and Smok’s ADC tank, for instance, are just as big of a deal in my view, because they cut the price of a really good variable airflow starter tank by a large degree, which is really more important for those who are simply looking for a high-quality cigarette substitute experience at a money-saving price.

The marketing departments for Kanger and Smok just … well, they kinda suck.

And practicality isn’t so sexy, either. But for those of you carrying the Atlantis in your store, just remember: not everyone needs an Atlantis, just like not everyone needs a dripper. Don’t let hype and hyperbole stop you from getting your customers the equipment that will work best for them.

Army combat vets can be dangerous, and things only get worse when they hold degrees in history and economics, like CJ Caswell. On top of that, Caz owns Manhattan Vapors in Manhattan, Kansas. He insists that this happens because his life is epic, a product of natural born awesomeness.

Road Again : On the

By Alyssa Stahr

The Vapor Association is a California-based retailers organization and is a resource for vape shop owners and managers. A goal of the Association is to help find the products and services retailers need to keep pace with this constantly changing industry. Jim Root took his research on the open road in Houston on Nov. 9, taking a look at the brick and mortar industry across the United States, with the aim of identifying regional trends and determining the most pressing needs for retailers across the country.

As of press time, Root has traveled to different cities throughout the Midwest and has made his way into the Northeast portion of the United States. We caught up with Root in Brooklyn, N.Y. to see what he’s learned thus far.

VAPE: You’ve traveled quite a way since we last spoke. Any regional differences in the vaping industry?

Root: We have found some interesting regional differences in retail practices and also consumer sophistication. Some areas are just entering this industry and the customers are focused on beginner needs, while other areas have a tremendous knowledge base and skill with modifying their devices and pushing the industry forward. One of the things that I’ve noticed as we travel around the country is the difference is the creative ways that people overcome different levels of education in the community. Because the communities are so different, you have vapers who are just starting and vapers that are advanced users. As we go from region to region it’s all over the place. In California, Texas, Oklahoma, everyone kinda knows what an electronic cigarette is. They are more in the intermediate range of consumer. There is more of a homogenization of what the consumer is. It’s easier to sell to people and you don’t have to train them. What’s interesting is is that you have little pockets in a region where everyone in this area is an advanced user and everyone in this area is a beginner.

Then you have these areas where it’s all over the place. You really have to be very conscious of that as a retailer when someone walks in because you have no idea of what level of a vaper that they are. We’re looking at how retailers come up with creative ways to determine who their customers are and how o be able to service that.

A Vapor Association Tour Update

Photos Courtesy of Jim Root

and mortar stores choose to service their customers. The differences in the vape shops are as different as vapers in this country. You have a shop that’s 400 sq. ft. and one that 4,000 sq. ft. and they’re 20 miles from each other, and they both focus on completely different things. It’s like saying how many kinds of pizzas are there. It’s really fun and exciting that every single shop I go into is almost an extension of the owner’s personality. There is no real standardization of what has to be in a shop or what should be in a shop.

VAPE: Have there been any surprises thus far?

Root: I never really thought I wanted to be a star. I was talking to a guy in a meeting about how I’m helping the industry and I asked what I could do to help. He said there was a guy who got vape shops their own category on Yelp and said that it was a marketing guy in California and I said, ‘Oh my God, you’re talking about me.’ That was really cool.

VAPE: How has the reception of the tour been?

Root: It’s been great. Every time I go into a shop everyone is excited about understanding more about what the industry looks like outside of their area. I’m collecting all sorts of good information that I offer to share with other shops that I visit.

VAPE: Tell us more about the differences within the vape shops.

Root: Some owners choose to take a clinical approach to serving customers (a focus on health issues and educating consumers), while on the other side of the spectrum we see shops creating a lounge atmosphere (focus on camaraderie and entertainment). It is exciting to see the commonalities between vapers from all walks of life and how brick

Ecig Connection - Located in Staten Island, N.Y. Manager - Victoria Tramantano

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Custom Vape - Located in the Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall, N.J. Manager - Oren Solomon VAPE: What challenges or issues are you seeing the most that shops are needing your help with?

Root: The biggest issue that we see failing retailers right now is obviously customer flow, educating customers and creating vapers. Every business is concerned about getting more customers. The more interesting issue that I’m finding is funding, shops that are looking for bank loans or other kinds of funding for their shops. The other one that I’ve known is a problem for a while is the speed at which new products and accessories come out. It’s too fast; it’s difficult for a retailer to keep up. When they order something brand new, by the time they’re selling it it’s outdated. It’s creating this problem with the retail sale of it. A consumer who buys a new product today and finds out an updated product comes out a week from now gets resentful. They want the biggest and best thing.

NextGen Vape - Located in Brooklyn, N.Y. (from left to right) Jim Root, Owner Igor Gogus, Manager Mark

VAPE: What are some of your initial goals for the end of the tour?

VAPE: Are you tweaking or changing your strategy for the rest of the tour?

Root: There hasn’t been anything truly surprising, just more pervasive. Educating a consumer base is something I knew we needed to do, but it’s a common theme over and over again. We just need the consumers to know what we are and what we aren’t. We’re not a smoke shop, we’re not tobacco. We’re a healthier alternative to cigarettes and trying to help people live a healthier lifestyle. And those things are lost in those areas where it’s integrated into the community—there’s still education issues.

The purpose for our tour still is to try to identify the lynchpin, like is educating the general public going to solve problems like customer flow, and bank loans. We want to find this and uncover this as we travel around.

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Root: We are making the research that we’re putting together available to shops once we’ve completed the tour. It’ll be digital.

We’re trying to identify the biggest issues across the country and ideally want to do regional progress reports on how the industry is moving forward along the way and growing. It’s an important part of our future, to understand and to see the trends in our industry, not only to understand it but to project what’s happening six months, a year from now. I would love a statistical model about how many shops you’ll have, some data on what to expect and a baseline to compare their business to.

We also would like to document up-and-coming e-liquid manufacturers and mod makers to share with our retailers. If anyone is interested, email info@TheVaporAssociation.com and we can include them on our resource list.

Premium Life Demands Premium Quality 855.611.vape

By Ron Given Photos by Salvatore Michael Hobler Hi everyone, my name is Ron, and welcome to my first piece for VAPE Magazine. I have been a vaper for more than three years and involved in the industry for well over two. My specialty is e-liquid, and I am one of the heads of batching for an e-liquid manufacturer.

So, today I will be covering the Marquis RDA! Before we continue, I must confess: I am what could be charitably described as an OK builder. Does that mean I don’t know the ins and outs of an RDA? Of course not.

However, I want as good of a vape as possible for my e-liquid, and a good build can make all the difference.

With that in mind, I have decided to approach this overview of the Marquis with the added perspective of my good friend and co-worker, Steven.

Steven, beyond doing builds for customers at one of our retail locations, has his own drip tip company, One/One, in which he creates each drip tip by hand.

His talent for both is virtually unparalleled. He loves to work with his hands; he loves creating new coil wraps as much as he likes creating drip tips.

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The Marquis comes in functional packaging, which means hang onto that plastic container to house all of its parts. It has several pieces to it, so you’ll have to put on your big boy/girl pants and exercise a modicum of organizational skills. Included are several 510 compatible drip tips, a PEEK drip tip adapter, (which effectively becomes a “drip cap” for easy access) spare o-rings and the most unique feature, two sets of building rods, 2.5 by 3 mm and 3.5 by 4 mm.

These building rods attach to the deck, horizontally or vertically, allowing one to wrap a coil in place and easily connect the positive and negative

connections before removing them.

This adds a bit of hands-free

approach

A Ca

n

w Overvie

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The Marquis RDA is a collaboration between industry vets, Cisco (Avid Vapor), Dino Ferarri (strprswpr) and Jon Armstrong (JonBoyUSMC). Right out of the gate, we were impressed. Our expectations were high, and we weren’t disappointed.

did

: A D R s

This works out well, as I like to let him wrap my coils for me. This relationship has perhaps hindered my own progress with wrapping coils, but really, would you cook yourself Coq Au Vin when a master chef is right next to you? With this in mind, we’ll approach the Marquis from Steven’s expert perspective and my more pragmatic view.

to the process, which, to someone as build challenged as myself, is an added bonus.

To put the Marquis through its paces, we tried several variations, opting to use 22 and 24 gauge wire, and averaging .18 to .3 Ohms on several builds. Steven remarked immediately how much “fun” this RDA is to build on, and he tried a variety of horizontal and vertical builds, as well as doing a horizontal/vertical dual build, which was the most interesting build of the evening. We felt as if it acted as a dual cloud and flavor chaser. The Marquis’s unique deck offers the best of both worlds in this regard.

We used organic cotton in our vape session, and that proved to be equally interesting with regards to the endless options of wicking experiments. The Marquis also has been touted as virtually leak free. I can attest that while it is difficult to cause it to leak, it’s certainly not impossible.

As an over dripper, I have done just that, albeit with only a minimum of mess.

The airflow design and deck are reminiscent of the Veritas RDA, but with several decisive changes/improvements. The three air holes on the top cap align with the raised deck to allow a direct line of air to the coils. Depending on your adjustment, you can tighten or loosen the draw as needed.

I also have tried aligning the holes to the front, recessed area of the deck to allow for a very wide airflow. Again, this thing has options galore, and none of them seem to be at the sacrifice of flavor.

The build quality of the Marquis is stellar. The 304 stainless steel top cap is kept simple and classy, with no logos.

All of the flash is under the hood. My one and only nitpick thus far has been with the insulator/adapter. Initially, this piece seemed somewhat loose and not travel worthy at all.

I almost lost said piece on the first day I had it. However, I have noticed that with continued use, it has become a little more snug, possibly due to o-ring expansion. My one suggestion would be, to include a spare insulator/adapter, in lieu of one of the drip tips. Or possibly, offer them for sale as a replacement.

Lastly, the Marquis isn’t cheap, I purchased mine from Avid Vapor for $145 plus shipping. That’s a lot of scratch, but to quote Ferris Bueller: “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.” In all seriousness though, I feel it was worth it, given the quality, the inventiveness and the stellar flavor and vapor I have been getting from this RDA. I’ve had my Marquis for several weeks, and it currently is my main RDA. The day I received my purchase, I immediately ordered a second as a Christmas gift for my wick and wire guru, Steven, knowing full well how much he’d enjoy it. It’s nice to be right for once!

Now bear in mind, before I purchased this, I did the “three Rs”: research, research, research! My opinions are my own, however informed they may (or may not) be. Your mileage will vary! Thanks for reading! Vape safe to vape strong!

Additional specs and information can be found at Avidvapor.com.

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Vapor Shows to Debut Six Regional Events in 2015

By Alyssa Stahr Photos Courtesy of Communicopia Public Relations & Marketing Starting in March, a new wave of vapor shows will be hitting the nation. Six regional trade events, starting in Del Mar, Calif. in March, are exclusively for vaping businesses that want to showcase products, services and new technology. Other locations, chosen based on top metro areas that have a large concentration of vapor retailers, include Dallas, Texas, in May; Valley Forge, Penn. in August; Wilmington, Ohio in September; Denver, Colo., in November; and Miami Beach, Fla. in December.

Founded by Richard Perkins, a business-to-business communications professional with more than 30 years of experience in dozens of highgrowth markets, the two-day shows will include networking and educational opportunities in smaller venues designed to accommodate 2,000 people. Perkins, whose mother died from congestive heart failure caused by years of smoking, has a personal love of the industry.

“I think vaping is the best available smoking cessation product available. Over the years I have attended exhibitions all over the world. It’s been my observation that even the best of those shows have declined in attendance,” he said. “Retailers don’t want to leave their stores to attend a national show for four days.”

Perkins did an exhaustive research project to determine where vapor product retailers are located nationwide.

“We discovered the biggest concentration of vapor retailers are located in CaliforRichard nia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

There are many other great locations in the United States, but these six were the hottest markets for vapor products,” Perkins said. “The reason we did the research was because our goal is to bring a world class event to retailers in their region. We understand that retailers don’t have the time and money to travel across the country to attend a national event and frankly, that kind of national event can cost thousands of dollars and several days to attend.”

Another big decision was having the shows solely targeted business to business, since there already are a “boat load” of consumer events, which lessens the value put upon businesses.

“You can literally go to a consumer show every week of the

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year. Both e-liquid and appliance vendors have complained that it costs a fortune to give away free product at so many consumer events,” Perkins said. “Also, with everyone grabbing free stuff, do consumers really put a value on it?”

The first show, originally scheduled for late January in Miami, had to be postponed to December due to logistical and timing difficulties. However, Perkins said that planning for the rest of the events is going great.

“We are all set for our first event in Del Mar, Calif. and all the subsequent trade shows in Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado and Florida. We have signed contracts with all the venues, including the show in Miami. Norm Bour is coordinating our six educational forums, and he is putting together a truly valuable education for any retailer doing business in the vapor market.”

In addition, Perkins said that there will be a great mix of experts from every aspect of the vapor world, both domestic and internationally. This is something that sets these shows apart from the huge event market shaping up in 2015, along with the fact that his trade shows are not meant for consumers or even active hobby enthusiasts.

