Fall 2020 PCA Magazine

56 PCA The Magazine | AUTUMN 2020 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG Five Questions Antonio “Tony” Gomez LA FLOR DOMINICANA WHAT HAS YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT LA FLOR DOMINICANA RIGHT NOW? I think LFD has a lot of momentum right now and I feel like we’re really coming into our own. We have some new releases for 2020 that we’re very excited about, which we actually wanted to release this year but could not because of the current global situation. We will definitely have something special for PCA 2021! WHAT ONE THING DO YOU ATTRIBUTE AS THE KEY TO YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS? It’s a simple philosophy that ismuch easier said than done: Do things the right way. By owning and operating both our own farmand factorywe have a special level of control over our products that allows us to take a route of quality and consistency that would bemuchmore challenging tomaintain otherwise. Theway we see it, when someone sits down and lights up a cigar, whether it be in themorning, afternoon, or in the evening after work, that is a special moment. If they choose to spend thatmoment with anLFD then it is our responsibility to not ruin it for themand deliver what is expected of us every time. WHEN NOT THINKING ABOUT CIGARS, WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS? Quite a bit, actually. I’ve always been a very curious person and I love to learn new things. I enjoy photography, design, reading, cooking, I’ve been boxing for the last 5 years or so and I’ve also played a couple instruments throughout my life. Really, I like anything creative that I can immersemyself in. CAN YOU SHARE ONE MISTAKE YOU MADE IN YOUR CAREER AND WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM IT? There isn’t any one glaringmistake that comes tomind but I’mcertainly a very different person today than I was 11 years agowhen I beganmy career. I’ve learned not to panicwhen things seemcatastrophic, I’ve learned to trustmy instinctsmorewhen it comes tomy ideas whilemaintaining a healthy level of doubt, and I’ve learned by seeingwithmy own eyes whatmy father toldme at the beginning ofmy journey, that not everyonewho smiles at you is your friend. It all comes down to maturity and experience. WHERE DO YOU SEE LA FLOR DOMINICANA IN FIVE YEARS? I fully expect us to continue the trajectory that we are on. A lot of people forget that we are a young company, relatively speaking.Many of our competitors are longstanding companies that have survived through generations, and the fact that we arementioned alongside themas equals is a big deal to us. I thinkwe have really just begun to hit our stride and the future is in our hands and ready to bemolded however we choose.My little brother Litto Jr. is in college right now and should hopefully bewith us full time five years fromnow, so it’ll be interesting to watch his career begin and seewhat he brings to the table as well. 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 1 .