Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank J. Cheff.
Hi Frank J., can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Detroit and moved to Montana in my Jr. Year in high school. It made a profound impact on me and saw and did things that made me completely change what I thought, who I thought I was and what I might do in my later years. As a City kid coming to an extremely rural and completely different background gained an appreciation for farm & ranch work, all the various equipment and the ingenuity of the people that did that work. Not that I was going to be a farmer but the common sense lessons about self-reliance and preparing, growing and harvesting had an appeal since it was always challenging and frequently things went differently than planned. I loved animals and the care and even doctoring of animals also was a revelation for me. I guess the point is I got to experience a whole new world when really the world was relatively new in the first place to me. I love those people and friends I’ve gained along with all the ones from back in the days in Detroit which were supposed to be my formative years but turned out to be my first ones then Montana was another set in another direction. For me, everyday was an adventure, and of course the scenery. I recall many times, looking at the mountains and my fellow Montanan’s asking me what I was staring at, I’d ask “you’re kidding me right?”
I moved to Texas after my brother invited me to come to Houston after graduation from the University of Montana. I secured a job in two days as a recruiter. Now I’ll speed up and begin the story you really want to hear. I worked in Houston for a year as a headhunter before landing a job with an international courier company. When I saw their logo with A man running with a briefcase in front of a Plane. I knew that company was for me. Five years earlier, I made a USA Wrestling exchange team to compete overseas and got the travel bug after ten days in the fabulous country of Morocco, before that I’d only been to Windsor, Canada. It was my second most impactful move after Montana. The smells, the food, the texture of life was both a cultural shock and epiphany. So raw, so human so wondrous. There and then I knew I wanted to travel and not just for pleasure. I want to work where people and places were a part of it. Buying and selling who knows but I was going to figure it out. Back to the TNT Express Worldwide’s logo, when I saw it I knew it. I worked for them a year in Houston and proposed to them how they could expand into Austin, TX while I was just their telemarketer. My seminar/luncheon idea worked and UT, Tracor Aerospace, Electro Mechanics and three other lesser-known companies wouldn’t leave until we promised we would start doing business with them that next Monday. At the time, we had just broken the monopoly that the USPS had on mail leaving the country. Back then no one had faxes, the internet? Please, although we had a satellite system and Telex, so we could real-time type and see the other person typing back kinda like texting but you could see them type & correct so you knew what they were saying before they finished. It was an awesome internal chat system that saved us a ton of time and was a big advantage in the early nineties.
So the seminar worked out and six and a half years later, I was the branch manager here in Austin. I left TNT after 13 and a half years while there were big changes in the transportation industry. I joined a new innovation in the US that was basically zone-skipping mail to destination and using Bulk mail postage but still achieving first-class transit times of 2-4 days. In essence the last mile of the delivery is done by the USPS. It was yet another arbitrage which is a fancier word for the current term of disruption. Changing something in the normal cost structure where everyone did it that way but now it this new way because the inventor was so successful at it. Both eras of that part of my career were “intrepreneural” All the companies I’ve worked for until we were purchased by UPS were like this, TNT actually called it that, which meant you are responsible to know the answer to any clients question, so find out, ask questions now and understand what a client could possibly need to know…and you were empowered. Very powerful but also if there was no one around to answer or approve the request, you were empowered to do so to the best of your ability. Which is a lot easier to describe and do than you think. It took me forever to get that and believe it was up to me to decide in the moment. I have never thought of running an operation any other way since. I think it’s not only the employees responsibility but the managers responsibility to prepare your staff for the inevitable and to share the consequences because you both failed… After my company RMX was purchased by UPS in 2001, I knew that eventually there was something else for me. But they kept paying more and giving me more responsibility until I was responsible for a portfolio of over 30 Million dollars annually and had no time for prospecting for new accounts. I had JCPenney, HSN, Scholastic, Express Scripts, Even Hallmark & Mary Kay.
However UPS was a very serious place to work, and working for a mail-centric division and having to work with my colleagues in the package division who despised the USPS as their mortal enemies became an incredibly unpleasant place to work. To be verbally mocked and even heckled by the arrogant group of my colleagues because we were not considered “The Core” business we were simply a threat to the courier side of the business. At the time, we estimated that the “Last Mile” business, that we were in, was worth about 15 – 20 billion dollar business, we were way off it’s probably closer to 40… I began to leave, by beginning my import business quietly in 2008 in my spare time. Sure enough by 2010, I had a target on my back by having achieved pension-eligible. I got married in 2006 and on a wedding trip to Thailand I happened to grab a book on Cannabis by Martin Booth called “Cannabis A History”. It covered a wide range of topics from the typical law enforcement and subversion and political subterfuge which the later pissed me off. The more I realized that this relatively harmless substance became outlawed throughout the Western world and the devastating effect it had on people and economies. The more I read the more I wanted to know more. When I arrived in Thailand, I saw hemp products everywhere. I began reading labels and searching where these materials were coming from. China primarily but other countries too that never bought into the Western pressure to criminalize the plant, which caught up Hemp(I-Hemp) for fiber. I-Hemp is Marijuana’s useful cousin, both are cannabis. Today people refer to it as Industrial Hemp to confirm or distinguish a different benefit rather than Hemp’s medicinal cousin. So I looked worldwide and discovered that many countries never adopted the American criminalization of the Cannabis plant and industry.
