Speaker: 00:00:00

(mellow music)

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(mellow music continues)

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(mellow music continues)

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- There's a story inside every smoke shop,

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with every cigar, and with every person.

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Come be a part of the

cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

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This is "Box Press."

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- Remon Mansour, CigarBros.

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It was fun yesterday

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walking at the other end of the pavilion

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seeing this massive display of CigarBros,

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and seeing you with your team

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and thinking about the experience.

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How many years ago at TP would've been?

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It would've been?

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- Yeah, I think it's been

four years, about four years.

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- So before the pandemic and all that?

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- Yep, yep, yep.

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- And you had an idea?

- That's right, yep.

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I remember I walked up,

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of course, we've distributed

Boveda for a long time.

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And I saw you at the booth,

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looking at Boveda, and I went

and introduced myself to you,

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and had a conversation

and I shared my idea.

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- Well, and you had diagrams,

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and you had schematics

of what your idea was.

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And you said, I think specifically it was,

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"I want to create a

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self-contained humidor that can be placed

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in non-traditional locations

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to distribute cigars."

- That's right.

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- And, "I want Boveda to be involved.

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We wanna have the

preservation aspect of it

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handled for the consumer."

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And there's a lot of people

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that have a lot of ideas.

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And, I don't know,

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there was just something

about your earnestness.

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Yeah, I told Jay [Fifield] about it,

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and then you started dealing with Jay.

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And I don't know that

it happened instantly,

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but you went from that concept

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to rolling out a beta test, at least,

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in a relatively short period of time.

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I mean, you had to order things

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and deal with all the details.

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But I think within a couple of years

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you had started

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this CigarBros.

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- Yeah, yep.

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- It wasn't called CigarBros back then.

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- So me and my brothers own a few-

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- Cash & Carry.

- Two Cash & Carry's

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in San Diego.

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And I think when I met you,

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I don't even think we

had a name for it yet.

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I wanna say it was early,

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maybe it was February, 2019, I wanna say.

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And we had just received

our first prototype,

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and we're still in the testing phase.

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And remember, we had a humidor program

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in San Diego since 2004, local one.

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And I've always been intrigued

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with kind of the challenge

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of getting cigars placed in

just non-traditional places.

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And when you see, you know,

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the trend in those places,

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it's rewarding for a guy like me.

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Me and my brothers, we launched,

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you know, a ton of stuff

with every category,

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you know, beverage, candy, snacks.

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And the birth of this idea

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was, as we were expanding

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our cigar selection out of Cash & Carry

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and taking a look at our

current humidor program locally,

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I said, "Man, it hasn't changed,"

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since 2004 to 2019, it didn't evolve.

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So the idea came to me

in 2018 where I said,

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"You gotta have more variety,

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but it's gotta be fresh,

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and there has to be no question."

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But how do you do that?

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Where do you start?

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That's all I knew.

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That if someone's gonna carry cigars,

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or actually if someone's gonna buy cigars

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and be happy about it,

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that there has to be enough selection

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to choose from the best brands.

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And then, the freshness

cannot be a question.

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You just gotta know that it's fresh.

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And so that's when I got to work.

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And the birth really,

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in 2018, was an acrylic

version, vertical standing.

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And we did a prototype and all this.

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But, just personally, I didn't

pull the trigger on that,

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because I wasn't comfortable

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with the idea that

someone is gonna be happy

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to constantly buy from an acrylic humidor.

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That the freshness can't be a question.

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You just gotta know that it's fresh.

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So I figured there's gotta

be these self-contained,

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climate-controlled units.

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And so we went out and sourced one.

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I actually flew out to China,

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this is the factory, the

best one we can find,

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that was willing to modify it

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to be more commercial grade,

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do the vertical, pull-out drawers,

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and everything that's

geared for commercial use.

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And then, got my prototype.

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And then, that's what

I showed you in 2019.

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And no intention really

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of going outside of San Diego with it.

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- Right.

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- But just wanted to see if we can change

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how and where cigars are being sold.

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Like, how far can we push it?

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And, man, you were so gracious.

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Like, you know,

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as a entrepreneur, it's

tough, it's very lonely.

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It's a tough journey when you got an idea

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and you're trying to go after it.

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And you guys were just,

I told you about it.

