We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Vinas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I hope my legacy will be proof that anyone can succeed no matter where you come from. I was in foster care and I grew up in a area of southeast San Diego that was known for crime. I had absolutely nobody to help me and I pretty much had to figure out everything alone. I hope to show not only my kids, but everyone that it’s possible to achieve great things even when you have nothing because I started my business while I was living in a tent with my kids. Hard work, dedication and determination is all it takes to get where you want to be. I’m still not where I would like to be yet but I’m going to keep pushing till I get there
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I was a teen mom and a product of foster care with no guidance. I had to learn a lot of things the hard way and alone most of the time. I used to work endless hours at dead end jobs just to support my family and often times I would cry myself to sleep thinking about it. One day I decided I needed to change something and I had always had an idea for something great but I talked myself out of going for it. My great idea was to infuse a bathbomb with thc and include a jar of marijuana inside so once the bathbomb dissolved the person could smoke as well as soak. Tokesoaks was born in 2014. The main idea was to help people achieve a head and body high meant to treat pain, restlessness, insomnia or just as a relaxing treat but I found out it helps endometriosis and lupus from a few grateful customers and decided to take it further. I now offer medicated bars of soap, bath salts, sugar scrubs, candy and bath bombs and I’m still expanding. I live for the feedback I get and knowing my product has brought relief to so many people. I think what sets me apart from most other companies is the fact that I am more than willing to educate someone new to cannabis and no question is a dumb question. I would love to see prescription pain meds replaced by cannabis one day. I am super proud of the fact that I was able to take myself off the streets by taking a risk and believing in myself and I pray this gives others hope and inspiration.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I hand make all of my products by myself. I had to learn how to make a bathbomb and believe it or not it is way harder than it looks. I went thru a couple hundred dollars of supplies before I finally got it right. Every company has a recipe they prefer and it took me a good year before I had a recipe that worked best for me.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
There is one memory that comes to mind when I think about my resilience. I was homeless and trying to get my name and brand out there and u decided to go to San Francisco for the pride festival to walk around and sell bathbombs. I did not have money for a hotel and I had nowhere to stay so I slept in my car and made about 200 bathbombs in the backseat and went to bed. I woke up about 6am and I went to check on the bathbombs and seen that the moisture from the cold air and me sleeping in the car caused all the bathbombs to completely fizz and they were all destroyed… I was devastated and ready to give up but I had drove 8 hours to get there and had to do something. I decided to remake whatever I could and dry them outside at a park but once they dried I realized I had no electricity to plug in my heat gun to shrink wrap them. I drove around and found a small dispensary and asked if I could come in and use a plug and they allowed me and I was able to get everything done and I ended up selling everything and gaining tons of customers in the end.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: toke.soaks