They say you should never mix business and family. Brothers Chris and Brian Gilbert soundly ignored this advice when they founded Cosmic Cowboy Smoke Shop. From the outside, the shop evokes the Southwestern Pueblo architecture you might find in New Mexico. “We didn’t want to look like a smoke shop from the outside,” Chris told me. “I was really big into the idea of having it kind of plain on the outside so that when you walk through the door there’s kind of a shock almost.”
When I stepped through the door, I felt like I was entering a portal to another universe, far far away from the sweaty commotion of South Congress. I was greeted by a heady waft of incense and the sounds of “Alien Boy” by Oliver Tree resonating through the speaker. The dark purple walls gave the interior a moody atmosphere, punctuated by the otherworldly displays of glass throughout the shop. I was struck by the fact that the glass art transcends the typical head shop fare of pipes and bongs, immediately drawn to a display case of artisanal glass jewelry pieces.
The Gilbert brothers always knew they wanted to start a business together. “I was good at math; he was good at art,” Chris told me. With this in mind, Chris went to school at St. Edward’s University for business entrepreneurship. Brian went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City to study fine arts. Originally, they wanted to own an art gallery, but quickly realized you have to be rich to do that. They bounced ideas back and forth and eventually landed on a boutique-style smoke shop, which combined their talents of business, art, and, of course, smoking pot.
“We loved boutique shops of all kinds, things that had their own soul,” Brian told me. “And back in the day, Austin had a lot of it – the Drag, South Congress.” (R.I.P. Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds.) They used to love wandering around shops, even if they weren’t buying anything, enjoying that each establishment had its own curated vibe without feeling “hoity-toity” or “pinky-out” as Brian put it.
After deciding on a smoke shop that would reflect their passion for the local arts scene as their business venture, the Gilbert brothers had to settle on a name. “I’m obsessed with specifically Austin country music,” Chris told me, “and I was listening to Doug Sahm a lot and he talks a lot about the ‘cosmic groove.’ I had seen a smoke shop somewhere else called Space Cowboy and I was like that’s so cool. I love the concept, but I don’t wanna copy it, so I thought I came up with this original name: Cosmic Cowboy. I searched it, and found all this history from the Seventies of the musicians in Austin calling themselves ‘cosmic cowboys’ and it was a specifically Austin term for Austin country musicians that smoked weed and took acid or were into the more counterculture realm.”
The concept of the cosmic cowboy, they told me, captures what makes Austin cool. Hippies and rednecks get along here: They listen to the same music, smoke the same weed, drink the same beer. Cosmic Cowboy seeks to capture and honor the duality of its place of origin.
“The Willie Nelson-style cowboy,” added Brian. They often speak across each other in this way, as if sharing the right and left sides of one brain. The concept of the cosmic cowboy, they told me, captures what makes Austin cool. The city is full of hippies, but also in the middle of a red state. Hippies and rednecks get along here: They listen to the same music, smoke the same weed, drink the same beer. Cosmic Cowboy seeks to capture and honor the duality of its place of origin.
As reflected by its merchandise, the shop is not focused only around cannabis, but around culture as well, specifically music and art, and even more specifically glass art. “We were, and I think still are, the only shop that purely carries American glass, and quartz only,” Brian told me. “Nothing import.”
Chris continued, “It’s about supporting the artists that are innovating the culture and innovating the scene and making sure they’re getting paid.”
“And understanding the starving artist plight,” Brian added, having been one himself. In fact, the brothers’ first collaboration was Chris helping to publish Brian’s first art book.
I asked about the ups and downs of working with family. “We have each other’s backs,” Brian said, taking a sip of his Native Texan. “Difficult, but doable. We’ll still bicker, but we’ll make up over a beer.”
“We’re probably hungry,” Chris chimed in. “We’re the most drama in the shop.” Both brothers laughed while the other staff member in the shop smiled and nodded his head.
Although they’re five years apart, the Gilbert brothers started smoking weed at the exact same time. Chris credits the plant with helping him with anxiety, Brian with his depression. “And then we got really into glass,” Chris said. “He caught me smoking out of a copper pipe and took me to buy my first pipe.” (Note to the reader: Do not smoke out of a copper pipe.) Their parents were decidedly not cool with it at first, but gave in later, eventually even investing part of their retirement into the shop when the brothers opened it in 2016.
The Gilbert brothers credit their success partly to Chris’ business entrepreneurship program, during which he created the business plan for what would later become Cosmic Cowboy, and to Brian’s experience working in a smoke shop after college. “We had an inside scoop ’cause of the shop I was working for,” Brian said. “I had all the information. I knew how much [the owner] was spending, I knew how much he was bringing in, I knew the artists… So when [Chris] was building the business plan, I would come help with some of those answers.”
Chris added, “I tell young people, if you don’t know what to go to school for, go for business. It’s not fun, but every job you’re ever gonna have is a business and you can always start your own business if you find something you’re really passionate about.”
Like many other shops at the time, Cosmic Cowboy started out primarily with CBD products, eventually expanding into THC and other psychoactives. In doing their research, the brothers noticed that reviews of other smoke shops often revealed two major issues: lack of knowledge and bad customer service. They say they strive to make the Cosmic Cowboy experience as informative and as friendly as possible. As part of this endeavor, they make it a point to regularly use all the products that they sell. This dedication results in customers who will often go out of their way to come to Cosmic Cowboy, even if they don’t live nearby. Whether they’re looking for a $30 pipe for everyday use or an $18,000 glass piece to pass down as a family heirloom, hippies and rednecks all over town will attest that Cosmic Cowboy is worth the drive.
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This article appears in September 18 • 2026.