“There are very few strictly business-tobusiness events. We want our vendors to be talking to a huge number of vapor retailers and wholesalers. These are the businesses that can buy products in quantity and can help build a company’s brand,” he said.

Perkins’ team is marketing to more than 180,000 retailers in the six regions, and running full page advertisements in both Perkins retail publications and banner ads on a wide variety of vapor websites. He said Vapor Shows will stand out because he is focused on events for the vapor industry in the hottest, regional areas in the nation.

“You will not see any cigars, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, glassware or other OTP products at our shows,” he said. “We are proudly all about the vapor industry.”

NaylorCMG will manage registration, logistics and implementation of all trade shows for Vapor Shows and said that the registration process will be streamlined along with a mobile app that will help attendees find their way around the show floor. Registration is open on the event’s website, http:// www.vaporshows.com.

Crowd Chasers: How to

Words and Photo by Maria Verven

in the Vape Space

Educate Your Customer and You’ll Win Their Loyalty Walk into a typical vape shop and you’ll likely meet someone behind the counter who’s great at building coils but sorely lacking in building customer relationships.

Our goal in the vape community is to help others get into vaping. Problem is: some are more focused on showing off their RDAs than showing newbies how it all works.

Customer service is not a thing of the past. It’s very much alive in the vape space—or it should be. Norm Bour of VapeMentors estimates that at least one in five vape shops fail.

While there’s a slew of reasons why some don’t succeed, lack of customer service could be one possible reason.

“My Shop Is Not Going to Be Like This!”

Dawn Sharpe, co-owner of Vapor Society in Cary, N.C. said to herself, “My shop is not going to be like this!” after walking into many other shops. “We are going to greet every single person. Customer service has to be No. 1 in this industry.”

Sharpe said they always ask new customers three important questions before recommending a setup: What kind of cigarettes do you smoke?, How much do they smoke per day? and What is the end goal?

The owners of Mount Baker Vapor in Bellingham, Wash. also understand that customer service should never be taken for granted.

“We make sure our employees go through a lot of training,” said James Thompson, co-owner of Mount Baker Vapor. “We always remember to assist the customer at the proper skill level and use the appropriate language. Each customer has a unique skill and knowledge set. It is so important to make the customer feel good about their vaping experience and not be overwhelmed or underwhelmed.”

“The Information Can Be Overwhelming” Customer service in the vape community should go above and beyond a simple “Hi, what brings you in today?” Customer service means meeting the customer wherever they’re at in their journey from analogs to cigalikes to eGos to mechanical mods.

Like most vape shops, Laredo Vapor caters to a wide variety of customers—those brand new to vaping as well as experienced cloud chasers who need help with builds and wraps. The shop carries everything from starter eGo kits to mechanical mods and RDAs and everything in between.

“The information can be overwhelming,” said Ramon Hernandez of the Laredo, Texas-based store. “We walk them

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through, explain everything and make sure they are happy with their purchase. We don’t want to get the money and push them out the door.”

“We’re not going to sell them something that’s not going to work,” Vapor Society’s Sharpe said. “If they smoke a half a pack a day, we’ll probably start them on a variable voltage to a longer battery; some might move up to mechanical mods. I make suggestions on something that’s really going to work so they don’t have to come back and buy three separate setups.”

Don’t Take Customer Service for Granted Hire people with excellent people skills, not someone who’s just good at rebuilding coils. It’s a lot harder to train someone who’s an introvert to interact all day long with a wide cross-section of people than it is to teach an energetic extrovert simple mechanical skills.

Here are some suggestions for making sure your shop is providing the best possible customer experience: Qualify Your Customer. The best way to qualify your customer is to ask questions that help you understand where they’re at in their smoking-to-vaping journey and what products will be best for them. What and how much are they currently smoking? What are the potential barriers to making the switch, e.g., ease of use, initial cost, etc.

Educate at Your Customer’s Pace. Remember the bad old days when you, too, were smoking and vaping was a brand-new experience? Be gentle with them. Go slowly, and make sure they fully understand before you move on.

Your goal isn’t to show off how much you know; your goal is to make sure they get it.

Follow Up with Customers. Your relationship with your customer doesn’t end the moment they walk about the door.

Have you ever received a follow-up phone call or a postcard after visiting the doctor to see how you’re feeling? What about calling your new customer or sending them an email to ask how they’re doing and see if they have any questions?

Naturally, if you do follow up with your customers by email, your email template should carry your unique branding and tagline (you do have one, right?). At the very least, you could give them a coupon that will offer an incentive to visit your store again. Perhaps you even have a loyalty program where you reward customers for their frequent purchases from you.

The original Vaping VampTM, Maria Verven is partner and chief marketing mentor with VapeMentors.

E-Research Foundation Launches, Creates

Unprecedented Donation Effort

By Alyssa Stahr The American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association (AEMSA) has the distinction of being the only verified e-liquid manufacturing standards organization globally.

AEMSA also is the only organization with highly credentialed, experienced and recognized Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), creating a bridge to science and research in the vaping industry. Lou Ritter, president and admittedly not a scientist, was invited to present at the first Global Forum on Nicotine (a science conference) in Warsaw, Poland last June, opening a literal world of opportunities. In order to fund research desperately needed in our industry, the EResearch Foundation (ERF) has launched.

“Being invited to the industry’s top level conferences, especially as a speaker, is an honor. However, the rest of the world does not really get to attend these conferences and see/hear the presentations from the most highly credentialed and recognized scientists (globally) on the subjects of these products and tobacco harm reduction.

The E-Research Foundation brings those experts, and their bios, to the industry, consumers, media, regulators and the world,” Ritter said.

Designed as a collective funding portal to advance independent medical/scientific research, all targeted for peer review and publication, the non-profit foundation is comprised of participants from top levels of all facets of the vapor space.

These include senior execs from two of the top advocacy organizations, AEMSA and SFATA (Ritter serves as launch term president and Cynthia Cabrera serves as launch term vice president); device manufacturing; e-liquid manufacturing (certified AEMSA members); consumers; non-manufacturing vendors; founder/managing editor of ECF; public policy; international association and public policy; and other advisors. They are proving this industry can, and must, work together. To meet the team, visit http://e-researchfoundation.org/the-erf-team/meet-the-erf-team/.

While ERF operates independently, the idea came from the AEMSA board of directors. Each year, AEMSA has a board strategy session for the coming year (including budgets).

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The general members vote on the standards, bylaws and even their own dues.

“AEMSA is a true professional trade association. The board is empowered to make some decisions (like travel, legal and public statements), but the key is that the members themselves make the member impacting decisions,” Ritter said. “2014 had a large dues increase; we brought agendas to the members, including budgets, and they unanimously decided on the biggest agenda/budget.”

One of the line items on that agenda: research needs funding. Most products come to market through big industry with deep pockets, according to Ritter.

“This industry’s smaller entrepreneurs don’t individually have the funds. A real ‘clinical trial’ takes years and millions. ‘Clinical studies’ are different. We need to find some way to advance research,” Ritter said. “We have access to the top scientists in the world, if everyone puts in some funding we will have a collective deep pocket. Every industry funds its own research, we can do it collectively (including consumers and general public) and do it transparently.”

So, AEMSA’s members allocated some of their dues to establish the basic structure and begin legal filings.

Ritter said vendors (and consumers) often can be confused by so many organizations and some remain unsure which to fund. People see all these organizations seeking funding; however, each organization has a different specialization and research is a requisite tool for all of them.

It must be clear that ERF has no involvement in any of the science; the organization only decides which projects to fund.

“The science has to be 100 percent by the researchers (‘investigator initiated and driven’). For the AEMSA sponsored Plasma Nicotine Absorption Levels (PNLs) study (http:// www.aemsa.org/aemsas-latest-update/) Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos wrote the protocols; he decided everything. We only gave him a request for proposal. He created the full study and published with full transparency,” Ritter said.

“How can we organize this to accurately educate the world?

We see so many global experts; we encourage people to listen to these experts. Independent and professionally scrutinized research is a primary tool of factual education and advocacy.”

Some studies that ERF has placed at the top of the list include proposed research by Farsalinos, one of the world’s

leading e-cig/vaping independent researchers and a volunteer AEMSA SME. “We realized we needed to have both targeted studies and a general fund. Farsalinos’ temperature of evaporation study (now successfully crowd funded independently) is one of the most important studies needed and consumers need to know,” Ritter said. “We know that the FDA is focused on second hand exposure, and there are some studies but not enough. We put that as our No. 1 targeted study and then one about flavoring.”

When people donate to targeted studies on the ERF site, they can view a funding graphic to see progress on each individual pre-approved study. Once the target goal is hit, the study can begin. Examples of future studies can be viewed, and the site includes a “Direct From the Experts” section with a substantive list of existing published studies as well as video presentations, by the worlds most recognized experts, from current industry leading conferences.

While Ritter admits the industry is “up against the wall” with mainstream media, he sees the ERF “Direct From The Experts” pages as a valuable source of credible and factual information for the industry, regulators, consumers and the media. The world can learn from the most prevalent global experts—they are on the ERF website and available to all.

“The world needs to learn what e-cig/vapor studies already exist, the positions of the recognized global experts on Tobacco Harm Reduction and what science demands more attention. The information is on the website from the experts themselves—no filtering. We want to be very transparent and all research needs to be independent,” he said. “To receive grant funding from ERF, the researchers must precommit to submitting for peer review and publish so that all will be professionally scrutinized and publicly available. All donations get listed on the donor recognitions pages for full transparency.”

Donors can donate anonymously, however they must fill out categories like consumer, general public, organization, foundation or commercial (for transparency on the donor recognition pages). The state, country and donor category will appear for each and every donation—even for the “anonymous” ones.

“The ultimate message here is that E-Research Foundation is a serious effort professionally established for maximum potential effectiveness. Whether it will succeed or not, we certainly hope so, that will be up to the industry and its consumers (donation funding),” Ritter said. “We want to make sure it is the cleanest, most verifiable and transparent (with true Subject Matter Expert guidance) that we could create. Research must advance; if someone can do it better, I’ll support them.”

While ERF is just now getting started, AEMSA’s efforts also show no signs of slowing down. After submitting one of the industry’s most comprehensive public comments

to the FDA’s NPRM (http://www.aemsa.org/wp-content/ uploads/2014/08/American-E-Liquid-Manufacturing-Standards-Association-AEMSA-Comments-to-Proposed-Deeming-Regulation-Final.pdf), with science and legal citations, SMEs input and more, Ritter cites this as one of AEMSA’s biggest accomplishments of 2014.

“Everything that’s in the AEMSA standards we have presented to the FDA in the listening sessions (AEMSA, with our SMEs, has had four listening sessions with the FDA).

They only ask questions about your presentation,” Ritter said. “At the first one, it was clear that they (FDA) didn’t really grasp refillables, only cigalikes. We later offered to return and show them refillable gear. We brought them the full spectrum of atomizers, tanks, devices and even the president of Evolv as a guest Subject Matter Expert to give them a thorough introduction to refillable gear. In that meeting they started asking questions about flow rate, so they were looking to understand nicotine delivery. This motivated the PNLs study and the third listening session in which Farsalinos presented his results.”

AEMSA has added a GMP specialist as their newest SME. “We know our standards are a powerful first step; we anticipate the government may demand industry specific GMPs, so we invited the president of ‘InstantGMP’ to help our members learn about real GMPs,” Ritter said.

Looking ahead to 2015, Ritter said that everyone’s goal is the same—fighting for tobacco harm reduction. AEMSA will advance its focus on flavoring, create a consumer educational awareness program, continue government outreach and more—all dedicated to refillables advocacy.

“I am strictly a consumer volunteer; I don’t paid and have no financial interest. Everything I do is because these products changed my life and I want to see them available for everyone with appropriate regulations,” he said. “I flew halfway around the world for a two-day conference (in Warsaw) and I’ve already been invited back for GFN 2015. The professional science community recognizes and likes what we are doing.”

For more information, visit www.e-researchfoundation.org and http://www.aemsa.org/.

Editor’s Note: As of press time, VAPE has learned that Ritter is stepping aside as AEMSA president for 2015. AEMSA awarded him the title “president emeritus.” He will continue his active involvement in AEMSA, as well as lead ERF with Cynthia Cabrera.

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By Leigh Oates Long gone are the days of the simple e-cigarette heating element. Although the some of the very first 510 atomizers were “drippers,” today dripping means something a little different. Many vapers are looking for better flavor and more longevity with his or her e-cig equipment. The days of throwaway prefilled cartridges and plastic clearos are fading. Why the rebuilding craze? What’s it all about? What exactly is out there as far as rebuildable atomizers are concerned? This article will tell about some of the most popular rebuildable atomizers, and the characteristics of each. We will also explore the future of the rebuildables trend and look at some of the newest products on the market.

Why rebuild? There are several benefits to rebuilding. Building gives a sense of mastery over the habit and can save money.

Rebuildables definitely provide Building also allows experimentation and a more satisfying vape, with denser clouds and a stronger creativity to be explored. hit, as shown in this video: And for a few cents, https://www.youtube.com/ building material can be watch?v=IN7Knnidxqk. obtained that will provide enough equipment for hundreds, if not thousands, of builds.

