Meet the Team: Nick Lowary

Meet the Ground Shark Coffee Company Team

Nick Lowary

You know Ground Shark Coffee has great beans, but it’s the great people behind the company that make GSCC what it is. Nick's one of the owners and co-founders of Ground Shark Coffee Company. Today we’re going to dive a little deeper into Nick’s head and get to know him a little better.

So Nick, let’s start at the beginning. Where were you born and how did you grow up?

Hey Scott, thanks for hosting this series for us.

I was born in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri 1995. I grew up in late 90's/early 2000's suburbia. I have memories of riding my bike and playing backyard football, but also watched a lot of that go away with the advent of technology.

What drew you to Colorado?

Man, the mountains. I always wanted to get out here, and when the CU Boulder Men's Lacrosse coach was interested in having me out to play on the team, it was an easy sell.

How did your Lacrosse experience prepare you to run a company?

The work ethic. No doubt. And what it's like to win. We were a winning team and won the national title my freshman year. That season really taught me just how hard it is to win. It's really correlated to how much you're willing to sacrifice. To be the best, you've gotta be willing to give up more than anyone else for the dream. I've applied that to the company. I give everything I can - and more - to make this dream work. I wouldn't be able to do that without my old team.

How did you come up with the company tag line “Wake Up Like You Mean It”?

I honestly can't remember the exact moment it showed up, but damn it stuck out to me when it did. I've always tried to live my life like I mean, and encourage my friends and family to do the same. Whatever it is you do, do it like you mean it. Coffee helps you wake up, so it was a natural progression of the idea.

Most of our readers know you received a concussion during a Muay Thai match. What did that experience teach you about yourself?

It actually wasn't a match, it was a sparring session getting ready for one. That resulting concussion tore me up pretty good for the next six months. That was my first one, so it really messed with me. I had know idea how to deal with it. Adam will be the first to tell you that I was totally worthless for a while. We laugh about it now, but at the time it was terrifying. It really taught me how fragile life is and that was need to take care of ourselves. It forced me to grow up and be a little less reckless.

If you were stuck on a desert island with only one way to brew coffee, what would it be?

Oh man, I think I'd be trying to make a pourover set up out of cactus or something. There's something so delicious and clean about coffee made with a pourover.

What do you think about people who put butter in their coffee?

I'm not a fan of it myself, but I get it.

If you were to open your own Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school, where would it be and what would its name be?

That's a long term plan for Ground Shark. I wouldn't want to make my living off of owning a gym, but I'd love to have company mat space we can all use.

What does 2020 look like for GroundShark Coffee Company?

Man, who knows. Right now, we just want to come out ahead after this virus passes through. I don't even know what the next month looks like. All of our plans have been changing weekly, so I have no idea. At the end of the day, though, the core plan is always the same:

Get good coffee to the people.