Explore how the Roll Pros machine revolutionized rolling, reaching 100 million joints through innovation, challenges, and game-changing advancements.
Since we got our start in 2020, we’ve been growing, innovating, and helping brands succeed in creating premium pre-rolls that consumers will return to again and again.
2017
Summer
Inventor Kyle Loucks writes down the idea of a commercial-scale pre-roll machine that actually rolls joints instead of using pre-made cones.
2018
Spring
Kyle finishes his first round of detailed sketches of his concept.
2018
Summer
Summer – Kyle starts working on the first prototype of this new invention in his garage. He dubs his new, secretive project “Pasta Primavera” and tells anyone that asks that it is a pasta rolling machine.
2018
Winter
The first manual prototype is complete! It doesn’t have power yet, but is instead powered by hand. This serves as a proof of concept that the idea is viable.
2017
Summer
Inventor Kyle Loucks writes down the idea of a commercial-scale pre-roll machine that actually rolls joints instead of using pre-made cones.
2018
Spring
Kyle finishes his first round of detailed sketches of his concept.
2018
Summer
Summer – Kyle starts working on the first prototype of this new invention in his garage. He dubs his new, secretive project “Pasta Primavera” and tells anyone that asks that it is a pasta rolling machine.
2018
Winter
The first manual prototype is complete! It doesn’t have power yet, but is instead powered by hand. This serves as a proof of concept that the idea is viable.
Since we got our start in 2020, we’ve been growing, innovating, and helping brands succeed in creating premium pre-rolls that consumers will return to again and again.
Our Story
Meet Kyle, the original RollPro.
Cannabis has always been a part of Kyle’s process. It helped him spark creativity, think outside the box, and gave rise to some of his best ideas.
So for years, during the day, Kyle worked as an engineer, designing groundbreaking medical devices and helping to develop Facebook’s Oculus system. And by night, he rolled the best joints in Washington.
For too long, prerolls had been the place where cannabis brands and cultivators went to hide their product that didn’t meet consumer standards, dressing it up with fancy packaging and papers that hid the dubious quality on offer.
If you wanted a premium experience, you had to roll your own. But with a thriving career, a busy life, and three kids to take care of, who had the time?
Convenience meant everything, but it shouldn’t have to come at the expense of quality.
In the midst of the Covid shutdowns of 2020, Kyle took the bold step of leaving his job behind and turning his garage into his joint-rolling skunkworks, making prototype after prototype as he worked to combine his passion for engineering with his commitment to building a better preroll.
Six months later, the first Blackbird was born.
The Blackbird Today
We’re proud to say that we’ve worked with many customers, growers, and brands across Canada and the United States that have used Blackbird machines as the secret to their success in the burgeoning preroll category.
These values drove the development of the Blackbird, and continue to be our North Star today.