We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thomas Araujo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Thomas, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I started off my adulthood with a trunk full of weed, I was your average dealer driving up and down the state transporting. I did this for years until one day I found something called Instagram….and it was there I found the Cannabis Community. I started to recreate my favorite movie scene with miniatures, nugs and small toys. I fell in love with laughing and making fun content. So once I realized I had a passion for content, I stopped selling and put all my focus into pictures & videos. That was the BIGGEST risk….possibly not be able to pay my rent or bills due to lack of weed money coming in. This was a choice I had to make…risk my financial stability for a new found obsession in content creation.
So fast forward 11 years later and Im deeper into this profession than I thought possible.

Forbes magazine named me “The Most Popular Cannabis Content Creator On Earth” in 2022.
I have amassed nearly 2,000,000 subscribers and 210,000,000 views on Youtube even while fighting against their demonetization, deletions and videos being blocked (due to Cannabis)
In 2021 I started The Dope As Usual Podcast with my co host Marty O’Neil, we just became official partners with Spotify as one of the top new shows in podcasting.
In 2022 my co host and I were the first Podcast Duo in history to give a Ted Talk….the topic was “How to Thrive In A Digital Age”

I would say that massive risk is what forced me to take a blind leap into this profession…..best risk ever!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I jumped into this profession as a hobby that quickly turned into a passion. In the early years I had no way to make money from my content, I just knew making it would build an audience and pay off in the future. For the first 8 years I made $0 on my content. So thats why I started Push Trees Clothing in 2013…this paid for every bill I had and kept me barley scraping by while I made free content 6 days a week. Push Trees has fully woven itself into the fabric of the community and its growing steadily year after year. Now that I started a few more businesses Push Trees isnt my only source of income so I can now fund it in a way I never could previously . We have soo many items, soo many fans embracing the brand…we are at 83 Push Trees tattoos around the world….the most dedicated fans on Earth!

In 2021 I started an alternative cannabinoid company called The Dopest Shop, we are in all 50 states and currently #2 in the world in sales. This is all from the fans support, we cant advertise, we have gotten all of our  social media accounts deleted so its truly the Dope As Yola fans supporting the entire brand, best fans on Earth

As far as content I think what sets me apart is transparency…I will ALWAYS tell the truth to my audience. I try my best to teach, educate and comfort people….sometimes we just need someone in the room even if its on tv. I cant tell you how many conversations Ive had with people about this, not all of us are social and I love being the person to keep people company. Ive answered over 240,000 comments (no bots) in the past 6 years on Youtube, I 100% care about the fans so answering 4-6 hours of comments a day is what truly sets me apart from other Youtubers. I did this for free with a hope of making something so money isnt the motivation at the end of the day…the connections matter most.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of doing what I do is the people and connections. Ive kept conversations going for years in chats and messages…Ive connected with my fans….Ive watched people graduate , have kids, get married, start insanely successful business, go through depression, in and out of hospital stays and unfortunately a few homies have passed away and I always get a message from a parent or sibling letting me know. Its the circle of life but in the digital age and its the first time in history its happening. Good or bad…this is life and i have a fortunate perspective on it and Im grateful to vicariously experience so many other peoples lives.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The only goal was to let myself think, create and have fun doing it. This started off as a hobby so a career wasnt even a thought when I first started. After some time I realized my end goal…to leave a mark on people for the good. If someone watches something I put out and that brings them closer to the person with them, a friend online or just a better mood…then I accomplished my goal. I just want to give people the feeling I had when I was younger….sitting down about to watch a show, no responsibilities, no work, no school..just the excitement and anticipation to watch.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dopeasyola.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dope.as.yola?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DopeAsYola/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dope_as_yola_
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@DopeasYola?si=GvAfYW3F6fB0mVbt
• Other: https://youtube.com/@DopeAsUsual?si=bl_nY9GOSpcwkChg