Except for the war effort during WWII most Hemp had not been grown since the DEA back in the 30s needed a scapegoat and used Hemp with their fake news campaign to demonize the little understood plant based on the racist horrors of Jazz musicians & brown American immigrants. In my search for sources, I was happy to know that many Western countries besides most Eastern countries that depended on Cannabis never gave in to the American disinformation campaign. Countries like China, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Nepal, Thailand, Mongolia, etc. were not subject to or threatened by the loss of aid funds if they didn’t capitulate. In spite of this strong-arming by the Americans, the plant survived and has prospered and advanced in many forms other than the traditional rope, paper & textiles. I discovered that people were building with hemp, they were using it for animal bedding and the fibers for thermo injection molding for the auto industry and then testing was going on in Universities worldwide for Hemp Graphene, Hemp Bio Polymers, Hemp Plastics, etc. Back in the 30’s Popular Mechanics listed Hemp as the next billion-dollar industry. At the time, they estimated that there were 10,000 possible uses for hemp or products. Now it is approaching 30,000. There are very few products that cannot be made from hemp. From Water bottles to Tesla car batteries and computer circuitry. This is a long story but once I went down the rabbit hole of Hemp, I’ve never returned and stayed for an extended exploration. I learned something everyday and committed by 2008 that I was onboard and a card-carrying hempster. I first started with Importing raw bolts of Hemp blended textiles and finished goods from Australia, China & Nepal who I had narrowed down my search and found like-minded sustainable sources. With my background in logistics, I was able to reduce the transportation costs and rely on colleagues to navigate import embargoes, etc. which molded where I sourced and what I imported. The most important thing that I found was Hemp, the agricultural product was not illegal, it was only illegal to grow it and to transport the live plant.
To my surprise hemp was duty-free because no company in the US feared hemp anymore, they succeeded; they in essence had killed the hemp industry and reduced the product to a novelty. From that epiphany, I dedicated my whole being to the return of the plant to North America. In this journey, I have found countless like-minded hempsters doing good work on the same journey who were instant friends and allies and not competitors and rivals. Although that has crept into a few of my partnerships over the early years. Once I decided to establish a mantra of Cooperation-Collaboration & Inclusivity! This mantra is our guiding light in every conversation, every partnership and every decision has been easier and obvious to all partners. It is a form of “In”trepreneurism meaning that if we train our employees properly the answer and the solution is obvious and most importantly they are empowered to make the decision on the spot and in the absence of one of the partners/owners/executives. It’s their responsibility to prepare all employees to make the right decision and we will own the repercussions if the decision was wrong or has repercussions. We all own how everyone responds to any daily challenge.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, nothing is smooth. I suppose that’s why the multinationals have not filled the void and it’s very entrepreneurial. We have seen that being an island in this industry is a mistake and that it takes many cooperative relationships and alliances in order to survive and attack some of the hurdles, especially the political & legal ones. Due to staunch beliefs and commitment to the cause, it is easy to take on Bad Partners. I’ve had a few that were narcissists or looking back, were of very high opinion of themselves and thought they were not getting the recognition they were due for their efforts thus far in the tiny, tiny, tiny hemp community. I found that recognition just comes with critique and microscopic scrutiny of every mistake and nothing of course for successes. We made some inroads in 2017 after I joined a team in 2015. As we made great progress and gained attention, our leader was poisoning the well by ego and unnecessary competitive clashes with top people in the field that we had begun to attract and we were only spinning our wheels instead of advancing. We, the other partners, agreed that one that we could not lift this industry alone and being an island was unsustainable. We knew that if the entire Industrial hemp industry advanced that this wave would float our boat too. We agreed with the new Mantra and it became obvious that the one sole holdout was now on a raft and literally on an island in Hawaii who abandoned our warehouse in Cold Cold Michigan to begin trying to start an umbrella company that we would be part of, which was painfully obvious was again about ego. Ironically our intern who at the time took over our warehouse learned everything and flourished to become today our Chief Operating Officer which is the real story here, not mine.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Chanvra Materials?
