Vladimir Bautista
CEO & CoFounder of Happy Munkey
Vladimir Bautista is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Happy Munkey brand, an internationally-known NYC lifestyle company that is synonymous with cannabis culture.
Born and raised in Hamilton Heights, NYC, Vlad and The Happy Munkey are formidable advocates and leaders in the cannabis space. Vlad is widely recognized for his deep relationships with the international cannabis elite and his successful experience in music, hospitality and event production. He provides corporate cannabis access to the authentic NYC cannabis scene. Under Vlad’s leadership, Happy Munkey hosts popular VIP events that connect politicians, chefs, doctors, influencers, athletes and creative artists with each other based on a mutual love of the plant.
Vladimir and his partner Ramon Reyes, co-host the popular Happy Munkey on the Boulevard podcast where they bring the Happy Munkey to the masses. The podcast features an eclectic mix of guests who run the cannabis gamut from rap stars to CEOs to the founder of the Canadian Securities Exchange and can be found on all major podcast sites.
In 2021, Vlad was a featured speaker at many virtual and live Cannabis conferences, but none more noteworthy as being on the keynote panel at MJBIZ CON, the largest trade show in the US, discussing how the legacy and legal Cannabis industries must work together and unite rather than clash. He and The Happy Munkey were featured in many mainstream media outlets including CNBC, Bloomberg Business Week, USA Today, Rolling Stone and NBC News among others.
The feather in the cap for 2021 was The Happy Munkey team awarded a Silver Clio for their groundbreaking “Happy Munkey After Hours'' consumption event at the Original Immersive VanGogh exhibit. That was on top of their hosting the End of Prohibition celebration on April 20, the Cannabis industry’s unofficial global holiday, at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on Wall Street, presenting New York’s first legal pot party which attracted over 500 people and massive media exposure, solidifying Vlad’s and The Happy Munkey as industry leaders in NYC and beyond.