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And I said, "Hey, I think

there's a place for us

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where, you know, Boveda and

freshness is hand-in-hand,

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and that's what we're trying to provide."

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And so the teamwork was awesome.

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And we really, really

appreciate it from day one.

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- Well, and it's intriguing,

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because where my mind went

in listening to your vision

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was this is really cool

to have the opportunity

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to stand up a self-contained

humidor in a liquor store,

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in a convenience store, at a golf course,

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I mean, depending on the market.

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But I thought about how many places

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I've seen displays of cigars where,

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or even if I'm wandering around Las Vegas,

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if I see somebody selling cigars,

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today, there's more properly

humidified storage facilities

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for cigars in the casinos

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in Las Vegas than there used to be.

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But you used to buy a 15, 20, $30 stick

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from somebody walking around

a vendor in the casino,

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and you'd light it and

you'd go, "This is awful.

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Because it's not protected,

this is just terrible."

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And I think of those

different liquor stores

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that have a limited

selection behind the counter

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because it's an impulse buy

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for somebody that's coming

in on a Friday night.

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You know, it's just not intentional.

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It's just not right.

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I mean, congratulations.

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I mean, looking at these

beautiful displays,

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substantial, I mean, the

investment that you've made

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in the vehicle that you're

delivering this service,

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and you're selling a service.

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You are the source for these cigars.

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And you're giving people,

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literally giving people,

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the vessel that they're going to use.

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And it has to be durable,

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and it can't just be there for...

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It's not just a self-liquidating display

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that's gonna be thrown out

in 30 days or whatever.

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So what an adventure.

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- Yeah, from the beginning,

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and even till now, my focus has always

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been on kind of the early stages

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in someone's relationship with cigars.

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I remember my own personal experience.

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My first time smoking a cigar

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was at the Gaslamp District

in Downtown San Diego.

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And it was at a cigar lounge,

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and I'm a college student.

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And, you know, I was always

intrigued with cigars,

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never had one.

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Walked into a lounge,

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walked into their walk-in humidor,

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and I purchased an ACID Kuba Kuba.

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- Which is common for a

lot of college students

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for their first cigar experience.

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- Exactly, exactly right.

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And, with the guys,

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and I just remember enjoying it so much,

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and that's it.

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Ever since then, it's that feeling.

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And that's kind of the

feeling I get when I enjoy it,

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it just takes me back to that every time.

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And so, in the flip side,

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we know this, if someone

has a bad experience

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their first time, it's game over.

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You're so turned off.

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You know, I've heard it a million times-

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- Yeah, "I turned green, I

got sick, I didn't like it.

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I never wanna do that again."

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- Exactly, and so I think

that's a combination

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of the wrong stick

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or the wrong freshness.

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So you gotta have the right

cigar and it's gotta be fresh.

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And then, it's all about the atmosphere

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and, you know, environment.

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But when it's done right,

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that first experience is magical.

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And you ask any cigar guy,

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they always remember their first cigar.

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They always remember

that first experience,

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what it felt like.

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So that's what I chase.

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That's kind of what was the birth of this

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and what fuels us to

continue to always think

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about those early stages.

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My customers, we've learned,

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is not necessarily the seasoned cigar guy.

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So now that we've expanded to 25 states.

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We're primarily in the liquor store,

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gas station, convenience

store, hotels, golf courses.

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A lot of the guys, it's on the go,

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or it's the guy that never

really thought about cigars,

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never even considered

going to a cigar lounge,

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picking up his bottle of

Jack Daniel's and saying,

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"You know, let me try a cigar."

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And so we, on purpose,

made it approachable.

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Displayed in a way where they

can choose the right cigar.

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So likely we recommend if you're new,

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try a mild, mild to medium.

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A lot of ours we do our own tubing

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so they can see what they're buying

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rather than blind to, you

know, just guessing their way.

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So from the rating, and the

brand, and the flavor notes,

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they could make their best educated guess.

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And then, the beauty is if

they made a good choice,

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the reward, like, no one guided them.

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They guided themself,

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they took it home, they enjoyed it.

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And that feeling, I

experienced it as well in wine.

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- Sure.

- Go to Costco

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and no one's there to help you.

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You kind of make your best

guess based on region,

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and based on maybe some

ratings, and things like that.