There are three types of rebuildable atomizers or RBAS. RDAs, or rebuildable dripping atomizers, are meant for constant dripping directly onto the wicking material and provide huge clouds of vapor. These are arguably the simplest of the three types. RDAs usually have three posts and can accommodate either a single or a dual coil setup. RBTAs, rebuildable tank atomizers, are similar to the RDA but with the convenience of a juice tank. Most RBTAs have a single negative and positive post and so are I will pull from 123Vaporizers single coil builds. RBTAs Rebuildable Atomizers Tutorial are bottom fed. The tank RDA RBA Genesis and More’s usually means a smaller handy YouTube tutorial building surface so more (https://www.youtube.com/ manual dexterity is required watch?v=qfe6T7PlFTw) for a little help comparing and for this setup. Genesis atomizers, a third type, are contrasting these three. a hybrid of the two, offering tank convenience and a top fed steel mesh setup. The Genesis atomizers function like a true wick, where the stainless steel mesh pulls the juice from the bottom tank to the coils on the top deck. Genesis atomizers can be tricky to setup and maintain, but pay the user back with long lasting materials and uncompromising flavor.

What do vapers need for coil and wicking materials? Coils are created from conductive wire. Kanthal wire is a favorite of vapers. Coiling wire comes in several gauges, with larger

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gauges having a lower Nichrome is also used, but resistance. Wicking materials Kanthal is more robust, can be very basic, from the according to the Rebuildable lowly cotton ball to Japanese Atomizers (RBA) and Mods organic cotton, and silica Tutorial (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=IN7Knnidxqk). wicking material as well as steel mesh. Stainless steel mesh is torched Cotton often is boiled in before use, much like distilled water to eliminate impurities as shared by RiP coil builds, to burn away Trippers Rebuildable Atomizer manufacturing residues Supplies and Tools That I Use and metal flavor. The steel Daily (https://www.youtube. mesh wicking material is com/watch?v=Rq6Iat2SmIA). exclusively used in the Genesis atomizers and is said to provide the cleanest flavor.

RBAs are a great innovation in the world of vaping and are hugely popular in the current vape scene. The obvious cost benefit is a the main attraction for many vapers. For the cost of a five pack of clearomizer replacement coils, you can purchase a lifetime’s worth of Kanthal or Nichrome wire and wicking material of your choice. The sub-Ohm, cloud chasing trend probably gathers even more interest than cost savings. Vapers who love Rebuilding gives vapers the to DIY now have a creative option of sub-Ohm vaping for big lung hits, huge vapor outlet to experiment clouds and maximum flavor. with materials and coil styles to see what provides the best vape for them and customize their vape experience even further.

Because of the intensity of sub-Ohm vaping, many vapers lower their nicotine mg strength. However, that’s not to say that RBAs are for every vaper. Many new vapers are looking for a simple smoking replacement with little fuss. If you are not good with your hands, prefer convenience over maintenance, and are looking for a no-fuss vaping solution, then rebuildables are probably not for you.

Taking ownership of your Both the Aspire Atlantis habit, educating yourself and Kanger Subtank are about electrical circuits newer products available for and all the while blowing monster clouds has a huge the vaper who wants huge clouds and sub-Ohm vaping appeal for many vapers. without the hassle of rebuilding. These tank systems come with premade .5 Ohm coils and will work with many batteries.

The Kanger Subtank is a new hybrid that offers both coils and rebuildable options as well as an Organic Cotton Coil (OCC).

What should we look when purchasing rebuildables? Look for features such as an accessible build deck, durable materials like screws that won’t strip and safe building materials for coil and wick that are made by established manufacturers that you can trust. Whether you are a vaping newbie looking to make sense of it all, or a vaper who is just coming into to the trend of rebuildables, I hope you have gotten enough information here to make an educated purchase of your first RBA.

By Steffanie Atkins

Vape Storm Sub Ohm Blend Exile 2 mg

VAPE VERDICT Taste- 3, Vape- 4, Throat Hit- 4 REVIEW I decided to give Vape Storm’s sub-Ohm blends another shot since in my last

Juice Judge, they didn’t fare so well on giving me the desired effect. This go around, I chose Exile, and I have to say I was more impressed than I was with A La Mode.

It’s a strawberry custard flavor and it’s pretty good. The strawberry flavoring could have been a little stronger, and that would have bumped the taste rating up a bit.

It’s a good daily vape as it’s not super strong, and I didn’t get tired of the flavor. The vapor production was far better than the last flavor of theirs that I tried and there was a good solid throat hit. All in all, I enjoyed this Vape Storm flavor better than the last.

Virgin Vapor Organic The Bees Knees 0 mg

VAPE VERDICT Taste- 2, Vape-1, Throat Hit- 1 REVIEW This honestly tasted like Lemon Pledge. There is a minimal honey flavor, but

the combination of the two was uneven. I think a honey and lemon flavor would be awesome, kind of like a summer tea flavor or hot toddy without the liquor, but the lemon was very overpowering. There was next to no vapor production and no throat hit.

The Juice Judge Judges are picked from respected members of the vaping community to give unbiased reviews of e-juice.

The VAPE Verdict is reached by an initial blind taste test, and the review is written afterward.

Want to have your juice judged? Email jj@vapemz.com.

Reviews do not reflect the overall opinion of VAPE Magazine Steffanie Atkins is the self-proclaimed most pickiest vaper she knows. She has to be head over heels in love with a juice before she vapes it regularly. A baker and a foodie, Atkins is particular when it comes to taste and flavor. She loves long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, tattoos, art and rocking her face off at concerts. She is forever on the search for the perfect Oreo flavor.

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The Vapor Room Strawberry Punch 6 mg

VAPE VERDICT Taste- 3, Vape- 1, Throat Hit- 3 REVIEW I like flavors that have names like Strawberry Punch. You know what you are

getting and there is no surprise. Some people like the creativity and that’s awesome, but with TVR’s Strawberry Punch, you know you are getting a strawberry flavor. It tastes like it says it’s going to taste. There are no mysteries and you’re not left wondering what in the world you just vaped. There’s an even blend of strawberry and that little bit of kick that a typical punch would have. Almost like carbonation in a drink; that’s kind of what I equated the ‘punch’ in this juice to. It’s not the most spectacular juice I’ve ever tried and it’s about average taste wise, but still pretty good. It also has a good aftertaste, which is nice. The throat hit was about average but there hardly was any vapor production. It is a 50/50 blend, and a lot of juices out there are higher VG these days for those cloud chasers, so maybe I’m just spoiled. But, I also think this is a good juice that could be vaped in public without causing an uproar over cloud production. And it smells really good.

The Vapor Room S’mores 6 mg

VAPE VERDICT Taste- 2, Vape- 1, Throat Hit- 1 REVIEW One of the hardest flavors out there to make (in my professional opinion …

ha!) is a S’mores flavor. I’ve tried dozens of flavors claiming to be that awesome fall treat at the campfire. None of them taste like a S’more, including TVR’s S’mores flavor. It’s a shame as I was hoping that I had found the one. I can taste the graham cracker and the marshmallow, but there is something slightly off about the chocolate. It’s not a burnt taste like some of the S’mores flavors I have tried in the past, but it’s not sweet enough. It’s a really hard flavor to get exactly right and I realize that. There was minimal vape production and no throat hit.

Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to go on a shopping spree for your loved one. After all, who doesn’t love showering his or her significant other in gifts? Add vaping to the list of interests, though, and that can make finding the perfect gift a little more difficult. But, it doesn’t have to be. Your S.O. loves chocolate covered strawberries, but you’re worried about keeping them fresh? Plenty of e-liquid manufacturers have something that recreates the flavor without any of the additional concerns—one which will be featured in this gift guide. And, a bottle of e-liquid is sure to last longer than a box of chocolate covered fruit.

VAPE Magazine has searched high and low to find premium gifts that will make any vape head swoon. Whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned veteran, this gift guide should have what you’re looking for.

Charming Kitty Swarovski Vape Pen Hello Kitty and Friends are a timeless classic for girls and women around the world.

Your gal can show off her “charming” personality with this luxurious vape pen by Etsy artist Shiyann Jones. The pen is adorned with light rose Swarovski crystals and an adorable character ornament, and comes with a 1100 mAh battery.

Website: http://goo.gl/2pvfpm Price: $65

Vape Royalty Gold Bubblegum 3D Bling Vape Looking for a good way to showcase your lady love’s uniqueness while still incorporating her favorite hobby? This custom vape pen from Vape Royalty may be just what you’re looking for! Since each pen is handmade your gal can take pride in knowing that hers truly is one-of-akind. It comes as a kit which includes the custom 3D bling 1100mah battery, ustom pink metallic rebuildable CE5, USB charger, wall charger, and a large pink vape case. Website: http://goo.gl/CXGBrY Price: $64.99

Painted Rose Wedge Vape Stand/Display This hand-made vape stand by Etsy artist FlawedCreation has 16 holes for of all of your vape gear. Real roses will wilt.

Your girl will be able to admire the roses adorning this stained display case forever.

Website: http://goo.gl/546aDL Price: $55

ChooChoo E-Juices Chocolate Covered Strawberries ChooChoo E-Juices brings fresh, juicy strawberries delicately coated with the world’s finest chocolate—decadence at its finest! Pair this mecca with champagne and you have yourself a party. But seriously, who doesn’t like chocolate covered strawberries? Website: http://goo.gl/IN5PPI Price: $12.99 for 15 ml, $20 (on our website) $20-23 for 30 ml in stores

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s ’ e n i t n e p Va Day Hedrick Compiled by Erin

Her:

As the saying goes, “Ladies first.” In the true spirit of the holiday, VAPE aims to prove that chivalry isn’t dead. We’ve picked out a bunch of items that cover a wide array of female vapers’ wants and needs (because who doesn’t need to be pampered every once in awhile?).

Vapes The Cloud Company Psychedelic Ego-Q ECig Starter Kit This is a stylish and beginner friendly vape starter kit version of the forever popular eGo e-cig. This kit includes almost everything you need to start vaping, just add liquid! Website: http://goo.gl/jMN9PK Price: $25

Blue Lab Sweetie (E-Liquid) Made just for Valentines. This is blended from all natural and organic ingredients and is formulated to remind you of those little candy hearts. Each bottle his a heart on the label with customized love message. Website: http://bluelabvapors.com/ Price: $6.99-$11.99

Pixie Dust Dreams Vape Charm This whimsical charm from Etsy artist VapingTreasures will add a personal touch to any vape pen. From glitter fairy to gamers, Vaping Treasures is a boutique charm provider catering to your unique interests by offering custom vape charms for all devices and occasions. Wholesale packages available. Website: http://goo.gl/JY8KWz Price: $16.00+

Innokin Lily E-Cig Kit The Innokin Lily Kit is a sophisticated and stylish product. It is delicately built with atomizer and cartridge, along with a unique mouthpiece with Swarovski crystals. Website: http://goo.gl/fuCxeQ Price: $29.90

My Freedom Smokes Chocolate Covered Cherries (E-liquid) Has there ever been a more perfect combination of flavors? We don’t think so. This juice is sure to last longer than a box of the real thing, so your sweetheart can savor—not hoard—her tasty treat.

Websit e:http://goo.gl/EQ7eGr Price: $4.99

e d i u G t f Gi Him: Vapes the Cloud Company Lover E-Juice by Vintage E-Liquids Love is in the air with a refreshing trifecta of papaya, orange, and guava.

Sweet and delicious, it’s truly a perfect fusion of flavor he will fall in love with.

Website: http://goo.gl/G18c8b Price: $13.95

Nova Vape (E-Cig) Stand Each of these stunning stands by Etsy artist DarksideArt are carefully cast and hand painted,. Some have varied colors of glitter embedded in the “stones.” These are best for mods up to 1” in diameter (22-23mm), and are beautiful conversation pieces!

Website: http://goo.gl/oci3Xb Price: $25 + shipping

Innokin iTaste SVD Starter Kit A perfect gift whether your man is an old pro or just starting out, the Innokin iTaste SVD (Superior Vapor Device) is one of the best devices ever made by Innokin.

The SVD packs a stunning look, durability and power all in one. The SVD is a variable voltage and wattage device pumping out 3.3 to 6.0 volts and 3.0 watts to 15 watts. Website: http://goo.gl/r52hpR Price: $74.95

JVapes Mi Amor (E-Liquid) Spanish is thought to be the language of love. Introducing a new twist on the classic cheesecake—the pineapple cheesecake!

With a sweet dessert on the inhale and a nice fruit exhale, this e-liquid by JVapes is sure to please your S.O’s tastebuds.

Website: http://goo.gl/kok9YL Price: $6.50-$50

Blue Lab Darth Vapor (E-Liquid) This tantalizing liquid is a blend of dark chocolate and cherry—something that perhaps Darth Vader would have, at one time, given to his one love, Padme. Welcome to the dark side!

Website: http://goo.gl/9BbSFP Price: $6.99-$11.99

Valentine’s Day often is thought of as a holiday for the ladies; however, we at VAPE have to argue. With plenty of vape head merchandise out there that appeals to men, it’s a walk in the park to find the perfect gift for your knight in shining armor.

