Photo Credit: Instagram

Today we review a local favorite: Gus’s Real Exotics.

Checking out one of their most popular strains: Stoned Island.

Purchased at House of Dank for $35.

Gus’s Real Exotics

Gus’s Real Exotics is a brand that came seemingly, out of nowhere.

You just started seeing the big, shiny, uniquely shaped prepacks on the shelves of your local dispensary. With their hard-to-miss cartoon bulldog, Looney Tunes adjacent logo.

Hype started surrounding the brand and I’ve heard nothing but good things myself.

Little is on the internet about Gus’s Real Exotics. They do have an Instagram page.

Gus, the dog also has his own Instagram as well.

I wanted to learn more, so I linked up with the owner of Gus’s Real Exotics.

Being a fan of the website, he agreed to doing an interview:

Interview

Photo Credit: Instagram

Gas & Middies: Welcome! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I started growing in a basement just a mile and a half away from our facility.

Gas & Middies: How did the brand get it’s name/mascot?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I bought Gus with the first money I ever made from weed. He’s been my partner ever since. I had the idea to call the brand Gus’s Real Exotics for a while… I thought him as a mascot would be appealing because everyone loves dogs.

Gas & Middies: Any details on your grow?
Gus’s Real Exotics: We hand water every single plant every single day. A brain (human) feels every flower plant and gives it the right amount of water she needs. That’s the key to yield, terps, everything. Not just letting it ride.

Gas & Middies: How did the unique bag designs come about? Who does the art?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I use a media company called Qonkur who have great designers. They help me with a lot of the designing portion but I think up most of the bags and find genetics to match or I have the genetics first and think of a good name and go from there. Some bags like Jolly Runtzer are Tiki’s design and name.

Gas & Middies: How did you get linked up with Tiki Madman?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I got linked up with Tiki because I just started communicating with him and told him I’d love to showcase his genetics here in Michigan. I saw all the Cali packs with him on there and said he needed to be on some fire Michigan packs too!

Gas & Middies: What is your top selling or signature strain(s)?
Gus’s Real Exotics: Top sellers: Stoned Island, Jolly Runtzer, and eventually I think the Now That’s What I Call ZA! is going to be up there too.

Gas & Middies: What makes a strain/batch exotic?
Gus’s Real Exotics: Everyone has a different answer for that. Some say it just has to be perfectly grown/cured weed, some say it needs to smell like candy or have the good sweet terps. It depends on you I guess. To me, its just great dope that’s cured very well and has a potent smell and taste. Needs to smoke well too. All has to come together.

Gas & Middies: Why do you think Gus’s has the cult like following that it has?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I really hope its just because the marketing is good and the weed is good! I had the idea to do Gus’s for years. I went through with it because I thought people would just love him… Gus is really not a normal dog. Everyone who meets him says he’s more like a person. Bulldogs in general have that personality but Gus takes it to a new level. I think its because how much I socialized him at a young age. I took him everywhere with me.

Gas & Middies: Any strains to look out for in the future?
Gus’s Real Exotics: Zoot Punch, Zabibi, Now That’s What I Call ZA!, Bubble Terp, Zaja Blast.

Gas & Middies: Biggest hurdle in today’s market?
Gus’s Real Exotics: Trying to move 8ths fast enough at my price point. Another hurdle that sucks as a cultivator is that dispensaries take weeks, sometimes months to pay you. But I have to pay bills and employees the second they’re due. Gets very hard.

Gas & Middies: How do you feel the Michigan market compares to California?
Gus’s Real Exotics: Cali is over saturated and is going to take a long time for it to calm down. Nearly impossible to make a name for yourself out there now. Michigan is said to follow California just years behind but idk about that anymore. Michigan is saturated too but a lot of growers got knocked out the last year. We’ll see.

Gas & Middies: Where do you think the industry is headed in terms of Indica vs Sativa flower? What do you select for effects/profiles?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I have no idea where the industry is headed. But if I had to guess I’d say more fruit terps. Candy terps. Just new stuff really. As far as indica and sativa goes I’ve had indica’s that make me hyper and sativas that make me sleepy. There are characteristics about both that we know, but its all just a spectrum… Or rather a human construct about plants that have nothing to do with humans.

Gas & Middies: Most played out strains in Michigan?
Gus’s Real Exotics: I dont think anything is “played out". Never been so sick of a type of weed that I cant enjoy it later. People are saying Runtz are played out but they still sell the fastest and get the highest price 🤷

Gas & Middies: Any cool facts/info about the Stoned Island strain?
Gus’s Real Exotics: To be super real, I do not know the Stoned Island genetics. It’s in the Runtz family I’m pretty sure. I just tried to think of the coolest name for it…. I was wearing some Stone Island pants. I said STONED island out loud. The rest is history!

Stoned Island

Stats

• THC: 26.55%
• CBD: 0%
• Produced By: Regency Specialties Inc. (AU-P-000295)
• Harvest Date: 06/15/23
• Tested by: Puer Labs
• Test Date: 6/26/2023

Review

👁️ Look

• Glistening with trichomes.
• Breaks down into angel feathers.

👃 Smell

• Spicy, sweet candy.

👅 Taste

• Fruity, gassy, floral.
• Gassy inhale.
• Floral exhale.
• Heavy hitter.
• Flavor sticks to your tongue.

Rating

If Gus’s Real Exotics does one thing better than most of their competition, it’s delivering terps!

The flavor on this one is like having Street Fighter’s Ryu, Shoryuken uppercut you in the mouth.

… but you’re still ready for Round 2.

Then like Mortal Kombat, you’re left swaying back and forth, with the announcer shouting “FINISH HIM!”

The flavor is loud AND packs a punch!

I don’t typically talk about effects, but this one affected me.

Prepare for a couch-lock with this one.

People on the internet (Reddit) have been quoted saying “Gus doesn’t miss”.

And on this one, they didn’t because this is:

Gas ⛽

Outro

Stoned Island was my introduction into Gus’s Real Exotics as a brand.

And what an introduction it was!

You can see why Gus’s has a cult-like following and why Stoned Island is their most sought after strain.

I would call us fans of Stoned Island: Island Boys… but that name is apparently taken:

The actual Island Boys.
Disclaimer: Not in any way associated with Gus’s Real Exotics.

Gus’s Real Exotics is a brand to watch.

I’m going to be on the lookout for the Now That’s What I Call ZA! drop, coming soon.

I want to send a special shout out to Gus’s Real Exotics for graciously doing the interview!

What’s everyone’s favorite Gus’s strain?

Any that you guys want to see reviewed?

Stay 😶‍🌫️