Evolution from Black Market Dealer to White Collar Executive

31sec Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The individual and his colleagues evolved from black market dealers to white collar cannabis executives, emphasizing their security consciousness even in the suburbs. The individual highlighted the well-protected compound and a prepared game plan for any security threat. However, through a representative, Cookies clarified that this does not reflect his official stance on security and personal protection.

The closest thing to a bat signal for stoners is the blue lettering of the Cookies logo. When a new storefront comes to a strip mall or a downtown shopping district, fans flock to grand-opening parties, drawn by a love of the brand — one based on more than its reputation for selling extremely potent weed.

People often compare Cookies to the streetwear brand Supreme. That’s accurate in one very literal sense — they each sell a lot of hats — and in other, more subjective ones. They share a penchant for collaboration-based marketing; their appeal to mainstream audiences is tied up with their implied connections to illicit subcultures; and they’ve each been expanding rapidly in recent years.

All of it is inextricable from Berner, the stage name of Gilbert Milam, 40, Cookies’ co-founder and chief executive, who spent two decades as a rapper with a sideline as a dealer — or as a dealer with a sideline as a rapper. With the company’s success, he is estimated to be one of the wealthiest rappers in the world, without having ever released a hit record.