As a child of the 60s, Phil Jergenson, a natural-born problem solver, was obsessed with engineering gadgets and tools. Heavily inspired by the James Bond devices of the time and a stack of Popular Mechanics magazines, he set out to make his mark. From a young age, he knew that inventing was the fastest and easiest way to the riches he dreamt of. He and his brother Richard were raised in Willits, California, the counterculture epicenter for hippies and weed-heads alike. Willits, often called “America’s Amsterdam,” was renowned for its unbelievable cultivating conditions, blessed with its rich and fertile terroir. The town felt like another planet entirely. Dreamers would leave behind their rigid, uptight lives to light up a joint in what most stoners considered paradise. Throughout his upbringing, Phil was raised to believe weed and psychedelics were malevolent forces, but as he matured and got a taste of the smoke, he acknowledged the widespread villainization of the plant that, for Phil, “has the power to unlock the innate creativity we all possess.” This instilled two values in a young Phil Jergenson’s maturing mind: one, the government isn’t always on your side; and two, weed isn’t so bad after all. In fact, Phil was convinced the legalization of weed was only a year or two away… in the 70s! With these notions in mind, he put his unparalleled engineering prowess to work on designing the perfect weed pipe in Willits.

Several trials and errors later, Phil created his first prototype for what would later become the iconic Proto Pipe. Never once did he feel like he was an outlaw breaking the rules; instead he felt like a messenger. He was someone who wanted to make this harmless habit into a streamlined, tidy experience.

Phil poured himself into the design of the pipe. It would hold all his best ideas, its widgets and gizmos: like the storage pod that holds a gram or two, the solid brass bowl with a permanent screen to secure the contents, a removable resin trap, and a poker with an ultra-hard steel tip that pokes any residue and debris from your bowl and screen. The precisely cut brass poker fits snugly into the bowl’s holes, making it incredibly easy to clean so every toke tastes like your first, (a personal badge of pride for Phil). Not only will the Proto Pipe withstand all time, but it will become the staple of your toker toolkit. This was a groundbreaking invention at the time—Phil knew he was onto something big.

But, early on, sales never seemed to catch up to costs. In fact, Phil was on the edge of giving up when he bought a small ad in a 1972 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. The ad earned him triple its cost in profits! As hundreds of orders for the pipe poured in, he knew his time had come. The Proto Pipe legacy was on the horizon and in 1973, Phil recruited the help of his brother, Richard.

While walking the street one day, a man approached Phil claiming he knew how to market the pipe, but instead, he stole Phil’s samples to sell as his own product in local headshops. Overnight, cheap knockoffs started to appear made with cheap metals and parts that were awkwardly crammed into imprecise grooves. Nobody could replicate what made the Proto Pipe so desirable: reliable durability.

This uniqueness garnered the attention of the talented cannabis cartoonist Larry Todd. The brothers immediately recognized that Todd’s whimsical and ethereal sketch style perfectly captured the essence of the Proto Pipe brand. Without hesitation, they made him the brand’s resident artist. Perfected engineering paired with world-class hand drawn ads proved to be the winning recipe. Together, the trio cemented the Proto Pipe in cannabis history.

However, this recognition in the weed world became just as much a curse as it was a blessing. When the business encountered unwanted scrutiny from the Reagan Administration.

“Although we all knew that the local, state, and national laws regarding cannabis were unjust, it was during the Reagan era of ‘Just Say No’ that the heat of doing business–that is, making and selling pipes–had become not only worrisome but could potentially cost us our freedom! In 1982 the Supreme Court gave the states and local governments the right to regulate or ban stores that sold drug paraphernalia. Basically it was up to each community to decide whether it wanted a head shop or not. We knew we’d have to fight hard to keep Willits the center of gravity for not just culture, but cultivators. We crafted a petition and after hundreds of signatures supporting our business, we were able to stay in Willits and c ontinue making and selling the pipes by mail-order. We were saved!” The heat was finally off and they could pour their energy back into their baby.

Nowadays, the pipe remains iconic and a staple of the stoner lifestyle, a nostalgic relic from an era of rebellion and revolution that holds its own today as solidly as ever. The pipe has seen a recent resurgence in younger outdoor enthusiasts because, as Phil notes, “It’s highly portable, has all the tools that are needed, and you can toss it in a backpack or pocket and not worry about it creating a mess or getting broken.”

ONE INVENTION LEADS TO ANOTHER

As the highs got higher, their creative minds expanded too. During their time producing pipes, the pair of brothers were deeply influenced by Ken Isaac’s book; “How to Build Your Own Living Structures.” They began to embrace a new and improved way of engineering: they called this philosophy grid beam. As Richard aptly notes, “Grid beam is a modular, reusable building system that is fast and easy to use, affordable, and virtually goof-proof. It requires no shop or any specialized tool, all you need is a wrench! Interchangeable

pieces and bolt-together construction make project assembly simple. Projects can be knocked flat, making them easy to transport. Since the pieces can be used over and over again, grid beam is easy on both your wallet and the environment.” With only a few tweaks of the wrench, using all the same components, you could transform a bookcase into a car! Grid beam acts as an industrialized, adult Lego set.

As time went on, Phil, a self-proclaimed futurist, committed himself to the betterment of society. He tackled projects that could solve the financial imbalances of working-class Americans.

Phil knew the combination of grid beam and a passion for streamlining life’s complexities would lead to powerful, real-world applications for his inventions. He would begin with an electric scooter (an idea that has taken off in recent years with brands like Bird and Lime), while Richard began prototyping a loft/bed with built-in bookcases, a creation still in use today, 50 years later!

In 2008, Phil and Richard partnered with Wilma Keppel to write the book ‘How to Build With Grid Beam.’ A Fast, Easy, and Affordable System for Constructing Almost Anything. Essentially, the book serves to inspire people to use the open-source grid beam technique so that their craft is as limitless as their imagination, to be shared with the world.

Phil’s favorite project from their grid beam Bible? Right now, that’s a quarter-scale electric-powered railroad, but he’s built everything from cars to beds to a solar-powered car and a fully functional Star Wars X-Wing. Richard’s favorite is the iconic “Sol-train,” the solar-powered train that ran from Willits to Fort Bragg in the nineties.

Phil likes to say, “Grid beam and the Proto Pipe were born from a similar realization: the need to improve two areas I’m passionate about—smoking cannabis and building. For me, cannabis has always been a tool to enhance focus, spark creativity, and think outside the box. In moderation, it has the power to unlock the innate creativity we all possess. The Proto Pipe was designed for microdosing, allowing me to take a quick puff, close the lid, and get back to designing. Grid beam makes building things seamless. And if I make a mistake, it’s easy to disassemble and rebuild.”