This video interview with AmeraVape founder and owner Erik Hutchinson is very different from the usual RPadTV vaping interview. It’s mostly unedited and much longer than the video content that I usually post. As many of you know, AmeraVape — creator and manufacturer of the popular Manhattan mechanical mod — has been embroiled in several controversies. There are a lot of strong opinions about the company. Some of the opinions are justified, while some are the result of misinformation. Given AmeraVape’s controversial position, I jumped at the opportunity to film Erik answering some user-submitted questions.
The focus of this piece is all about your questions. That’s why the video is mostly unedited and that’s why it’s so long. Overall, I think it’s a very interesting piece. Erik clears up some of the misinformation that’s floating around out there and explains why AmeraVape does some of the things it does. Having said that, there are a few bits that will probably result in some more controversy for AmeraVape.
Just so you know, Erik was not given the questions prior to the interview. I wanted to get his spontaneous reactions to the questions. For the most part, I stayed out of the way and let him answer as much as he wanted to. I started and ended the video with some topics to add some context, and I did follow up on one of the user-submitted questions (and yes, I did crack some goofy jokes a few times because…I can’t help myself). At the end of the day, the vast majority of the video is Erik answering the questions that were submitted.
While I was conducting the interview, I found myself learning more about the company and learning new information about some of its controversies. That’s what I hope the video does for you; I’m not trying to change your opinion about AmeraVape — just trying to help you get additional information to come to your own conclusion. Naturally, I’d love to get your thoughts on this AmeraVape interview and Erik’s answers. Please leave a comment and share your thoughts when you have a chance!
Special thanks to Monster Vape Lounge for letting us shoot at the shop and hang out!
That dude us a PR nightmare….I read on Reddit where they said that Batteries primarily vent only from the negative ends?? And also that they designed their mods battery tube to be low to no oxygen ?? Twisted 420 called it correctly, 100% Assclowns @ Ameravape
This guy is so full of crap. His story about what happened with the “faulty” non-original mods being sold has changed so many times. He can’t even keep his lies straight. Also, No Insurance Company on the planet would worry about liable action from a product their client didn’t sell. Let me explain this to you Erik. You have a product, you sell it, and it’s faulty. It then blows up, you are liable for the insurance claim. Now, lets say, someone else sells a product and claims if yours, it is faulty and it blows up on someone. You are not liable for it! You as a business, I’m sure, have a savvy practice in which you keep records. It would be easy to prove you didn’t sell that person that product, or that that person didn’t buy that product from a vendor you certify as a re-seller. If you didn’t or don’t do these things, then I guess you’re just as ignorant as everyone thinks and shouldn’t be running a business.
Let me give you some advice. Keep your mouth shut. If you had a decent lawyer and not some joker you made up, he would have told you the same thing the moment you threatened Todd. Keep your mouth shut and not say another word to anyone, just make mods and sell them, stop talking to the public. If you had, this would have blown over and everyone would still be circle jerking off to your “Competition Mod.”
Want to stop cloning? STOP PRICE GOUGING! $300 for a tube that can be made for 1/6 that price isn’t how you stop cloning. China clones our stuff and sells it cheaper because you allow it to happen by putting on 400-500% mark ups. You talk about “we don’t cash grab” – Yes you do. The proof is in your price. Everything that comes out of your mouth is pure bullshit.
Funny how he calls Todd in the newest video they were in hot headed and clearly you can see todd was very calm and respectful.. he needs to show these emails he is claiming that todd wrote cause i think he is just trying to cover his ass. Fuck Ameravape not because of Todd but because that is not how you deal with anyone. A good company would have contacted the reviewer when p-vapor contacted them with concerns and talked it out and if there was any fault or thought of any fault they would send a new mod as things can go wrong when mass producing.
Todd handled it well and Ameravape in just trying to cover their asses.. Todd did the right thing, he kept honesty and to be honest I am actually a certified machinist and welder and i will tell you that if the shit dont vent then it will explode, aka pipebomb!
