Pepper X factor: Fort Mill breeder hires workers in recovery, giving them a second chance at life

FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – At Puckerbutt Pepper Company, the heat grabs your attention. As we discovered, there’s far more than meets the taste buds, but that takes some time to get past.

“It’s a little bit intimidating,” said customer Omar Ochoa, who went to the Fort Mill store on Main for the hot stuff. “That one definitely kicks in.”

It’s as if he almost died and went to heaven at Puckerbutt.

“I can’t even talk right now, this has me like sweating,” Ochoa struggles. “But you can taste the Pepper X on this one.”

To call Fort Mill a hotspot would be an understatement.

“This pepper ride has been going on for a long time,” Ed Currie told Queen City News.

This capsaicin capital is where Currie cultivates peppers to challenge and even overwhelm our senses. He’s hotter than ever, doing interviews with media from around the globe about Pepper X. Last October, Guinness World Records officially declared it the world’s hottest chili pepper.

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“Yeah, the heat was unbearable for a couple of hours, and the cramps were unbearable for a lot longer,” he described the sensation of eating Pepper X. “Peppers are just a fruit, and we’re supposed to enjoy them, not curse them and want to die.”

Pepper X was certified at 2.693 million Scoville heat units (SHU). That’s three times hotter than Currie’s previous record holder, the Carolina Reaper.

With our camera rolling, he tastes Pepper X with the tip of his tongue.

That was the tip of the scorching iceberg.

“If you look, you can see the oil in here. Alright,” he said, followed by a speechless 15 seconds.

“That’s insane… that is insanely hot. Insane! My saliva glands are rolling, trying to get that oil out of my mouth,” Currie strained.

Bringing the heat, redemption

That’s where most stories about the chilis stop. But an employee pulled us aside to talk about what he considers the real story here that doesn’t generate spicy headlines.

“Everyone comes in, and they want to talk about Pepper X, and I get it,” Tom Petropulos said.

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Petropulos’s following statement packed a punch.

“Ninety percent of the employees that work for Ed are recovering drug addicts, such as myself,” he revealed.

“I employ them,” Currie said. “God gave me a second chance, my family gave me a second chance, my friends and community gave me a second chance; who am I not to give others a second chance?”

Ed is in recovery, too. His love of peppers gave him heat and hope.

“You know, I still get tears in my eyes, it’s not just the pepper that making me like this. I’m emotional about it because people took risks on me with this.”

“It means the world to me,” Petropulos said. “He’s taught me what a Godly man is, to reach out and help somebody that’s struggling.”

That sense of compassion that starts at the top might be the secret sauce.

“For me, it’s a validation from a higher power that I’m doing the right thing, and I’m leading the right team, and that we are all on the correct journey,” says Currie.

Before every first taste of their hot sauce, there are stories of second chances.

It had been a hot minute since someone believed in folks like Tom.

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“Without God and without Ed giving me that second chance, my life wouldn’t be what it is today,” Petropulos said.

That could be the X-factor in a fiery recipe for redemption.

“Oh yeah, I’m lit up!” Ochoa says, sampling more hot sauce. “I’m wondering if my nose is running too much.”

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