After I introduced Mycopreneur Podcast in 2020, I got down to quilt the makers, doers, and unsung heroes using the worldwide mushroom area ahead one bootstrapped product and macrodose-inspired provider at a time. I sought after to platform and enlarge the folks using fungal innovation via sheer imaginative and prescient, stubbornness, and diligent execution, developing real-world worth for genuine folks – frequently doing so despite favorable odds or societal norms. Alongside the best way, I came upon {that a} hearty dose of humor and irony is going some distance in shifting past the “Psychedelic Bro” archetype and escaping the unbearable orbit of those that take themselves too significantly whilst looking to get the moolah out of the multiverse.
5 years later, the Mycopreneur motion has exploded globally along skyrocketing public passion in psilocybin mushrooms and implemented mycology by means of a phenomenon colloquially referred to as the “Shroom Increase.” I understand it appears like a spiritualized Al Queda reference, however the title has critical traction, so we’ll use it right here.
After greater than 200 long-form interviews with mushroom marketers from 40 nations and collaborations with dozens of communities and types all over the place the sector, it’s turn out to be transparent to me that mushrooms lend themselves to decentralization and neighborhood receive advantages way more so than hierarchy and regulatory seize. Sorry Chad. I’m so satisfied that folks in every single place are embracing mushrooms, as a result of as a society, we’ve misplaced our Morel compass (I simply turned into a dad, needed to).
At the forefront of the “Shroom Increase” are the mushroom marketers who force significant trade by way of providing treasured products and services and developing helpful merchandise that get followed and embraced by way of on a regular basis folks ahead of gatekeepers, profiteers and regulators even know what’s taking place. Finally, you’ll’t tariff the entice.
I wish to be transparent that this isn’t a “Best 15 Listing,” and given the context of prohibition within the majority of the sector, there are lots of very important participants to this box who by way of default are in large part not able to simply accept public reward and suitable reputation for his or her seminal contributions. I can proceed to thank them privately for his or her paintings by way of loading up at the quite a lot of mushroom candies, unique spores, and fungal accoutrements that they provide – I’m like a patron of the humanities, however for tripping.
This highlight on a valuable few of the Mycopreneurs shaping the worldwide mushroom motion is a consultant token of appreciation for the ones advancing the mushroom neighborhood and business ahead, one batch of liquid tradition (for microscopy analysis best!) and wook science step forward at a time.
Ezequiel Cruz (Mexico)
Ezequiel is the founding father of Fungaria, a neighborhood of mushroom marketers and educators devoted to rekindling the ancestral wisdom of untamed mushrooms in his local state of Chiapas, Mexico. Mexico is house to a minimum of 50 identified species of psilocybe mushrooms, making it host to one of the most densest concentrations of untamed psychoactive mushrooms of any area in the world. What you do with this data is as much as you, however please don’t percentage it with the Tuluminati.
The state of Chiapas itself has an estimated 50,000 mushroom species throughout its extraordinarily biodiverse ecosystems, with best kind of 2% having been known. Ezequiel and his staff at Fungaria arrange mycotourism treks and multi-day workshops that function forays into the highland cloud forests and steaming lowland jungles to assemble establish, and categorize wild mushrooms, in addition to culinary workshops and gala’s just like the 2d Yuy Fest mushroom pageant in collaboration with the bright Aleacion FUN and Symbioses organizations that simply happened July 18-20. He’s actively generating a documentary titled “Los Moní del Nangaño” concerning the culturally and ecologically essential Moní mushroom (Lactifluus chiapanensis) and the individuals who forage it within the Nangaño forests of Chiapas.
Cullen Clark (South Africa)
Cullen Clark is a citizen mycologist from South Africa who has trustworthy the ultimate 5 years to documenting the misplaced traditions of psilocybin mushroom use in Africa. He made headlines across the world ultimate yr for serving to report and give a contribution two new species of psilocybe mushrooms to science – Psilocybe ingeli and Psilocybe maluti – as a part of his analysis for the approaching documentary titled The Misplaced Muti.
Via his meticulous research of over 300 cave art work throughout South Africa and Lesotho along unique interviews with conventional healers and diviners, Clark continues to play a useful function in bridging the traditional and unheralded traditions of magic mushroom use throughout Southern Africa with the sector past. I ponder whether long run generations will glance again on our TikTok mind rot doomscroll content material in the similar means Cullen appears to be like to cave art work to piece in combination the misplaced traditions of our ancestors. Excellent good fortune with that, long run civilization.
Milica Radovic-Mandic (Serbia)
Milica is a serial entrepreneur who attracts from her intensive background within the tech and tournament manufacturing international to arrange world-class meetings connecting the mushroom and psychedelic communities. Her international psychedelics database at Bizdelics consolidates greater than 1,000 firms, organizations, folks and media houses energetic within the emergent psychedelic area to allow fast communications and cross-pollination amongst business stakeholders. It’s the second-best factor to simply tripping with someone else and exploring the vibe synergy. This database has been instrumental in shaping the release of her newest project, International Psychedelic Week, approaching November 3-9, 2025, which options representatives from 100 nations sharing globalized views on conventional mushroom practices, state-of-the-art analysis, and psychedelic advocacy amongst different subjects.
