Our Story
Don't Harsh My Mellow®
Your Lifestyle Brand for a Chilled-Out State of Mind
Table of Contents
- Phrase Definition
- Our Logo – What’s it Mean?
- Our Brand Ambassador
- Edgy & Counter-culture – yet Slightly Mainstream
- Company History
- Federal Trademark Obtained
- Jack’s Personal History
- Links to Jack’s Recommended Reading List
- Links to Jack’s Other Recommendations
Definition
"Don't Harsh My Mellow" tends to have a slightly different meaning for each person. It’s kind of personal thing. However, the official definition is:
Don't Harsh: "don't mess with"
My Mellow: "my chilled-out state of mind"
Just a few other common interpretations are: "don't bring me down", “don’t be a buzz-kill” and "don't mess with my blissful state of mind or inner-peace" and "don't harsh my positive vibes". There are countless ways to interpret the phrase but the most important thing to remember…there’s never any negativity involved - it's always used in a fun and light-hearted way...
If you were to ask a 5-year-old, their definition might me something like: “don’t yuck yuck my yum yum™”
The phrase is not intended to be used if we are truly upset or angry. It’s intended to pertain to small stuff life inevitably throws at us every day. The things, people and situations that have the potential to be frustrating or annoying (if we allow them to be). Using the phrase immediately in these moments can actually help us from unconsciously reacting which always leads to an “internal disruption” a/k/a suffering over meaningless trivial stuff. Try it out and see what happens. You just might develop a new perspective regarding all the small stuff!
Our Logo
We’re really into language here. Even our logo is a sign language or sorts.
It represents a hand gesture we created which means “Keep it Mellow”™ You can wave and say “goodbye”, You can hold up two fingers and say “peace” or you can hold up three fingers and say “Keep it Mellow”™ The idea is – that it’s somewhat of a “gift” that they can take with them…
Brand Ambassador
We’d like you to meet our Brand Ambassador, The Dude. Or as we call him, Dudeamus Maximus. We’re obviously not into the whole brevity thing. [reference: The Big Lebowski]
His body language kinda says it all… “Really? Why ya Harshin’ my Mellow?”
Edgy & Counter-culture – yet slightly Mainstream
Don't Harsh My Mellow® is a little “edgy” and the lingo is still only used by those who “get it.” Although, it has gone somewhat main-stream. Its popularity has grown exponentially and continues to explode. The phrase or some variation of it (the lingo) can be found in publications such as Time Magazine and others. It has been used in at least 17 television shows and at least 3 movies. These are just the ones we know about. If you are aware of any others please let us know!
Television:
- Two and a Half Men
- (S01-E20) Charlie says to Jake - “I’m not trying to harsh your mellow.”
- (S06-E02) Herb says to Charlie - “Nah, Judith will just harsh my mellow.”
- (S06-E02) Charlie says to Herb – “Yeah, she can be a real mellow harsher.”
- The Office
- (S02-E20) Michael says to Dwight - “You know, you're totally harshing the office mellow.”
- (S08-E22) Andy says to Phyllis - "why don't you quit harshing our mellow?”
- NCIS
- 30 Rock (S3-E5) Jack says to Liz Lemon - “you’re harshing everyone’s mellow around here.”
- The Big Bang Theory (S12-E19) Sheldon says “it’s kind of harshing my mellow.”
- How I Met Your Mother (S1-E19) Barney says to Ted “because you’re harshing my mellow.”
- Rules of Engagement (S5-E1) Actor Adhir Kalyan playing the character of Timmy Patel is at a planetarium and says, “thanks to all this is secondhand smoke I’ve caught a tasty buzz.” When asked why he was leaving to go to a hot dog stand he replies, “if I don’t get a chili cheese dog soon it will assuredly harsh my mellow.”
- Gary Unmarried (S01-E14) Mrs. Peters says to Gary – “you’re kind of harshing my mellow.”
- Orange Is the New Black (S04-E02) “You know, if I wanted to eat a giant harsh-mellow, I'd be hanging out with Vause right now.
- Fox News (several of Glenn Beck's reports and interviews)
- The Venture Bros. (S02 E11)
- Bewitched (S04-E17) Samantha’s Aunt casts a spell “Colors harsh and colors mellow. Kumquat orange and lemon yellow.”
