Inside 22Red: How Shavo Odadjian Turned Music, Numerology, and LA Culture Into a Lifestyle Empire

Photo by Clemente Ruiz

In an industry crowded with celebrity-backed ventures, authenticity has become one of the hardest things to manufacture. Cannabis, in particular, has entered an era where audiences can immediately tell the difference between a brand built on genuine cultural connection and one assembled purely for market opportunity. That distinction is exactly what makes 22Red stand out.

Founded by Shavo Odadjian, 22Red positions itself less as a traditional cannabis company and more as a fully realized lifestyle brand shaped by music, art, fashion, and personal philosophy. While many celebrity-founded brands rely heavily on name recognition, 22Red feels intentionally tied to the creative identity of its founder, something that becomes immediately apparent once you look beyond the surface.

Photo by Clemente Ruiz

For fans of System of a Down, Shavo’s evolution into the lifestyle space feels almost inevitable. Throughout his career, he has operated beyond being merely a musician. In addition to serving as the band’s bassist and backing vocalist, Shavo played a major role in shaping the group's visual and creative direction. He directed and edited several of the band’s most recognizable videos, including “Toxicity” and “Aerials,” helping establish the chaotic, surreal, and emotionally charged aesthetic that became synonymous with System of a Down during their rise.

Rather than separating cannabis from broader creative culture, the brand embraces the relationship between music, visual art, fashion, design, and self-expression. The result is a company deeply informed by Los Angeles counterculture, while maintaining a boutique sensibility that avoids the hyper-commercial aesthetic that dominates much of the modern cannabis market. At its core, 22Red is built around identity.

The name reflects Shavo’s long-standing interest in numerology and synesthesia. According to the brand, the number 22 has repeatedly appeared during significant moments in his life and is often associated with ambition, intuition, creativity, and purpose. Combined with the symbolic intensity of the color red, the branding creates a distinct visual and emotional language that extends far beyond traditional cannabis marketing. That intentionality has become a defining part of the brand’s appeal.

In recent years, cannabis culture has undergone a major transformation. As legalization expanded, many companies shifted toward sanitized branding strategies designed to appeal to mainstream retail audiences. While that approach helped normalize the industry commercially, it also created a wave of brands that often felt disconnected from the creative communities and underground cultures that helped shape cannabis identity in the first place. 22Red moves in the opposite direction.

Photo by Clemente Ruiz

Its visual world feels cinematic, dark, artistic, and influenced by music culture. The brand’s fashion collaborations, artwork, and overall presentation reflect the influence of heavy music, streetwear, skate culture, psychedelia, and Los Angeles nightlife without appearing forced or trend-driven. There is a clear sense of creative authorship behind the brand, which is increasingly rare within the space.

That authenticity is likely why 22Red has resonated so strongly with artists, musicians, and culturally engaged consumers. Rather than positioning itself as a mass-market lifestyle product, the brand leans into individuality and creative expression. It understands cannabis not simply as a product category, but as part of a larger cultural ecosystem connected to art, community, and experience.

For Shavo, that perspective aligns naturally with the career he has built over the past three decades.

Outside of System of a Down, he has explored projects that blur creative boundaries, from forming Achozen alongside RZA to launching his independent platform, UrSession, and expanding into visual media and fashion-oriented collaborations. Across each venture, there is a recurring theme: a refusal to remain creatively static. 22Red feels like an extension of that philosophy.

It represents a broader shift happening within cannabis culture itself. Consumers are increasingly drawn toward brands with narrative depth, cultural credibility, and artistic perspective rather than purely transactional marketing. They want brands that feel lived-in. Personal. Intentional. Brands that contribute to culture instead of simply capitalizing on it. That may ultimately be the reason 22Red continues to stand apart.

In a market saturated with celebrity partnerships and short-lived branding exercises, 22Red feels connected to something more enduring: creative identity. It is not simply a company attached to a famous musician. It is the product of decades spent immersed in music, visual storytelling, underground culture, and artistic experimentation.