Robert Johnson (USA)
Robert Johnson is the Founding father of Mycroboost purposeful mushroom dietary supplements and a pace-setter within the psychedelic advocacy area who brings an extraordinary aggregate of high-profile industry acumen and selfless neighborhood spirit to the desk. That he manages to take action with out succumbing to the widespread perils of bat nation is exceptional. Via his contributions to supporting the wider mushroom entrepreneurial ecosystem building by means of product system, industry mentorship, and a collaborative ethos, he has cemented himself as a fixture within the mushroom area and a benefactor to many interested in it.
Shontelle Pinch (Jamaica)
Shontelle Pinch is a luminary on the earth’s best nationally criminal psilocybin mushroom business. She is the founding father of the CPG psilocybin mushroom emblem Make a selection Glad and the co-founder of Serenade Negril, a criminal psilocybin mushroom retreat in Jamaica. Shontelle brings over two decades of entrepreneurial enjoy throughout a couple of industries to the leading edge of the rising criminal psilocybin mushroom marketplace in Jamaica and is engaged in a large number of schooling and advocacy efforts underpinning the upward push of the business at the island and across the world. This can be a fancy means of claiming she loves to go back and forth and assist other folks go back and forth.
Maddalen Pasini (Canada)
Maddalen Pasini is the Vancouver-based founding father of YAWN, a psychedelic way of life and academic motion that introduced the primary psychedelic card recreation WARPED. WARPED is now bought in over 200 City Clothing stores places throughout america. Maddalen has shared that it used to be partially her stories with psilocybin mushrooms that helped her envision and release this card recreation, and in doing so she has helped to bridge the distance between mushroom schooling and popular culture in a a laugh and significant means. I’d move to a WARPED recreation night time over a white-linen ceremonial soiree gate saved by way of thousand-yard stare spaceholders any night time.
Caine Barlow (Australia)
Caine Barlow is the Founding father of Guerrilla Mycology, a platform devoted to mushroom cultivation, conservation and ethnomycology. Caine has made important contributions against the development of the mushroom neighborhood in Australia and globally via his journalism and advocacy, and is a co-founder of The Entheome Basis, which compiles a genetic database of entheogenic fungi and vegetation all over the world. When each and every different type of flora and fauna in Australia turns out hell-bent on killing you, it’s glorious to understand that quite a lot of psychoactive mushrooms are essentially there to kill your ego and no longer all of your self.
Reggie Harris (USA)
Reggie Harris is the founding father of Oakland Hyphae and the godfather of psilocybin mushroom efficiency checking out. He continues to provide high-profile mushroom occasions from coast to coast and across the world whilst keeping up a fierce independence and pronounced sense of social justice advocacy within the face of all haters. Reggie may be an excellent journalist who produces the HyphaeLeaks publication and podcast, which gives refreshingly original and truthful research of the mushroom area and the rising psychedelic business. Is it truly an business despite the fact that? Extra like a pricey interest for many of the jokers in the market who burn via seed rounds and Sequence A’s quicker than I maintain a spliff after the height of a Hyphae Cup-winning cubensis pressure.
Santiago Ongay (USA)
Santiago Ongay is the Co-founder of Complete Cover Genetics, a pace-setter within the mushroom genetics area. With easy industry savvy and energetic collaborations on a couple of continents, Complete Cover raises the bar on mushroom entrepreneurship from their homebase in Colorado whilst offering prize-winning mushroom genetics and turnkey develop baggage to any individual concerned with leveling up their yields and advancing their very own house mycology craft. Complete Cover swept a couple of class wins on the Colorado Psychedelic Cup ultimate yr, which I unquestionably would have additionally positioned first in had there been a class for rising Tricholoma.
Moudou Baqui (USA)
Moudou Baqui is a pupil of historic mushroom traditions and a pace-setter of the According to Ankh entheogenic church in Detroit. He attracts from an intensive apprenticeship with the past due Kilindi Iyi and his personal wealth of enjoy to steer folks via excessive dose mushroom journeys as a method of connecting with their private energy and sense of goal on the earth. Moudou has undertaken a large number of analysis journeys to the African continent to be told about initiatory rites involving psychoactive fungi and comparable practices there, and lectures across the world about mushrooms and the cultures that historically use them.
Darren Le Baron (UK / Barbados)
Darren Le Baron is a novel voice within the mushroom international – via his across the world famend “Shroomshop” mushroom cultivation workshop, he has taught folks all over the place the sector how one can develop mushrooms whilst concurrently instructing them in a light-hearted and humor-driven container concerning the folklore and traditions of psilocybin mushroom use in quite a lot of cultures. Gazing Darren in his component is an enjoy that everybody must have of their lifestyles, and when the display is over, you’ve realized how one can domesticate your personal medication. When you’re ever in London and are fortunate sufficient to fulfill him, see if you’ll get him to take you to the most efficient bagel store round.
Aixarret Hernandez and Maximilian Esparza (USA)
This younger and extremely dynamic duo at the back of Myceliumatters has had an oversized have an effect on within the mushroom entrepreneurial area regardless of nonetheless being of their early twenties. I’ve macrodose tales older than those two they usually’re lapping me at the myco industry entrance. They’re the mavericks at the back of the Texas Mushroom Convention, the Santa Monica Psychedelic Summit, the El Paso Fungi Fest and extra whilst additionally managing to run a CPG purposeful mushroom emblem and attractive in psilocybin mushroom coverage reform advocacy in a couple of states. Even with reputedly never-ending irons within the fireplace, they come what may take care of a particularly comfortable and approachable demeanor and at all times appear to have a brand new undertaking at the horizon – will have to be the mushrooms.
Giuliana Furci (Chile)
Giuliana Furci has earned her name as “L. a. Reina de Fungi” via many years of advocacy efforts beginning in her local Chile. She introduced Fungi Basis in 2012, setting up the primary fungi-focused NGO on the earth. Some of the many achievements of the group had been the a success implementation of mycologically-inclusive language in Chilean governmental frameworks that acknowledge Fungi as a definite and separate lifestyles type than Fauna and Plants (Fauna, Plants, Funga), the roll out of mushroom schooling curriculums in a large number of faculties international, and ongoing collaborations with a couple of environmental analysis and conservation organizations globally. Fungi, so scorching in Chile at this time.
Jacob Inform (USA)
Jacob Inform is the founding father of District216, a membership-driven psychedelic social membership. The District216 circle of relatives has produced a large number of sold-out occasions in a couple of towns and made an enormous remark by way of drawing 1500 folks to the hot Psychedelic Playhouse tournament in June of this yr. In an area this is in large part nonetheless in criminal limbo due to a disjointed patchwork of coverage and rules throughout quite a lot of towns and states within the U.S., social golf equipment like District216 be offering some way for folks to connect to different mushroom marketers and psychedelic activists in a protected and extremely curated environment that comes with are living track, skilled presenters, and an impeccable environment. I even as soon as idea I noticed Tom Waits at a District216 tournament in a decrim town, however then I remembered the Neutropics mushroom chocolate I ate and learned it used to be simply me having a look within the replicate.
Christian Rasmussen (USA)
Christian Rasmussen is the founding father of Minnesota Great Ethnobotanicals, the main Amanita muscaria mushroom purveyor in the USA. He’s like a opposite model of Mario within the mushroom kingdom – as a substitute of eating all of the shape-shifting inducing fungi himself, he passes them alongside to others so they may be able to enjoy the feeling of feeling tough and able to tackle some Goombas.
The enduring pink and white “Fly Agaric” mushroom has lengthy suffered from misrepresentation and incorrect information in even the headiest of psychonaut circles; Christian and his staff have made giant waves in effectively destigmatizing and demystifying the enigmatic Amanita muscaria mushroom to a extensive target audience via diligent sourcing, cautious preparation, and incessant schooling on how one can maximize receive advantages and mitigate discomfort with ‘the opposite magic mushroom.’ I really like Amanita muscaria microdoses — every so often I’ll take 10 or 15 of them concurrently. Don’t attempt to stay up; continue with warning and know your personal limits.
Within the 5 years that Mycopreneur has been round, I’ve witnessed an infiltration of the nascent mushroom and psychedelic areas by way of monied pursuits and robust actors intent on extracting the utmost quantity of worth out of this rising business with out paying respects to the legacies of conventional use and the wider possible of mushroom entrepreneurship to enhance high quality of lifestyles for untold numbers of folks across the planet without reference to their social standing or buying energy. While the luck of the Mycopreneur platform has been constructed on serving neighborhood pursuits and offering worth to folks via nuanced and unbiased protection of mushroom entrepreneurship very best practices framed in a hearty dose of satire, the rising psychedelic business oftentimes appears to be like extra like a money grasp by way of a coterie of Johnny-Come-In recent times’s who prioritize hierarchy over decentralization and benefit over public receive advantages. It’s my lifestyles’s undertaking to proceed development out the infrastructure for a really decentralized and mutual aid-driven mushroom entrepreneurial neighborhood – as a result of when the sources and data base for efficient mushroom entrepreneurship are made to be had to everybody, the price that may be created is aware of no bounds. And so far as the jokes move – I’m right here for humorous industry, no longer humorous industry.
Lead picture by way of Leon Wu on Unsplash. All different footage supplied by way of the respective folks featured.