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But when you take one home

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and you enjoy it, it's a

rewarding feeling, right?

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And that's kind of the beginning

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relationship with that category.

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So you say, okay, maybe,

you're a Dominican guy,

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maybe you're a Nicaraguan,

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maybe you like these shades

versus others or sizes.

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And that's the birth,

that's kind of the start.

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And that's where my mind is constantly at,

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my mind is constantly at,

what's happening there?

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Who's that guy?

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What is he picking up?

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And what can we learn from

that so that we can continue

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to kind of guide people and

build their relationship?

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When I had this idea,

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and I took it to, you

know, the guys at Altadis,

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I took it to the guys at General,

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the guys at Oliva,

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the guys at Rocky, the guys at Gurkha,

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they were all open to ideas

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and welcoming for a young guy, you know?

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And they were all there with

me and with this concept.

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And so it's crazy

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how far we've come,

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but it couldn't have been done without,

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you know, the support of you guys.

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- So how old were you when

we had that encounter?

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- Yeah, so let's say

it was four years ago.

269

00:14:22,770 --> 00:14:24,640

I was about 36, 35, 36.

270

00:14:26,820 --> 00:14:29,430

- So, I mean, I'm just so excited

271

00:14:29,430 --> 00:14:31,380

to walk over and look at your display

272

00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:34,710

and see this map of the territories

273

00:14:34,710 --> 00:14:37,893

that you've been able to serve,

274

00:14:39,150 --> 00:14:40,890

and the way this has grown for you.

275

00:14:40,890 --> 00:14:43,890

Is it exceeding your expectations

276

00:14:43,890 --> 00:14:45,360

of what you thought at the outset?

277

00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,840

Because you were thinking

Southern California, local,

278

00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,140

because that's where

your Cash & Carry serves.

279

00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,480

Did you carry all these cigars

280

00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:56,880

in the Cash & Carry in the first place?

281

00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:58,680

- Yeah, yeah, so we had the relationships.

282

00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,650

We knew the brands.

- That's significant.

283

00:15:01,650 --> 00:15:06,650

- But, you know, when I

approached them with this concept,

284

00:15:07,170 --> 00:15:10,497

I said, "This is going to

non-traditional retailers."

285

00:15:11,940 --> 00:15:15,270

And we bounced around ideas a lot too of,

286

00:15:15,270 --> 00:15:17,160

what should we place,

how should we place it?

287

00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:22,160

And I did not expect

288

00:15:22,590 --> 00:15:24,333

a growth like this by any means.

289

00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:26,823

And it's crazy,

290

00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,470

every territory we've gone

in, we've learned that,

291

00:15:31,470 --> 00:15:36,470

you know, after about

a year, it just starts,

292

00:15:36,750 --> 00:15:40,560

you know, this retailer's

brother, or cousin, or friend-

293

00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:41,393

- Well, and they see it

294

00:15:41,393 --> 00:15:43,950

and it's almost like a referral program.

295

00:15:43,950 --> 00:15:46,260

- Yeah, exactly right.

296

00:15:46,260 --> 00:15:47,700

- So the intriguing thing to me

297

00:15:47,700 --> 00:15:51,270

is I would suspect you had

a little bit of pushback

298

00:15:51,270 --> 00:15:52,927

possibly from a few people saying,

299

00:15:52,927 --> 00:15:54,330

"Oh, you're gonna steal business

300

00:15:54,330 --> 00:15:56,310

from brick-and-mortar retail.

301

00:15:56,310 --> 00:15:58,563

We can't do this because"

blah, blah, blah.

302

00:15:59,430 --> 00:16:03,600

But really you're not,

303

00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:08,100

if anything, you're indoctrinating people

304

00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:11,160

to an experience that's

gonna perhaps cause them

305

00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:12,427

to go to a brick-and-mortar retailer.

306

00:16:12,427 --> 00:16:14,910

- Exactly, yeah.

- And that's okay too,

307

00:16:14,910 --> 00:16:17,800

because you're serving those retailers

308

00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,450

that's a part of your service area,

309

00:16:21,450 --> 00:16:24,450

at least in Southern

California where you're based.

310

00:16:24,450 --> 00:16:26,160

But now you've gone national.

