I would like to introduce you to the person who convinced me to try CBD and therefore to the formation of Carolina Pure: guitarist extraordinaire and all-around super cool person, Justin Cody Fox. I met Justin 19 years ago when I first moved to Wilmington, NC. My brother and I both play guitar and we were heading out to a new bar when we heard what we thought was a VERY loud Jimi Hendrix bootleg CD (under 35? look it up..) coming from across the street. We went over to see what was up. As we watched Justin, bassist Dave Morse, and Justin’s cousin, Jeremy Summers on the drums, tear through their first set of amazing blues-based rock, we looked at each other and one of us said something like “are there bands like this just hanging out in Wilmington all over”? Answer: no. There is only one Justin Fox, and I’m pleased to call him my friend. Check him out live if you’re in the area or online if you don’t. I promise you won’t regret it.
Justin and I have been talking about collaborating on hemp stuff for years. Well, Justin, we’re finally doing it!
I would also like to introduce you to another local non-profit founded and run by my friend, person extraordinaire, Peter Maguire. Peter has a doctorate in history and taught for 20 years at Columbia University, is an accomplished writer with an awesome substack and too much material to his credit to list here, was a war correspondent covering the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and has been a military contractor and is maybe the only person who hangs with both some of the world’s best known big wave riders as well as the world’s best mixed martial artists–Peter counts Gracie family patriarch, Rickson Gracie, as both a friend and Jiu Jitsu mentor. Don’t mess with either of them. DO read “Breathe”, Rickson’s biography that Peter co-authored.
I could go on, but the point is that Peter is a kind of real-life Indiana Jones. I mean, his kids (Hey Joe and Sea!) are more accomplished than half the adults I know. His foundation, Fainting Robin is also super cool. For the most part, it focuses on recognizing and supporting underpaid and under-appreciated college professors with a little-to-no chance at tenure. That alone is pretty cool, but it gets better. Fainting Robin also has a “special activities” component, that does all kinds of fascinating stuff. Most recently, it was instrumental in bringing a Cambodian killer to justice and supported Peter’s friend, “Nug”, a former operator who has been killing time in Ukraine, rescuing Americans trapped in the war-torn country. If you stop by Peter’s house, you’re as likely to find a teams guy training as you are the mailman. I told you it was super cool.
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