We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon With Yin Yang Infusions. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.
Brandon, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Growing up, I was always passionate about cooking and making things with my hands. In my teenage and college years my love for both cooking and cannabis transitioned into a passion and hobby of making edibles. In 2014 much about my life completely changed when I began seeing cannabis as a powerful medicine that was being repressed by mainstream society. My love for making edibles shifted into a passion project as I was given the opportunity to work with numerous medical cannabis patients, all suffering debilitating diseases. I began working with cancer patients making RSO and edible products to help alleviate their discomfort and lessen side effects associated with chemotherapy.
After observing how much cannabis positively impacted my initial group of patients, I knew my life’s purpose was to help make and design cannabis products for people in need. Just like that Yin Yang Infusions was born, a CBD and cannabis brand focused on making plant based products for the people overlooked by society who need them the most. Over the years I have worked with many severe cases ranging from rare diseases, stage 3-4 cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, chronic pain, and much more. I have witnessed countless people regain a quality of life that they never thought they would see again. Helping people heal and return to a sense of normalcy after physical and mental trauma is my life’s mission. It is truly inspirational and thought provoking to consider how many applications and opportunities there are for cannabis to positively impact each and every one of our lives.
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 started using CBD and Cannabis in college to treat my long term chronic conditions- anxiety, depression, and chronic pain as a result of my knee surgery. I began doing research into the cannabis plants’ potential and learned that different forms of cannabis have tremendously different effects. The cannabis plant has such an interesting variety of compounds, from cannabinoids like CBD and THC, to strain varieties like indicas and sativas. This is where I got my inspiration for naming the business “Yin Yang Infusions”. Cannabis developed its reputation for its psychoactive effects, but there is so much more to it than that. the plant offers so much promise for finding physical balance and inner peace just like the principles of Yin and Yang.
When I became a Medical cannabis patient 10 years ago, I was able to use uplifting sativa strains during the day for help with my depression, indicas at night to help me heal mentally, CBD for stress and pain, THC for relaxation, and CBN for sleep. Being able to choose between these cannabis variations allowed me to gain control of my chronic anxiety, pain, and depression which I struggled with for many years. I became incredibly passionate about helping people heal with cannabis and change their perspective on the plant. Cannabis gave me back my mental health, mobility, and sleep, three things that are key to living a happy and healthy life. I began advocating for other people to use cannabis as an all natural tool for finding physical and mental stability in their lives. One of the biggest issues back then was price and availability, products used to cost nearly triple what they do today, and there was a higher demand than supply. This unfortunate shortage inspired me to create products for myself and other patients.
In 2014 I had surgery on my meniscus leading to chronic knee pain and mobility issues. I tried a topical CBD product for the first time in 2015 and it changed my life. I was able to experience the level of comfort, and lack of pain that previously only pain killers had been able to accomplish for me. I knew I had to develop my own CBD topical and share it with all of my friends, family, and patients, many of whom also dealt with chronic pain and mobility issues. Today my line of CBD topicals are my top selling product, and one of the products which I am the most proud of. It still amazes me how combining CBD and all natural plant based ingredients can create something with so much potential for healing and relief!
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
I personally hand make all of our products. I do not have a formal chemistry background, I developed my products with tremendous amounts of research, trial, error, and passion over nine long years. It all started with my passion for cooking. My high school culinary teacher would tell us that cooking is a science, you must diligently follow a recipe to the T the same way a scientist follows a procedure. After the success of my edible line in 2014, the first non edible cannabis product I made were vape cartridges, I experienced a lot of trial and error trying to find the right hardware, and trying to figure out the best cannabis extracts to put into a vape. My first few batches were a disaster, but through research, trial, error, and determination I fine tuned my vape formula to develop one of the first and best cartridges on the market back in 2015 when very few companies had achieved this goal in the industry. I shared these products with local friends and patients and they were a huge hit; I knew I was on the path to developing products that really help people relax and heal.
I expanded my line into topical pain and skin salves, designed to relieve physical discomfort, dry skin, wrinkles, blemishes, etc. This was one of my first CBD only products, I began with researching everything I could online about how to make salves. One of the biggest issues I had to overcome is that the beeswax in the topicals would separate and recrystallize, making an unpleasant and coarse texture. It took dozens of batches, and workshopping the formulation with my scientist friend named Sam, who applied the principles of thermodynamics to address the problem. Together we perfected the topical formula, and I moved on to my next lines of products, including tinctures, gummies, coffee, sleep products, capsules and even suppositories! Over the years my line has slowly expanded, adding a new product roughly every other month. today I offer 40+ hemp infused products, and have many exciting products currently in the works!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I wanted to use this opportunity to share something about my product line that not many people know. Some of my products are named after amazing souls who I have met along my journey, who are all integral parts of the reason why I am where I am today. They may have passed on, but I still feel the impact of their powerful lessons, friendship, and influence on a daily basis.
The first product line to highlight is called Sam’s Salves. Sam Shekman was without a doubt one of the most kind hearted, gentle, and caring people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was one of my best friends in high school and college, everyone who knew Sam had a great deal of love and respect for him. Sam lost his life in August of 2014 from a tragic hiking accident, his spirit and powerful lessons still live with me to this day. Sam was an avid hiker, outdoorsman, and the first person in my life who advocated strongly for plant based medicines. Sam introduced me to the perspective that many of the synthetic drugs and chemicals that our society was doing were unhealthy and poisoning our bodies and minds. Sam openly denounced prescription psychotropic drugs and advocated strongly for cannabis and plant based medicine. I wish that Sam was here today so I could thank him for his immensely positive influence and lessons that lead to the formation of Yin Yang Infusions.
The second product line is called Catherine’s vapes, named after my dear friend Catherine Reed who always went by “Cat”. Cat was an incredibly kind, thoughtful, and humble person. Her smile and warm presence was infectious, she was the type of person you wanted to keep in your company even when there was truly nothing to do on a cold East Coast day. Cat’s story is amazing, she was the first medical cannabis patient I ever worked with, and was the first ever medical cannabis patient registered in the state of Connecticut. Her mother was a strong, caring and devoted mother who dedicated six years of her life to helping her daughter fight terminal brain cancer at all costs. Her story is powerful and inspirational, cannabis helped Cat tremendously but in the end it could not save her from one of the most aggressive forms of cancer known to humankind. Cat opened my eyes to the world of medical cannabis, and inspired me to use cannabis medicinally myself. She was the first person to ever introduce me to a vape cartridge back in 2014, before her I had never even heard of a vape. I immediately became obsessed with the discretion and efficiency of the vape delivery system, and vowed to develop my own vapes. I truly wish Cat was still with us today, she taught me so much and was such a brave and beautiful soul.
The final products are Candis Pet CBD products. This is named after my childhood dog named Candi who lived to be nearly 17 years old. Candi was a great dog, she was a Maltese poodle who loved long walks, and spending time with my family. Around age 15 Candi’s quality of life was seriously reduced. Her mobility was already not what it used to be, when she suddenly started having seizures on a regular basis. The vet diagnosed that there was a tumor in Candi’s brain causing her seizures, and the only solution they could offer was a risky and expensive surgery. My family decided to prioritize making Candi happy and comfortable in her remaining years, we began using CBD on Candi and saw tremendous results. Her seizures became less frequent and less severe. She seemed to regain some level of happiness and lucidity. Candi’s positive response to CBD is what inspired me to make CBD dog treats and pet tinctures which have helped countless other pets and pet owners.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yinyanginfusions.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/yinyanginfusions?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr