OpenNest Labs Unveils Afterdream and Pine Park with Esports Icon HECZ

Cannabis venture studio OpenNest Labs (ONL) announced two iconic drops: Afterdream—in collaboration with premium spirits brand AMASS Botanics—and fine quality cannabis brand Pine Park, in collaboration with esports entrepreneur and legend Hector Rodriguez aka @HECZ (or H3CZ). 

Sip Afterdream on the rocks with a splash of tonic water or in a non-alcoholic cocktail. Afterdream contains 3.5 mg THC, 3.5mg CBD and 3.5mg Delta-8 per serving, blended using 14 botanicals and eight terpenes—the result being a “limb-loosening, mind-mellowing sip that mirrors the feeling that comes from drinking a strong cocktail.”

Given the announcement of Pine Park, could this be where esports and cannabis collide? There are 3.1 billion gamers worldwide, amounting to a global market of $162 billion with a CAGR of 10.5 percent by 2026. Pine Park spearheads this vacant gap in the industry by directly engaging with HECZ’s network of millions of devoted fans—quickly becoming one the most anticipated cannabis launches this year.

“HECZ is co-founder, CEO and a lead investor in Pine Park,” ONL CEO Tyler Wakstein told High Times. “HECZ is one of the world’s most notable leaders in the gaming space. Not only is he interested in learning about the therapeutic potentials of cannabis, but he’s excited to use his platform and serve as both a tour guide and educator for his fans who are learning alongside him. HECZ has also been a great partner in that he’s passionate about bridging a gap between esports and wellness solutions by sharing his accumulation of knowledge about cannabis in a thoughtful way.”

Wakstein went on to explain that the esports star is fundamentally involved with every aspect of the business—from sourcing the flower, choosing strains from our farm partners, to creating content. The team is excited to continue developing THC and hemp products under the Pine Park umbrella with him in the months to come.

HECZ is a Call of Duty player and investor, currently the co-CEO of NRG Esports and the CEO of OpTic Chicago. With his expertise, plus the background behind AMASS, Afterdream is poised to shake up the esports and cannabis worlds.

Hector “HECZ” Rodriguez is co-founder, CEO and a lead investor in Pine Park. Photo Courtesy of Pine Park.

“Cannabis is, and always has been, an essential part of my life,” said HECZ. “Now that cannabis is legalizing, I wanted to responsibly introduce it to my community. OpenNest Labs understood my vision and helped me bring Pine Park to life. I’m thrilled to be working with their team, and together, we’ve landed on a brand and business strategy that’s become one of the proudest accomplishments of my career to date.”

ONL’s mission is to launch and incubate leading cannabis brands in innovation and expansion, but leading the development of creating an equitable global cannabis market—earning backing from investors such as M13, Babel Ventures, Coran Capshaw and more.

This will be AMASS’s first venture into the cannabis space after developing a portfolio of high-growth premium botanic beverages and self-care products.

“There are a lot of challenges that come with creating a beverage in the non-alc space—three of those things being education (addressed by Afterdream’s exclusive partnership with Sweet Flower in California), the drinking experience itself and liquid excellence,” Wakstein said.

“What’s awesome about working with AMASS and their master distiller Morgan McLachlan, is that she solves the liquid excellence problem; an area in canna-beverages that’s been completely disregarded. If any other cannabis beverage on the market took away the cannabis element, no one would enjoy sipping them. During the creation of Afterdream, we purposely took the opposite approach and started with a base formulation that goes through a rigorous distillation process, thoughtfully integrating botanics and terpenes that compliment each other, ultimately creating an incredible taste profile. The result is unlike anything else available on the market today.”

Wakstein went on to say that you can’t deny that more people are moving away from consuming alcohol and even joints on a regular basis—moving toward wellness solutions that are going to relieve stress, reduce anxiety or produce a euphoric high. “Cannabis is at the intersection of these desires,” Waksten said. “You can feel the excitement around the alternatives that are popping up on the market and it’s been inspiring to be able to guide the sober-curious toward a new possibility, the canna-curious.”

Afterdream is made in California and available exclusively at Sweet Flower both online and in all four southern California dispensary locations for $70.

With a genuine commitment to the equitable development of the industry, ONL and HECZ have conceived Pine Park from the ground up—bringing the world’s first esports cannabis brand to life.

Pine Park will be available for retail online and in-store in October 2021.

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