Red Cross Vape Stand/Display This is another lovely creation by Etsy artist FlawedCreation. It has a merlotcolored stain, a metal cross on each side and angled box feet. Like the one featured the ladies, this handmade model comes with 16 holes for your vaping materials. Website: http://goo.gl/qnDQGl Price: $50

The Beast Vape Case This IS the ultimate vape case. It’s hand cut from vegetable tanned leather, hand dyed, crafted, stitched and finished in a small workshop in Yorkshire, England.

This is the second model of large cases, tweaked to add more storage space without increasing the overall size of the case. Website: http://goo.gl/XJAsoG Price: $155.79

VapeOnly vPipe II For the sophisticated gentleman in your life. If your fella is oldfashioned, you should try the VapeOnly vPipe II, the improved version of vPipe I. It has a rosewood body, BDC coil system and a flashing LED while working—just add a lounge coat!

Website: http://goo.gl/s3FWFY Price: $95

My Freedom Smokes Whiskey (E-liquid) The go-to drink of champions!

Now you can have your cake and vape it too. Wait, that isn’t how that saying goes...

Website:http://goo.gl/HtswHh Price: $4.99

39

Vaping and Life in the Fast Lane

By Alyssa Stahr

Photos Courtesy of Landon Simon Racing

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MAGAZINE

Simon started with nothing and built his first sprint car when he was 17 years old. He got his first personal loan on a “handshake from a guy who knew what I do and supported me,” he said. He worked for multiple teams and won Dayton Area Race Fans (D.A.R.F) Rookie of the Year, Waynesfield Raceway Park (WRP) Rookie of the Year and finished No. 8 in WRP points after racing 15 races his first year. He then headed to Indianapolis, one of the toughest racing cities in the country.

Photo Courtesy of TeeJay Crawford Photography Landon Simon was born with racing in his blood. From the time that he was a child, it was all he ever wanted to do. In fact, he even has photos of him at the age of two trying to push tires that were bigger than himself, and he attended his first race at two weeks old. A thirdgeneration race car driver, Simon grew up watching his dad and uncle race. It was all he ever wanted to do.

“As a child I went to my grandpa’s race shop every day and would watch them build the cars and run the team, and that was just normal life,” Simon said. “I learned a lot of things from my grandpa. He’s one of the best car builders I’ve ever seen, and he is my hero.”

Along with family ties, Simon said that he loves working with corporate sponsors, fans and building his own business. Landon Simon Racing has grown into a USAC National Sprint Car team based in Indianapolis, sponsored by Mt Baker Vapor. Simon is going into his eighth season as the team’s driver, and he doesn’t forget that this future almost didn’t happen.

In May 2007 Simon skipped his prom to go to the race track. He stopped by a friend’s house to eat lunch and a friend came inside from shooting clay pigeons.

He brought a gun inside the house that he didn’t know was loaded. He accidentally shot Simon at point blank range in the hand and chest from four-anda-half feet away. Simon was air flighted out and his parents were told that he wasn’t going to make it.

“It rocked my world; I was in a coma for four days, but they said if I made it I was going to be in the hospital for six months and part of my hand would have to be amputated,” Simon said.

Luckily, after being in intensive physical therapy for his hand for a year and undergoing breathing treatments, Simon got his second chance. He vowed to to build his own sprint car team from the ground up. Even though he’s lost some function in his index finger; has titanium rods in his hand; has some lead in his chest; incurred more than a million dollars in medical bills; and missed his junior year of high school and a lot of racing, he’s alive. The motivation literally drove him, and everything “took off” from there.

“We used an open trailer and a pickup truck and headed to Indy. I am from Ohio, and racing is really big over there.

But, in Ohio everything is wing sprint car racing, and I enjoy what guys like Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon did.

That’s what I want to do,” Simon said. “I want to continue to improve on my driving skills and build my team.”

Now that Simon’s team is in the “mecca of racing,” (his house is five miles away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway) Simon has yet another focus—promotion of vaping.

Simon readily admits that he “unfortunately” hung out with a lot of older kids when he was younger, and he took up smoking. He said that is started as a social thing and turned into a bad habit that started to affect him physically.

“It was terrible for me wanting to be a race car driver and an athlete; I knew I had to stop. I knew a lot of people who did, especially in auto racing, there are a lot of people who do smoke,” he said. “We brainstormed companies and saw that vaping was growing the way we did. Mt Baker Vapor was super interested in what we presented to them.”

After a two-year relationship, Simon said that both parties drive each other within the partnership, and that they’ve become lifelong friends. Now a vaper for a little over a year, Simon credits Mt Baker with bringing over some products and showing him that vaping is more than just a trend.

In fact, in high-stress situations it takes the edge off and doesn’t stink, making it more user-friendly in the garage.

“We’re trying to get the general public and the racers to understand,” he said. “It’s a great conversation piece. My grandma is 78-years-old and she’s smoked since she was a teenager. I got her one and watching her with it makes you laugh.”

Education was key in Simon’s vaping evolution, especially when he started getting a lot of questions at the race track.

2 41

“Especially in auto racing, they take things seriously. They have engineering-type minds and they are building their own coils. The older generation, photographers, officials, I’m starting to see them with it. They love to ask about the ‘thing’ in your hands. You blow a cloud and it’s fun to tell people about it. I still see guys who smoke, but who vape in between. It’s giving people an alternative.”

Simon, who currently loves Extreme Ice and Strawberry Banana by Mt Baker, loves to bounce back and forth among about six different flavors. He loves that race tracks are evolving into more family-friendly environments and that he and his sponsor are working together to help. This includes passing out samples around the race tracks next season and having vaping products on hand for purchase. Since he is running the full USAC tour next year across the entire country, he’s excited to see where his team stacks up against the competition.

“They are starting to do things where they are segregating smoking, and I like that race fans can bring vaping around the cars. They use methanol alcohol, and you can’t smoke around the trailers. With vaping, you can,” he said. “We’re going to places where we have a captive audience; we have got to continue to spread the word. I think it’s going to be a really good deal to live my dream and be a professional race car driver.”

For more information, visit http://landonsimon.com/ and http://www.mtbakervapor.com/.

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J-Wraps’ Business Partners Look T oward Company’s Future

By Alyssa Stahr Photos Courtesy of J-Wraps

J-Wraps opened about two and a half years ago, becoming a sister company to a family-run signs and graphics company. J-Wraps started with four people and has grown to 17 full-time employees and two half-time employees. More products have been added, along with expanding the space from 3,000 sq. ft. to 7,000 sq. ft.

Business partners and relatives Alon Dotan and Jeremy White are continuing to try to meet their goal of putting J-Wraps and J-Stands in every vaper’s home at an affordable price using high-quality materials.

Both Doton and White agree that they aren’t just in this industry for the money—they truly are trying to make a difference and give back to the vaping community. On the vendor side, they’re aiming to help vendors create something truly different.

“Our drive to help the community really helps,” Doton said.

“However, a big way we set ourselves apart from competitors is the quality of the material. We use Marine grade material for our stands, high performance vinyl. Rather it be stands or wraps, it is the best you can use.”

Each order is handmade, and White assures that the company never takes any shortcuts or sends out anything that isn’t 100 percent.

“There’s a lot of process that goes into it.

Once it reaches the final step we have two people who do nothing but quality control.

That’s another thing that sets us apart,” White said.

Doton agrees.

“The mod stands and the holders that we are doing are almost custom. We know what devices are coming through the market because we have a close relationship with many manufacturers and have the ability to custom fit to what the customer needs,” Doton said. “We’re trying to be precise on everything we do and carry it on to the customer so they can enjoy it fully.”

J-Wraps recently invested in new high-quality machines, including a 3D printer and laser machine, in order to work with shops on vendor branding. In addition to wraps, stands

44

and cup holders, the company makes custom juice displays and tasting stations, unique to each individual shop.

“The reason why J-Wraps has grown so quickly is not only are we trying to create a good quality products, but we approach the whole process as growing your brand awareness. We consider what would be the best marketing strategy for your shop. How do you want to display not only your wraps, but your company?” White said.

J-Wraps, which processes 1,800 to 3,000 wraps and 220 to 400 stands a week, employs three full-time graphic designers to work on customer orders with each individual customer at no extra charge.

Working with vendors with strategies on how to push their brand is something that the qualified staff does best, according to Doton.

White said that current best sellers include carbon fiber products and the mega stand, the Goliath.

“My favorite is the Goliath. Alon designed that stand for himself, and once he showed it online everyone wanted it,” White said.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2015, Doton and White want to grow even further. One of the ways is via their many sponsorship requests that they get. Trying not to single out anyone who asks for help, J-Wraps gave away almost $37,000 worth of products in 2014, along with sponsoring 15 vape shows.

“We also opened a vape shop right beside J-Wraps. If there’s a local vape meet, we’ll send some stands and wraps to be able to give away; that adds to the club. If we can help and make a little change we’re all for it. We try not to single out anybody. That makes a company different—to give back,” White said.

In addition to the new laser machine, the company plans to unveil a new line of wraps this year with a new texture or print. White said that the new line is on a whole new level of wraps and will have new features that create a “wow factor.”

They also plan on going to more vape shows, expanding to international shows in Frankfurt and London.

“We’re working with UK vendors and Australia and Japan to distribute our stands. We have 487 vendors in the U.S. and 17 worldwide, so we want to work on the international side a little bit more,” White said. “There’s so much more of an international market.”

Another point of growth is incorporating new ideas, design improvements and products into the arsenal about once every two weeks.

“We had a battery charger inside the stand, then we went from that to incorporate LED inside because no one was doing that; people wanted us to do more stands for the box mod, so we changed that design; we’re just trying to be unique and not trying to stay the same and be boring,” White said. “We’re always trying to outdo ourselves and come out with a better design while keeping the price low.”

New ideas typically spawn from requests from the vaping community, and if the team can make a change they will sit down with a graphic designer and come up with something that people can like and use. And, just as vaping apparatus is evolving, Dotan and White say the same about themselves.

“We’re evolving more and more every day,” Dotan said.

“We enjoy working with each other, and I think that makes the product better.”

For more information, visit http://www.jwraps.com/.

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#By The Numbers 2.

Cigalike users who might also smoke cigarettes

2014 brought on a whole new wave of excitement to the vaping industry, with more consumer demand, endless innovation and a future that is as unpredictable as it is intriguing.

In August 2014, Roebling Research, in partnership with ClearVoice Research and ecigintelligence.com, administered an online survey to 879 American adults who smoke or vape regularly. http://roeblingresearch.com/reports/

1.

Respondents were placed into three groups:

Tobacco Smokers who do not currently vape

3.

Open system device users who might also use cigarettes and cig-a-likes

We at VAPE pulled out some of the data we though readers would find useful.

With that, here’s

2014

49%

27%

By The Numbers.

of current mod users are aged 18 to 34

of current mod users are aged 50 to 68

20%

of smokers

and

49%of cigalike

of open system users in the survey still smoke cigarettes

users intended to buy a “next generation�

95%

of open system

or mod device in the next six month

on new devices in the new year

72%

of cigalike respondents preferred vaping tobacco and menthol

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MAGAZINE

79%

of cigalike users in the survey still smoke among open cigarettes

system device

users, quitting smoking was the No. 1 reason given

users plan on spending at least some money

59%

flavors

for vaping, while improving health was the No. 2 reason

more vapers would rather buy from a mod maker or e-cig company than a brand owned by Big Tobacco

Bui lding The

American Dream Words and Photos

by Jenee Fowler

As we struggle through economic hardships and see more and more unemployment, isn’t it nice to support companies that pay rent (and juice habits) locally? Especially with the questionable work environments overseas, and quality control issues, supporting American-made products and work force just makes sense.

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MAGAZINE

Two weeks before Christmas I found myself with no gainful employment and a bit of spare time before my departure to Chicago. I was given a temp offer (until I left town) to try my hand at a coil building company where a friend of mine worked regularly.

He said I could learn, and if I was productive, I would be compensated like any other employee. I had little to lose (except maybe my patience with the Clapton coils, or a finger if I was careless).

Originally I thought the idea of pre-made coils was kind of useless, but I was happy to build a few for a quick buck. That is, until I saw the complexity and consistency of what Tradition Vapes was making in their Brooklyn facility.

Not only would it take the average vaper well over an hour to produce one (let alone two, perfectly matching)

of their less complicated builds, it would be a major monetary investment in the equipment required. And even if time and money weren’t factors, I’m not sure most would ever figure out how to build a perfect set of Twisted Tigers, let alone the more complex Clapton coils.

I liked that they buy American-made supplies even when the cost was higher (especially wire, which is a large part of overhead and nearly half the price when ordered from China).

I love to see good people succeed and follow their dreams while making a quality product. One of my biggest pet peeves is throwing my hard-earned cash at shoddy equipment or poorly made juice.

The average vaper has countless stories of money that can never be unspent on items that fall into those categories.

The two things that actually make a huge impact on the (vaping) community in your area are your dollars and votes. Why not vote for American-made? Why not send your dollars back to business owners and employees who you actually like and respect? Why not support companies that care more about your safety and quality than their bottom line?

