Lucas Assis talks about shaking up the celebrity tequila scene, the cocktail delivery moment, and what being a “content creator” means to him.
Lucas Assis is a well-known agave storyteller, educator, and content creator. His cultural humility and genuine curiosity when engaging with different communities are immediately evident in his work, and have been a significant factor in his overall success in the wider agave space. In chatting with Assis, it became clear that these character traits have been integral to his journey since childhood. Those of us who have had the pleasure of working and traveling with Lucas and his wife Michelle recognize them as down-to-earth industry nerds who are always open to learning more. His passion for sharing cocktails and willingness to speak up publicly and honestly about celebrity tequila brands catapulted him into the limelight five years ago. Here Assis gives us a behind-the-scenes look into how he became one of the most recognizable faces on the agave Internet.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up all over Brazil, as well as some time in the United States, which is a product of being a pastor and missionary kid. I was born in Brasilia, then I spent my early childhood in Parana, in Southern Brazil. When I was ten, we spent a year in Pasadena and Spokane and then went back to Brazil. When I was 17, I came back to the US to finish high school and stayed.
At the time I hated it and it was hard–moving and school were difficult, but now it’s something I am super grateful for, having the duality while I was growing up. Being a pastor and missionary kid, I grew up with people who were from all over the world and there were always people from somewhere else in our home. I always had an admiration and respect for different cultures and wanted to know how to interact respectfully with all of the different cultures.
What did you study and what was your first job?
Since I was 12 or 13 I wanted to be a graphic designer or animator for Disney. It’s one of the reasons I came to finish high school here, because Pasadena High School had a graphic design academy. I followed my dream. But two years into college, I figured out that I wanted to do my own thing and decided to leave school.
My first job ever was at Sears in Pasadena, and I absolutely hated it because all day I had to fold a bunch of clothes. Next, I got a job at Houston’s Steakhouse. I started out as a cart driver driving people from the restaurant to their cars, then eventually became a bartender. That’s where I fell in love with hospitality and restaurants, at Houston’s right after high school. When I started bartending I was in my element and I started being comfortable talking to people about what they were drinking and about the research I was doing behind who was making the spirits. Up until then I was so shy about public speaking.
What is your proudest accomplishment before getting into agave content creation?
For me it was the fact that I got to travel as much during my bartender years. I really wanted to travel on my own and get to see the world, and bartending allowed me to take the days off so I could do that. Every month I would travel somewhere new. I would pick out the cheapest flights, or sometimes drive, and that was a formative time in my life, I got to see the world on my own. It was a highlight for me, and an accomplishment I am really proud of—that I was able to do that on my own.
What was your introduction to mezcal?
Around 2016 I had started working at a different bar where I was one of the beverage directors. It had three locations in LA, during a time when LA was 100% focused on whisky. But we started to see a shift toward opening agave bars. The restaurant hired Sean Yontz, a chef who had opened a bar in Denver and was friends with Ron Cooper, so he brought the Del Maguey line to my bar and I tasted it. At that time I was also dating my now wife, Michelle, and we started traveling to Michoacan, where her family is from, and trying mezcal there.
In 2019, I went to Oaxaca with Michelle and my dad and I really wanted to visit a palenque. Sean was able to set up a visit for me with Don Carlos Vazques, whose pechuga I was really excited about. We went to Santa Catarina on my 30th birthday, and what was supposed to be two hours turned into hanging out all day and eating and drinking with the family. It’s one of my fondest memories and a turning point when I started getting really obsessed with mezcal.
How do you describe your role in the agave world?
I’m still wrapping my head around it. At the end of the day, what I love doing is telling stories. I’m a storyteller at heart and I love to tell the story of who makes a spirit and how they make it, also to recognize and explain that we can never be experts, we are always learning. I like to educate with my platform and provide information and insight to people who can’t go and visit Mexico themselves. It’s a romantic notion of storytelling, but there’s also the business side. I work with brands on marketing, promotion, recipe development, and brand recognition. I prefer the term content creator over influencer, but I don’t get hurt if someone calls me an influencer. What I do is a mix of storytelling, educating, and content creation.
