Best Hot Budtender — Male 2014 | Zac Maas | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Hot Budtender — Male

Zac Maas

If you looked up the definition of "masculinity" in an ancient Viking text written by a drunkard, it would most likely describe the steaming chunk of man-meat that is Zac "Bear Man" Maas. His rugged good looks do him well as a budtender at the Releaf Center, where the eligible bachelor woos the ladies day in and day out with his silver tongue and knowledge of fine cannabis. "Some men teach their sons to shave, others teach them to be men," he once told us. Listen to more words of wisdom from this handsome fellow on the Whiskey and Cigarettes podcast, which Maas produces every week with comedian Jake Browne.

Best Hot Budtender — Female

Chanel Wing

While some people would say that "hotness" is purely on the outside, we find that true beauty comes in the form of intelligence, knowledge and compassion. The good news is that Chanel Wing fits both descriptions. The dark, cat-eyed Wing gave us a detailed rundown of nearly every strain on her shelves during our visit to Lush last year, and sold us completely on her cannabis-nerdery. But it's also worth it just to stop in for quick bag of herb and a flash of her warm, radiant, welcoming smile.

Best Pre-Mountains Medical Marijuana Pit Stop

Rocky Mountain Organic Medicine

If you're a stoner skier or boarder, you've probably done this at least once: walked out the door and left your bag of herb sitting on the counter next to a freshly poured travel cup of coffee and your season lift pass. You can replace the pass and get more coffee at the base of the mountain, but that herb? Stop off at Rocky Mountain Organic Medicine, near the intersection of Sixth Avenue and I-70. The log-cabin shop looks like a ski chalet from the outside, but inside you'll find a solid collection of organic, soil-grown medical cannabis and a special selection of kushes and OG hybrids, including a phenomenal White Fire OG that will quickly take away the aches and pains of a hard day charging on the mountain.

Best TV Commercial

Mile High Pipe & Tobacco

Rules established by the Colorado legislature generally prevent marijuana stores from advertising on TV, and most broadcast stations are being ultra-cautious about considering such business, regardless of the time of day. But Mile High Pipe & Tobacco has found a way to share its highly potent message on late-night cable without causing the city's social fabric to fray. Recent sassy clips, including a Christmas spot featuring a particularly hazy-looking Santa, showcase glamour shots of Mile High's "glass with class" in a wry but restrained manner unlikely to offend anyone burning the midnight oil, so to speak. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Best Podcast

These Things Matter

The premise of These Things Matter is simple: Denver-centric celebs join hosts Taylor Gonda and Kevin O'Brien to talk about something or someone in popular culture that changed their life. Gonda and O'Brien steer conversations in unexpected directions, as well-known folks such as OpenAir DJ Alisha Sweeney and comedian Adam Cayton-Holland join in with personal anecdotes about topics like Weezer, Jack Kerouac and Planet of the Apes. The broad-spectrum banter attracts music nerds, cinephiles, literary geeks and TV junkies alike and makes for unique, thought-provoking episodes. These Things Matter is a listenable podcast for many reasons, but it's Gonda and O'Brien's rapport that provides the show's seamless flow. Find it at thesethingsmatterpodcast.com.

Best Radio Talk-Show Host

Gloria Neal

Listeners can usually guess what talk-radio hosts are going to say by which station employs them: Yakkers at conservative outlets will hit the typical right-wing buttons, just as those on liberal broadcasts can be relied on to promote left-of-center talking points. But while Gloria Neal is currently employed at a progressive-dial spot, her wide range of experience on radio and TV — she's worked at KOA and the local Fox outlet as well as CBS4 and the Denver Post — helps her avoid the usual stereotypes. She's more common-sense than doctrinaire, and that makes her show entertaining and informative for a wider range of listeners than is usual in this genre.

Best TV Anchor

Jim Benemann

Once upon a time, Jim Benemann was a new kid on the Denver TV-news scene. But after briefly leaving the market, he returned to fill the CBS4 anchor chair in 2003, and in the decade-plus since, he's grown into his role, providing much-needed gravitas when the subject is serious, but shifting easily into avuncular mode once the mood lightens. Unlike many of his peers, who are usually better at one of these skills than the other, Benemann is an all-purpose anchor with an accessible persona built for the long haul.

Best TV Newscast

7News

Back in the days when Denver was a two-newspaper town, 7News was the odd station out — the only one of the traditional big-three network outlets that didn't have a content-sharing agreement with a Denver daily. As such, the station developed a scrappy, chip-on-its-shoulder attitude that's still part of its culture today, even though, in a notable role reversal, it's the broadcaster currently partnering with the Denver Post. The news at 7News tends to be harder, the investigative pieces more substantial, and the on-air personalities, led by Anne Trujillo and Mike Landess, solid and professional enough to reward viewers who schedule time to tune in.

Best TV Weathercaster

Becky Ditchfield

Whereas too many TV stations are boys' clubs when it comes to weathercasters, 9News is the opposite, with longtime star Kathy Sabine supplemented by a supporting cast that includes Belen De Leon and Danielle Grant (plus token guy Marty Coniglio). As a result, Becky Ditchfield sometimes gets overlooked. But she's been a steady presence since joining the station in 2007, and her forecasts are notably B.S.-free. Rather than making every storm system that comes through town seem like a snowpocalypse, she delivers meteorological information in a straightforward, low-key way that's more about helping people get through their day than about sparkling for the camera.

Best Hair on a TV Personality — Female

Corey Rose

How did Corey Rose ever decide to go into TV news? Her glamorous look makes her seem more like a model, a spokeswoman, or one of those actresses who always seem to travel with their own personal wind machine. Her flowing locks, which appear to encompass all the colors of the follicle rainbow without looking bizarre, are so lush and lustrous that they cry out to be whipped around regularly, Willow Smith style. See if you can work that into the next newscast, Ms. Rose. We'll be watching.

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