The Origins of Bear Blend

Inspired By Plants

In 1998, after is was clear that modern societal conventions were in a direct contradiction to nature, Anthony, the founder of Bear Blend, decided that the only admirable profession to pursue was farming. He and his brother found a 40 acre run down farm in Rutland, Ohio, a little town in the middle of the least populated county on southeastern Ohio. With only backpacks and a few things in the truck, they moved into the rolling hills of Meigs County in December determined to transform the property into a functioning Organic farm.

Having grown up in the hardwood forests around Cleveland, Ohio, they had expected the landscape of southeastern Ohio to be the same, but soon realized that they were in fact in what resembled more of a tropical jungle. It turned out, Anthony later learned, that this part of the country is know throughout the herbalist community as the most botanically diverse ecosystems in the entire 48 states. In fact, this little area of Southeastern Ohio is where such prized herbal speciments as Goldenseal, American Ginseng, Bloodroot, and Black and Blue Cohosh are endemic. Much of the American based herbalist community respected this landscape as the sort of Motherland of modern herbalism so much that they set up research farms and schools of herbalism on every side of their property.

It turned out that their neighbors were all world renowned herbalists and herbal research institutes, and, within a few months, they found themselves immersed in a botanical education curriculum where every day was a first hand exploration of some new plant medicine. A typical day involved learning that Sassafras leaves can be eaten or but in your water to help quench your thirst or the succulent inner bark of the Tulip Poplar can be eaten to simulate a caffeine-like energy boost.

Anthony's life long pursuit of herbal knowledge began as he found himself literally chewing on every new plant species he discovered.

Why Smoking?

So now you can see this image coming together. Every day was filled with hard work, farming the land in overalls, digging in the garlic, building a greenhouse, planting the tomatoes and squash. Anthony and his brother Joe were in their early 20s and living out a childhood farming fantasy where the overwhelming feeling was freedom. They were free to dig int he potatoes barefoot during the day and eat mushrooms at night staring at the stars. They were free to get up at the break of dawn and weed the patches of spinach and broccoli and to stay up all night around the campfire playing music and smoking joints.

Soon they had constructed a couple of livable Teepees on the property by cutting and stripping black locust trees. Anthony would eventually live through a winter in one of those. They planted a small patch of cannabis nestled next to some spring fed tall grasses that blasted out from the ground like little trees determined to produce gigantic buds. Life was good.

As summertime rolled around and all the trees and plants began producing bushels of food, they were once again pleasantly surprised by the active community they lucked into. Herbal students from all over the country soon filled the hills as did teachers of all walks and backgrounds, and they found themselves listening in on many a class from behind the scenes. They watched plant wizards like Seven Song, a wealth of herbal knowledge and practical plant application, stitching wounds with fresh propolis or chewing on Calamus to inspire alertness.

One herbalist that came around that time to fascinate everyone with his elaborate and flamboyant storytelling was Tis Mal Crow. He was was a special man, having been born and raised in a nest of real Muscogee medicine women, he was versed in herbal lore and old stories from day one. He told stories about how his Grandma warded off evil spirits and knew real spells and incantations. Some of the stories were so exotic that they almost felt impossible, like shrinking heads or frogs appearing inside peoples stomachs, but his conviction and retelling of these old world tales made it somehow seem possible.

Could it be that plants did not only hold the secrets of health and wellness but that they also help a sort of magic? Could it be that stories of alchemists and magicians actually had some basis in botanical science, that there was an unknown mystery in the plant journey that could transform us into a preternatural state? By then, Anthony had immersed himself in books about real magicians like Carlos Castaneda and had eaten Peyote in the Navajo deserts of Arizona and gathered mushroom in the forests of Oregon. He could feel something stirring inside of him that maybe these kinds of stories had some basis in truth.

Now Tis Mal liked to smoke weed. In fact, he puffed it so tough that he could probably compete with some of the OG Humbolt stoners. And every day he would ask Anthony to come by with a few joints and sit around smoking weed and telling some old world stories. Well, one day, after a particularly bombastic session, Anthony wanted to follow up the cannablast with a little tobacco. So he pulled out his American Spirits and starter to twist one up. And it was at that moment, that Tis Mal would unknowingly change the course of his life with one unwitting remark.

"Ha," he said. "It is so funny that you guys call that tobacco. That's not tobacco."

"Really, then what is tobacco."

"Well when I was growing up, everyone had their own tobacco blend of all kinds of different herbs. But now you guys just all smoke that one herb and call it tobacco. That's silly."

And Anthony's mind was blown.

Somehow in that moment it all became clear. Of course, that was how you tap into the spirit of the plants. That is how you get at the magic. That is how you learn about the real alchemy, the true nature. That is where the magic comes from. The smoke. The smoke is the magic. Its alchemical. And a life long study of herbal smoking blends began.

From an Ohio Closet to a California Festival

Pretty soon Anthony had transformed one of the closets in the house into a mini apothecary and his tobacco pouch looked like a Jamaican spice blend. He was constantly picking and drying all the herbs he could find and smoking them. Without any real research that he could find on the topic, his only way to know was to experience it himself. Within a few months he had smoked almost every plant he could find. At around the same time, he had also acquired through a friend a little 4 track recorder with a microphone and had started writing songs.

After a couple years and a series of wild adventures, Anthony's mom christened him Singing Bear in a naming ceremony, and still carrying with him the plant medicines, he found himself called to a life of music and travel. He moved out to California in 2005 and has lived there ever since — for years as a musician in a touring band, and then as a father, and finally as an entrepreneur.

Bear Blend had always been a passion. And eventually he started the business as just a side-hustle with the help of some amazing friends and family (shout out to Moon and Jared). It was always just a small operation of hand made blends steeped in a love for the plants and an infatuation with plant medicines. But as it unfolded, it became clear that something bigger was always happening here. Something magical.

The plants were in charge. And they were the ones calling the shots.

This business is dedicated to the plant beings. They carry the magic of all of our ancestors. And they know exactly how we can find balance again. Balance with our minds and nature.