311

00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,020

I mean, you've gone,

312

00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:29,220

how far have you gone?

313

00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:30,750

I mean, I didn't study the map.

314

00:16:30,750 --> 00:16:32,700

I mean, it's grown significantly.

315

00:16:32,700 --> 00:16:36,060

I don't know to what extent, but how many?

316

00:16:36,060 --> 00:16:39,840

- So last year, when we were here at PCA,

317

00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,763

we were licensed in five states.

318

00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:43,950

We just started distributing-

319

00:16:43,950 --> 00:16:46,680

- Five states last year?

- In the West Coast.

320

00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,310

And then, based on just

interest from retailers,

321

00:16:50,310 --> 00:16:54,720

we would open up distribution

licenses in more states

322

00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,100

and continue to add.

323

00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:57,960

Right now we're licensed in 25.

324

00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,990

We have humidors in 25 states,

325

00:17:00,990 --> 00:17:03,870

and I think we have eight states pending

326

00:17:03,870 --> 00:17:04,830

just waiting for distribution.

327

00:17:04,830 --> 00:17:05,963

- Massive growth.

- Yeah, unreal.

328

00:17:08,005 --> 00:17:09,630

I'm blessed, yeah.

- How fun.

329

00:17:09,630 --> 00:17:10,890

- Thank God, it's been-

330

00:17:10,890 --> 00:17:12,090

- How'd the brothers take it?

331

00:17:12,090 --> 00:17:13,770

That was your pet idea, right?

332

00:17:13,770 --> 00:17:16,740

And I can imagine in a family,

333

00:17:16,740 --> 00:17:19,860

I used to work with my

brothers and there's all,

334

00:17:19,860 --> 00:17:24,120

I mean, no one's harder

on you than your brothers

335

00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:25,260

with your ideas.

336

00:17:25,260 --> 00:17:27,840

I mean, and nobody's gonna

go to battle with you either

337

00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,880

and help you like a brother.

338

00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:31,693

How did they take it?

339

00:17:31,693 --> 00:17:33,720

- You know, since the beginning,

340

00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,550

fully supportive, man.

341

00:17:35,550 --> 00:17:40,550

And we have this relationship

342

00:17:40,590 --> 00:17:44,020

where, you know, I can

always go to my brothers

343

00:17:45,810 --> 00:17:47,700

and I can discuss ideas,

344

00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:50,340

and they just kind of help

me think things through.

345

00:17:50,340 --> 00:17:51,670

You know, I've got an idea

346

00:17:53,311 --> 00:17:56,070

and they're like a compass, literally.

347

00:17:56,070 --> 00:17:58,060

We take an idea and they love it

348

00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:02,010

and they've got an instinct.

349

00:18:02,010 --> 00:18:03,030

I have three older brothers,

350

00:18:03,030 --> 00:18:04,740

so I'm the youngest of the four.

351

00:18:04,740 --> 00:18:08,707

And they all have this

instinct where they just know,

352

00:18:08,707 --> 00:18:11,223

"Hey, absolutely, we love it, we got you.

353

00:18:12,690 --> 00:18:15,360

Maybe tweak it that direction."

354

00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,000

And so they helped to unlock these ideas.

355

00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,960

And, man, we still work

together every day.

356

00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,013

It's a blessing, you

know, it's unbelievable.

357

00:18:27,780 --> 00:18:29,580

- It's a really cool story.

358

00:18:29,580 --> 00:18:32,973

And I got choked up when I

was talking to you yesterday,

359

00:18:34,110 --> 00:18:36,780

because you turned in

front of your whole team

360

00:18:36,780 --> 00:18:39,813

and you said, "This is the

first guy that believed in me,

361

00:18:40,710 --> 00:18:42,267

or believed in this idea."

362

00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,950

What an absolute privilege

363

00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:53,550

to be in the room to

notice the enthusiasm,

364

00:18:53,550 --> 00:18:58,113

the earnestness, the passion

that you had for this idea,

365

00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,220

to not just blow it off,

to just encourage you.

366

00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:04,920

To hook you up with the

right guy in Jay Fifield.

367

00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,320

I mean, he's the right guy

368

00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,300

to go through this process with you.

