Troy “Primo” Primeaux has evolved from rock band member to nursing student to growing the fourth-hottest pepper in the world.

Primeaux was the guitarist in the southern-psychedelic rock band Santeria from 1994 until the early 2000s. He went with “Primo” because he thought no one could pronounce his name. When he was studying nursing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, it was a work-study job in the horticulture department that changed the path of his career.

Some experimentation with hot peppers led to what now is Primo's Peppers, and a popular Lafayette-based business was born. It's one of several Acadiana-based up-and-coming food businesses that are starting to grow in popularity around the country.

“I was always fascinated by hot peppers,” said Primeaux, who runs the business along with his wife, Kara. “What can you do in your backyard that’s rock and roll? Not only hot peppers but the world’s hottest that you could find.”

It was while studying nursing that he landed a work-study job in the horticulture department. He met Dennis Wollard and Jim Foret, both of them arborists and horticulturists. As he worked in the department and gotten more interested in peppers, he’d ask Wollard and Foret about cross-breeding peppers.

“I changed my major,” Primeaux said. “I didn’t think it was a bad idea because, at this point, I only have two semesters left to graduate. I had become disenchanted with (nursing) because it takes a special, selfless person to be a nurse.”

When he did graduate with his degree in horticulture, Primeaux worked with researching soils for various non-profits such as Louisiana Native Plant Initiative. Eventually, he got hired by UL as an assistant to a professor to work on soil and water quality.

While he was still a student at UL, Primeaux was the first North American to be sold the Naga Morich seeds. On the pepper scale, it's known as the ghost pepper's hotter cousin. It can be up to 600 times hotter than a jalapeno, according to pepperscale.com, and can taste a little fruity at first before the heat kicks in after about 30 seconds.

Primeaux bought 10 for $40, and he began an expedition to find the hottest pepper. He grew the Primo Pepper from cross-breeding the Naga Morich seed with the 7 Pot Seed, which also packs some heat (up to 480 times hotter than a jalapeno).

that led to the 7 Pot Pepper, now known as the Primo Pepper. He and his wife, Kara, created a variety of hot sauces and pepper jellies.

“The Primo didn’t intend to make the world’s hottest pepper,” Primeaux said. “It didn’t intend to do anything other than something cool.”

Primeaux now travels the country to various hot sauce and pepper festivals to show his product to the heat-loving masses. He gets invited to local events as well, including a February 2018 event where he met celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.

Primeaux and his wife were invited to Grand Coteau for the Run Away Boucherie for Mardi Gras. While the rain came down and there were people sitting on a porch someone brought up the topic of Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen. Primeaux mentioned he was contacted from Popeye's, and someone said that he “needs to go talk to Tony (Bourdain).”

“He had just got there,” Primeaux said. “He was sitting down on the porch. No one was talking to him. I just went up and said, ‘Hey, Tony. Troy Primeaux. Nice to meet you.’ He said, ‘Hey, man.’ He drank a beer and we just started talking peppers. Eventually, he started laughing, and then I noticed he was really attentive on what I was saying.”

Bourdain told stories about his experiences with hot dishes around the world. As that night progressed and a band played, Primeaux said Bourdain “left the way he came with no big goodbye.”

When it comes to his business, Primeaux said it is a “craft beer model” type of business.

“You’re an artisan,” Primeaux said. “You have a talent and it’s a trade and thank God there’s enough people in the world that appreciate that. They might not all be in Lafayette, Louisiana, but it’s growing.”