How did you get started as a content creator?
I’ve always liked to take pictures and film things, and it really came out during that period of two years where I went somewhere new every month. I mostly did it for myself and have never really shared that stuff, but I cultivated a knowledge for editing pictures and videos. At the time, I was bartending and most of my guests were regulars, and then the pandemic came. Many of the regulars were texting me, making sure I was okay and saying they missed my cocktails; one of them texted and asked if I would make them cocktails to go because they were really missing my cocktails at home.
I thought there was no way the city would crack down on bartenders trying to survive and make a little money during the pandemic, so I made and delivered them some cocktails. It started as an organic word of mouth thing, and I decided to do it, not only to make some money but also to help keep me sane and engaged doing something I love. Every Tuesday, I would put up a menu and people would order and I would deliver the next day. That’s how it all started on Instagram. Michelle set up a spreadsheet and helped organize deliveries by region. There was no traffic in LA, so it was pretty fast. When I got home, she would help me make syrups and fresh juices and it was a really cool three or four months where I was known as the guy delivering cocktails all over LA.
Once things started to open up, I didn’t want to get in trouble so I sent out a message saying this has been fun but we have to stop. People were understanding, and asked me to teach them how to make good cocktails at home. It was the right place at the right time. People were getting into the home bartending scene, trying to make good cocktails at home instead of going out.
I started putting some videos out about why you shouldn’t buy celebrity tequila. I remember looking at the press pictures when 818 came out, and there were all these issues with the campaign. I recorded an unscripted video about why I thought it was an issue, posted it, and turned my phone off. When I turned my phone back on, the video had blown up. It was the first time that happened. When I woke up the next morning I had friends from New York telling me that Good Morning America had played my video and I had all these press requests coming in. At this point I thought, I need to focus my time on this and see where it goes. I started talking about brands and showing production videos and it was organic growth that became our full time job. This was in 2021, just as people started getting into small agave brands and wanting to know more about what they were drinking.
Who has been most influential in your journey?
It’s groups of people. A lot of them I looked up to before creating content, and also people I’ve met through creating content. Some of the most influential have been Khrys Maxwell, and what he did with Fortaleza; Pedro Jimenez and his work with Mezonte and how he works with all of the producers; David Suro whose passion is palpable–his education and history and science work…When you see him speak, it’s always inspiring; Misty Kalkofen and what she’s done in the agave industry and what she is doing now with David Suro. And not just because we are talking now but you Tess, for how you tell stories and keep the focus on producers.
I’ve met so many people and had conversations within the industry that have been inspiring.
One instance I remember with Esteban Morales is when I met him at Bar Convent Berlin and he told me “Lucas, one thing I want to tell you is if you ever start working with producers never say you are helping them. You are doing business with them, and if you say you are helping them you are belittling them and what they’ve done.”
What are you up to currently?
Right now I am figuring out what’s next. I’m really enjoying getting to go down to Mexico regularly and learn more and more. Every time I go I learn different production methods and it’s been great gathering this knowledge and meeting people. I’m seeing that the new endeavors will be not just on the content side of things but in my life in general. Michelle and I are brainstorming and seeing what the future will bring.
So what’s next for Lucas Assis?
I’ve been getting into rum more and more over the last year. There is a connection with charanda because Michelle’s family is from Uruapan, and because of the similarity to cachaca and me being from Brazil. My content is so much about Mexico, I usually get comments saying what’s this Brazilian guy doing talking about Mexico and why isn’t he talking about cachaca. And while a lot of the time it is a tragic and sad history, there is also a really fascinating history of Brazil and cachaca and how it predates rum. Most of the world knows what a caipirinha is, but the majority of the spirit does stay in Brazil. I’m looking forward to spending more time in Brazil and gathering knowledge through the lens of what I have learned with mezcal.
Follow Lucas Assis on Instagram here.
Lucas Assis YouTube.
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