Shaahin Cheyene: From Herbal Pioneer to Filmmaker
Shaahin Cheyene is an Iranian-born writer, filmmaker, lecturer, and herbalist based in Los Angeles, California. Over the course of more than 15 years, Cheyene traveled extensively and worked alongside healers and medicine practitioners from cultures around the world, dedicating himself to documenting and preserving their traditional medicines and practices.
The Smart Drug Movement and Herbal Ecstacy
In the early 1990s, while still a teenager, Cheyene became a central figure in the smart drug movement by creating Herbal Ecstacy — a legal herbal supplement that became a global phenomenon, ultimately selling over 300 million units. He went on to develop more than 200 additional products and later launched Ecstasy Cigarettes, a herbal cigarette brand that became the most commercially successful in its category, with over 100 million units sold. Media outlets compared him to figures ranging from Bill Gates to P.T. Barnum, earning him the nickname “the Willy Wonka of Generation X.”
Pioneering Work With Salvia Divinorum and Vaporization Technology
In the late 1990s, Cheyene was among the first to travel to Mexico seeking a commercial source for Salvia Divinorum, a shamanic plant used in traditional indigenous ceremonies. He imported it on a commercial scale and authored the first significant book on the plant in over 15 years. He also collaborated with several major pharmaceutical companies to explore ways of bringing plant-based medicine technologies into mainstream healthcare.
By 2000, Cheyene had shifted his focus to vaporization technology. He invented and patented the Vapir Vaporizer and wrote the definitive guide on the science of vaporization. The device sold hundreds of thousands of units worldwide, helping to establish vaporization as a mainstream alternative to combustion.
Documentary Film and Written Works
Transitioning into full-time creative work, Cheyene completed the award-winning documentary Serpent and the Sun: Tales of an Aztec Apprentice, which explored traditional Aztec healing practices. He also wrote the companion book Darkness: The Power of Illumination, further documenting his experiences with indigenous medicine traditions.
