Elev8 Music History

The Silver Surfer Vaporizer:
A Trailblazing Journey of Innovation, Music, and Community Since 2004

It started in 2004

In 2004, Steve Kelnhofer embarked on a revolutionary journey with the creation of the Silver Surfer Vaporizer (SSV). Born in the basement and garage of its founder, the SSV wasn’t just another device—it was a groundbreaking innovation. At a time when the term “vape” didn’t even exist, the SSV introduced a new way to experience the essence of the plant. This wasn’t an atomizer or a standard vape—it was a machine that used the purity of hot air to extract the plant’s essence, ensuring an unparalleled experience.

Today, the SSV stands as the gold standard for desktop vaporizers, celebrated for its durability, customization, and superior performance. Its journey is one of passion, creativity, and a deep connection to the art of music and glassblowing.

A Symphony of Music and Innovation

Steve’s love for music was cultivated at a young age, influenced by his father, who proudly collected concert shirts from live performances. This passion stayed with Steve and became a cornerstone of the SSV’s story.

A pivotal moment in the SSV’s history came with a call from Leonard of Cephalic Carnage, a renowned metal band. Leonard shared how the SSV had broken his writer’s block, inspiring the song Vaporized—a track later featured on their album Xenosapien. This friendship blossomed into something extraordinary, as Leonard went on to create the iconic event VaporFest, a celebration of music, cannabis culture, and innovation.

The SSV’s connection to music didn’t stop there. Kiss, a friend of Leonard’s, introduced the device to bands across various genres. The momentum grew, leading Steve to hire Matt E., a dedicated liaison to manage these relationships. The SSV became a trusted companion for musicians, with its sleek design and exceptional functionality earning a place in green rooms, tour buses, and studios around the world.

This turned into an amazing friendship Steve has been grateful to have in his life ever since. With that Leonard went on to make the event vaporfest!

This was just the beginning of what Elev8 would become. Leonard connected Steve with Kiss (a person, not the band). Kiss was also a fan of the SSV and he then with his connections started to introduce the Silver Surfer to bands all over. This became a thing, so Matt E. was hired to help with the connections. Life was really good.

Throughout the SSV journey, a customer/fan Robert M. was to call him up and tell him a story about meeting Willie Nelson. Let Steve tell the story here, it’s pretty cool.

“So Robert calls me up, we have this refer 6 people and get a free SSV. Robert is at 4 he says and wants to buy 2 more and get his free one. The two he wants to buy are going to Willie Nelson and Woody Haralson. Ok, I say how did this happen? Driving up the mountain on Maui he sees this washed-out guy struggling to get up the road. He pulls over to give him a ride and low and behold it is Woody Haralson. As they go up the mountain they end up talking about cannabis and the SSV comes up. They stop at Robert's house for a vape session and Woody says hay, grab that machine and let's go for a ride. The ride takes them to a house and inside this house is Willie Nelson, haha wow! Robert sets up the SSV and Willie is happy with it as was Woody.”

The story sounds pretty cool and Steve says hay, why not make them extra cool.

We had just found out what powder coating was and when we found out Woody liked Green and Willie liked black and gold, it made it easy to get the powder coat colors now available on the SSV as it was perfect timing.

Steve made some cool glass to match and out the door the kits went along with Roberts free one. Time slipped on by like Steve Millers’ song. Then he gets a call from Robert saying how great they loved the units. WOW, was it real????

Then about 3-6 months later Rusty calls up to place an order for a 6 pack of SSV’s, never asking for anything free, just hook it up brother with 6 of your best. Then reality hit when it was paid for on a CC using the name Willie Nelson.

This was the first of a total of 36 that Rusty would pick up for Willie. Willie maybe unknowingly the #1 retail customer of the SSV. Soon Steve was on track to meet Willie at a Red Rocks show. Steve got to go to the show, back stage and all, but the meet was canceled as he got pushed aside by some big time Democrats from the DNC convection at the time. Oh well, it was nuts!!!!

In the late 2000’s we made a connection with Cypress Hill! They fell in love with the SSV and we got to make an SSV just for them with their art!

Breaking Barriers with Cypress Hill.

In the late 2000s, the SSV gained another iconic fanbase: Cypress Hill. The legendary hip-hop group fell in love with the vaporizer and requested custom SSV units featuring their art. The partnership led to an invitation to the Smokeout Festival in 2010, where the SSV made history by providing a smoke-free alternative at a time when vaping was still relatively new.

The team set up 15 units, and the lines to use them never ended. Festival-goers experienced the magic of the SSV for the first time, marking a monumental moment in cannabis culture. The following year, with laws shifting in favor of legalization, the SSV’s presence was even more impactful.

Later he got a call from Dereck Trucks and was confirmed that Willie had a SSV, and Derek wanted one too. Much of the Trucks family placed an order and WOW, a legendary experience cherished to this day by Steve.

On the tour bus Steve learned about how Willie was using a broken wand, so that led to an improvement on the SSV that all tubing goes inside the glass rather than over, so obvious but hard to see.

Another great story is working with Blues Traveler.

Growing up Steve was given a harmonica by his grandfather (never learned it will). But he loved Jon Popper on the instrument and when an order came in, WOW.

So it went further and then we got to talk and meet them in person, yes at Red Rocks! Yes, and we even made it into the sacred green room of Red Rocks.

THANK you Blues Traveler! Many many years later we got a call, hey I need this thing fixed, its is the daily driver and the house got struck by lightning. Not cool, but it feels good to know it is still being used!

It is nuts what was to happen over the course of time that the SSV was to become a part of over 300+ bands of all genres. To this day, metal has been the strongest supporter of the SSV, but again embraced by all musicians.

Steve has been able to tour the tunnels of Red Rocks, meet members of some of the biggest bands all from how they fell in love with the idea of the SSV. A healthier way to consume a plant they loved.