Conversations with Rick Garcia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Garcia.

Hi Rick, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story is years in the making—really, decades. Since this is an article and not a novel, I’ll give you the cliff-notes version.
I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s in a pretty traditional Mexican-American Catholic family. My family loved me and I loved them, but it was a very different time, and there were a lot of feelings about sex and sexuality that I didn’t quite understand. (We’ll come back to that later.)

After school, I wasn’t sure what direction to take, so I chose massage therapy—mainly because it didn’t require years of schooling and promised a steady career. At first, I thought of it as a temporary job, but I got lucky. I had an incredible teacher who taught me not only about touch, but about seeing the world differently. I fell in love with the healing power of touch and how profoundly it can impact someone’s life.

In my early 30s, I started to feel like I wasn’t giving back enough. I asked myself what affected my community most and began volunteering at a local AIDS service organization. I started at the front desk of an HIV testing site and quickly realized I loved the work. Within a year, I was doing the actual testing and soon after became a case manager for people newly diagnosed while still testing and counseling. That work eventually led me to a larger organization, where I focused solely on sexual health counseling and testing.

The thing about being sex-positive and working in sexual health is that you end up learning a lot about yourself. The lessons I was teaching others often mirrored the healing I still needed for myself. I knew what it felt like to have something inside me that didn’t fit society’s expectations and to feel like a “deviant” because of it. The more I leaned into the work, the more I loved both the job and the parts of myself I was discovering. But I also craved deeper conversations—beyond condoms and PrEP. I wanted to talk about orgasms, erections, premature ejaculation, the ability to climax—or not. All the nuanced questions people often keep hidden. That curiosity pushed me to study further, become a certified sex coach, and eventually branch out on my own.

Around this time, my partner was struggling with back pain that none of my massage skills could touch. One night, I brought him a cannabis gummy. Not only did it relieve his pain, but it also made me feel alive in a way I had never fully experienced. Being a workaholic, my first thought was: How does this connect to sex? What if we used cannabis intentionally and crafted a dose to the desired experience? Those questions led me to become a certified cannabis coach and start weaving cannabis into my sexology work.

Over time, I realized that while cannabis could be a powerful tool, it wasn’t for everyone. I started exploring other ways to help people drop their defenses, reconnect with their bodies, and heal. That exploration brought me into meditation, breathwork, and Brainspotting—each of them profound in their own right.
Today, my work is both my passion and my pride. I hold space for people to be vulnerable, to be seen, and to reconnect with themselves—because I know how much I needed that myself.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has been anything but smooth. Following your passion and teaching self love and acceptance sounds like it should be simple, but in reality, it’s one of the hardest paths you can take. \

For me there have been some deeply personal things to overcome. Learning to love and accept who I am, and facing the uncomfortable truths that come with personal growth. It’s both the hardest and the most rewarding part of life. I’m grateful to be in a place now where I not only accept and love myself but also look forward to the next evolution of who I’m becoming.

From a business standpoint, one of the biggest challenges has been visibility and perception. When I launched my practice, I wanted to bring together all of the modalities I’m passionate about—sex coaching, massage therapy, cannabis coaching, Brainspotting, meditation, and breathwork. But combining these often leads people to jump to assumptions. Many think I’m “just a sex worker who hands out drugs.” To be very clear: I believe sex work is valid, healing work and should absolutely be legalized in the U.S.—but that’s not what I do. My work is about coaching, healing, and embodiment. Unfortunately, people don’t always ask questions—they make assumptions.

Because of that stigma, I’ve run into roadblocks everywhere: opening a business bank account, finding office space, even running ads. Social media platforms and marketing outlets often reject my ads within minutes simply because of the words “sex” or “cannabis.” Those barriers have been frustrating, but they’ve also pushed me to get creative and find new ways to connect with the people who need this work most. The journey hasn’t been easy, but the work itself has been worth every challenge.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My practice is called Cannabased Coaching & Wellness, where I offer a range of services: sex coaching, massage therapy, cannabis coaching, Brainspotting, meditation, and breathwork. Each of these modalities can stand on its own but (with the exception of massage and sex coaching) some of my offerings can be combined creating extra paths for holistic care. I meet people where they are and offer the modality that best supports their needs.

While I value all the services I provide, my deepest passion is sex coaching. That’s where I see the most profound transformation—helping people navigate vulnerable moments, identify the blocks in their path, and move through them with the right tools.

What I’m most proud of is the honor of holding space for people in their hardest times. Sitting with someone when they feel unseen, helping them find their way forward, and watching them step into their own strength is incredibly gratifying.

What sets me apart is how I integrate different modalities—whether that’s cannabis for embodiment, Brainspotting for trauma release, or meditation and breathwork for grounding—always in a way that’s tailored to the client. I don’t offer quick fixes; I create a safe, nonjudgmental space where people can explore, heal, and be fully seen.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
No, but I do think that because my work is so layered it is best to read all about it through website. https://cannabasedcoachingandwellness.com/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cannabasedcoachingandwellness.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cannabased