Welcome the New(ish) Emo Brown Podcast Co-Host: Jeff Lozano

“I’m still Jefferey from the block”

A desert rat out of Calexico, California, and a proud Aquarius with Leo moon rising. Most of anything good that came of me came through my mother Nancy and my father Armando—a duo who deserved better than putting up with a punk kid who, at one point, had about 12 facial piercings, a pink backpack, and wore the same shirt every day for 2 full school years. If anything drove me then, it was punk rock and backyard gigs. The scene meant a lot to me growing up, and I still have an affinity for angst-fueled music and questioning status quos. It’s probably what led me to this show…

I left the C13 and moved to San Diego to pursue a nursing degree, which I completed but never really used. *shakes fist in the air* “Debt before Diplomas!”

I had discovered craft beer through a pizza joint I was working at during school and started experimenting with stuff from Stone, Karl Strauss, and the brewery that would eventually give me my shot—Ballast Point. I started thinking about entering the cool, hip, and happenin’ world of beer and knew that if I really wanted to give it a shot, now was the time. I had no kids, no wife, and I hadn’t really started earning a nursing salary. That was important because I knew that eventually, during a midlife crisis, I wouldn’t be able to leave a particular lifestyle to scratch a brewery itch.

I took the plunge and got a job at Ballast. It was a weekend, graveyard janitor position. To be fair, the position said “Facilities Coordinator” and sounded a lot more official. But after polishing porcelain for a bit, being at the right place at the right time with the right attitude set me on an upward trajectory.

And if anything good still comes of me, my hottie of a wife Karla, has everything to do with it. She’s been there with me on this pothole-ridden road and has given me 2 beautiful girls and a tornado of a son. The rest is history.

Father, Husband, Brand Ambassador, Vice President of the SD Brewers Guild, a new addition to the Emo Brown family, and hopefully an “overall good guy”.

Respectfully, Jeff Lozano.