Meet Marc Semler and Jason Webb of Blue Pint Society in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marc Semler and Jason Webb.

Marc and Jason, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Blue Pint Society started as a drinking club with the intent to educate the masses in regard to drinking culture, palate training, and overall beer making processes. After our first few meet n’ greets, I (Semler) decided that the brand had the power to do something beneficial on a much larger scale. My very next meet up morphed into a “beer school” that was hosted at Brass Tap in Mesa AZ and was headlined by Grand Canyon Brewing Co and Sierra Nevada Brewing. The revenue generated was donated to the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation which formed another partnership and a place to focus our energies upon. Today we have successfully run four Beer Schools, each time donating a larger sum to TCAF to help battle and educate testicular cancer. We have also had success in doing collaboration beers with local breweries that have garnered revenue for the nonprofit, as well. Our benefactor list includes: Grand Canyon Brewing Company, The Beer Research Institute, Dark Sky Brewing, 12 West Brewing, Old Ellsworth Brewing, Cider Corps, Oro Brewing, Huss Brewing, Mother Road Brewing, Wilderness Brewing, Goldwater Brewing, Pedal Haus Brewing, Shop Beer CO, , McFate Brewing, Craft 64, Liquor Express, King’s Beer & Wine, Helton Brewing Co, Wandering Tortoise, Whining Pig, OHSO Brewing, Brass Tap Mesa, Brass Tap Gilbert, Helio Basin, 8-Bit Aleworks, Saddle Mountain, Quail Distributing.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, without the non-profit status, I’ve had to not only stake my own reputation and money into the venture, I’ve had to build the confidence and partnerships solely from scratch. Having done so, relatively successfully, and stretching what little marketing dollars we’re able to garner (merch from bluepintsociety.com) our grassroots campaign has spread from Arizona to Texas, California and Washington State. Being partnered and able to provide funding to TCAF with all of our beer collaborations and events is really where we were able to build our credibility from.

Blue Pint Society – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My partner and I (Webb, affectionately known as Rooster) don’t feel that BPS is like any other company to date. Our format is such that we give every bit of profit from our Beer School and Beer Collaborations back to (what we believe to be) one of the best cancer awareness 501 c 3 ‘s to date. Not only do neither of us see a profit from the business, every dollar garnered from merch sales either funds the website or purchases more marketing materials for events (flyers, promotional giveaways, stickers, buttons, etc.) to help spread the word that testicular cancer is a highly treatable disease.

As far as “most proud of,” I would first like to say that I’m not trying to pull any kind of attention away from any other form of cancer, but as my good friend Matt Trethewey says “people talk about boobs and brains all the time, what Blue Pint does for guys it makes talking about balls a fun approachable topic. The beer is just lubrication for grown-ass men to be able to actually admit that they have something on their body that may require medical attention.”

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I don’t think this business model adheres to the traditional definition of success, if pressed, I would say that if even one person logs on to bluepintsociety.com (or our Facebook & Instagram accounts) and is positively effected in a way that alters their life, well, we’ve done our job as educators. The more we can get men (and women) to talk about “balls” and not giggle like school children (okay, that’s actually what we’re doing now, so it’s fine) the better! Remember, checking your “package” in the shower is always more fun with a partner!

Contact Info:

• Website: bluepintsociety.com
• Email: semler@bluepintsociety.com
• Instagram: bluepintsociety
• Facebook: bluepintsociety
• Twitter: bluepintsociety

Image Credit:
Nick Olvath (Crazy Cactus Beard Balm), Matt Trethewey (Beer Research Institute), Alexander Benjamin Phillips IV (Grand Canyon Brewing), Jason “Rooster” Webb (Blue Pint Society) ,Michelle Lee, Joel Flowers (ABC 15 AZ)

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