The worst part about this company is how he talks so down on cloning now but it was okay for him to use clones of others devices but when his get cloned or as he says their trash is released then it is not okay.. well it is not okay to have double moral in cases like these!
And secondly there are plenty fuckers in this industry jumping in just for the cash and no other reason, its the new hype so get in while you can to make big money, if it dies you made a good load and can move on to the next hype.
Fuck these douchebags.
You can tell he is not telling the truth by his body language. You also don’t pass the blame to the machine shop it’s your fault. Accept Responsibility!!!
Some notes I took listening to this interview:
1.
Don’t EVER blame the reviewer for their OPINION.
If Todd’s opinion was wrong, you provide FACTS, not THREATS.
2.
Leaving up the pictures of the hand because “Todd
left his video up” is a completely asinine and juvenile way of handling the
situation. It does nothing to further the goal of safety it just makes you look
like vengeful idiots.
3.
There was a HUGE public relations gaffe,
referencing Hitler was probably the dumbest reference you could’ve made if you
wanted to be taken seriously. That alone deserves an apology.
4.
Feeding into the controversy and building a
community are mutually exclusive things in this case. The controversy does nothing but
segment and segregate a community. If you manned up and simply said “We handled
things the wrong way, our goal is to protect our brand and provide the best
possible product at a reasonable price” it would’ve gone over a lot more
smoothly and made the claim of trying to build the community that much more believable.
5.
Russ was spot on, find something better than
RFID so IPhone users can also utilize the technology, but a good step in the
right direction for the goal of helping legitimize authentic mods.
6.
“It’s their right to sell their product for
whatever price they want” This point is absolutely correct, however as a
consumer it is my right to not spend my money on a product if I deem it to be
too highly priced according to my budget or wants.
7.
“The vape community needs to not be so sensitive
about pricing” WRONG WRONG WRONG. Every consumer has every right to be
sensitive to price. You didn’t go out and earn their money for them; you have
zero right to tell vapers how to spend their money. For a lot of vapers the
clone offers a high quality product within their price range, and if you think
a lot of the clones aren’t of a reasonable quality then you need to come back
to reality. Not all are good, but a lot of them are.
8.
“An ulterior motive to stop American industry”
This has to be the biggest crock of shit that came out of your mouth during
this interview. Ameravape is not the American vaping industry. Super T Manufacturing,
Chad’s mods (Silver Bullet, BB, Omega, Alpha), Empire mods, House of Hybrids,
Provape, Ihybrid, Emit Vapors, Bay City Vapors, Surefire, Innovape, Tatroe
mods, TAC mods, Ghostmodder, and a dozen others not immediately coming to mind
make up the American mod industry not to mention the countless American made
accessories and liquids. Several of them have been cloned previously and I’m
sure more to come and not one of them had the PR shit show that Ameravape has.
9.
“Look at our military” what the hell does our
military have to do with the clone issue? Nothing.
This interview was much better than the IG meltdown, but the fact still remains that Ameravape looks like a bunch of douchebag cloud chasers that have no concern beyond the money and will mask that however you can. Throw 25K into fighting vape bans if you’re really looking for an altruistic story to tell, throwing out 25K is product to appease and win a fan base over is pretty self serving
This video just re affirms my thoughts about Ameravape. The more they speak on this issue the more they sink. This all started with one mans opinion which he is entitled to have instead of going after the reviewer or the outlet for which the reviewer used to get his opinion out why don’t you once and for all show the world that the Manhattan will vent. This will silence this controversy once and for all…
HASHTAG FUCK AMERAVAPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok for starters Eric you are the man no one els has donated as much time, money, and support to cloud chasing as Eric Hutchinson thats why every cloud comp you go to competitors have an Avid Lyfe Mod in there hand also that why Bud tattoo Clear eyes and so many more support Avid Lyfe