Cannabis Culture

Custom Grow 420: The Most Entertaining WeedTuber in Oregon

November 4, 2017

Cannabis has always had its own subculture, but the advent of YouTube has led to a mass proliferation of weed-themed content. Everyone has their own gimmick, and it’s easy enough to gain a few followers here and there as long as you’ve got something interesting or funny to say. But when you get to the big leagues, what do you do to differentiate yourself?

If your name is Joel Hradecky, you go bolder and bigger than anyone else. Have you ever seen someone take a full gram dab? Or try to take five hits from five different bongs in a single breath? Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? And that’s how Joel, also known as “Jolie Olie” has managed to attract over 1,425,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel Custom Grow 420.

How High Can He Go?

Somewhat confusingly, Custom Grow 420 has nearly nothing related to growing cannabis in any of its 500+ entries. Instead, you’ll find clip after clip of Jolie Olie taking massive bong rips and doing dabs in truly dangerous quantities.

Custom Grow 420 Jolie Olie — Photo by: Custom Grow 420/YouTube

His signature greeting, “What up YouTube! YoutTUUUUUBE!” can get a little old, but it’s nothing if not on brand! You’ll see what we mean if you check out the channel, where you’ll find that every single video title is in all caps with at least four exclamation points. You certainly can’t say he’s not enthusiastic about what he does! With an ever-increasing collection of colorful hats and printed tees, this guy is every bit the quintessential funnyman stoner. But as the many comments on Custom Grow 420’s videos attest, this is certainly not the channel for everyone.

Jolie Olie definitely has one of the most cavalier attitudes possible toward the recreational use of marijuana concentrates, and most of his videos depict him trying to get as stoned as you can get without dying. For instance, in one video he takes massive lungfuls of helium immediately followed by a dab over and over again until he almost passes out. While it’s pretty hard to deny the comedy of him squeaking “I’m so baked” through the helium, you’ve got to wonder how the guy is still breathing.

A New Approach

But the total insanity of all these performances is what attracted followers and kept them glued to the screen. Luckily for Custom Grow 420, that insanity also attracted a ton of attention from people in the industry. Nowadays, you’re more likely to see Jolie Olie reviewing a crazy dab rig or unboxing a subscription box of weed-themed goodies. These sponsored videos seem to make up the majority of his new posts.

While some people miss the good old days of Jolie Olie doing everything in his power to blow up his lungs, his family is probably pretty happy that he’s graduated to a slightly safer and much more lucrative form of video communication. And for the companies that are getting Custom Grow 420 to do reviews of their product, things are looking pretty good too. This guy’s story just goes to show how fascinating the ongoing development of cannabis culture can really be.