PCA Magazine Winter 2020

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG WINTER 2020 | PCA The Magazine 39 and others, our line is as diverse as the palates of the consumers who smoke them. What was your first paying job ever? How old were you? I was around 13 or 14 years old andworked at a nursery cutting thorns off of roses.My dadwas a florist and plant seller, somy brother and I would do this in the summer. How do you use your creativity to influence? I think themain purpose of creativity and art is to inspire. And I hope through our products, we inspire people. Fromthe feedbackwe get fromconsumers about howmuch they enjoy our products—seeing the effect on final consumers is beyondwords. Everyone’s going through stuff in their lives and cigar smoking is a timewhere you can leave it all behind. Tell me about a person you admire. Why do you think they have made an important impact? In the industry, GustavoCura, whoworks for Oliva Tobacco Company out of Tampa. He’s in charge of theirNicaraguan tobacco operations.When I was 24 andmoved down there, Gustavo always treatedmewith the upmost respect and taught me somuch about the production and the business. He is definitely one ofmymentors in the industry. He’s a true tobacco guy through and through and he’s a noBS kind of guy—gives it to you straight. Which have been your most successful marketing and advertising channels? Instagram. The company startedoffofmypersonal [Instagram] account, and then wemoved it over toabusiness account and its sort of takenona lifeof its own fromthere.We’re workingongettingFacebookand YouTube goingnow. At last year’s PCATradeShow, wedebuteda time-lapseSEEDTOCIGARvideo thatweworkedon for over a year. [The video] starts by showing seeds inmyhandand takes you through thewholeprocess.We releaseda 1-minute versionanda 10-minute short film. Can you tell me a story about the first cigar you ever smoked? My first official cigar was at Christmas withmy grandpa and brother. It was anArturoFuente Opus XNo. 2 (Torpedo). At 18 years old, smoking a cigar with my grandfather as he shared war stories—doesn’t get any cooler than that. Being from Connecticut, I was always aware of the state’s deep tobacco history and culture, and up until the 1990s, therewere still a lot of cigar brands and factories in the state. If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing right now? I’d probably be in themusic business. Ormaybe the travel industry somehow. Or a comedian. Any exciting company news you can share with us? Definitely. It’s going to be an exciting show for us this year— we’re going to be releasing the 5-year ‘Anniversario’ of our first brand, El Güegüense. For me, this is a very special product because it represents the heart and soul of Nicaragua andmy experience living there since 2003; the image of El Güegüense is like the statue of liberty for Nicaragua. It is the oldest indigenous satire of theWestern Hemisphere and is protected by UNESCO as a world heritage folk dance. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? FDA. Remove FDA altogether for premiumcigars. Premium cigars pose no public health threat. Kids don’t smoke premiumcigars. Everyone knows this and all the statistical information shows this. Who inspires you? The hip-hop artists “The Reminders.” They’re a husband andwife duo, have three kids and havemanaged to create a career in themusic industry—and they did it all themselves. And to be able to keep such a positive influence on themusic they’re creating and their kids—I’ve nevermet such polite, smart and respectful kids. They inspire to keep it positive. I was lucky enough to collaborate on themusic video “Foundation” with themand they’ve performed A S O L I D F O U N D A T I O N with us at some IPCPR trade shows. Where do you plan to be in 10 years? I just love cigars. I hope to still be in the industry and hope FoundationCigars has become one of those staple brands in the humidor. I also hope I’mnot traveling; I hit amillionmiles a fewyears ago, and this year I’m going to be spending a lotmore time inNicaragua. In 10 years I’d like to be spendingmore time in one place. Where do you go/what do you do on a night out? InEstelí (Nicaragua), I usually go up into themountains. There’s a great place— El Tisey — very peaceful, relaxing, there’s a family-runB&B and a great spot, ElMirador scenic overlook, where you can see the entire valley of Estelí. Which three words best describe you? Passionate. Funny (king of corny jokes). Outgoing. Tell me something about yourself that might surprise people? I’mreally intoEthiopian history andEgyptian history. If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out in the industry, what would it be? For retail shops: Create an environment that is not intimidating. A lot of times, people are intimidatedwalking into a humidor, especiallywhen they aren’t hardcore into cigars. Just really understanding everything that’s in your humidor and getting the right product to the right customer. Sometimes cigar people can get really cliquey—it’s really important to create that friendly environment. “MY FIRST OFFICIAL CIGAR SMOKED WAS AN ARTURO FUENTE OPUS X NO. 2 (TORPEDO).”