And that’s exactly why I use the equipment and vape the juice I do. Companies like Tradition Vapes, juice creators like LKA Vapes, and mod makers like the Hexohm are the reason I’ve continued to be involved in the community. I know that when I send my friends to these companies, or refer total strangers, that they will be treated like vape royalty.

Certainly there are examples you’re thinking of as I mention my favorites.

Support your local vape shop, and demand products from companies you respect. It’s how each and every vaper can help build the American Dream, even if they can’t build that atty.

Before I left Brooklyn I was inspired to take some pictures of Will and Tom of Tradition Vapes in their natural habitat. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

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those vapers who want the fastest solutions for calculating Voltage (V), Current(I) and Resistance(R), Ohm’s law calculators can be found easily online and in any app store for free.

By Leigh Oates The sub-Ohm trend has fully taken hold in the world of vaping. Vape enthusiasts also are building their own coils and mods as a hobby and as a cost saving measure. Of course, vapers must remember that the e-cigarette is, after all, an electronic device. To get the most out of the e-cigarette, vapers will do good to understand the basics of its operation.

Especially, in this time of the mechanical mod and sub-Ohm vaping, vapers can achieve optimum performance from their devices by understanding the basics of Ohm’s law.

Watts Amps Ohms and Volts (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=QJ4wrOaKYDY) explains Ohm’s law in detail. Ohm’s law deals with current, voltage and resistance. An electrical circuit can be explained much like a stream of water. Like the current of the stream, current (I) measures the rate of electricity flowing through the conductor and is measured in amps. Wattage also is important to measure the power of the circuit. Power is the rate at which the current is converted to heat, measured in watts (W). Voltage (V) is electrical pressure; voltage pushes the current through the wire. Resistance (R) is affected by the size of the wire; thinner wires make it harder for current to flow and so have higher resistance. Thicker gauge wires facilitate the flow of current and thus have a low resistance.

The formula for Ohm’s law can be written in several ways, according to #Cloud Chasing: Intro to Sub Ohm (https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWrosk_xjkY). The Ohm’s law triangle shows the many ways that Ohm’s law can be written when the horizontal line of the triangle represents division and the vertical line represents multiplication. If you know two of three values you can find the other one. Therefore, V=IR, V/I=R, and V/R=I are all forms of Ohm’s law. For

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The #CloudChasing video goes on to say that vapers can calculate resistance of coils using a multimeter, also known as an Ohm’s meter. Lacking a multimeter, another way to test the resistance of coils will be to check them on a battery such as an eVic, iStick or any battery that has a built-in Ohm meter.

So, once the resistance is known, the voltage of the battery must be determined. Most freshly charged 18650 batteries will run at 3.7 volts under load, per the #CloudChasing video.

This information typically is included with the manufacturer’s specifications. Those numbers are then plugged into the Ohm’s law equation (or app) and the amps will be calculated.

Comparing this amp measurement from the equation with the amp rating of the battery will tell whether the amperage is within the safe range for the battery. The amps of the calculation must be lower than the amp rating of the battery to be considered safe. If the amps are well below the amp rating of the battery, then there is no risk of overloading the battery. An overloaded battery will malfunction, fail and can eject hot, caustic fluids—damaging the battery, the mod and potentially anything nearby—including body parts. Not good news for a device that most vapers are holding up against their face. Look for high quality batteries from reliable manufacturers. #CloudChasing goes on to share that high quality batteries will maintain a consistent voltage even as the battery is drained of power. In any case, vapers must know the amp rating of the battery! In cases of stacking batteries, vapers should remember to add together the volts of each battery for Ohm’s law calculations.

Mike from Vape Happy in the video has some great tips for mod users. He points out that some of the most important safety precautions are the most basic. He says to lock your firing button while working on the atomizer, if the atomizer is on the battery. Otherwise, the mod will fire and burn whatever is touching it. The outside shell of the atomizer will get hot, and may burn you. This is normal since the hot coils are inside the metal atomizer wall. However, the tube of the battery and the switch should never get hot. If they do, then the battery has malfunctioned or has been overloaded. Stop vaping with that battery immediately and do not use it. Use only batteries that are rated for the amp draw required. Sub-Ohm vapers should use a battery that is compatible with low resistances.

In addition, remember these tips: • Building can be cheap, safe and fun. It’s great for cloud chasing!

• An Ohm’s meter is a must have tool for sub-Ohm vaping.

• Know the voltage of your battery, the amps rating of the battery and the Ohm resistance of your build.

• Ohm’s law: V/R=I • The switch and body of your mod should never get hot.

• Use common sense safety! Don’t touch hot atomizers or live coils.

• Most importantly, know the amp rating and voltage of your battery, and don’t overload!

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v iDeograPher Bryan Gateb @bgateb P hotograPhy g ear P roviDeD by www.RedefineRentals.com @RedefineRentals l oCation Bel Palazzo San Juan Capistrano, California

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Vape Cleaners Add Polish, Shine to Today’s Devices

By Alyssa Stahr Photos Courtesy of Vape Cleaners Today’s vaping devices aren’t just one-dimensional gadgets.

They also can provide vapers with a hobby, a way of life, a conversation starter. An important part of a vapers’ life, technology such as a mod never should be tarnished. Mike Swan’s Vape Cleaners is here to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Swan’s company started in 1991 as an electronics cleaning business. Products included electronics spray adhesives, air fresheners and lubricants, however the air duster was the company’s first product. When the vaping market hit, Swan asked himself how he could make cleaners for corresponding vaping products.

“We were in a lot of stores. We went to a lot of vape shows,” he said. “We said ‘How can we make products that best can help this industry?’ We have a very open policy toward vaping, and we see the value in it as a healthy alternative.

As more and more people came in, we started looking at this and started developing it.”

The company started developing Vape Cleaners about two years ago, with the push to sell taking shape about a year ago.

“When we started pushing them we started getting reorders and people really enjoyed the line. We’re a manufacturer; we try to go through distributors. Retailers are perfect for us, the perfect avenue,” Swan said.

The line, which includes Vape Clean Duster, Vape Clean Mod Cleaner, Vape Clean Cleaning Swabs, Vape Clean Wipes and Vape Clean Metal Polishing Wipes, will be promoted further with an infomercial video educating retailers, due out in early 2015. Swan said that so far the Mod Cleaner is one of the cleaners that people love the most.

The Mod Cleaner (patent pending) comes with a belt clip, an additional feature that helps technical people do his or her jobs better.

“The people who are fixing the mods are wanting big cans. It sounds kind of nerdy, but right now the 3 1/2 oz. cans have the clip, and we’re working on making clips for different sized cans,” Swan said. “Those will probably be available in May or June.”

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Triggers on the Mod Cleaner and future products are patent pending as well, making the products portable and easier to use.

Vape Cleaners does everything in-house at its Floridabased location, even private labeling. Shops that products are distributed in have the option of putting their name on the products and even using their own displays, allowing for stores to put their own name on the products.

While the company “constantly” is testing new products, Swan said that the Vape Polish is the greatest one so far. It also took a lot of time to develop.

“That is a great product because it’s a dual sided wipe, and one side is abrasive and one is non abrasive to get it within limits to make sure it’s environmentally sound,” Swan said.

“How easy it is to use is what we look at. We’re always perfecting; we’re always making little changes and tweaking them to make them better. As the technology changes we’re tweaking to make them better as well. We’ve added more padding to our swabs. We look for input from the retailers we sell and that’s how we develop our lines.”

Having products dedicated to just vaping apparatus is important, according to Swan, because e-liquid does get on “everything.”

“We’ve found that it becomes a problem, and we’ve found people with vapes that have gone bad. As vapors are getting more expensive, people are spending hundreds of dollars, and people are building their own mods,” Swan said. “It’s an area that has a bigger and bigger need to take care of.

At first you just threw it away, and now people are spending so much money on their vape.”

Making sure that the device works properly, is kept sanitarily clean and is fully functioning is of utmost importance to Swan.

“We want to make sure that this industry stays around,” he said.

“This whole office is vaping.

We’re in Florida, and they (shops) are opening left and right down here. It’s huge with the coastal cities.”

For more information, visit http://www.blowoff.com/specialty/index.html.

Max McFarlane and Paul Van Kleef, Good Vapor business partners

By Alyssa Stahr Photos Courtesy of Good Vapor

“They started doing disposable e-cigs, and I bought a pack of the disposable ones and I smoked all of those,” he said. “Before that I was a music producer, so I got a lot of these things for free because I knew a lot of people, and then I started buying stuff online. It changed my life because before I always felt like crap and cigarettes tasted like complete garbage. I felt hungover in the morning.”

However, he grew tired of ordering everything from China, waiting weeks for it to arrive, spending $200 to $300 on flavors and only using about half of them. He started researching organic Good Vapor was the first juices and brought the e-cigarette store in Hollywood, idea to his dad and Van and it has since expanded Kleef about opening a to include Downtown Los cool, hip place where Angeles (Little Tokyo) and people could try out Beverly Hills locations. flavors and equipment before they bought it. That’s how Good Vapor was born.

Max McFarlane and Paul Van Kleef used to play poker almost every night. Former roommates, the pair decided to stop gambling and do something that would make more money than spend. Watchers of the show, “Storage Wars,” they decided to head out to auctions to see what they could do. With $150 a piece, they researched and bought their first unit.

“We were losing money (gambling), and we were like, ‘You know, there’s got to be a more fun way to do this.’ It was like a treasure hunt,” McFarlane said.

About two years into buying and selling storage units, they found a large unit with about 150,000 bottles of wine.

“We hit the jackpot. But, the bidding went up to $50,000, which we didn’t have,” McFarlane said.

The man who won the storage unit ironically didn’t have a liquor license. Luckily, Van Kleef did. The pair negotiated the price down and ended up reselling the unit for about $250,000. That’s when they decided to get into the vaping business.

McFarlane had been a pack-a-day smoker for more than six years and found vaping through a friend twoand-a-half years ago. He had tried the gum and the patch, and he thought the e-cig was a cliche, but he found himself going over to his friend’s house to take a puff off of his e-cig because he didn’t want to have a cigarette after his first vape.After vaping for a week, he said that he felt “100,000 times better.”

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“All the vapor stores that were around were up in the valley or up north, but none were in LA,” McFarlane said. “All were sort of goofy looking, like spaceship or futuristic, and I think that’s why people didn’t catch on because they were kind of nerdy.”

McFarlane and Van Kleef wanted an atmosphere where customers can sit at the tasting bar, watch a basketball game and be comfortable in tasting the organic juices the company has to offer.

“We wanted to make it like a bar where you could hang out. It’s mid-century modern style with exposed brick, wood floors and wood countertops, and it’s very comfortable,” McFarlane said.

Best sellers in Good Vapor include the Aspire Atlantis, the CS Mod and the Atlantis tank with the replaceable coil sub-Ohm tank, which McFarlane said is “super cool.” Other big sellers are the Joyetech eGo Twist and the line of organic juices, Good Juice.

Along with only selling organic juices, Good Vapor only sells authentic mods and has the distinguished pleasure of having a few Hollywood celebrities like Katherine Heigl and Giovanni Ribisi stopping by. One of the biggest challenges, according to McFarlane, is the Beverly Hills ordinance that doesn’t allow for vaping inside public places. However, he said that it doesn’t hurt business too much because vapers are still going to vape, but he said the ordinance is counterproductive because one of the reasons that people vape is to get away from second-hand smoke.

Even if the customer can’t vape inside, McFarlane said that the customer is always right. Whenever customers enter his store, he wants them to have a good experience and to continue vaping.

“If someone comes in and says ‘I don’t like this juice,’ we’ll usually replace it for them. We always give them another option. We have a 30-day warranty on products,” he said. “All of our staff tries to remember all of our regular customers’ names. Customers always expect you to remember what they bought.”

Now that McFarlane has been both a vaper and a store owner for a couple of years, he said that vaping has changed his life in so many different ways.

“I’ll tell you this. It’s so funny to say this, but I see the world in a different light,” he said. “When I was smoking cigarettes I felt sick and foggy. Now it’s clear.

That’s such a profound thing to say, but it’s so true. I haven’t had a cigarette in almost two years now, and I don’t know what I would’ve done without vaping. I have an appetite now. I can taste my food and smell things. You see the world in a different light.”

For more information, visit www.goodvaporshop.com.

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By Bill Vernetti, Guest Columnist

Twenty-seven dollars for one ounce of e-liquid?

This price may seem steep to some. What justifies premium prices for premium e-liquids? What differences are there between bargain e-liquids and premium e-liquids? Let’s explore what justifies the cost.

There are three main areas I will explore: safety, reliability and quality.

Above all, safety is the chief concern. Introducing any substance into our lungs ought to be considered carefully. The last place one wants to introduce toxins or harmful chemicals is the lungs. Premium companies spend a lot of time and money researching and testing ingredients that go into their e-liquids.

Nicotine is a toxin and can be harmful, even deadly. It must be pharmaceutical grade and tested using highly scientific methods and equipment. The source must be a reliable, licensed, reputable manufacturer. It also must be dosed using the most exacting methods available.

