Episode 4

The Hidden Cost of Growing Something Epic w/ Kevin Espiritu

February 27, 2026 · 52:24

Kevin Espiritu is the founder of Epic Gardening, a media and product company that's become one of the largest gardening brands in the world. What started as a hobby blog about hydroponics in 2013 has grown into a business with millions of followers, major acquisitions including Botanical Interests Seeds and GrowVeg garden planner, and a team of dozens serving home gardeners globally.

Kevin's journey started with online poker paying for college, a quarter-life crisis playing video games, and his mom asking him to pick a hobby with his brother. They chose gardening. He first started growing cucumbers and he hasn't stopped growing since.

We talk about building an audience by responding to every single comment, the moment in 2020 when everything changed, acquiring a 30-year-old seed company to keep it from disappearing, why organic certification isn't always what people think, and moving from hydroponics to soil.

But we also talk about what Kevin has mentioned briefly on his personal channels: the crash-out moment after years of running on pure will, the medication he never thought he'd need, the physical separation he had to create from the homestead that helped build the Epic empire, and why he turned to creating art - a new hobby with no tie to business.

"Every creator I know who's had a blow-up moment has had a crash-out moment afterwards. You run on pure will for maybe a year, maybe more. And then it all comes down on you." Kevin built something massive and meaningful that continues to grow.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Why Kevin started posting gardening videos online
03:27 - From online poker to playing video games to gardening
05:04 - When gardening became therapeutic (7 years in)
07:00 - Seeing land transform over time
09:32 - 2020: When revenue exploded 6.5 times
10:30 - Meeting Jacques: The pumpkin avatar neighbor
12:54 - "Why do people keep calling me Eric?"
14:23 - Responding to every single comment until you can't
17:09 - Making millions from an online gardening blog
17:39 - Acquiring Botanical Interests Seeds
21:41 - How seed production actually works
22:50 - The reality of organic certification
26:47 - Why seed saving videos never do well
29:52 - Regenerative certified vs. organic
31:21 - Acquiring GrowVeg and Modern Farmer
35:52 - When Instagram blew up: The tripod problem
37:47 - The crash-out moment and needing medication
40:16 - Hiring help vs. staying lean
42:04 - Finding art as a pure hobby
44:23 - Leaving the homestead but staying close
47:03 - What's coming next for Epic
51:24 - Designing seed packets as an artist
52:08 - Favorite food memory: Rice with milk

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Epic Gardening: