Kriti Mehrotra
With Hulu’s ‘High Hopes’ following brothers Slava and Mishka Ashbel, along with their core crew, as they look to expand their cannabis shop MMD, we get a reality series unlike any other. That’s because it gives us a complete insight into not only the intricate world of legal marijuana drugstores but also the rise of smokers across our nation, especially in Los Angeles, California. Amongst those to thus play a significant role throughout this original was actually one of MMD’s best budtenders, stoner artist turned sober creative being turned family man Jared Brady.
Who is Jared Brady?
Although Jared has never publicly revealed how old he was the first time he tried weed, he has admitted it was while he was hanging out by the beach, and the experience had him utterly hooked. He recently even told Cannabis Talk 101 that “it felt like I heard the ocean for the first time. It was a great experience and I haven’t looked back,” instead he joined the industry as a budtender. However, despite the fact this California native is happy to serve at MMD owing to the way the organization has supported him over the years, his dream was and still is to be a full-time music artist.
According to Jared’s own narrative, he was “living the classic struggling artist tale” for a long time before he was suddenly hired by MMD while serving as a waitress at a restaurant across the street. He once had zero connections, no understanding of how to break into the music industry, and was essentially at rock bottom without a stable roof over his head, but he managed to make it work. “In the midst of all that chaos, I Google-mapped a local studio,” he candidly said in an interview with Voyage LA in 2023. “I mean, we’re talking a good old 3-mile hike, all for a shot in the dark.”
Jared added, “So, there I am, standing at the studio doors, pounding on them like I’m auditioning for a zombie apocalypse movie. And guess what? Fate introduces me to Yonni. Now, Yonni’s no small fry; he’s a hotshot producer behind hits for the big shots today. With a gulp of bravery, I pop the question: Can I record here? Surprise, surprise – he says yes, but only when the studio’s collecting dust.” That’s when his luck changed – he managed to build some great connections, created a few catchy songs, and even ended up tying the knot with the woman of his dreams, Shan Boodram.
Little did Jared know that Shan (you might recognize her from ‘Too Hot to Handle’) would subsequently inspire him to dabble in content creation too, especially since that’s her bread and butter. He thus embraced the do-it-yourself approach, learning lighting tricks, music accentuation, video editing, plus much more from online videos before employing them in all possible projects. Therefore, of course, when he saw an opening with MMD launching a new brand in 2023, he approached his bosses with a song as well as an offer to take over their social media to expand their approach.
Where is Jared Brady Now?
Considering Jared’s unwavering determination, it comes as no surprise he’s absolutely thriving at the moment – he’s still a budtender, but he’s also a content creator and a full-fledged artist. His personal social media profiles are actually proof of the same, indicating he’s still involved with MMD while also engaging in projects with his wife Shan and making new music. His most recent singles include “Hunna Dola,” “Myself,” plus “Ships,” and every single one of them is a testament to his attention to detail by blending soulful melodies with relatable lyrics – they almost always offer listeners a cinematic, innovative, transformative journey.
Coming to Jared’s personal standing, the Los Angeles resident is still happily married to author/sexologist Shan Boodram, with whom he shares a toddler daughter as well as a young son. The truth is his wife was never really into drugs or marijuana, so the way he adjusted his habits for their life together without changing her or himself completely is a testament to the fact they match well. In other words, they’ve both compromised for the sake of their relationship, but they’ve done so in a manner that ensures zero resentment while building a lot of faith, trust, as well as understanding, making it clear nothing and no one can ever come between them.
Jared and Shan’s respective social media platforms are honestly proof of how much they mean to one another, especially with them celebrating every achievement or event and doing appreciation posts just because. Just one example of the same is the birthday post the former made for his wife’s 38th in April 2024, as seen above, and then there are his many emotional posts from the years prior in which he simply expresses every aspects of his feelings for her both openly and loudly.
In fact, in January 2024, Jared shared a creative montage to portray their relationship, alongside which he penned, in part, “It’s wild when I met you. Love felt simple. I always thought love was complicated, convoluted, hard, and exhausting. No one really understands it. To be honest, I used to doubt if love could even be real if it was simple. I know using the word ‘simple’ to describe love that has completely changed my life feels like a poor choice of words. But the safety, stillness, consistency, and ease of our love are the reasons why it’s oxygen to me. Life is hard, but loving you is easy… when I say loving you is simple, I really mean loving you is why I’m alive.
There’s also the April 5, 2024, post by Shan, wherein the first image is a cozy photo of herself with her husband, which she candidly captioned, “There’s a lot of hype about unconditional love (I’ll love you even if I don’t all the way like you) but can we get a round of applause for unconditional positive regard? It’s not something I knew to prioritize in my younger years and even though I didn’t know the term when I met @enjoyjaredbrady I did know for CERTAIN this was the experience I wanted for as long as possible and I now know this is the sentiment I will try to give my kids so they’ll know it’s what they (and all of us) deserve.”
Read More: Dani Martin: MMD Employee Now Has Her Own Cannabis Culture Brand