Propylene glycol is available in many forms, however only pharmaceutical grade propylene glycol should be used. Flavors also come in many forms, and there are many companies that offer flavoring ingredients. Some of these flavorings may contain diacetyl acid, which is associated with significant pulmonary injury and must be avoided. Flavorings must be very carefully considered not only for taste, but also composition. Just because something tastes good doesn’t mean it is good.

Each batch of e-liquid must be tested for strength and purity. Most premium companies use highly technical in-house or contract laboratories to ensure the safety of their consumers, and this comes at a high price. Currently, there are no federal or local minimum requirements for companies to ensure these standards, so some companies can afford to sell bargain e-liquid because they opt out of rigorous laboratory testing of the ingredients they use, relying on the ingredient manufacturers for testing and data.

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Reliability is important because we expect consistent quality from each bottle of e-liquid we buy, whether it’s a $5 bottle or a $27 bottle. When we find an e-liquid we like, we expect it to taste and perform exactly the same each time we use it. Ensuring this consistency in manufacturing requires batch testing. Mass manufacturing using formulas is not foolproof. Ingredient quality can fluctuate, causing integrity differences in the finished product. Mechanical or human error also may contribute to unreliable batch consistency. The best way to ensure integrity is to test each batch using scientific equipment that can detect even minute inconsistencies.

Quality of an e-liquid can be determined by the ingredients used to make the product, the manufacturing method, the packaging the e-liquid comes in and company representation. Since there currently are no regulations guaranteeing minimum standards, ingredients can virtually come from anywhere. Premium companies scrutinize ingredients, often paying premium prices for higher quality ingredients that come from reputable companies who provide documentation. Manufacturing also is not regulated, so companies can virtually mix their e-liquids in a bathtub and not be forced to disclose this information. Premium e-liquids typically are made in clean facilities that are regularly inspected by the FDA. Most premium e-liquid companies take extra steps to provide a more pleasant vaping experience. Most steep their liquids for periods ranging between 30 and 90 days and up, creating more satisfying flavor and viscosity. Some companies even steep their products in wood barrels. One company even gently heats its liquids to homogenize the flavors and develop viscosity.

Bargain companies typically provide plastic squeeze bottles with stickers slapped on the outside. These bottles are prone to leakage and rupture, and the stickers generally don’t provide much information regarding what’s inside the bottle, typically giving way to images of half-naked women. Premium companies provide sturdy glass bottles with droppers that make application easier and precise.

You’ll find that most premium companies also place better information and warnings on their bottles. Most importantly, if you’re paying premium prices for your e-liquid, you ought to be able to easily access information regarding product quality, ingredient origins and manufacturing standards, which most high-end companies provide.

Laboratory testing is expensive.

There are many different tests premium e-liquids must withstand, some of which are: Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA): This tests the amount of heat that is required to raise the temperature of a given substance, plotting weight against temperature. This can accurately determine how well a liquid vaporizes.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC): This determines the heat required to raise the temperature of a given sample, allowing for determinations of chemical characteristics.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR): this uses an infrared laser beam aimed at the substance to determine exact chemical makeup.

There are more tests used by different companies, but these are the common ones used by reputable laboratories to maintain integrity, safety and reliability.

Laboratory testing and quality ingredients cost more.

This extra cost must be passed along to the consumer.

If a liquid is cheap, it is likely the company does not take the steps necessary to provide quality.

Paying a high price for e-liquid does not guarantee the company takes these steps to ensure product integrity, but if you’re plunking down $27 an ounce you ought to demand it.

Trusting a company simply because they have a cool logo is not smart. One should never compromise safety.

Introducing any substance into your lungs needs to be carefully considered; do some research before you buy any liquid. Most vape shops allow you to sample what they sell. Determine what you like, go home and research the company. Ask questions regarding ingredients, manufacturing and testing. If the company doesn’t openly display this data, ask for it. If they blow you off, avoid them. If your questions are satisfied then you are free to enjoy vaping a safe product.

Bill Vernetti is the co-founder of Elixir Vape LLC Epothecary www.elixir-vape.com.

By Alyssa Stahr Photos Courtesy of Vape Royalty Have you been asked “Who is your mod wearing?” With Vape Royalty’s help, your device can be a conversation piece of envy. Vape Royalty specializes in intricate designs where literally every inch is different from the next. From custom plans to blinging out your personal mod, Vape Royalty’s team of bling experts are into high fashion, off-the-wall and uniquely-inspired designs.

Vanessa Mari, custom bling manager, said that restricting her team’s minds would be counterproductive, so she loves to let them “run free.”

“It’s like telling an artist you can only use certain colors.

We have a lot of creative people; they work a lot with each other and influence each other, and it’s cool to have different opinions. Most of the time, the customer allows us to be the experts,” she said. “We’re definitely thankful to have such a talented and creative team here who is not only knowledgable about bling, but also passionate about vaping as well.”

Vanessa said that the department of five bling experts gets so many orders that they are always “slammed.”

And, they work with a lot of layers, and that’s what makes Vape Royalty different. Just putting crystals on flat doesn’t work for them; they layer studs and spikes.

Vape Royalty claims to be the first true vape company to offer any type of 3D bling on vaporizers and the only company to create custom bling mods.

“We started doing vape bling back when people thought we sold blinged out ballpoint pens, since at the time hardly anyone even knew what a vape was, let alone a mod. So, it’s really cool to see how much things have evolved since then,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa started working for Vape Royalty about a year and a half ago, and she always blinged things herself.

A former smoker, she admits to being a “typical female emotional smoker,” who smoked about a pack to a packand-a-half a day.

“I hated that about myself. I had no desire to quit smoking, but I was a super girly girl who blinged my own vape, and it magically worked for me,” she said. “I was kind of one of the ones who started off helping them when they were new. We started off as a bling company and were not just a service bling thing. We’re not just a girl in a house. We have people who actually know the difference between good quality and who know what’s popular and what’s not popular.”

Vanessa said that she thinks some devices can look kind of awkward if they have big tanks, and that girls want an accessory.

“You take your vape everywhere with you. It’s like a cell phone, and the great thing is that you can have something that you want to show off,” she said.

She has a tough time narrowing down some of her favorite designs because every piece is so unique. She loves mods and said that she ends up loving a lot of designs that she never thought she’d end up loving because they’re just so different. However, with uniqueness comes a lot of time, technique and effort to get every crystal and stud placed exactly right. Something, Vanessa admits, that a lot of people try to copy.

“We get competitors that acknowledge that to us. You can’t stop it—there’s always going to be someone trying to make a quick buck by jumping on the bandwagon.

We’re the only ones who do mods. I’ve never seen another bling mod in my life,” she said.

With so much bling, protection is key, especially when e-liquids are involved.

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“There’s something about juice that can deteriorate it.

All of our spikes are real, not plastic. Everything is real (Swarovski crystal), so they can get heavy. If you’re holding your mod by the bling or the 3D pieces, it’s going to put all the weight of the mod on the pieces, so over time it will wear on the bond; it’s not indestructible,” she said.

While the company does get the occasional “my kids dropped it” or “the dog ate it” story, they use high-quality bond and work with each individual customer on case-bycase repair analysis.

As for custom orders, Vanessa said that the average turnaround time is 7 to 10 business days, depending on the size of the device and how intricate the design is.

Customers can send in their own devices to get blinged or buy kits directly from Vape Royalty, and then work with the quality assurance department to talk about each perfect and unique design.

“It’s become a passion, and I want to help other people,” Vanessa said. “Girls are more emotional, and they have to love something in order to use it, just like clothes that you don’t like as much (you won’t wear as much). It’s a good habit. In high school, smoking was cool. Then it wasn’t cool anymore. When I had my first-ever vape, I didn’t want to take it out of my purse, and now it’s a conversation piece.”

For more information, visit http://www.vaperoyalty.com/.

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entrepreneur provides worthy home for mods

By Alyssa Stahr Photo Courtesy of VAPESOX Spencer Miron smoked a pack to a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes a day since he was 16 years old. Working for a production company, he kicked the smoking habit once he found vaping through a buddy’s eGo Twist about a year and a half ago.

Now 21 years old, Miron has graduated to a rig mod that “hits like a beast” and loves strawberry cheesecake e-liquid by Rocka Mystic. But, Miron isn’t your ordinary 21-year-old vaper.

He’s a vaper with an entrepreneurial mind. Carrying his mod in his pocket, he was thinking of an alternative way to hold it.

He looked around his room for ideas and saw his surfboard, which had a makeshift “sock” covering it that Miron had sewn together using one of his great grandmother’s quilts. He realized that he could use some sleeves he had cut off a T-shirt.

“Nothing was popping into my head, and I hand stitched the sleeve of my T-shirt and put my mod in it. I showed it to my buddy and he said, ‘Dude, that thing is crazy cool,’” Miron said.

“I showed it to my parents and they said, ‘Go buy something like that,’ and I said ‘They don’t make anything like this.’”

Miron called several vape shops to verify, and sure enough, no one made anything like what Miron had discovered. Even though Miron’s parents were getting excited about the creation and Miron knew he was onto something, the T-shirt material was too flimsy for his first attempt to be close to what was needed for a mod holder. The family went to Los Angeles and his mom bought materials close to what they use in the military.

“My mom taught me how to sew, and I was hand stitching these VAPESOX, and from there it got a little bit bigger.

It was a lot larger; it always had the clip on top,” he said.

“When we first started, it was a lot taller to fit the eGo, and then I got a mod and we downsized it to the perfect size.

Now we have four different sizes you can pick from.”

The personal favorite in Miron’s collection is the VS5, and the best seller is the VAPESOX with a black carbon fiber. “Those things go like crazy, and they look pretty cool,” Miron said.

Now that the family-owned-and-operated company is up and running, Miron constantly is on the lookout for new inspiration. He said that his ideas come from the vaping industry and new mods that continuously hit the scene, something he describes as a big process.

“Super big or super short, we have to come up with different sizes so they can all fit. And for the boxed mod—we have one with five different prints. It’ll hold three juices in a set or two juices and a battery plus the mod,” Miron said.

When Miron gets a couple of prototypes done, he gives them to his friends and has them wear it for a week or so, then they tell him what needs improving. This “focus group” process has helped him out greatly in standing out in the industry. The company, which also sells products worldwide, offers a lifetime warranty on all products.

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“I honestly think the way we stand out the most is with all the different types of prints that we have—carbon fiber, a sleek looking one, leather if you’re wearing a suit and tie that day, and camos for all different branches of the military.

We do custom orders too,” he said.

Looking ahead, Miron said that VAPESOX has a couple of new items coming in the next month or two and looks forward to what lies ahead.

“My parents have a saying they use: ‘Tell me and I forget; teach me and I remember; involve me and I learn,’” Miron said. “We look forward to seeing our VAPESOX protecting and carrying your vaping device.”

For more information, visit www.vapesox.com /.

Call Now For Wholesale Information 858.333.1249 |

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meet

A paradigm shift in mod design enables the user to

By Dave Cross

drop in a battery without fussing over adjustments— but why had no one thought of it before?

Perseas expanded, “Many times the obvious is not conspicuous; the main reason being that it’s not

Join VAPE Magazine as we embark on an odyssey to discover the stories behind the popular and successful business that brings you the GP Paps, GP Heron, GP Piccolo and the GP Spheroid, as told to Dave Cross by Perseas.

Words by Dave Cross Photos courtesy of Perseas

economically viable for a European CNC facility to combine limited production runs with extremely precisionmachined miniaturized parts. Even the smallest spring is custom designed by us, tested repeatedly in the aspects of the number of coils, the distance between them, thickness, resilience, conductivity, materials and coatings.”

As a consequence, VapourArt has

Kicking off a series looking at European modders and vendors, we begin with VapourArt because they are a leading example of how success looks in the manufacturing sector. In a candid interview, Perseas reveals insights to a side of vaping hidden to most vapers.

Prior to starting VapourArt, George was a sales manager for a number of Hellenic companies while Perseas was involved in all aspects of advertising production from sitting behind the lens, directing and producing.

In 2011, the diversity of products available in the market was limited in terms of design, innovation and utility. “In our view, most of them were oversized, so we decided to explore the possibilities of a minimalistic design. We have been evolving our products, improving and updating them, once or twice annually, striving for perfection,” Perseas said.

Perseas is proud of the product mix VapourArt offers: “Compared to most modders, our range of products is quite extensive.” The site demonstrates a comprehensive provision of mods and atomizers, spares for older products and customizing items. Maintaining this wide range comes at a cost: the Salt & Pepper tank has been discontinued in order to free up resources for future projects.

“The production of spare parts for service and support and the creation of new versions use up machine resources. Due to the high precision machining, which is extremely time-consuming, we cannot continue to produce all these existing items at the expense of innovation and growth, since we are a small-scale operator with limited resources at our disposal,” Perseas said.

The GPin stands as a prime example of this innovation and embodies the company’s dedication to excellence.

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created a secondary market through licensing other modders to use his or her precision springs, but where does this spirit of innovation spring from?

“Sources of inspiration are the spontaneous ideas and visualizations created during our brainstorming sessions with George. Another is client feedback; we call our customers clients because we have close and continuous exchanges aiming for ultimate satisfaction.”

The design process goes further than just the ‘Less is more’ philosophy embraced at the core of the company. Safety in use has always been a paramount concern to George and Perseas.