In today’s cannabis landscape, that level of authenticity carries more weight than ever.

Photo by Clemente Ruiz

22Red feels less like a cannabis company and more like a creative universe. Was the goal always to build a cultural identity first, rather than just a product line?

100%. We never wanted this to feel like just another cannabis brand. Cannabis was the starting point, but the real focus was always creative. Everything I've done has come from that same place. This was my creative outlet. System wasn't doing many shows at the time, so I started looking at 22Red the way I'd look at a band, not just a brand. When I name strains, it's the same process as naming songs. The apparel is designed the way I'd design merch for a band. The focus has always been on artists and creatives, using the platform to expose new talent to people who wouldn't otherwise see them.

A lot of brands chase trends, but 22Red feels deeply personal and intentional. How do you protect authenticity while expanding into a larger business?

This is something we dealt with in System of a Down too. How do you hold onto your authenticity once labels and outside forces start trying to shape you? We set our own standards back then. We never wrote music to fit radio. Radio eventually adapted to us. It's the same mentality with 22Red. I never looked at what other brands were doing well and tried to copy it. I went with my own integrity, not what's "corporate." Authenticity always comes through in the end. The people who get it, get it, and the people who don't, that's okay too. When you're doing something that hasn't been done before, it takes time for people to catch up.

Nothing connected to 22Red was ever meant to blow up overnight. Anything that grows too fast falls just as fast. We wanted something that keeps growing. We started with just black and red, then added white, then the logo, and now we're moving into a brighter energy. As an artist, the moment you stop growing is the moment you stop creating. "Evolution turns to revolution" isn't just a play on words. You can revolt against anything as you evolve.

Numerology, color, music, fashion, and design all seem connected within 22Red's world. Do you think the strongest brands today need an emotional meaning to truly last?

In my world, yes, emotion sticks. For me, color and aesthetic connect to everything because I have synesthesia. Music, sounds, and visuals all tie together in my head, so I can brand things very naturally. If something doesn't make sense right away, it usually will eventually.

22 has been with me my whole life. My angel number is 11, and I was born on the 22nd, so it's always followed me around.

My two sons were born 2 years and 22 days apart. System got picked up when I was 22. When it came time to name the brand, we tried working with an agency and nothing stuck. Then I came into the meeting, and within five minutes of brainstorming, the name was born. I never wanted to use my own name, just something that represented me. Someone in the room asked, "What color is the number 2?" and in my world, it was always red. My label, 1336 Records, came about through a similar process. It was the number of the first apartment I moved into.

You've spent decades creating music, visual art, and underground culture. What have those worlds taught you about building something that people emotionally connect to beyond consumption?

You have to be true to yourself and honest. If you stay consistent in what you say and do, the authenticity shines through on its own. In my 32 years working across art, music, and everything in between, that's the throughline: authenticity and originality. Strive to do what hasn't been done. Don't be afraid to break barriers or disagree with people. When someone tells you, "That won't work," that might be exactly the idea worth doing.

System of a Down was different. Nobody knew what to call us. A lot of labels were interested, but no one really got it. The label we signed with wasn't afraid of our sound. Rick Rubin used to say, "If you don't have haters, you're doing something wrong." Opposition is good.

In a time where so many celebrity brands feel manufactured, what do you think audiences are actually craving from the brands, artists, and communities they choose to support today?

People are craving originality and something new. Look at what's happening right now: one person comes up with a style, and everyone copies it. We're trying to create something that others can't really touch, something that stands apart. That's been true since the beginning of time.

We have this initiative, Framed by 22, where we spotlight new artists and creatives across the board, whether they're skateboarders, tattoo artists, or musicians. Skating especially is an art form we like to highlight, and skate culture is deeply tied into everything we're doing. We hope these features help people discover something or someone new to support.