ACHP Special Episode with Alex Gonzalez with Besa Cigars

Transcript

123 OK, so we're going to get

started here.

We have a special interview

today with the one and only Alex

Gonzalez of Basic Cigars, one of

the hardest workers I know in

the cigar industry.

Say hi, Alex.

Thank you for that intro.

How you guys doing?

Well, it's.

True.

It's very true, man.

You know, I think that that was

one of the things that really

kind of gravitated us towards

you, right?

Is we saw a lot of your stuff on

TikTok and all these other

social media feeds and you work

your ass off, you provide good

content, and that takes a lot of

time and effort.

And you haven't given up yet.

So kudos for that.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Because that is part of this

industry, right?

People kind of pop in and they

quickly go away and once they

realize how hard it is and

you're still sticking around.

We talked about that quite a

bit.

I mean, our experience and the

experience of others having

people come on our show to talk

about it.

You really have to be passionate

about the cigar industry to have

any sort of success, especially

in the beginning.

I mean, as you guys know, it

doesn't pay.

This isn't an easy industry to

get into and start making money.

You definitely have to be

passionate about it and that's

really what keeps me going is

the fact that I enjoy it so

much.

If I didn't enjoy it then we'd

be out of here finding something

else to do.

But it is something that I do

enjoy.

We've created the brand around a

piece of history that I do enjoy

as well.

So a lot of the things that we

do is is fed into my passion for

cigars.

I'm not passionate about the

screw industry at all.

I I can tell.

I'm honestly not.

I'm not, you know.

Based on our conversations.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm just

more transparent about things.

You know, I enjoy the struggle.

I guess to some degree I'm just

masochistic for whatever reason.

But the, you know, the reality

is that it's very challenging,

right?

And I guess I like that about

it, that it's extremely hard.

But yeah, so anyways, last time

we talked, I think you're how

many accounts you think you've

been in or have you grown into

in the past, I don't know, 18

months, 24?

Months.

I think when we last spoke it

was around 15 and we've doubled

since then.

Still, I see it as a slow growth

they say or it takes around

three to seven years for a brand

to really kick off.

We're at around the three-year

mark now.

So and from the beginning we

didn't really know what we were

getting into entirely.

And as we've learned more and

more, I've definitely taken into

the consideration that this is

going to for sure be a slow

growth.

And I have to be OK with that

because I don't want to get too

ahead of myself and overextend

and end up having issues.

Whether it's with supply or just

with, you know, overworking

yourself 'cause the last thing I

want is to have a pause in the

business, like not being able to

fulfill orders or whatever it

may be.

I'd rather it be take on what we

can handle and you know provide

a great product to our retailers

and consumers and keep everyone

happy and when there is room for

growth, take advantage of that

growth which right now we're

definitely taking advantage of

different methods to continue to

grow.

OK.

So the majority of I would

assume that the majority of your

accounts right now are in the

state of Florida, yes, because

that's where you guys are all

of.

Course, yeah, it's much easier

to manage your local market,

especially in this industry as

you know it requires a lot of

face to face or it's easier that

way.

You know, it's easier to do that

than to call someone across the

country and try and build a

relationship that way.

It can be done, and it has been

done on our end.

But yeah, I mean, just managing

like the Orlando area, not only

is it more fun because we get to

see people like you and sit down

and talk about stuff, but it's

just a lot easier.

And then we have expanded

outside the state of Florida

with success.

So we're just really continuing

what we're doing to make that

growth happen.

OK.

So within this span of the past

18 months, 18 to 24 months, I

think we did.

It almost a year ago, actually.

So last time, so a year ago.

Alright, so it's been a year.

Have you seen another account,

another brand really kind of

blow up and you're like fuck

man, how the hell did they do

that?

Did anything ever stand out to

you where you're like damn?

I'm sure I have.

I know too.

A lot of the accounts that I've

seen that are new brands that

have blown up, I can find that

they had some sort of previous

history or previous backing.

I mean, we're not going to

include like celebrity cigars,

for example, because that's a

given.

It's all, you know, the name of

the celebrity.

Like you're talking about Mike

Tyson or, you know, now we have

Conor McGregor as well.

But a brand really that kind of

came out of nowhere and blew up.

Since then, I haven't, I don't

think I've really seen much on

that aspect outside of anything

that may have been like, you

know, this guy left this company

and he helped build a new

company on his own or with other

people.

But it I haven't, I don't know

if you have.

No, not really.

Do you think that's just the

general sign of what the economy

kind of is or, you know?

Yeah, I do think economy is

probably going to, if it hasn't

already, have more of an impact

on new cigar brands.

I think Steve Soccer told us

last year that there's about 300

new brands every year for

cigars.

And because it is a, compared to

what most people might think, a

lower barrier for entry to start

a brand.

The big part is really promoting

that brand and actually getting

that brand out there and having

success.

But I do think that we're going

to see, I think I talked about

this with the guys on the

previous podcast, we're going to

start seeing less new brands and

some of the brands that have

started kind of died down

because there's not enough

sustainability for everyone

that's in the boutique and very

new space of cigars.

So how do you build that?

You know, what's really kind of

funny to me is I being in this

industry for 15 years, the

overall growth for cigar

consumers is not big.

And as you know with shadow

banning and all these other

things that happened on social

media, which is very

entertaining.

We can talk about that a little

bit.

How is it, how, how is it there

a way to make more consumers

that way it becomes more

sustainable.

It's got to be possible because

I can tell you that I can sit

down with people that haven't

smoked cigars before and have

cigars and they're like, this is

really awesome, right?