“We create our mods using a triple failsafe system: The GPin, with resistance as low as 0,3Ω, functions as a passive fuse for resistances below that threshold. The vent holes are pressure tested to ensure proper venting. We design our mods to accommodate only AW IMR batteries and not protected ones, avoiding the risk of explosion.”

For VapourArt fans there is a quickening of the pulse whenever news of a Vapourday surfaces. Such a fervent F5 activity period must put its strain those involved on the company side?

“It depends on the product, the cycle of the product and how many new items are introduced concurrently. This kind of workload demands a dedicated server and dedicated staff. Both on Vapourdays or ordinary days we receive mail expressing love and we feel obliged to respond with better products, many times at the same prices with previous versions, although improved with costly parts.”

The ongoing process of design and redesign isn’t just focused on innovation for its own sake. A result of improving and simplifying designs can lead to a reduction in manufacturing costs that can then be passed on in turn to vapers.

“Reducing the manufacturing cost without sacrifices in quality or performance is part of being a successful modder in a competitive market. We can’t become rich with limited batches, while we can’t and we don’t wish to make mass production runs at the cost of quality. We love what we do as we do it now, earning a moderate income to support our families, creating affordable products lasting a lifetime and standing behind them.”

But, of course there are vapers who have different expectations. Those who are newer to vaping appear to expect manufacturing companies, such as yourselves, to operate a continual stocking policy where they can buy whenever they want.

“Bear with us; we are a small company with limited production capabilities and resources, producing high-end mods with calibrated parts, the highest precision available in the market (up to 0,01 mm tolerance), which is a very labor-intensive process.

Mature products and parts of GP Series have a better availability as anyone can verify. So, in the foreseeable future, the situation will be more or less the same.”

The Challenges

What exciting bits we can expect to see coming soon from VapourArt? “Out of the six work-in-projects, I can only discuss two: One is the GP Piccolo 4, (which will already been released by the time this article goes to press), a complete redesign of the initial Piccolo, not an update of the last versions v2.6 and v3.1, a 16 mm companion for the GP Spheroid v3 and any other compatible atomizer.

The other project, GP Heron X will come out sometime in the first quarter of 2015 with new features.”

VapourArt has made some very notable and public inroads to combatting the copying of their products.

In 2014, the company has managed to get Chinese factories to remove all signs of branding.

“There is a distinct difference between cloning and counterfeiting, and as proprietors of 11 trademarks we are actively involved in protecting them. It goes without saying that no one is allowed to use our brand names for selling their clones. At the same time, we want to protect our clients and supporters from perfidious counterfeiters.

The news of the new Piccolo 4 coincides with the launch of the new AW14500 battery capable of a 9 amp discharge.

It opens up the smaller form factor to a swathe of vapers who like to use lower Ohms for hit or clouds. The mod is made from 316 stainless and features the aforementioned GPin in a highly compact design; the Piccolo also features “a touch-button-like feel with largely increased conductivity, due of the completely-newly designed switch.”

In addition, I wondered if there were any plans to release stand-alone titanium tubes to accessorize my pair of Paps X mods?

“Of course, we have in mind to produce Ti tubes made of medical grade 5 as spares and other Titanium items as well.”

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telescopic post, a nut to hold the button and the GP logotype and serial numbers were laser etched.”

Counterfeiting erases brand names and destroys the secondary market, eliminating consumer choice, offering garbage or mediocre devices at most. So far, we’re pretty satisfied with the results. Only two older versions of our products were copied without branding, having various problems in conductivity and operation due to inaccurate machining, un-calibrated threading, made from lower grade steel and Brass instead of 316 SS and Aluminum Bronze.”

The simple fact that you produce vaping equipment with incredibly intricate machining must make their job even harder?

“Our manufacturing ability evolves constantly toward precision-machined parts with tighter tolerances, since these are not viable options for mass-produced low cost units. Initially the impact of clones in our business was negative. It became noticeable in April and lasted until October. In August, we took steps to enforce protection of our trademarks with immediate results. We noticed a gradual return of customers and an increased interest from resellers. Both of these developments make us very happy.”

So, is there a possibility that you would consider producing a budget line or will VapourArt continue with the high quality market strategy?

“We are not in competition with clones, so there is no reason to introduce an inferior product just to compete with them.”

“We’re working on more product cost-effective methods, such as redesigning parts for less processing time. For example, the locking ring of the GP PAPS v3 has so many cuts and details that the CNC machine needs 15 minutes to process one and this increases the cost immensely.

The cross shaped button of v3, its 3D engraved top cap, the GPin, the 3D engraved aeolipile, the 3D engraved GP logotype, the engraved serial numbers and the redesigned switch housing increased the cost way above the previous GP PAPS v2.5 mod, which had a simple

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“But we continue to offer v3 at almost the same price as v2.5. We applied the same price policy for GP PAPS X v1.5 in comparison to GP PAPS X v1. Regarding the GP Piccolo v4, it took us 8 months of designing, brainstorming and prototyping to find a way to produce a better Piccolo, and we did it. GP Piccolo v4 uses a locking ring and a switch with better performance and precision than before, with lower manufacturing cost, which will be reflected in the retail price. Our motto, “less is more” is represented more and more at every release in all aspects of a product, design and function and price alike. We consider GP PAPS and GP Piccolo to be entry-level high-end mods while the GP PAPS X is clearly a class above. In producing at this time a model as per your suggestion, we regard it as incompatible with our market position strategy. It’s akin to shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The Impact of Future Legislation As we roll into 2015 the implementation of the EU parliament’s Tobacco Products Directive looms closer. While one company is mounting a legal challenge I wondered how VapourArt was gearing up for the changing legal climate.

“In every industry, market growth and consumer protection are ruled by standards and regulation. In this case there are many conflicts of interest; tobacco companies, pharma companies and consequently, government’s tax agencies have issues with vapers.

I believe the future is going to bring intense and controversial change, because vaping is spreading at unprecedented rates, while people’s awareness increases daily. I am worried more about homemade liquids of unknown composition, coils with ultra low resistance values combined with crap mods, fake batteries and 300 W box mods from China than the legislations. The use of toxic substances, the potential bombs and firecrackers being introduced, built and offered to new vapers online and via vape shops worldwide; these are the real dangers in my opinion.”

What were the vaping objects of choice if I removed everything else?

“I’d like to keep two combos if it was possible, a TiX with a Heron on it and a Piccolo with a Spheroid and leave me anywhere with a solar charger, a few batteries and Grants Vanilla Custard (preferably somewhere nice).”

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Words and Photos by Norm Bour Vape Nights was proclaimed to be the first “real” B2B event, and it was held in an unusual setting: a horse racing park.

Santa Anita is one of the most historic horse tracks in the country and has seen such landmark events as the Breeder’s Cup half a dozen times. It has run iconic horses there for 80 plus years. It is a behemoth of a facility, which caused some problems finding Vape Nights 2015.

This event was designed to be less noisy, less smoky and more intimate than a traditional fest, and it was all the above, but what really set this apart was the efforts of the promoters, VapeFinds and R2HubMedia, to bring together speakers and presentations that the audience would appreciate and learn from.

The setting for the speaking stage was one of the most beautiful I have seen in decades of going to events like this, since it was outside. On an unusually warm Southern California day, the daytime temps were in the 80’s, and the San Bernardino Mountains rose majestically in the background, along with the racing grounds just steps away.

The intention was to create a memorable experience, but a few things fell short.

Even though daytime temps are comfortable, as soon as the sun sets it gets very cold very fast since this event took place the last weekend of November. Space heaters were brought out, but the attendance of the audience was less than planned or expected, though the more than 90 vendors may have been pleased with a more focused group of attendees.

A B2B event is designed to be run for the benefit of the industry with no consumers. The intention is a good one and there are thousands of events like this year round, but we have a problem, Houston. Even though most brick and mortar stores need help, they rarely seek it out. As I saw five different store owners come up on stage and talk about their challenges,

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most in the audience shook their heads in agreement.

The majority of the potential audience stayed inside and did business as usual, which was shame for the speakers, the promoters that tried so hard, and for them. When guidance and knowledge is offered for free it is worth listening to.

Is different always better? This was the second event I went to in 2014 that was not held in a conventional venue. One was outside at a state fairground, and they were damaged by heat and wind. This one was damaged by the size of the venue and a less than ideal environment for a speaker’s platform. Advice to future promoters: Don’t reinvent this particular wheel; use conventional venues that offer what is needed. Advice nugget No. 2: Do not run any educational programs while the exhibition floor is open.

The vape space event world is growing and maturing like the rest of the industry. The professionals are appearing—or learning from their mistakes—and in 2015 we will have a full slate of events nationwide. How do you pick the best ones to attend? Let us know your thoughts and we will continue to share ours.

Questions?: Norm@Vapementors.com. Were you there and have comments? Let me know.

Oregon Group Lobbies For Better Tomorrow

By Alyssa Stahr Photo Courtesy of the Northwest Vapor Association There is strength in numbers, and the Northwest Vapor Association aims to organize the vaping industry in the Pacific Northwest into a unified group. Through legislative efforts, the group hopes to protect interests and rights of vapers while educating the public. VAPE spoke with lobbyist Matt Minahan about his role in the organization and legislative goals for 2015.

VAPE: How did you get into the world of lobbying for vapers?

Minahan: I own a small commercial insurance business in Salem (Oregon). For many years I was an independent lobbyist for many organizations, and I have been a fairly well-known lobbyist for the past couple of years. Being in the commercial insurance business, I met Ernie (Morreira, vice president of NWVA), who works with Mike (Horan of Valley Vapors in Salem) and I insured some of their vaping stores. I told them if they want to get on Oregon’s agenda you have to get a lobbyist, and you have to do it now. He said, ‘You’re hired.’ I showed them how to organize, and they set up a board and retained me as a lobbyist. (The board is a volunteer position, but Minahan is a paid representative.) I went out to talk to key legislators and we got 150 likes on the Facebook page on the first day.

VAPE: What are some legislative items you’re working on?

Minahan: There are two major bills that have been introduced as drafts in legislature, actually three, but two are kind of the same. There are legislative drafts that I’ve requested that aren’t public yet. One of them we know deals with limiting the flavors that can be sold in Oregon; they feel that they are targeted toward kids, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Part of lobbying is educating decision makers who know nothing about the industry, yet are making bills and drafting laws. My goal is to make sure the flavors bill doesn’t see the light of day and educating lawmakers. We’re pretty much working around the clock and having meeting with key senators to get these to the right committees to have discussions around the issues.

The other two—I haven’t seen the bills yet, but I can make some assumptions about what they’re going to deal with. They are going to deal with taxation and limiting to 18 and over, and we were going to take the offensive and introduce a bill from the Association and create our own. But, we found out they are going to come out anyway, so we’ll deal with them.

VAPE: Meeting with people face-to-face is key in educating, I would think.

Minahan: We have Oregon Vapefest coming. All of it is volunteer based, and the main goal is to get 20 new

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members. We have a board with business owners and very educated people. We are meeting with the American Lung Association, senators and politicians; the public can come and talk to representatives and tell them we’re not about being associated with Big Tobacco. Vape Day at the Capitol is in late February/early March. It’s designed to invite our members and non-members; retailers; individual clients; and customers. We invite legislative speakers in to talk about their stance in the industry and schedule meetings between the people and their representative to talk about pros and cons of the bills. We have to educate these legislators on this industry. We’re not the Big Bad Wolf.

VAPE: What are some other goals for 2015?

Minahan: There will be assigned a regulating body, most likely the Oregon Health Authority, and we’re OK with that. But, some of the bills we saw last session that weren’t successful dealt with a permitting process, and our group isn’t necessarily against some of the legislation, we just want to be a part of those discussions.

We don’t want legislation drafted without a voice from the industry. I strongly feel we can kill some of the legislation because there hasn’t been enough discussion, and I will offer an amendment to some of the bills. I’m almost certain that they are going to attempt to wrap vaping in with Big Tobacco. We’re not Big Tobacco and don’t want to be included. Again that comes back to education. When we get legislators and key decision makers in meetings, we are going to try to get the meetings inside vape shops so they can come and see what vaping is.

Also, on our membership application it asks to list how many employees a shop owner has, so I can stand up there and say that I represent X amount of wholesalers, X amount of retailers, which equates to so many Oregon jobs. That will be key to our membership. It’s very new, and we’re behind the eight ball in so many ways, but we’ve got a good hold on it.

In Oregon the legislature meets every odd numbered year.

So, Jan. 1, 2015 is when the session officially began, and now is the time they are drafting up their legislative drafts.

Also, there are many people outside of Oregon who sell within the state, so the more they know about what they are doing the better. That will be a key thing to legislation.

How do they regulate online sales if they buy in Florida and have it shipped into Oregon? It’s an unfair playing ground.

VAPE: Do you have a personal reason why this cause is important to you?

Minahan: My family and I decided last-minute to get a hotel and play in the snow. I forgot my inhaler, and I was having trouble breathing. Mike (Horan) gave me a vape mod that I dug out of the car. It not only helped, but it was better than my inhaler. I sleep with that thing by my bed every night, and I use it instead of the inhaler.

For more information, visit http://nwvaporassociation.org/.