369

00:19:09,300 --> 00:19:11,250

I mean, what an absolute privilege

370

00:19:11,250 --> 00:19:12,720

for us to be involved in it.

371

00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,340

And what a great opportunity

for Boveda to be a part of,

372

00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:20,490

I mean, you guys are a rock-solid

373

00:19:20,490 --> 00:19:22,683

group of people, the family.

374

00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,620

For us to be involved,

375

00:19:25,620 --> 00:19:28,890

for us to be able to share our story

376

00:19:28,890 --> 00:19:33,030

and share the freshness

journey with that vehicle

377

00:19:33,030 --> 00:19:36,690

going out from five states to 25 states

378

00:19:36,690 --> 00:19:41,037

with eight pending, that's wonderful.

379

00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:44,790

I mean, it's a great privilege for us.

380

00:19:44,790 --> 00:19:46,860

And then, we're standing there yesterday

381

00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:50,197

and you point this out and I'm like,

382

00:19:50,197 --> 00:19:52,450

"Well, wait, I'd never heard about this."

383

00:19:52,450 --> 00:19:54,810

(Remon chuckles)

Right?

384

00:19:54,810 --> 00:19:56,433

When did you guys dream this up?

385

00:19:57,750 --> 00:20:02,750

- So I've had this idea

for a couple years,

386

00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,910

and, you know, I like to stick

387

00:20:05,910 --> 00:20:08,040

to what I know and stick to my business.

388

00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:08,873

- Well, there's plenty.

389

00:20:08,873 --> 00:20:10,890

You gotta really focus to do that,

390

00:20:10,890 --> 00:20:13,980

to do the remote-located,

391

00:20:13,980 --> 00:20:15,633

full-size humidors.

- Yeah.

392

00:20:17,700 --> 00:20:21,090

But, you know, the

conversations me and Jay have,

393

00:20:21,090 --> 00:20:24,240

every time it's,

394

00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:25,890

and I always share this with him,

395

00:20:26,940 --> 00:20:28,277

I like simple,

396

00:20:29,155 --> 00:20:34,110

I like the simple fixes of life.

397

00:20:34,110 --> 00:20:35,913

I like easy.

398

00:20:41,027 --> 00:20:42,930

Me and him, the ideas we kind of bounce

399

00:20:42,930 --> 00:20:45,210

around and the discussions we have

400

00:20:45,210 --> 00:20:49,410

where I constantly say is,

401

00:20:49,410 --> 00:20:50,790

especially in the early stages

402

00:20:50,790 --> 00:20:53,460

of a guy's journey with cigars,

403

00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:57,243

is we gotta guide them,

404

00:20:58,380 --> 00:21:01,290

and guide them always the best way we can.

405

00:21:01,290 --> 00:21:04,620

And it started with the Boveda small bags

406

00:21:04,620 --> 00:21:06,573

and the medium-sized bags where,

407

00:21:10,140 --> 00:21:12,390

they buy it once, try it once,

408

00:21:12,390 --> 00:21:13,740

and you realize it works,

409

00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:16,470

and this is the right way

to keep your cigars fresh.

410

00:21:16,470 --> 00:21:20,500

That's it, it's just such

a simple, easy solution

411

00:21:21,390 --> 00:21:25,140

that can be more complex

than it should, right?

412

00:21:25,140 --> 00:21:28,560

And so for us and our partnership is like,

413

00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,540

how do we remind guys?

414

00:21:30,540 --> 00:21:35,540

How do we remind the people

and how do we encourage them

415

00:21:35,730 --> 00:21:40,470

is just don't discourage yourself

416

00:21:40,470 --> 00:21:42,360

and don't hassle.

417

00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,873

Try Boveda, stick your

cigars in this bag, it works.

418

00:21:47,700 --> 00:21:50,550

And then, it's, for example,

419

00:21:50,550 --> 00:21:53,430

you wanna gift someone some cigars.

420

00:21:53,430 --> 00:21:55,020

And I always share this with Jay,

421

00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:57,090

it's like, I do it myself,

422

00:21:57,090 --> 00:21:59,760

I'm going to someone's party

or, you know, a gathering

423

00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,060

and I wanna take some

cigars as a gift to them.

424

00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:03,990

But there's nothing better,

425

00:22:03,990 --> 00:22:06,660

you stick it in a Boveda bag

and now you give it to him.