- In Plain Sight (S01-E03) Marshall Mann says to his boss, Stan, after he cuts his Mombo music off, “Man! Why you got to harsh my mellow?”
- Station 19 (S06-E10) “because it harsh’s my mellow.”
- Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (S01-E07) “You’re really harshing my mellow, man.”
- Son of Zorn (S01-E04] – Zorn says “the rules are harshin' your mellow.” Allen replies, “They're just mellowing my mellow.”
- Z Nation (S01-E04) “you're really starting to marsh my mellow.”
Movies:
- Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank Released 07/15/22, Animated, Rated PG
- Dirty Grandpa
- "X"
Publications:
-
Time Magazine
Article entitled “Don’t Harsh Our Mellow, Dude.”
Company History
In 2007 Don't Harsh My Mellow®, LLC was formed and an application for a Federally Registered Trademark was filed. Jack, the Chief Executive Mellowologist, hired the company's first employee. His friend Angela, who was the Executive V.P. of Mellowology helped him build this edgy and incredibly popular brand which is light-hearted with a dash of attitude.
Jack has always been unconventional, to say the least. He’s a native of South Florida and some know him as Kicken' Back Jack. His first vehicle at age 16 was a purple jeep, a mail jeep to be specific, purchased from the U.S. Post Office. The steering wheel was on the right side and yes...it was purple! (He eventually sold it to his high school football coach.) It was known around town as "The Purple Haze".
Anyway...the phrase Don't Harsh My Mellow® was first used by Jack at a Grateful Dead Show (aka concert) in 1989. It was the last show they ever performed at The Greek Theatre in Berkeley California. He was with several buddies he has known since the 7th grade. They are more like brothers to him than friends (their names have been excluded to protect the guilty).
This group of Grateful Brothers...you guessed it...were unconventional. While the traditional Deadheads would follow the band around the country in V.W. Vans converted into living quarters, this crew still in their late-20’s had a different modus operandi. They lived dual lives - luxury home builders, attorneys, Wall Street dudes, etc. Monday through Thursday and authentic Deadheads Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (going to a “Show” typically meant hitting all three - the Thursday, Friday and Saturday night concerts) They flew instead of driving and stayed at luxury hotels. They always got a kick out of watching the expressions on the faces of some of the snobby, uptight hotel guests in the lobby or hotel bar, when they saw 10 guys wearing tie-dyed tee shirts raising hell (in a fun way) and "interacting" with everyone that crossed their path. These guys were in touch with their “Inner Hippie” and always knew in their hearts, they were not the “suit and tie types.” After arriving at a Show - they seamlessly acclimated into the so-called subculture. Who’s to say which culture is the “subculture” anyway? In hindsight, Jack is still convinced that “fitting in” to mainstream culture is a “trap.” Anyway… these Grateful Brothers felt at home and completely free of society's definition of whom and what they should be.
They frequently ran into many of the more typical followers of the band at various venues from coast to coast. They first met a guy in Tampa, Florida, whom they quickly named "The Mushroom Man" (you can probably guess why). They bumped into him at the Berkeley show 6 weeks later. That’s a long drive in a VW van, but that was a way of life for thousands of “followers.”
The Mushroom Man.
Which songs they were going to play was always a “thing.” At the Friday night show, one of the guys (he knows who he is) kept voicing his displeasure over which song the band decided to perform next. Evidently, he felt the need to let Jack know of his disappointment as each new song began that was not to his liking. At the time Jack's state of mind was that of Extreme Mellow (thanks to The Mushroom Man) and he finally replied, "Bro…Don't Harsh My Mellow".
The Don't Harsh My Mellow® terminology has been used ever since. The lingo is very contagious. When used over the years at parties, in the workplace, on golf outings, concerts, family get-togethers and group settings of all kinds; it always just seems to “catch on” and many begin using it. Try it out – start using the lingo. Play with it and come up with your own versions of the lingo. For example, you might catch someone you don't even know slightly off-guard by saying something like "oh, sorry about that…am I Harshin' Your Mellow?" You are guaranteed to put a smile on their face! If You Speak It - They Will Smile! Don’t be surprised if a stranger notices your T-shirt and says “I really like your T-shirt… I don’t know exactly what it means, but I like it. Jack always replies by asking “what does it mean to you?” It’s a nice, organic way to strike up a conversation with another human being.
