Meet Eric Young of EY Consulting in West

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Young.

Eric, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up in Tennessee, I was never that interested in common sciences. In fact, if you had told me 15 years ago, my career was going to be based around chemistry and physics, I would have laughed it off. Although I enjoyed lab work and experimentation, I found the majority of the work mundane. Unfortunately for me (and my grades), accurate data collection and processing are fundamental aspects of scientific work and classes. Luckily years later, I’ve come to terms with this reality. After school, I started becoming more interested in cannabis and the industry surrounding it, as legalization took hold. I quickly became infatuated with ways to purify the cannabis I was consuming and began to learn the basics of resin extraction to separate the desirable constituents (cannabinoids and terpenes) from the undesirable plant matter. Concepts from my past, for which I had assumed would not reside in my adult life, were now at the core of this new, budding interest. When Colorado passed recreational marijuana legislation in 2014, I decided to join the legal industry by taking a job at an extraction laboratory. There I was able to master the basics of cannabis extraction and techniques of molecular isolation and manipulation.

As the business grew, so did the staff. I was able to position myself in a training role for new extraction technicians that were joining the team. I realized I had a knack for training people and conveying theory and techniques in an understandable way for someone new to the process. The machines that regulations require us to use for certain processes (referred to as closed loops) are sealed stainless steel vessels that offer a minimal view of what’s actually happening inside them. So being able to accurately understand and visualize what is happening inside the machines, via control of the variables you have access to, is crucial to the safe operation of the machines and the creation of a superior product. A few years and attempts at consulting services later, I was able to partner with one of the largest closed-loop manufacturers in the world. Through this partnership, I’m able to provide training services for the machines they produce. Outside of that, I am able to perform more in-depth consultations related to advanced extraction techniques, product formulation, laboratory workflow, etc. These training and consultations have allowed me to travel all over, including other countries where cannabis is legal. This has provided me with a unique perspective on the growth of the cannabis industry and has kept life interesting and exciting for me.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a fairly smooth road, but there have certainly been a few bumps. In general, the cannabis market is fairly volatile; brands coming and going with the seasons. Regulations constantly change and some businesses struggle to keep up. Sometimes when calling clients I could count on for repeat business, I would find they were no longer operating due to a change in the regulations of their local municipalities regarding one of the many facets of a cannabis business. The largest obstacle I’ve faced would be proving credibility in a burgeoning market where everyone claims to be an expert. Unfortunately, there’s a low amount of “real” research done in the cannabis community. For the most part, growers and hash makers like to keep their tips and tricks to themselves. This in turn, leads to a large portion of the community thinking they know better than the next person, which causes a real lack of shared data needed to create industry standards. There are countless other “consultants” in the cannabis industry, and businesses being able to connect with the right person has become increasingly difficult over the years. I am grateful that I have been lucky enough to be backed by some other respected industry professionals.

EY Consulting – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in all things relating to solvent-based production hash making. I have created a service that can provide assistance at any part of the process a specific laboratory is struggling with. Anything from equipment and facility layouts to increased workflow, packaging techniques, post-processing, product formulation, and training on just about any piece of equipment related to hash making. While I’m still operating on my own, I’m just happy and proud to have found my own way in such a competitive industry without many footsteps to follow in. I think what sets my services apart from others is my experience, the sheer amount of facilities I have visited and trained with my techniques in and the success those facilities are now having.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Defining success for me is complicated. I believe in order to be ultimately successful, every facet of life needs to feel successful. Not all at the same time necessarily. Luckily almost all these life facets carry basically the same criteria for achieving a “success” mark for me. Does it make me happy? Is it sustainable? Am I surviving at whatever comfort level I deem appropriate? Is it helpful to other people or the planet? If all of those are answered with a yes, then I would say the endeavor was a success.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 423-779-7711
• Email: eyoungmls@gmail.com
• Instagram: @ericandthefish

Image Credit:
Hash photo – Beezle Extracts, Photographer-Leo Nagle

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