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SPINFUEL: Welcome to the pages of Spinfuel. We’re excited to talk to Liquid Mayhem today. Would you like to introduce yourselves to our readers?
Liquid Mayhem: I’m really excited to talk to you guys. I’m Niki Curvey, and my husband is Joey Hayes. I have a master’s degree in chemistry, and I am just a dissertation away from my doctorate. Measuring, mixing, and experimenting is my life!
SPINFUEL: What position(s) do you hold in the company?
Liquid Mayhem: We are a family run business. I run the lab with one full time employee. My husband works on sales and helps with anything we need after he gets off of his main job. Our artwork is all done by my grandfather, Thomas Curvey. He has been an artist all his life and his talent is only surpassed by his dedication to every project he does!
Inspiration?
SPINFUEL: Who or what inspired you to get into the e-juice business? When did Liquid Mayhem launch?
Liquid Mayhem: It was a combination of timing and a love of vaping. I had been in college for chemistry since 2003, and had been vaping since the spring of 2013. While we had some flavors we liked, there wasn’t one I loved. So, I started my mission to mix a perfect strawberry about a year ago.
My husband had been in sales for 10 years and has been a big vaping nerd for a few years. His love comes from helping others navigate their way to understanding the better mods and methods for vaping. At this point we decided that this was something we would try after I finished school. We were constantly going to vape meets to have the public try out our flavors, and using their opinions to steer the flavors.
After over six months of preparation, we opened our lab this past summer. We are currently in over 20 stores and growing every day. I love making a premium product that keeps others off the analogs!
SPINFUEL: Where are you located?
Liquid Mayhem: Our lab is located in the Center for Emerging Technologies, next to Forest Park in St. Louis.
SPINFUEL: Many shop owners read Spinfuel everyday. How might they go about selling Liquid Mayhem in their shop should they desire to?
Liquid Mayhem: We can be contacted through our website, , facebook, or email.
SPINFUEL: It seems that your eliquids are only available through third party vape shops, how would our readers buy your eliquid if they don’t live near one of those vape shops?
Liquid Mayhem: Our website (no longer active 2018) has links to purchase them online under the shop tab from our vendors.
Norse Collection
SPINFUEL: How did the Norse Collection come about? How were the three flavors chosen?
Liquid Mayhem: The theme comes from the Norse religion. I’m a nerd, so I did my best to find a theme with some sort of fun/educating value, while not replicating anyone else’s work. Frigga came about from a personal love of strawberries. After becoming a vapor, I tried every strawberry I could get my hands on. While some were ok, none tasted to me like a fresh, ripe strawberry. I spent months perfecting this treat. For the other flavors we had many contenders from a wide range of pallets that I had been working on since the winter of 2013. It works out nice, because my husband and I have completely different pallet preferences. If he loves it, I hate it and vice versa. We took our top 10 contenders to the public to get their opinion. Frigga, Freya, and Beyla were the top rated. Beyla was actually the highest public rated. Looking at sales, it really depends on the store to which one is being received the best.
SPINFUEL: Do you steep your eLiquids before they are shipped? If you do not, do you suggest that customers ‘home steep’ them before vaping?
Liquid Mayhem: I’ve found that our flavors are best represented after two weeks of steeping. We keep them prestocked so our vendors can sell them as soon as they receive them. If we have a special order we recommend waiting the two weeks before enjoying them.
SPINFUEL: Why 70/30 VG/PG? Did you experiment with other ratios?
Liquid Mayhem: Yes, I experimented with a range of ratios. We went with the 70/30 so that our line could easily be appreciated by a tank or dripping “vapist.”
SPINFUEL: What sizes are available? 15ML, 30ML, etc.?
Liquid Mayhem: Currently we only distribute 30 mL. We will get to 15 mL, someday.
Made in the Lab?
SPINFUEL: How and where eLiquids are being made is becoming vitally important to many vapers. Could you describe your ‘mixing’ area? Where do you do your mixing?
Liquid Mayhem: We have a fully functional scientific lab. The entire lab was professionally cleaned/decontaminated before we moved in. We have a hood for proper nicotine storage and handling. Our mixing is done on our phenolic resin bench tops. These benches are top rated in the field for chemical and bacterial resistance.
SPINFUEL: A chemist creates your eliquids. Why is that important, and what does it say about Liquid Mayhem?
Liquid Mayhem: While in school I took the Food Safety and Sanitation classes, which is something everyone working in a “consumable” industry should consider doing. As a chemist, I have professional skills imperative to this field. Analytical chemistry for example, teaches accuracy and precision down to a few hundredths of percent. The advanced course is imperative for a professional chemist, and I excelled. Being a chemist teaches how everything is important: from storage of raw materials, to measuring techniques, down to how you rinse, dry, and store your glassware. Sometimes my methods seem repetitive or excessive to others, but my goal is to provide a product as consistent as humanly possible.
