In Conversation with Nadir Pearson
AFROPUNK partnership
EVERY THURSDAY AT 8PM ET, HEAD OVER TO THE AFROPUNK IG LIVE CHANNEL FOR THESE WEEKLY CONVERSATIONS CURATED BY HUMBLE BLOOM'S SOLONJE BURNETT WITH THOUGHT LEADERS AND ENTREPRENEURS IN MUSIC, AGRICULTURE, BEAUTY, MINDFULNESS, NUTRITION, SUSTAINABILITY, SEXUAL EMPOWERMENT AND MORE.
Nadir Pearson is a digital strategist and cannabis advocate from Clifton, NJ. He currently serves as Production Manager at Herb and founder of SMART (Student Marijuana Alliance for Research & Transparency). He graduated from Brown University in 2019 with a degree in Sociology and is excited to help more small businesses grow their online presence in 2020.
What's your current theme song? If you have a reason, please share.
The Woo by Pop Smoke. Currently, just a vibe.
Tell me about your journey to now. What impactful moments led you to your work?
- Going to NJ SEEDS -> Being introduced to boarding school
- Going to boarding school -> Living with the 1% and growing confident at a PWI
- Grandfather dying due to cancer
- Playing football at Brown -> Quit due to concussions and began exploring digital media + marketing
- Intern for Ardent + start SMART in 2017 -> My cannabis career begins.
Who and/or what motivates your passion each day?
Being able to genuinely help people learn, find opportunities that they too are passionate about. Having a platform that allows me to do is thee biggest blessing. My high school's motto is "No to be served, but to serve." I think that has always resonated with me.
How do you define Radical Self Care?
Radical Self Care to me means thinking about self-care beyond just a spa day or relaxing but also involves work. Making the time to explore our biases, strengths, weaknesses, and insecurities in ways that challenge us to grow. I think working out physically has the same parallels in terms of pushing our limits, growing our bodies, and the recovery that goes into sustaining growth.
What rituals do you have to help maintain homeostasis of mind, body, and spirit?
I've been doing a poor job of this lately, but when I do it successfully: it looks like working out, doing yoga, calling friends + family on a consistent basis.
How do you incorporate plants into your well being routine? How is the cannabis (THC, CBD, CBN, etc) a part of your plant ritual?
THC has been at the core of my journey. The consistent entourage effect that I get from flower is hard to replicate and helps calm my spirit in a nourishing way.
Who would you like to experience an altered state (dream elevation + discussion) with and how would you achieve this flow state?
This is interesting. I've never thought about this. I'd probably say a family member. Whether it's a cousin or friend that's like family. Achieving the state with shrooms is preferred.
Love the phrase "slow down to speed up", what does that mean to you personally and within the present global pause?
Well, we know the global climate issue is pretty disastrous so there was a hope that this pandemic could show us the light in reduced emissions. As a whole, we've all had to pause and reflect as the rat race came to a big halt. Speeding up now is focused on breaking the chain of older, less productive habits .
What has been the most challenging for you during this time?
Most challenging is not being able to go to the gym and finding that at home motivation to workout. The gym used to be a big escape.
What made you become an advocate in the space and for the plant?
The enforcement of cannabis has biasedly ensnared thousands of Black people into the criminal justice system. Learning this gave me a sense of responsibility to not only advocate for the plant but for the freedom and justice of my sisters and brothers.