Blakk Tatted: How Pivot From Viral Skits To Tobacco-Free Hookah Built A Million-Dollar Empire

As part of our interview series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Blakk Tatted.

Blakk Tatted is the young music artist & social media star-turned-CEO behind Blakk Smoke, the revolutionary Hookah products containing zero tobacco and zero nicotine. Many will also recognize him as the “New Orleans Dip King,” crowned by his pioneering the “Dip Challenge,” & releasing the viral music single “Dip Witchaaa”.

After gaining a massive online following through his viral social media skits & art, famed New Orleans native Blakk Tatted realized he was putting money into the pockets of major corporations when he could be earning it for himself. This led to the creation of Blakk Smoke, his own unique line of Hookah products including his wildly popular Hookah vape pen.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I love smoking hookah, it’s one of my favorite things to do. I’ve never smoked anything else, not cigarettes, not marijuana — NOTHING besides hookah. I hated that despite never smoking anything else, I was still getting horrible side effects from smoking hookah with nicotine/tobacco. This made me passionate to create a healthier alternative to smoking hookah without the option of having to inhale nicotine and tobacco. That’s where I can honestly say it started for me. Now, I have a full hookah brand that specializes in products with absolutely no nicotine and no tobacco.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

One of the hardest challenges I faced when I started my journey was having enough inventory to avoid constantly selling out so quickly. I was clueless on the specifics of production and shipping which caused me to consistently sell out, only to have to wait 2–3 months to receive new inventory. I missed out on so many sales because of this.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

My customers; I have the best customers in the world and I am able to connect and share things with them. We truly are family — when they see me struggle, they give me the best advice and are there listening to me and offering suggestions. It’s amazing.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things today are far beyond what I could’ve imagined or even prayed for. The reason grit & resilience lead to my success is because I was adamant about not giving up. I never created a Plan B because Plan A had to work.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was doing preorders because I believed an inventory shipment would be delivered to me as soon as I ordered… actually, the shipment took much longer than normal. The lesson I learned is this: I don’t sell anything unless I already have my inventory in my warehouse, because all kinds of delays happen during transport.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I believe my customer service is top tier. I’ve myself never experienced customer service like mine. If I did, I would have given that company all of my money!

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Be different, stand out, create new products and don’t be afraid to take risks.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Yes, a good friend of mine @darealbbjudy made me open my eyes from the very beginning. She believed in me even when I didn’t think I was capable of any of this. Looking back at it is so crazy! I still wonder how did she even see this? For years she was hounding me to start a business and every time she saw me, she never stopped bringing it up. She put so much pressure on me to start, even publicly and in front of thousands of people. I was so embarrassed, at that point I was more so ready to start a business just to prove a point to her and to get her to leave me alone! But she truly created a beast in me, and for that I always thank her so much — I don’t think I can ever repay her for what she instilled in me early on.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Not only do I always give back, but I also use my struggles of where I come from for the people just like me to feel inspired and empowered to know that they too can succeed.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Owning a business is not easy at all. Some things you just won’t ever be prepared for, until you face the trial and error.
2. You’re actually going to be working more than you did at a 9–5 job. I’ve found myself working from 6AM to 12AM the next morning, nonstop, then back at it at 6am again.
3. Never give up, even when you feel like quitting. So many things occurred that I didn’t think were “normal” and I was telling myself, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” just to later learn that all entrepreneurs experience the same things. Maybe they experienced it in different ways, but a struggle is a struggle. Keep pushing and come out on top
4. You need a team — a really good one. Just because it’s your business doesn’t mean you’re good at everything. Hire others that are stronger in the departments that you are weak in. It’s ok to not know everything. You’ll be surprised at how believing in others and not exhausting yourself can benefit you much more than relying on just yourself.
5. Don’t underestimate yourself. Don’t say you can’t do or don’t think you can’t do something, if you can think it you can do it. There are so many things I’m doing now that I probably would’ve told myself “No way I can do that.” Now I’m living proof that it most definitely can be done.

Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

Just understand you will make mistakes and there will be tough moments and rough days. Soak up as much knowledge as you can from those experiences and avoid making the same mistake twice. If you do those things, you won’t have a need to cry.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Well, the internet has become a very toxic place, so if I can — and what I am trying to do — I would start a movement of everyone coming to social media only to inspire and uplift, not to bully, insult, or harass. We all need more love and positivity.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I can be reached on Instagram @blakk_tatted and @blakksmoke where I share my journey, @blakksmoke_ on TikTok & my website: blakksmoke.com.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!