SPINFUEL: Does your crew wear any type of special clothing when they are mixing?
Liquid Mayhem: While I am the only one who mixes, I do wear safety gear. There things I do to prepare before I mix. Cleaning the lab is a constant job, even when it looks clean. Then I wear a clean lab coat, goggles and gloves. Everything is stored properly to prevent any contamination. For example: all of our bottles are washed and decontaminated after delivery, regardless of appearances.
SPINFUEL: Do you have a specific type of Vaper in mind for your eLiquids? What I mean is, when coming up with the Norse Collection was demographic data used to determine what flavors would sell or did you choose flavors that you would enjoy?
Liquid Mayhem: While Frigga is my love, she only made it to production after surpassing other flavors in the realm of public execution. Our goal is not to adhere to one pallet, but have a range, so that hopefully there will be at least one flavor we have that can be enjoyed regardless of your pallet.
More Norse Collection Some Day?
SPINFUEL: Are there plans to add to the Norse Collection?
Liquid Mayhem: I am currently working on many flavors. We shall see how well they go over with the public before any new releases.
SPINFUEL: What types of hardware (mods, tanks, cartos, etc.) do you use when testing your liquids?
Liquid Mayhem: For our first line, I used mostly Genesis mods. This time around I’m using drippers, a DNA 40 and Gennies.
SPINFUEL: Is there any specific hardware that provides the best ‘vape’ for your eLiquids, other than custom coils and drippers of course?
Liquid Mayhem: It really depends on the vaper. Frigga tastes closest to my goal of a fresh ripe strawberry out of a Genesis. I’ve heard customers say they are as good dripping as out of a tank, and I’ve also heard they are best out of Gennies.
Shelf Life
SPINFUEL: If properly stored, what is the shelf life of your eLiquid? By the way, how should a customer store their eLiquids before they open them and after they’ve been opened?
Liquid Mayhem: I’ve found some old samples from almost 9 months ago left at room temp, and they tasted great. I store mine at room temperature away from sunlight. As a chemist, due to the degradation of the nicotine if you want any eliquids to last, you should always store them at low temperatures away from light.
SPINFUEL: What is your favorite category of eLiquids for your personal vaping? Fruity, tobacco-based, sweet, and or something else?
Liquid Mayhem: I’m a fruit lover.
SPINFUEL: In your opinion what makes a good “all day vape”?
Liquid Mayhem: This will vary for everyone. You need a flavor that you LOVE that doesn’t disappear throughout the day due to saturation of your taste buds. Frigga is my lady, but Beyla and Freya are my husband’s wenches.
Cig-A-Like
SPINFUEL: The cig-a-like (Blu cigs, VUSE, etc.) Vaper seems to be losing interest and moving up into bigger devices that deliver a better vape experience faster than ever. Do you have an opinion on why this might be happening? Do you think it’s flavor related, or do you think it’s a matter a not being able to produce enough vapor to emulate the smoke from a tobacco cigarette?
Liquid Mayhem: Personally, I believe it’s a combination of both. After smoking for over 15 years the cig-a-like vapes didn’t work to curb my appetite for the analogs. I didn’t like the taste, the throat hit, the vapor production, or the convenience. Many friends I’ve talked to couldn’t quit using those either. Opening up to the fully customizable mods and flavors seems to always have better results. You can decide how hard your mod hits by learning to build your own coils. Using the nic level and PG/VG ratio, you can decide how much throat hit and vapor is produced. Convenience is even increased by what mod you choose to use. You can decide on the flavor, there are nearly infinite ones available!
I suggest to anyone who has tried quitting using the cig-a-like to go to a local vape shop and learn about the starter mods and give it a go!
Why Liquid Mayhem
SPINFUEL: There are hundreds of eLiquid brands in the US. Why should our readers buy their e-juice from you?
Liquid Mayhem: I put a ton of love into every batch. With my experience you can be assured that our product is top notch. With everything available, we hope you will try us and see if one of our ladies is a perfect match for you.
SPINFUEL: This is the place where we turn the interview over to you. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers while you have their complete attention?
Liquid Mayhem: Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us! I’d like to reinforce how much we love hearing from customers, fans, or anyone in the vaping community about eliquids, new mods, or anything vaping related. Please join us on our facebook page and group for monthly giveaways. Thanks for taking the time to check us out!
SPINFUEL: I can’t thank you enough for talking with us today.
Liquid Mayhem: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.
Julia
Check out the review of the Liquid Mayhem Norse Collection
