Our story
How it all started.
Portier was founded in 2019 in Amsterdam by Koen, with the help of his best friend Sebastian, inspired during a breathwork session by the idea that DMT should be more respected. Why isn’t a DMT session more like a Japanese tea ceremony? Why does everyone have to scour the internet, resorting to dodgy forums to find tools and guides? Why should people get actual life changing experience with self-made crack pipes?
Koen was a creative but he had worked closely over a decade with psychedelic research organizations, retreats, and harm reduction organisations. Sebastian had been working with NGO’s and indigenous communities that use ayahuasca in the Amazon region.
With the commercial world banning psychedelics, it felt like people were missing out and vital safety information and tools, leading to bad practices and further stigmatization of nature’s most fascinating plants. With scientific research confirming the relative safety of classic psychedelics, Koen sketched the idea for a high-end psychedelics for conscious and well-educated users and shared it on Reddit. The post gained a lot of popularity on the platform, with lots of people encouraging us to make it a reality.
Dozens of people from Reddit wanted to follow the process, and through a growing newsletter, which eventually reached over 4000 subscribers, we could regularly check in with psychonauts from across the world, conducting surveys and hosting ZOOM meetings to create the ultimate DMT box for safe and respectful use. We actively attended psychedelic research events to connect with professionals in the field, to get direct feedback on how to build these products, and what ‘risks’ and ‘safe use’ truly means inside this field.
We wanted the ‘Portalbox‘ to be something of opposite to the ‘Bob Marley bongs’ and plastic baggies out there that are being used, a different dot on the horizon. That’s why we sought the help of traditional woodworkers in Asia with generations of experience in crafting wooden cases for mindful tea ceremonies.
We decided to take it further by starting both an American and European (Dutch) podcast and leveraging our backgrounds to connect with researchers and harm-reduction experts. We interviewed experts on safe practices and invited them to co-write the Portalbook, a safety guide for psychedelic users included in every box. We selected vital organisations to donate part of our proceeds to, and donated our time to volunteer to research organisations to help them grow as well. We started integration circles for free online, even for non-customers.
Making the Portalbox was not easy and came with many challenges, mastering the basics of building a proper set & setting. We dove deep not just into the best tools for preparation and storage, but also passing on well-researched information about about integration, and trip sitting. We had to learn the ropes of logistics, sustainability, and ensuring all the boxes safely reached the over 100 people who pre-ordered from around the world, which we successfully fulfilled from our small apartment in Amsterdam (with help from friends in New York) reaching people on nearly every continent!
We dubbed our venture “Portier,” as a nod to both “Portal” (reflecting the transformative psychedelic journey) and “Frontier” (opening the door to a new paradigm for how psychedelics are perceived). After this, the reviews came pouring in, and we were nearly brought to tears of happiness; they were all 5 stars! We even sent boxes to a few of our heroes, including Duncan Trussell, and were thrilled when he replied with incredible compliments.
We were especially moved by the long emails from people expressing how psychedelics had changed their lives and what these boxes meant to them. We are humbled by all your words, and answered the requests for a ‘psilocybin mushroom tea set’ and another more ‘portalble and affordable box’. We honoured these requests with the Ceremonybox and Portalcase crafted through extra hours beyond our day jobs.
The second case features real marble plates to truly honour the tea, sustainable wood, and handmade Japanese tea tools. Each element chosen to help create a calming ritual around mushrooms. The goal: to give people a grounded, intentional ceremony experience that reduces anxiety, nausea, supports risk awareness, integration, and encourages insightful, peaceful journeys.
Other than doing interviews with psychedelic experts, we conducted ‘field research’, visiting Japanese tea masters and esteemed psychedelic retreats and events to create cases that would support optimal ceremonies.
Portier is not a profit-driven machine, and the journey has been challenging, in part because most media outlets and advertising platforms are unable to openly support conversations around home use of psychedelics due to strict internal policies and investor restrictions. We believe this is dangerous and can cause further stigmatisation and neglect of those wanting to use these plant medicine safely at home.
We have chosen to remain fully self-started (next to our day jobs) because outside investment or a full focus on ‘business’ often comes with limitations away from care and quality toward sole financial growth at the expense of psychedelics. For us, this is a big no-go. It’s a mission, a passion, and a long-term commitment to doing things the right way (quality over financials) and we genuinely love working this way. Our customers are made of the same atoms as we are, and we treat everyone as friends – not roleplaying a business-customer relationship.
While we do hope that one day we can focus on Portier full-time, we recognise that this remains difficult given the cultural climate of this day and age. We realize we’re ‘early’. That’s why we are deeply grateful for your support. Together, we hope to make a meaningful impact, including ongoing contributions to psychedelic policy improvements, harm-reduction initiatives, and the conservation of traditional use abroad 🙏
Our Intention
At Portier, we support the safe and respectful use of plant medicine in the comfort of your home. We combine functional design with community insights, visionary art, and the latest scientific research on safe use. The end result are products that help you explore and grow more safely and consciously, enhancing your journeys at home and keeping your plant medicine in a more respectful place.
We emphasize the importance of no longer stigmatizing (and hiding) nature’s most profound visionary tools, because of their undeniable impact science, art, innovation, and mental well-being when used responsibly. A big thanks goes out to everyone who supported our project and made it into what it is today.
Our manifesto
Psychedelics have a rich history spanning thousands of years, offering transformative experiences. They’re not for everyone, but even though research is still in its early stages, it’s undeniable that psychedelics can produce profound insights and improve mental well-being when used correctly and in a safe set and setting.
We believe it’s time for a thoughtful initiative by and for the community, one that goes beyond clinical healthcare. It’s about recognizing the millions of people exploring consciousness safely at home, and who see plant medicine ceremonies as a way to become better members of our interconnected world.
Our products combine science-based information to avoid potential risks while also celebrating the significant role plant medicine plays in well-being and innovation. We stress that keeping psychedelics hidden and stigmatized often leads to misuse, both personally and collectively.
At Portier we combine functional design, visionary art, and science-based education to encourage a deeper, more respectful engagement with psychedelics. Beyond safekeeping, a well-designed ceremonial framework can highlight respectful and intentional use.
Through consistent surveys and communication with our 4,000+ followers, we cocreate something beautiful made by- and for the psychedelic community. Together, we aim to raise the standards for safe, respectful, and quality use.
About our Impact
Ten percent of our profits are dedicated to supporting psychedelic research, policy, education, and indigenous rights movements. We have volunteered for numerous psychedelic research organisations and psychedelic educational institutes. We use only the most sustainable and regenerative wood species available.
Our total contributions (as per 16/04/2025):
$12,023.00
We are currently donating to:
We have previously donated to the following organisations, as well as a famous multidisciplinary psychedelic research organisation in the USA.
About the founders
Koen has worked over 18 years with psychedelic research organizations, retreats, and harm reduction organisations, such as the OPEN Foundation (advancing psychedelic research and therapies in Europe since 2007) and Synthesis (providers of legal, medically supervised retreats).
Sebastian has been active within indigenous circles, working with NGO’s to safeguard indigenous communities that use ayahuasca. He is also a certified breathwork facilitator. Both have a deep passions for the exploration of consciousness, ecological sustainability, psychedelic science, and mental wellbeing.
The rest of the community comprises anonymous healthcare workers, researchers, data analysts, teachers, engineers, writers, musicians, artists, and many more regular people who believe in changing how psychedelics are perceived by the broader public.
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