About Us
At Bearded Viking Mead Co, we focus on creating good times and supporting family and friends. We value faithfulness, diversity, teamwork, and camaraderie—the whole purpose of a "Meadup" is to bring people together.
JT (Viko) Robertson
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
The CEO and founder of Bearded Viking Mead Company, Viko the Dreaded One (not like that, think “hair”), served 14 years in the Military, both as a Marine and Solider in Afghanistan and Iraq. This and his extensive work experience prepared him for adversity and challenges, giving him the fortitude and vision to become a great Leader and successful entrepreneur.
He started making mead (honey wine) in 2019 during the pandemic and it quickly became a passion of love, dedicating countless hours to perfecting a process that results in a unique off dry flavor. It's truly “a new take on an old drink”, a variant of the world’s oldest fermented drink. His favorite mead flavor is Valkyrie (blueberry, lemon), and Fjor, a fast 2nd (cinnamon, peach).
Aside from perfecting his mead, his hobbies are falconry, hunting, fishing, and trail riding. Having a Meadup with friends, family, and new acquaintances is his sole purpose in life, supporting each other with frequency and celebrating love. During the summer you will most likely catch him hanging with his daughters on the river or on a trail in the mountains.
“The look to future is exciting, pushing the boundaries of innovation to provide the best of a perceived nerdy drink. Skol!”
Alex (Jarl) Martinez
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
As Chief Operating Officer of Bearded Viking Mead Co, Jarl the Bougie One, signed up to serve his county in the USMC at the age of 18 and jaunted around the world making him familiar with jumping in feet first, and getting things done. He met our fearless leader, Viko, at the University of Phoenix while crushing the business program.
His hobbies are all about the great outdoors—camping, hunting, fishing and long walks on the beach. He’s even been known to go on a boat ride or two. If it has something to do with being outside, he’s there. You may see him in his big black Ford truck or one of his classic muscle cars so don’t be surprised if you catch him on the streets making clouds with the rear tires of an old car.
“The Bearded Viking Mead Co is exciting because it is a whole new take on an ancient drink, and you would be hard pressed to find a better crew of guys to work with. From R&D to the finished products we put everything we have into it and make the sacrifices for each other not many people would be willing to make. These magnificent bastards are my favorite part of work.”
Ryon (Doc) Sim
CHIEF INFORMATION & FINANCE OFFICER (CIFO)
Ryon “Doc” is our Chief Information and Finance Officer - "I'm your huckleberry!” Born in the 70's, he’s THE OG (Old Guy) within this group of amazing gents.
He’s worked in the IT field for Uncle Sam for the last 25+yrs covering hardware and OS support, cabling, networking, clinical software (EHR) support, and database management. He also stays busy as an ER Nurse. Doc served as a Navy Corpsman for 16 years – 9yrs with the Blue side, and 7 years on the Green side with the USMC supporting 2 deployments related to Desert Storm (yep, that long ago) and Iraqi Freedom. His hobbies include camping, off-roading (RZR play, batting .333, rolling one and escaping the fire of another), lazing on a beach, and hiking with his 4 dogs.
“My favorite aspect of the Bearded Viking Mead Co is being a part of an amazing startup with my friends, enjoying the "R&D" aspects of JT refining the various meads, and looking forward to providing a product that will make the world a happier place one sip, one glass, one bottle at a time. My favorite of course is OG Mead (original).”
Rudy (The Boat) Martinez
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Rudy is the Creative Vice President at Bearded Viking Mead Co. He got his design experience in the trenches of print shops for a few years before heading to college and getting his degree in Graphic Design and Project Management. That spring-boarded his jump into agency life where he slammed some time with one of the top design agencies in Utah, giving him the gusto to make the entrepreneurial jump into running his own design studio. With over 20 years of experience in the design, marketing, and advertising fields, he’s primed to take Bearded Viking Mead Co to the 9 realms of artistic innovation.
Rudy has had varying run-ins with mead - some good, some not so good, but the countless hours of meticulous attention to detail and perfecting flavor profiles that our fearless founder and mead master, Viko, puts into the Bearded Viking Mead recipes has definitely put a “new take on an old drink”! “The Bote’s” favs are Vikings Blod (spiced cherry, orange, hibiscus), Tyr (spiced pear, pea blossom tea), Fjor (peach, cinnamon, green tea), and Hylli (jalapeño, raspberry).
In his spare time Rudy likes going on long walks on the beach, holding hands and cuddling. He’s the life and love of the Meadup! But when he’s not daring you to do something questionable or saying “hold my mead” (while rolling up his pant legs), his young daughters are the light of his life, and he spends most of his time with them doing “dad of the year” things. As a brother to the Jarl, he also loves cruising and burning hotrod tires with the Nut Krackers Car Club, along with hiking, trekking, cooking, boating, and camping.
