Favorite Substance and Why?

Gents,

Off topic and just out of curiosity. Being a first-generation American with strong European roots, I have always found it fascinating which substances people use to get through the week, enjoy the weekend, wake up in the morning, or fall asleep at night. ESPECIALLY here in America. Probably because of the wide variety of lifestyles I have noticed. Especially in NYC. I am curious what your guys' favorite are? And no I am not referring to just ones that are deemed as hip or that sexily do not fit within the realm as being legal. Some anecdotes of things I have noticed whilst in finance:

  • One dude was so into tea that I am confident he had at least 3 different types every day for different moods and occasions. Black to wake up, green to ease the after lunch sugar crash, and cham to calm him at night
  • I've met more "unconventional"(I say that tongue in cheek because, and not to get political, but it's just pot lol) pot bros in finance than I would have expected. Many top performers I have met regularly enjoy a puff, almost every day, although, and not that I know for a fact, usually just at night.
  • One lady, I worked with had 8 coffees every single day. Without them, she was actually very calm and much more pleasant. And when I mean without, I mean 8... lol
  • A guy I knew swore by vitamins and would take One-Flew-Over-The-Coo-Coo's-Nest amounts of pills each day. He claimed they were all just vitamins and I really think they were but 20+ pills a day??
  • Another fella (this one is less unique) I know would work around 100 on average, then snort his brain out all weekend just to be alert enough to go out. This was especially fascinating because he was otherwise very health conscious. Almost never had more than a few drinks. (This one proved to be the least sustainable, as he developed or at least discovered that he had heart palps.)
  • And lastly, One person I had heard of, may be an urban legend, really did believe the Wolf of Wall St. mantra, whether inspired or not, Idk, but felt that "only 2 times a day were indeed rookie numbers". The funny thing was he worked as a quant at a top HF according to my buddy who went to school with him. And no he did not leave the office to record those above rookie numbers...
  • And lastly, a kid I worked alongside a few years ago at an internship at a European bank, would have ridiculous amounts of sweets each day. It was not uncommon to see him have 3 or 4 bags of M&Ms. Weirdly enough he was one of the smartest and leanest (physique wise) guys I have met while in industry. Just quite hyper when indulging... which was every day.

So what oddities have you guys noticed on a substance basis? Or what is your pref? This isn't meant to insult or be judgemental btw. Where I'm from it's a very much "you do you" mentality. Looking forward to some stories and hopefully laughs!

Cheers

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