426

00:22:06,660 --> 00:22:08,580

It's like he doesn't have to worry.

427

00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:09,570

And he knows it's fresh-

428

00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:10,830

- He doesn't have to have a humidor.

429

00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:15,630

- Yeah, and it's like, just

that relief that added,

430

00:22:15,630 --> 00:22:17,610

just, you feel great about it.

431

00:22:17,610 --> 00:22:22,610

And so this is my kind of perception

432

00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,340

and why I value Boveda so much.

433

00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:30,543

And so this product,

434

00:22:32,940 --> 00:22:35,610

the birth of this was kind of like,

435

00:22:35,610 --> 00:22:39,640

now that we have the humidors growing,

436

00:22:41,010 --> 00:22:42,780

the locations growing,

437

00:22:42,780 --> 00:22:46,470

and we have the restocks

438

00:22:46,470 --> 00:22:48,720

all pretty much automated,

439

00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:49,980

they scan a QR code,

440

00:22:49,980 --> 00:22:51,720

it takes them to a portal,

441

00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,170

and it's a easy, easy

purchasing, easy shipping.

442

00:22:55,170 --> 00:22:56,640

Ship, you know, same day,

443

00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:58,200

we pack and ship all the orders

444

00:22:58,200 --> 00:22:59,970

and it's going nationwide.

445

00:22:59,970 --> 00:23:04,470

So now that the products are

in the hands of the retailers

446

00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:06,480

and they've got an audience,

447

00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,743

now our focus is continue to

turn towards the end consumer.

448

00:23:11,610 --> 00:23:15,210

And what we've learned

449

00:23:15,210 --> 00:23:18,660

is a big majority of our end consumers

450

00:23:18,660 --> 00:23:19,800

that are picking up the cigars

451

00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,640

from these retailers are

very new to the industry,

452

00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,950

just starting their relationship,

453

00:23:25,950 --> 00:23:29,700

but are now buying them more often

454

00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:32,133

and are ready to start taking them home.

455

00:23:33,090 --> 00:23:36,870

And what I wanted to do

456

00:23:36,870 --> 00:23:40,230

is have them be able

to store a good amount

457

00:23:40,230 --> 00:23:43,563

of cigars at home without the hassle.

458

00:23:45,690 --> 00:23:49,170

It's a protected humidor

459

00:23:49,170 --> 00:23:51,090

that's just as simple as it can get.

460

00:23:51,090 --> 00:23:52,090

And it's affordable.

461

00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:54,450

You're brand new to cigars.

462

00:23:54,450 --> 00:23:57,090

You're not ready to dish

out a few hundred dollars

463

00:23:57,090 --> 00:23:58,290

for a humidor.

464

00:23:58,290 --> 00:24:00,510

And then, you have to season

it, and you gotta learn.

465

00:24:00,510 --> 00:24:03,823

And then, you know, cigars dry out.

466

00:24:03,823 --> 00:24:05,700

And so we wanted that solution.

467

00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:10,700

So I had this concept,

I shared it with Jay.

468

00:24:10,710 --> 00:24:15,390

I said, "Jay, I'm doing this

and I want you with us."

469

00:24:15,390 --> 00:24:18,930

And showed him the, you know,

470

00:24:18,930 --> 00:24:20,697

what my design looked like,

471

00:24:20,697 --> 00:24:22,893

and where Boveda stood.

472

00:24:23,790 --> 00:24:28,530

And no hesitation, he's like, "We're in."

473

00:24:28,530 --> 00:24:31,290

And it's like, you know, how cool is that?

474

00:24:31,290 --> 00:24:33,150

You know, how awesome is that?

475

00:24:33,150 --> 00:24:35,490

And so I got to work,

476

00:24:35,490 --> 00:24:39,330

and this was three months ago, you know?

477

00:24:39,330 --> 00:24:41,760

And so from the concept, the idea,

478

00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,897

the prototype, and constantly sharing,

479

00:24:43,897 --> 00:24:45,960

"This is the tweaks that we made,"

480

00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:50,010

and with a goal of

showcasing it here in time.

481

00:24:50,010 --> 00:24:53,310

So we got the samples in just in time.