Federal Trademark Obtained
On August 5h, 2008 a Federal Trademark was issued by The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on our “flagship phrase” - Don't Harsh My Mellow, hence the ® symbol you see on our products. Over 100 related phrases have also now been trademarked through Common Law Trademark Rights, hence the ™symbol you see on all the tees in our Shop by Phrase Section.
The word "harsh" has now become a verb. The use of phrases like Don't Harsh My Mellow ®, Why Ya Harshin' My Mellow ™, Don't Be A Mellow Harsher ™, What's With The Harshitude ™ and over 500 others have now become culturally popular across all age groups and cultures (click on Shop by Phrase to see them all in one place). Mellowology is more than just lingo – it’s a way of life. If You Speak It - They Will Smile!
Thank you for taking the time to read Our Story. We'd like to show you our appreciation by giving you a promo code for 10% your entire order. Simply include the following promotion code at check out: OUR STORY
Jack’s Personal History
Jack’s life has had countless twists, turns, ups and downs. Everyone’s life does but in his case, he could write a book, and you probably wouldn’t believe it. Oh well… what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger! His unconventional ways have continued throughout his life. After running into his first of many “brick walls” he found God in 1995. He spent several years reading the Bible and attending a Non-Denominational Christian church. That was a life-changing experience for him. However, eventually he noticed that it seemed like most people in the “religious” world weren’t connecting with “Spirit.” They seemed to be playing a “role” acting and sounding a certain way conforming to that culture. Eventually he realized that he was starting to do the same thing.
Around 2006 he went back to his former lifestyle of debauchery. The best way to explain this period of his life is that of the television character, “Charlie Harper in 2 ½ Men”. Everyone grows up in a family that is dysfunctional (to some degree). He grew up in what he describes as a “non-functional” family. It was abusive, cold and neglectful. The heavy alcoholism produced an environment of insanity, so life made no sense. There was no warmth. It was an “emotional black hole” and at a very young age, he remembers walking around the neighborhood and wishing some other family would adopt him. There was never a sense of being part of something or sense of belonging and he carried that “void” into adulthood. He opted for the unhealthy lifestyle to numb himself out, so he didn’t have to feel all the negative, unhealthy thoughts and self-beliefs. He doesn’t see himself as a “victim.” He (like so many other human beings) has just had a lot to overcome. Overcoming the toxic environment during his formative years has helped make him become a more self-aware, self-accepting and compassionate person. He actually feels pretty comfortable now with who he is – not perfect but not “broken” either.
Sometime in 2011 he started practicing meditation and yoga. He was able to start living more and more in the “present moment” and this facilitated his ability to connect with “Spirit” without the interference or dogma of religion. In turn, this allowed him to see what “driving” the destructive behaviors. “Plant Medicine Ceremonies”, Ayahuasca, Craniosacral Therapy and other alternative remedies helped along the way. Eventually, his “vibration” (mentally, physically and spiritually) became higher. Every human being has an ego, facade and persona that we present to the world as who we are. This is our false, inauthentic self. When the ego and subconscious are “running the show” we’re all just actors playing a role. All of us already have a higher vibration deep within us. It’s really a function of regaining access to what has always been there, deep within us all along since birth. It just gets obscured by the conditioning we are all subjected to – parents, friends, teachers, coaches, media, religious and societal “norms” all lead us to disconnect from our true, authentic selves. We need to “un-learn” everything we’ve been “sold” as Truth. The illusion of what life is and who we are was “spoon fed” to us very slowly, over such a long period of time, since the day we were born that we were never even aware that we were slowly losing touch with who we really are – our true, authentic selves.
Once his internal vibration became high enough, external “crutches” like booze, money, food, women, workaholism, etc. simply stopped “working.” They could no longer “mask” what was happening on the inside. Why? The vibration of those and all other external things and the endless chasing of them, were now only able to provide a lower vibration than that of his connection to his natural state of being. A “new normal” was created.
(see Jack’s Recommended Books and Alternative Health Modalities at the end of Our Story)
Links to Jack’s Recommended Reading List
Links to Jack’s Other Recommendations:
- Craniosacral therapy – The Upledger Institute & Clinic
- Ketamine Assisted Therapy – Dr. Michelle Weiner
- Plant Medicine
A Reminder from Dudeamus Maximus…Keep it Mellow™