“What I like best about BVMCo is how the team has morphed together like Voltron! The team all motivates each other, supports one another, truly believes in our product and brand. We all strive for success with the same shared passion and goal to bring this dark-age grog back into the light of the 20th century in our own way with our own kick and flare!
Brian (Tro) Bond
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Brian (Tro) is the Chief Marketing Officer at Bearded Viking Mead Co. Brian has over 30 years' experience in commercial aviation and has served in various Senior Leadership roles.
Outside of work, Brian loves spending time with family and friends in the mountains hunting, fishing, rucking, and all things outdoors including toking on various types of pipe tobacco while sipping scotch, bourbon, or craft whiskey. He enjoys golf, as well as live heavy metal and country outlaw music.
Brian’s current top 3 flavors of Bearded Viking Mead are: Vikings Blod (dark cherry, orange, hibiscus, cinnamon), Hylli (jalapeño, raspberry), and Fenrir which is the Guinness of meads (black current, chai, honey).
Brian is passionate about the Bearded Viking brand and introducing people to the tantalizing flavors of our unique and delicious mead. Brian loves the Bearded Viking culture of “work hard/play hard,” and he enjoys equipping and mentoring people to help them meet their personal and professional goals.
Tito (The Face) Negrete
CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER
Tito “The Face” is our Chief Human Resource Officer. Having proudly served in the medical group of the world’s greatest Air Force, his mantra “staying true to integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do” provides the core values that make Bearded Viking Mead Co fly above the rest.
He is a husband and father to four daughters, (let alone keeping all of us Vikings, Outlaws, and Cowboys inline) he is constantly pulling out gray hairs. His hobbies keep him pretty active - hitting weights, water time, playing sports or just hangin’ ‘round the wife and kids. When it’s time to chill, he’ll unwind on some blacktop curves cruising the Harley or chilling on the front porch with his favorite bottle of mead, Tyr, treating his taste buds to a calming intoxication.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside some of the best and brightest men within Bearded Viking Mead Co. I enjoy the candid, creative, enthusiasm and just all around badassness we have in this group!
Charlie (One Horse) Cleaves
VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES
Charlie ‘One Horse’ is our Vice President of Sales. He spent close to 30 years with the Government, including serving in the U.S. Army with the 2/75 Ranger Bn. and 5th Special Forces. After the Army, Charlie graduated from San Diego State and then did a career with the U.S. Marshals before setting out on his own and starting Charles Cleaves Consulting LLC. Always the multi-tasker, Charlie’s passion of coaching, mentoring, and helping kids be the best that they can be, led him to a career as the Varsity Soccer coach at Steele Canyon High School for 24 years, and as a volunteer with the Police Athletic League working with at-risk kids for many years.
But his greatest passion is traveling the world with his beautiful wife Dotty, and being Daddio to their four kids, and five grandchildren. Moving to Montana and meeting Bearded Viking Mead Co-founder, Viko, on their Montana ridge top began an amazing journey of Charlie’s introduction to mead and meeting the Bearded Viking Brothers that have come together to turn a passion and dream into something incredibly special.
“Attitude is Everything” and “Build it and they will come,” have been some of Charlie’s favorite sayings over the years.
“Nothing describes the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our team in building a company that will revolutionize the beverage industry and I am honored and grateful to be a part of this new adventure.”
Nathan (Optimus) Southam
DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES & LOGISTICS
Nathan (Optimus) is our Director of Facilities and Logistics. Nathan was a soldier for 12 years serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he also worked in the oilfield – all contributing to his strong work ethic. He also flexes his business savviness in his current adventure of owning his own trucking company.
He met our fearless leader, Viko, while in the 118th Sapper Co. They crewed the Buff in Afghanistan together and dug up IEDs and argued over what really happened at the Alamo.
He enjoys hunting, fishing, and traveling with his family. He's always off on a new adventure somewhere.
"Bearded Viking Mead Co is the next exciting adventure for me. I love the team that I work with. A better group of men would be hard to find."
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We are a brotherhood. We are misfits, mountain men, outlaws, city slickers – modern day Vikings forged by a brotherhood of serious jokes. Most of us have known each other for years and met through the Military, college, or elk hunting excursions.
When it comes to our business culture, we take care of each other, and we get work done. We strive for excellence in all we do while never taking ourselves too seriously. You can bet we take great pride in giving each other shit! It's most entertaining to razz and heckle JT Viko!
We welcome you to join us on the most ridiculous epic journey! We cannot wait to connect and mead you!
Skol!