482

00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:56,370

The first order arrives mid-August

483

00:24:56,370 --> 00:25:00,270

ready to ship to retailers

and to the public.

484

00:25:00,270 --> 00:25:04,770

But it's fun.

485

00:25:04,770 --> 00:25:06,270

- Yeah, and it's self-explanatory.

486

00:25:06,270 --> 00:25:10,590

It's an 80-stick humidor in a closed cell,

487

00:25:10,590 --> 00:25:11,730

what would you call this material?

488

00:25:11,730 --> 00:25:15,060

- It's EPP, expanded polypropylene.

489

00:25:15,060 --> 00:25:18,060

- So the demonstration

490

00:25:18,060 --> 00:25:20,580

that your associate made over there

491

00:25:20,580 --> 00:25:22,230

standing on it was brilliant,

492

00:25:22,230 --> 00:25:26,970

because he stood on this

to show how durable it is.

493

00:25:26,970 --> 00:25:28,593

And then, of course, inside,

494

00:25:29,430 --> 00:25:30,600

in addition to a divider,

495

00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:32,100

there's a space for a Boveda pack,

496

00:25:32,100 --> 00:25:34,350

and it includes a Boveda pack.

497

00:25:34,350 --> 00:25:35,730

I didn't know about this,

498

00:25:35,730 --> 00:25:37,200

Sean and Tim didn't know about this,

499

00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,480

Nobody knew about this until yesterday.

500

00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:40,800

Brought it back.

501

00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,960

Everybody's oohing and awing over it.

502

00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,290

And then, today, one of the

beautiful things that happened,

503

00:25:46,290 --> 00:25:48,003

and I'm so glad this went down,

504

00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:54,900

it just warmed my heart

to watch Manolo Quesada,

505

00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:58,140

one of the finest cigar

manufacturers in the world,

506

00:25:58,140 --> 00:25:59,940

guy's been making cigars for 50 years,

507

00:25:59,940 --> 00:26:01,710

and his daughter, Raquel,

508

00:26:01,710 --> 00:26:05,760

they were here and he noticed this.

509

00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:07,320

It was sitting on the counter.

510

00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,930

He noticed it and he says, "What's that?"

511

00:26:09,930 --> 00:26:11,680

And I showed it to him and he goes,

512

00:26:12,517 --> 00:26:15,630

"I have to go get one of

these, I need this for my,"

513

00:26:15,630 --> 00:26:20,430

he travels back and forth from Spain.

514

00:26:20,430 --> 00:26:22,380

And he goes, "I need this."

515

00:26:22,380 --> 00:26:26,367

And I said, "Well, Manolo,

I'll give you this.

516

00:26:26,367 --> 00:26:28,893

And I tell you what would be fantastic,

517

00:26:29,730 --> 00:26:31,140

I gotta tell you the story of this,"

518

00:26:31,140 --> 00:26:33,360

and I call you a kid, you're not a kid,

519

00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:37,080

you're a middle-aged man,

I hate to break it to you,

520

00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,780

but I said, "You need to meet this guy."

521

00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:41,190

And he said, "Well, I'll go over there."

522

00:26:41,190 --> 00:26:43,230

And I said, "Hold on."

523

00:26:43,230 --> 00:26:45,180

We sent Mike, Mike came and got you.

524

00:26:45,180 --> 00:26:47,253

You came over, you're very gracious.

525

00:26:48,420 --> 00:26:49,740

Gracious, means gracious.

526

00:26:49,740 --> 00:26:51,723

I mean, this is a beautiful thing.

527

00:26:52,620 --> 00:26:55,380

I told Manolo the story of you.

528

00:26:55,380 --> 00:26:59,340

I said, "The reason why this worked

529

00:26:59,340 --> 00:27:01,510

was because this kid's earnest

530

00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,470

and he does what he says he's gonna do,

531

00:27:04,470 --> 00:27:09,470

and he's decent, and he's consistent."

532

00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,480

That's you, that's who you are.

533

00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,820

And I don't know who you

get to blame for that,

534

00:27:14,820 --> 00:27:17,790

mom, dad, whoever, but

that's a beautiful thing.

535

00:27:17,790 --> 00:27:18,987

And he lit up on this.