Eurozoned Lies, Damned Lies, and the Office of National Statistics It summarized: “E-cigarette use was almost

on an effective means of smoking cessation.”

solely confined to smokers and ex-smokers,

The Pharmaceutical Journal, an organization

As vapers, we are used

and was negligible amongst those who

responsible for three leading British

to reading a seemingly

have never smoked cigarettes. E-cigarettes

pharmaceutical journals, has never been a

endless stream of negative

were mainly used to help smokers quit

vocal supporter of vaping. They welcomed

news. If it isn’t people in Japan miraculously

smoking, and because users saw them as

the report with the headline: “The tide

finding that vaping is 10 times more

being less harmful than cigarettes.”

is turning in favour of e-cigarettes.”

drip regurgitation of the gateway/children/

Yes, Stanton, the ONS did use the word

The article’s author, Margaret Cunningham

flavors articles that could have been penned

negligible. There is a total absence of evidence

wrote: “The use of e-cigarettes to smokers

by Glantz himself. I’m giving him the benefit of

that vaping has acted as a gateway into

is one way to help improve smokers’ health

the doubt that he can write without stabbing

smoking, the uptake in electronic cigarettes

because licensed products, such as nicotine

the pen into his foot while sucking the nib.

has taken place against a background of a

replacement therapy, may not always work

continued drop in smoking. Plus, for those

for them. And we know it is better for smokers

How wonderful then to wake up to the headline

who continually whinge about children being

to switch to e-cigarettes than smoke.”

from the venerated Financial Times: “Research

attracted to sweet flavors or the coolness of

quashes fears that ecigarettes encourage new

the gadgets there is an embarrassing lack

Cunningham concluded with a clarion call:

smokers.” If it had been in the Little Wallop

of evidence to support that claim too.

“It is time for those in the profession opposed

By Dave Cross

dangerous than smoking, then it’s the drip-

to e-cigarettes to come around in light of

Gazette and Bugle I could have nodded, hummed and cited it the next time I tweeted a

Everyone—outside now for a victory snowball

torrent of disdain at Martin McKee—but this was fight; those of you living in sunnier parts of

growing evidence … e-cigarettes should be sold and promoted in pharmacies. Vaping

the FT. This called for a full English breakfast,

the world will have to improvise with snow

is not smoking.” A surprising turn of events

a Bucks Fizz and a fist punching the air.

cones. To paraphrase a saying: Nobody is

to rival the time when my wife agreed to

marketing e-cigarettes at children; if they

let me get an HD Electra Glide Ultra.

When the FT writes quashes it means it

are then, on the back of data like this,

in full sense of the word: crushes, quells,

they’re doing a spectacularly bad job.

Will this signal a capitulation on the part of those with vested interests or an approach to

overwhelms, defeats, conquers and nullifies.

Predictably, the BBC slops about trying to find

Dr. Penny Woods, chief executive of the

vaping bordering on the fundamentalist? Will

some inoffensive middle ground so rather

British Lung Foundation, said: “This data

Glantz and his friends hang up their rhetoric?

than describing gateway fears as suppressed

should again alleviate the fears expressed by

I think we all know the answer to all of that.

they opted for “might be unfounded.”

some over an e-cigarette gateway effect.”

The war for the hearts and minds of

Let’s be clear about this though, this is an understatement like describing Black Friday

In the principality of Wales, part of Great

legislators isn’t over but, certainly for

at any given mall as being ‘a bit lively.’

Britain, the Welsh Conservatives didn’t delay

Britain, this signifies a substantial victory

to make political capital out of the news. The

in battle for vaping acceptance.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) “is

ruling Labour Party administration has been

(Britain’s) largest independent producer of

pressing forward with a series of draconian

official statistics and is the recognized national

measures as part of their public health reforms.

statistical institute for the UK. It is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related

Shadow Minister for Health, Darren Millar AM,

to the economy, population and society

said: “This evidence from the authoritative

at national, regional and local levels.”

Office for National Statistics torpedoes Labour’s plans for a ban on e-cigarettes,

The report produced by the ONS had five

which are widely used to help smokers quit.”

takeaway key points, four of them related to the plummeting rate of smoking and the fifth

Torpedoes!

dedicated to electronic cigarettes: “E-cigarettes are almost exclusively used by smokers and ex- He continued: “Half of e-cigarette users

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smokers. Almost none of those who had never

would otherwise be smoking real cigarettes

smoked cigarettes were e-cigarette users.”

with significant additional health dangers for themselves, others through passive smoking

Dave Cross is a writer, biker, vaper, ever-more

I’ll repeat that for the benefit of Professor

and a massive cost burden to the NHS. This

rotund punk and perpetual disappointment

Glantz who will be sitting by a fireside

evidence confirms that e-cigarettes are very

to his parents. According to his wife he is

with a glass of sherry: almost none.

rarely used as a gateway to cigarettes and

frequently wrong about most things.

completely undermines Labour’s proposed ban

Follow Dave Cross on Twitter @MawsleyX.

MAGAZINE

TM

B coil

A coil

TM

Vape

vixen Photos by Alan Fuson

My name is Katie Musselman I’m 26 years old; I’m from Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been a promotional model for about seven or eight years now, and the company I work for is Midwest Bikini Team. I’ve also been featured on online magazines such as Vertigo Magazine.

I’ve been vaping for more than a year. When I first started out vaping I had no clue what I was doing and was just trying to quit smoking cigarettes. I started with a little cheapy vapor pen from a chain vape shop. Without knowing anything about all the flavors and how you could pick your nicotine levels I sort of just winged it. It was probably like a month with my first vaporizer when I realized my juice tasted terrible; somebody then suggested to me perhaps I should change my wick! It was so crazy I thought you just bought this vaporizer and juice and you never had to do anything again; I had no clue about how much of a hobby vaping was and how much fun it could be.

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If people would be open to and educate themselves with it they would see how many people who have stopped smoking due to vaping!

Eventually about two months into vaping I switched to an Izate battery and thought I was a little fancier. After that vaporizer I upgraded to an Evic—I used a Nautilus tank with that. As for now I mostly vape IPV v2 50 watt. The IPV has so far been my favorite; I definitely like the way that one hits smoother and you really get the full flavor. I keep it pretty simple on the daily vaping. If I want to drip I’ll use my Pegasus and drip White Rabbit by the Vaping Rabbit.

I started using better juices rather than the cheapy stuff from the more commercial stores. Some of my favorite brands are Five Pawns, Space Jam and Lazarus Vintage.

My absolute favorite flavor is by Five Pawns—Grandmaster.

For those out there who have not tried it is peanut butter flavored. Personally I like the more dessert flavored juices; I like custards a lot.

In the past year and a half, the Cincinnati vaping industry has really picked up.Our local favorite vapor shop is City Vape; they treat you like family and you can go in and just hang out all day. They actually probably are ready to ban me from the store for loitering and trying flavors all day.

I’m now down to about three mg of nicotine, and I truly believe vaping will change the smoking world. If people would be open to and educate themselves with it they would see how many people who have stopped smoking due to vaping! Vaping is definitely the new norm and all smokers need to jump on board.

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Q & A WITH

DJJROCK & SnwBunni of Peace, Love & Vape

& PLVGear

By Susan Oser Photos Courtesy of DJJROCK and SnwBunni

DJJRock and SnwBunni are the owners and operators of Peace, Love and Vape. Recently they opened up their own online shop called PLVGear, where DJJROCK custom makes 3D printed box mods to your unique specifications and order. His girlfriend of three years, SnwBunni, is the other half of this duo that has been involved in the vaping community for about four years.

Susan: Describe the PLV philosophy.

DJJRock: I think it’s real life vaping. That’s why SnwBunni and I started making videos together. We wanted to have fun, not spend a lot of money and show the viewers what our life is like just vaping and having a good time.

Susan: How did you get involved with making box mods?

DJJRock: I’ve been making box mods for a while. In fact, one of my first ones was building a box mod out of wood.

One of the first people who influenced me was a vaper named truelove. This person was one of the first people to convert smokers to vaping with starter kits, and he was a host on vapetv with truelove stories.

Another person who also influenced me was Adam from Most Angry Pirate.

He talked me into making

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mods for other people. I have since lost touch with them, but I would so love to talk to them again.

Susan: What makes you happiest when making these mods?

DJJRock: I think it’s the story behind each mod that is made. Each person has their own unique point of view and it’s personal to each person I make them for. I have had people send me thank you letters, have had people cry tears of joy when they talk about them and more. To me, it’s not just about making money; it’s also about building relationships with people when I make the mod from the ground up. This allows the customer to have more creative input on their ideas and lets the product speak for itself.

Markspens gave me that idea when he gave me one of his own custom-wooded mods. It’s really more about the personal touch.

Susan: Every business has their critics and drama, how do you handle yours?

DJJRock: I feel that you’re not doing it right unless you have haters. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am not here to take over the industry with my mods. I’m here to make friends (and personal connections).

Susan: What do you think of people trying to copycat (or clone) what you do?

DJJRock: I’m all for it. I love to see what others have for ideas. In fact, their ideas inspire me to become more

...it’s also about building relationships with people when I make the mod from the ground up.

creative and push the boundaries a bit more.

I have a few things that other people don’t have when it comes to personalizing their mod, and they will be surprised when it’s revealed what they are when it’s produced.

Susan: Why should vendors (like you) get involved with vaping activism?

DJJRock: If you don’t get involved, it shows that you’re all about the money. If you don’t advocate for vaping, you don’t care about your vaping rights. If you want to change lives, you have to advocate for vaping by going to city council meetings and show that you know what is going on. It can be daunting at times, but it is so worth it when you have a small victory or two.

Susan: What is it like being connected to a network like vapenet?

DJJRock: I will say that it’s different. To be honest, I really didn’t want to be connected to a network. I was asked several times to host a show, but I never really wanted to. In fact, I contemplated running PLV videos and own my own network. That was when someone from vapenet caught me testing out stuff and invited me. Now, the show has taken the place of our PLV videos. There are new intros every week. For us, it’s not about how many people watch us, its about how many lives we can help change with vaping. It’s about building personal relationships with our viewers who are now our friends/family.

Susan: What has been the biggest surprise about the vaping community?

DJJRock: I am very surprised at how far the boundaries have been pushed with devices and juice. When I first started vaping, the juices tasted terrible. There are also devices that I have seen used in other industries that are just now merging with this industry. I’m just wondering where it is going to end.

Susan: What has been your biggest disappointment with the vaping community?

DJJRock: Simple: drama and greed.

These days, everyone wants a piece of the pie. Beginners want to start right away with fast money and not for a good product. I also feel like there have been so many fundraisers within the community that everyone is tired when help is needed.

As for the drama, so many vapers are jealous of each other with contest wins, networks vs. networks, etc. It’s not the community it used to be, and we need to get back to why we all first started vaping and what we are all here for.

Susan: Bunni, How has vaping changed your life?

Bunni: It’s great to be able to be with Jay because he doesn’t smoke anymore. There’s no more second-hand smoke or issues with my son (who has breathing issues). I also like to be able to be there for others. I just like being able to be involved in something with Jay that is his passion with helping others make the switch to a healthier lifestyle.

Susan: What is the future of PLV and mod-making?

DJJRock: In the long-term, it depends on the regulations that are currently out there. I want to keep doing it until it gets tiring, as well as keep enjoying it. I want to try to create relationships with people and help them out. If we can get others involved to do what we do and help others with the small things, it can become something bigger.

For more information about Peace, Love and Vape, visit http://www.plvgear.com, https://www.youtube.com/ user/PeaceLoveAndVape , http://www.peaceloveandvape.com/, https://www.facebook.com/PeaceLoveVape, https://twitter.com/peacelovevape, https://plus.google. com/112678336316514399700/videos

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By Alyssa Stahr Just like a fine wine, or perhaps your favorite e-liquid, VAPE Magazine seems to get better with age. In order to celebrate our two-year anniversary and the drop of our year-end December issue, The Argyle in Hollywood, Calif. (argylehollywood.com) hosted a VAPE release party in early December.

December’s cover featured 2013 Playmate of the Year Raquel Pomplun, who was in attendance, along with August’s cover model Playboy Playmate Irina Voronina.

The Playmates participated in photo shoots with the almost 700 guests. The event was co-sponsored by Eve E-Liquids (eveliquids.com), which provided e-cigarette and e-liquid gifts for those in attendance. Other items of note in the gift bags included Motive 510 single packs, Chuck Bronson from Adam e-liquid, Blueberry Church from Eve e-liquid and a copy of VAPE’s December issue.

“The party was very exciting,” Matt Schramel, publisher of VAPE said. “We had a line around the block of people waiting to get in. The event had some of Hollywood’s most elite in attendance, including a visit by actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, according to many guests.”

High-end street artist Alec Monopoly was in attendance, dancing to hits by headliner DJ Five along with the Party Rock Crew, agency repped models and socialites.

“I was so happy to see such a huge support by vapers to celebrate another great year of VAPE Magazine!”

Schramel said.

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plun d Raquel Pom na Voronina an Iri s el od m r e cove Jon Laverde VAPE Magazin PE Magazine VP along with VA

www.FlavorZ.com