Aezur

@Patricia_Zamnesia, Hey, Thanks for your message. I hear what you’re saying, and I get that my reaction came off harsh. But I hope you can also understand why it came out that way. You personally hyped me up for this contest. That built real excitement and trust. So when the judging process felt rushed, unclear, and even disrespectful at times, it hit hard. It wasn’t just about losing. It was about feeling misled and unappreciated after putting in serious time and effort. Judging based on wet trim? That’s like reviewing a haircut before it’s dry. Totally incomplete and unfair. And when Bread & Buds, a judge publicly tied to your brand, called people’s plants “ugly,” that wasn’t just unprofessional. It was insulting. Especially when some of us were just sharing honest feedback. Feedback that clearly wasn’t just mine alone. A lot of others in the community felt similarly but didn’t speak up. What’s worse is the speed of the decisions. With 180 participants and the deadline not even fully used, it gives the impression that winners were already chosen or the process wasn’t as thorough as it should have been. That’s a tough pill to swallow after putting heart, soul, and months of work into this. To me, it started to feel less like a celebration of growers and more like a rushed marketing push. And frankly, that’s disappointing because I expected more from Zamnesia. I hope you take this as constructive, not just criticism. I genuinely cared about this contest and believed in it. That’s why I reacted the way I did. If you want to rebuild trust with the community, it’s going to take transparency, fair judging, and reps who lift people up, not tear them down.

@Patricia_Zamnesia, Congrats to the winners! I do think, though, that I can illustrate the concern some of the community has tried to express. Of the ten slots, half of them are straight fuego....fire headstash crops that nobody can say a single negative mark about. The other half are novelty diaries...either good product staging, better devices for data dumping, or wacky grow setups. Even the top 3 slots, they say 'great flower' then 'cool setup' 'then good diary' for justification. As a competing member, who took time to review all your documentation on how the contest would be reviewed, I am left wondering how we went from 'sexiest bud' and a 'show of skill' to 'great flower' then 'cool setup' 'then good diary'. Facts like the temperatures seen in late flower for winning tents or the larfy b-tier buds in a couple of the lower slots or yields.... In a show of skill, these types of things would be instant-disqualification from a winning slot. Like on my end, there was a stretch I couldnt tend tent. I ran hot for a short period and it really kicked off my fade early. If it comes down to it, that is a one and done...bye bye ATLien415 from possible winners. When we hear a grow for the sexiest bud to show off skill, we don't think of the usual winners for the usual contests. We have enough 'how silly is your grow setup' or 'take the best photo with your expensive camera' or 'how old is your profile' contests. We do not have enough skill contests. And saying you have a skill ocntest, and then showing anything but a transparent skills contests is a surefire way for criticism (anywhere in life). Would love to see this one ran again. I love the concept, and I know something of this scale (decentralized at that) was a feat to pull off. Enjoyed seeing what the buzz about Plagron was really about, although I'm not going back to bottled salts. Especially enjoyed the seeds and the lb of Runtz. I disagree with most on one point - I did appreciate the Plagron partnership. Nutrients are an input we all use, we all need, and is seldom given away freely. That was super nice of yall....chefs kiss

@Aezur, I appreciate the kind words! Coming from a prohibition state initially, the community of underground growers kept my eyes low for most of my life. Knowing I am giving back, even just to one grower, is truly something I take pride in. We are living in such an exciting time for cannabis.