With its bold, wrestling-inspired packaging, Real Deal Resin is a name that’s become one of the most recognizable heaters on the California hash scene today. After partnering with LEEF Organics, this Mendocino County-born brand transitioned to the recreational market in 2021 and, along with a handful of other hash makers, experienced the challenges of switching markets in a post-Prop. 64 environment.
Today the brand has its own extraction space in Willits and a nearby farm in the Orr Springs microclimate. Still, the founders will always remember what it took to achieve success: a combination of teamwork and identity that’s given two Pennsylvania boys, Dustan and Sam, a chance to deliver a piledriver to the California cannabis industry.
From a young age, co-founder Dustan knew he wanted to grow.
“I used to look up videos of big gardens, and all of them were in California. I remember watching videos of Jorge Cervantes or Mendo Dope Boys surrounded by giant plants and they were all in the Emerald Triangle. I couldn’t believe it was real. One thing I do believe, though, is the law of intention. We had this Cali license plate hung up in our college apartment, and every day I would look at it and psych myself up for what was to come.”
In 2015, inspired by those videos of the West Coast cannabis scene, Dustan said goodbye to his roommate Sam, left college a semester before finishing his degree in communications, and enrolled as a farmhand in Mendocino County. Jumping right in, he found a small grower who took him on and showed him the ropes. Eventually, he built a reputation in the community and earned the opportunity to rent a spot with a little greenhouse. “This was in the golden era of [Prop.] 215. I remember being in the …
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Author: Matt Jackson / High Times