536

00:27:18,987 --> 00:27:21,000

And he was so touched

537

00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,030

when he had a chance to meet

the inventor and talk to you,

538

00:27:24,030 --> 00:27:26,940

and he's got one of these, the guy,

539

00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:30,030

I mean, it's one of the

greats in the cigar industry,

540

00:27:30,030 --> 00:27:33,570

and you've got brands talking about you

541

00:27:33,570 --> 00:27:36,150

and that big, yellow display over there.

542

00:27:36,150 --> 00:27:37,890

And I said something to you yesterday,

543

00:27:37,890 --> 00:27:39,420

and I got choked up thinking about it,

544

00:27:39,420 --> 00:27:42,813

because my old man, amazing human being,

545

00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,767

he had a habit of saying to

guys that he hardly knew,

546

00:27:47,767 --> 00:27:50,220

"So tell me about your faith formation."

547

00:27:50,220 --> 00:27:52,777

This was my dad, old school

Catholic guy that would say,

548

00:27:52,777 --> 00:27:55,380

"Hey, tell me about,"

you know, daily mass guy.

549

00:27:55,380 --> 00:27:57,780

And he'd ask people that

and you'd just cringe.

550

00:27:57,780 --> 00:27:59,520

You're like, "Oh my God, dad,

551

00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,560

don't embarrass us saying this."

552

00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:03,150

I don't know if you can imagine that,

553

00:28:03,150 --> 00:28:05,670

I know you come from the same tradition.

554

00:28:05,670 --> 00:28:09,607

But he had a hard time saying,

555

00:28:09,607 --> 00:28:12,303

"I love you," right?

556

00:28:13,410 --> 00:28:17,490

But he could say, "Hey,

Drew, I'm proud of you."

557

00:28:17,490 --> 00:28:18,930

You know, something I did in school,

558

00:28:18,930 --> 00:28:20,887

something I did in sports, whatever.

559

00:28:20,887 --> 00:28:22,830

"Drew, I'm proud of you."

560

00:28:22,830 --> 00:28:25,020

That was his way of saying it, right?

561

00:28:25,020 --> 00:28:26,340

And I felt that yesterday.

562

00:28:26,340 --> 00:28:27,547

I'm standing over there and I'm like,

563

00:28:27,547 --> 00:28:32,547

"Remon, I know this sounds

whack, but I'm proud of you.

564

00:28:34,380 --> 00:28:35,700

I'm proud of you for that,

565

00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:37,770

that idea that you saw through,

566

00:28:37,770 --> 00:28:41,760

the ability to plan it, manifest it,

567

00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,373

fabricate it, get it out

into the marketplace.

568

00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:47,400

That's awesome."

569

00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,850

And this, I mean, it is

an absolute privilege

570

00:28:50,850 --> 00:28:54,250

to be included as part of your story

571

00:28:55,230 --> 00:28:57,000

about your business that you're building

572

00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,770

and the way this has gone for you.

573

00:28:58,770 --> 00:29:00,510

It's an absolute privilege.

574

00:29:00,510 --> 00:29:02,970

And I can't thank you enough for that.

575

00:29:02,970 --> 00:29:04,983

- No, man, I thank you, man.

576

00:29:06,390 --> 00:29:09,840

You know, I really,

really appreciate that.

577

00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:14,370

But, believe it or not, it meant a lot,

578

00:29:14,370 --> 00:29:17,887

you know, the encouragement.

579

00:29:17,887 --> 00:29:20,850

"Man, you know, I met this guy at Boveda,

580

00:29:20,850 --> 00:29:22,530

and he believes in this idea."

581

00:29:22,530 --> 00:29:24,120

And so that's fuel,

582

00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,380

especially, you know, like I said,

583

00:29:25,380 --> 00:29:28,500

in those beginning days,

it was very lonely.

584

00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:31,380

And so when you got that

kind of encouragement,

585

00:29:31,380 --> 00:29:34,140

that fuel, and it really,

really gets you going

586

00:29:34,140 --> 00:29:35,283

in that direction.

587

00:29:39,060 --> 00:29:39,930

Appreciate you.

588

00:29:39,930 --> 00:29:41,343

- What else is there to say?

589

00:29:43,020 --> 00:29:45,060

Thank you.

- Pleasure, always.

590

00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:47,153

- God bless you, do well.

- God bless you.