You're Just Jealous Because We Get High At Work!

There is an uneasiness in the air about this place called the HuB. Part of it comes from a school-yard style game of telephone being played throughout the community, where one person hears a story about what someone thinks it is, adds their own twist or interpretation and then passes an even more fragmented message to the next person about what they think the HuB is supposed to be. Never making an effort to understand what might really be happening behind the scenes, further perpetuating the ambiguity surrounding those of us who affectionately refer to ourselves as HuBsters.

It gets worse.

As if that wasn’t enough, the uneasiness is further exaggerated by the establishment types who do not understand the value of “culture” within a workplace. Those people who think that the way business has been done in the past is the way it has to be done moving forward and that in order to be successful as a business and productive as an employee you have to clock in and out, remain glued to your chair, be monitored while online, work in silence or any other variation of the lame ass work culture running rampant across corporate America.

These are the same people who love to live in labyrinths of cubicles, climbing the corporate ladder, clinging to their preconceived notions of what success should look like (wood panels anyone?). They will never understand the productivity that can come from a little creative freedom inside the workplace. From allowing creativity and culture to develop in the office environment and empowering employees to take true responsibility for the work they produce.

Sarasota is filled with these people so it is really no surprise that there is an uneasiness about what is happening here at the HuB. To them their small town is being infiltrated by weirdos with beards and tattoos who drink a lot and make way too much noise. They pretend to embrace a new creative culture while secretly despising anything that takes away from what they think this town is supposed to be.

My first meeting at the HuB.

I can remember my first formal meeting (can I even call it that?) with Rich Swier Jr. and David Daly. I had interacted with them briefly online, met them in passing once or twice before but had never really talked with either of them at any length.

There we sat, in the HuB conference room on different sides of a large table when I was asked if I liked rum. I thought it was a peculiarly irrelevant question until I said yes and was promptly poured a glass of rum to enjoy while the three of us chatted about my possible future involvement with the HuB.

I was pretty certain at that point that I would fit right in at the HuB. Not because we were having a drink in the middle of the day, but because the fact that we were doing so didn’t raise a single eyebrow.

[evidence]”I knew it would be a good fit for me because it was instantly apparent that this place was a little different than most. I didn’t know it at the time but it was exactly what I needed in order to take the next step on my entrepreneurial quest.”[/evidence]

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, getting high at work.

I will admit, some of the rumors are true. We have a pet alien or two, an inflatable rubber duckie that’s bigger than your bathtub and more than one or two loud interruptions throughout the average workday. There are motorized cooler races, comedic performances and there has even been talk about nerf wars on multiple occasions. You might walk in and find a yoga class going on in the video studio, get your toes run over by someone zipping around in the coolest roll-y chairs ever or you might walk in and actually catch someone hard at work.

Sure we party hard but we also work hard. There might be alcohol involved once in awhile and I know we are a creative bunch so there might be some other miscellaneous unmentionables taking place here and there but none of that has anything to do with what I am talking about when I say we get high at work. I’m not talking about a drug or alcohol induced high, I’m talking about a “we want to kick the worlds ass and we are actually doing it” kind of high.

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t just sit around drinking all day (even though it s not prohibited nor is it out of the question) we don’t sit around and burn incense and smoke weed while exploring the meaning of life ether. Mostly we just get shit done. I think the fact that we can be so uninhibited and still produce at the levels we do is frustrating to those who believe firmly in the status quo. People from the outside have trouble grasping what is happening on the inside because they can’t comprehend such a place. They can’t imagine a workplace where everyone is just plain happy. A workplace where no one is looking to duck out early or dreads running in to the boss in the hallways.

When I talk about getting high at work I mean that I actually look forward to going to the office every day, staying late, working on weekends and otherwise doing what needs to get done because I am working on something amazing with a group of people who are also doing amazing things. I am working on something that is bigger than me and not just playing my role or serving as a cog in another bureaucratic machine. I get high on a daily basis knowing that I am in control of my own destiny and to do so amongst a group of people as dedicated to that vision as I am is truly an intoxicating experience.

The quest for greatness is enthralling and addictive and it is no surprise this place is the talk of the town. We don’t play by the conventional rules, we don’t have managers or bosses, we just “do”! Each person something a little different but each of us on the same quest. The quest to find for ourselves what we couldn’t find in someone else or some other company. It’s as much a fraternity as it is office space and the community of businesses here at the HuB will be a defining factor in the future of Sarasota.

Come get high with us!

That being said I invite you to come, take a tour, get to know us. I think you will find that only the good rumors are really true and good luck finding a witness to prove the rest! We welcome those who want to be the change they are looking for in a company, a city, or even the world. We welcome those who are tired of sitting around waiting for someone else to do things for them or waiting for some politician to snap his fingers and make it all better.

You can find refuge with us and help us fight the good fight until the world gets to see what we have really been building this entire time. Just stop in sometime and say hi. Grab the first person you see in the hallway and ask what’s this place all about. We always have time for a quick tour, make a few introductions or answer a few questions. So come see us soon or keep wondering what the heck it is we really are about. Until then I’ll leave you with this question: