‘Blazin Asian’ influencer hands out free weed
He’s living the high life.
Social media influencer Chris Kim – who goes by the nickname Blazin’ Asian, and has 50,000 online followers — earns $2,000 a month performing outrageous pot-smoking challenges and sparking up with strangers.
“I made my first money off Instagram when I was 18,” the 22-year-old college senior said. “I got $25 just by linking to some CBD company’s website. I thought, ‘Oh s–t. I made money from smoking weed – something I’ve been doing my whole life.”
In his most recent YouTube video, Kim, of Bergen County, NJ, and fellow influencer SpiceddieOG, visited Washington Square Park and stuck their heads inside five-gallon water jugs rigged up to a giant bowl.
Immediately after lighting the ganja, their faces disappeared behind clouds of white smoke, and 25 seconds later, they ripped the jugs off, coughing their lungs out and nearly puking.
“That whole experience was pretty intense, and I got high instantly, but honestly, we smoked a blunt, like, an hour later,” said Kim, who admits he smokes at least four times a day.
Public weed-smoking in city parks is illegal and tokers could wind up with a $50 ticket, but enforcement is at the police’s discretion. Two officers kindly asked Kim to take it out of the park and even gave him a pat on the back.
For his next stunt, Kim — who claimed he’s trying to cut back to spare his lungs irreversible damage — plans to encase his entire body in a giant empty fish tank and pump it full of smoke.
Kim’s fans come in all ages — 76-year-old Marcia Lawther gladly accepted a free joint as they crossed paths on West Third Street last week.
But others aren’t fans of his antics, worrying he has a dangerous impact kids.
“‘Cannabis influencers’ can only amplify the already widespread misapprehension among kids that because marijuana is legal in many states, THC is just as safe for their developing brains as it is for adults’ brains. It’s not,” said psychologist Pamela Paresky.
And for all his popularity, Kim said his parents – first generation South Korean immigrants – aren’t thrilled about their stoner son’s career going up in smoke.
“It’s going to take time for them to accept it fully,” he said. “I just want to get to a point where I can do this full time and make more money than with an office job. By then, it should be no problem at all for them.”
