Vancouver a hotbed for heady glass pieces
> BY AMANDA SIEBERT
Most cannabis users have a story about their first homemade smoking contraption: remember that water bong you made out of a pop bottle in Grade 11?
Fortunately, Vancouver’s obsession with all things cannabis means there’s no need for DIY smoking devices. Consumers in this city have access to some of the best glass in the country.
Since 1995, Wes Kuitenbrouwer and Moss Tomlinson of Puff have been working closely with renowned glass artists from across North America. Having been part of the scene for so long, Kuitenbrouwer says it’s exciting to see how designs and styles of pipes, bongs, and other pieces have changed during the past two decades.
Walk into one of Puff’s four Vancouver shops and you’ll find everything from a standard, scientificstyle bong with a beaker bottom (for about $150) to a one-of-a-kind recycler or dab rig that glows under UV light (for more than $1,000).
That might sound steep, but for a collector who sees a piece as a work of art rather than a way to consume cannabis, it’s just the tip of the (very expensive) iceberg.
“It’s hard to keep track of the styles, because the artists bring the trends,” he says. “When something is hot on the market, they’ll say: ‘Everything’s sandblasted this year,’ or ‘Everything is reactive to UV light.’
“Then people are trying to adjust their style to the trend before everything changes again or before it gets knocked off.”
Ignite Smoke Shop’s Rhiannon Chernencoff says that beyond the changes in styles, colours, and techniques in glass blowing, she’s seen the consumer base become much more aware of B.C.’S local talent.
“Glass blowing was much more of a ‘hippie’ thing in the early days, in that it wasn’t discussed or well understood,” she tells the Straight by phone.
“Ten years ago, you couldn’t find a third of what’s available now. There’s definitely been a real renaissance in terms of glass, and that’s been good for the consumer, because the price has gone down a bit, too.”
Both Kuitenbrouwer and Chernencoff say the rise of “dabbing”, or using concentrates, in 2012 opened the door to a shift, with some artists focusing on materials like quartz.
Those who aren’t in the market for a “heady” or fancy piece might look to a simple scientific import, like the cheap beaker bottom mentioned above. Although these pieces put function before visual appeal or quality, the rise of celebrity trademarking means that if you’d prefer to pay a little extra for a piece featuring the mug of Tommy Chong, Snoop Dogg, or one of the Trailer Park Boys, you can.
“It would be nice to see a celebrity put their name on something that isn’t import glass,” Chernencoff says, “but that’s why I like to sell work by local artists.”
variations, but Zalko’s preferred approach begins with 10 minutes on a treadmill. It starts with lowintensity slow walking for two minutes, then switches to high intensity for one or two minutes, then back to low intensity for another one or two minutes, and then back to high intensity (and so on).
At the end of 10 minutes, the person switches to an elliptical exercise machine. Again, the movements are adjusted between low and high intensities during one- or two-minute periods. Again, this lasts for 10 minutes.
Next, the person moves to the step mill, again interspersing low- and high-intensity exercises by adjusting the tension level. That’s followed by 10 minutes on a stationary bicycle.
One of the benefits of this approach is that it exercises different muscle groups. The Stairmaster and the stationary bike essentially train the body to move horizontally, whereas the elliptical machine and the step mill train the body to ascend.
Zalko said he devised this approach after seeing how much difficulty a friend had running a race from Ambleside Beach to the top of Grouse Mountain. “He couldn’t do the climb,” he said. “It’s a different workout. It’s a different muscle. It’s different breathing.”
The fitness guru has a warning, however. Anyone who gets involved in high-intensity interval training is going to do a lot of sweating. But he also noted that this type of exercise can produce 450 percent more human growth hormone than normal, which increases the burning of calories and slows down the aging process.
TEENAGERS WORKING OUT Zalko said that there are about 10 teenagers who come to his gym with the blessing of their parents. It thrills him to see these young people working out rather than texting, doing drugs, drinking, or playing video games and getting fat. “One of them wants to be a policeman,” he said.
TWERK AND AFROBEAT FITNESS
Miley Cyrus might be the world’s most famous twerker after her performance with Robin Thicke at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. But since then, twerk fitness has become a hot craze in Los Angeles. It’s as you can imagine: swivelling and jerking the hips while working the glutes, accompanied by some full-throttle music.
In 2018, Zalko will offer classes in twerk fitness at his gym. “Lots of ladies love it,” he said. “I wanted to spice it up a little bit.”
He’s also introducing classes in Afrobeat fitness, which will complement the zumba, boxerfit, Pilates, yoga, and early-morning indoorcycling workouts. “I like to see people reaching their goals, changing their lifestyle, and being happy for where they are,” Zalko declared. “That’s where I get my high.”