We Represent a cooperative of over 500 Regenerative Hemp Farmers who own their own processing plants. We have a network of distributors and warehouses in the US that supply Hemp Hurd and Hemp Fiber. There are two main uses for Hemp Hurd, the interior core of the hemp stalk. This cellulose interior is an excellent animal bedding primarily because it is about 5 X’s more absorbent than pine shavings, it also has virtually no dust. Our Brand is “Aubiose”, the world’s no. 1 Equine brand. Also, Hemp Hurd is a great insulator and we have a formulated hurd that is finer cut and sifted to qualify as a Building Grade Hurd that is the only certified building grade hurd available in the USA. The certification does not yet exist in the US either, it is a European Building Union certification. The combination of Hemp Hurd, Lime and Water and applied as insulation between a structures stud framing is called “HempCrete” & in some places “Hemp-Lime”- this is becoming quite popular in the USA and is a great, natural insulator that is Pest resistant, Mold resistant, fire retardant, (Will Not Ignite or Spread) and of course is carbon negative even if shipped to destination. It provides a clean feel inside the room and does not off-gas any toxic chemicals like modern construction materials do. It also filters the air and regulates humidity. Hempcrete is not structural or load-bearing. You still frame your house exactly the same way you do today. A way that I’ve learned to describe the process as “Hemp Insulation Installation” We provide a number of other products from the plant in one big category and that is from the outer fiber of the hemp stalk that is used for Rope and textiles as well as 20% of BMW’s car panels currently made in Germany. Also, one new product that we introduced in North America back in 2017 that is enjoying much success is our Hemp Mats. This is loose fiber that is non woven, meaning not a textile and is pressed into 750-1000Gsm Mat that can be a medium for germinating seeds and is popular inside 10″ x 20″ nursery trays for people to grow microgreens with. All you do is add water, put it into the dark and 4-7 days later you have delicious, nutritious microgreens that you grew and now are on your windowsill for adding to dishes, sandwiches and salads. A handful of broccoli microgreens, for instance, has more nutrients than a whole head of broccoli. Crazy right? Micro greens are a superfood and hugely popular in cities like Austin, Boulder, Missoula, Eugene, Boston, Portland, etc.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Detroit 1960 – 1976, Montana 1976 – 1984, Houston 1984 – 1986, Austin – 86 – present
HS Athlete & College Scholarship athlete in Wrestling. for Montana State. Finished studies at University of Montana w a BS in Finance.
Grew up in Detroit in a big family and even bigger extended family. I’m one of 77 first cousins on one side of my family, I have 100 first cousins… My father is one of 14 and nine of them lived in Detroit and five in Montana. The ones that lived in MI bought a farm together, so we all grew up going to a working farm on the weekends and during the summer. We had a fabulous time exploring the barns and orchards and ponds of that place. It stayed in the family for nearly 60 years. I was a hyperactive kid and so that was a great outlet and we made the most of it. After moving to Montana, I got to work on the Ranch my Grandfather lost in the depression. My cousin had just bought it and I was a ranch hand for the next eight years. I learned to ride a horse, load a pack mule and run farm equipment. I guess I was sort of a cowboy. One of my proudest moments was breaking my own colt and riding him around the coral. I remember I was bucked off on the first attempt and my brother saying ,“You’re getting back on!?” 🙂
Montana was a beautiful place, but it was a tough place to make a go during the depression so my grandparents left and moved to where there were plenty of French Canadians in Detroit. That’s how my Father who was born in Montana came to grow up in Detroit. My younger brother’s life was the exact reverse of both 13 when they made the mirror moves. My brother now lives in a three-story log cabin he built over 20 yrs ago. Last story that I remember is my GrandMother being asked by a lady at her boarding house. She asked, “Why did you ever leave Montana?” She replied simply, “You can’t eat the mountains” As I saw the opportunities were somewhat limited, I explored my possibilities in Phoenix, Flagstaff or LA when I was offered a chance to stay with my brother in Houston to see how I liked it, I took him up on it. I’m sure my father put him up to it, but I’m sure glad he did. Although I liked Houston some, I yearned for freshwater lakes and hills and found Austin to foot the bill, so I’ve never left.
Contact Info:
- Email: frank@chanvra.org
- Website: https://www.chanvra.
org - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/chanvra/ https:/ /www.instagram.com/chanvra. grow/ https://www.instagram. com/chanvra.pet/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/rawchanvra/ https ://www.facebook.com/ aubiosehempbedding & https:// www.facebook.com/chanvrapet/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
AubioseBedding - Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=2hecBJ6__9g&t=9s - Other: https://aubiose.us
Image Credits
Emily Paige Pereira