So how do you reach a a a person

that isn't a cigar consumer yet,

but could potentially be?

OK.

So quickly to answer part of

your question, the best thing

that we have found success in is

finding newer cigar smokers and

get them to try our brand and

kind of convert to a Basifan

people that mainly don't know as

much or they're getting new into

cigars.

So they're still looking for new

brands to try.

So we'll meet them at events and

stuff like that or meet them at

the lounge that we're hanging

out with and say, you know, try

our brand, give them the little

pitch and all that.

And a lot of times they'll end

up liking it.

As far as getting more consumers

on board and creating new CR

smokers, I do think that social

media is the easiest, but at the

same time the most challenging

because of, like you said, the

the shadow banning and all the

rules and regulations with it.

But we have seen a lot of people

that are interested in cigars

come to our channel and say,

hey, I found you guys here, I'm

looking more into cigars.

I like what you're putting out,

you know, give me

recommendations to try.

So we are seeing that it is

working and there are new

consumers being made.

But as you said, it's a small

growth for sure.

I mean, the cigar industry

overall has had a great amount

of growth over the last five

years, but nothing crazy to

help, you know, all the other

brands out there.

So I think social media for sure

is something we need to continue

to be active in and try and find

ways and loopholes to get around

all the regulations and stuff.

I think that's the easiest way

to reach the masses.

But outside of that, you really

have, you know, word of mouth.

I mean, in the Albanian

community specifically, they're

moving.

They're trying to get off

cigarettes.

A lot of Eastern Europeans, they

love cigarettes and they're

starting to look into

alternatives.

We're not going to go vaping or,

you know, jewels or whatever.

We don't do the vape, no, no.

But cigars is has is seen as a

healthier alternative.

So a lot of people in the

Eastern European market are

trying cigars and especially in

Albania we have an Albanian

cigar.

So Zach and Mark, their family,

their friends and people they

know are especially interested

in getting into cigars when they

see the Albanian band on here

that we have.

Now who's this guy again?

So.

Skanderberg was the the leader

of the Albanians at the time

when the Ottoman Empire was

taking over a lot of Europe.

He helped lead Albanians against

the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s.

Similarly to the Polish and

Lithuanians, they also have a

they had a small army that was

fighting for their freedom

against the Ottomans around the

same time.

So he's kind of like, they're

George Washington for us, Like

everyone should know who's

George Washington is.

I heard about him.

Yeah, something like that.

He had a good, good following on

something like on X, Yeah.

So you have.

Statues of Skanderbeg even in

like New York and places over

here.

But if you go over to Albania

and Kosovo, you know, they have

statues of him up there.

They call him the defender of

Christianity over there.

So he's kind of like, you know,

a big figure in Albanian

history.

Do you sell to Albania?

So we sell directly to Albania

via like our website.

And there's, we're still working

on getting into retailers there

because the cigar market over

there isn't big.

It's still a relatively new

thing.

So we're trying to work with the

people over there to get it

actually on the shelves there.

But there's like 3 real cigar

lounges out there and there's a

little bit of a language barrier

cause I, I personally, I don't

speak Albanian.

You don't speak Albanian.

I don't speak Albanian, I'm not

Albanian.

I'm the only one in the group

that's not Albanian.

It's not Albanian.

But so we're trying to work on

that, but it's still a growing

market over there.

So we'd like to get in there and

kind of help them be a part of

the growth, so to say.

OK, so you kind of started on

TikTok, right?

Yeah, we did.

And that's where things really

kind of blew up for you as far

as popularity.

And then you started working on

YouTube and Instagram

afterwards, Yes.

What have been some of the

pitfalls that you have seen on

YouTube and Instagram that you

didn't expect?

So when we did start with

Tiktok, it was still a

relatively new platform and

Cigars was very new around three

years ago when we started the

Tiktok.

So there was really not as much

regulation, or at least they

didn't enforce it as well.

So we had a lot of success with

Tiktok because we could upload a

video and it wouldn't get shadow

banned or taken down.

And then Instagram and YouTube,

they've already had all those

regulations kind of in place.

But we the pitfalls that we see

is essentially just the flat out

censorship of cigars because

they do loop it into tobacco,

big tobacco and stuff like that.

So if you have, if you're

smoking anything, that's a red

flag for the social media

company.

But we've seen other social

other people be successful while

they're smoking cigars.

Right.

And there's definitely loopholes

around it.

I think that YouTube they, I

know for a fact that YouTube

will take down your video if you

have a link that is directly

promoting the sale of your

product.

That's a backup product

specifically.

So we don't have any links that

directly go to like our cigar

shop, for example, or like any

of the brands that we bring on.

We can't have a direct link to

their product because it's

direct promotion.

So we would we would link to

their social media like it.

So it's an Instagram link.

So it wouldn't flag it as

anything like that.

You can talk about cigars, you

can smoke cigars on YouTube, but

we're still working out the

theories on if smoking a cigar

on YouTube is going to get you

flagged.

We've kind of figured out that

it's not really getting you

flagged, but as far as them

promoting in the algorithm,

there's a little bit of wiggle

room there that we're still

trying to figure out.

Tiktok is kind of the same,

except I think Tiktok's now the

most strict, where if they see

you smoking a cigar in your

video, they'll take it down or

they'll block it.

Instagram is mainly the

promotion of it.

So if you post a picture on

Instagram or a video, it's not

going to get promoted as much,

but the video will stay on there

and your followers and stuff can

still interact with it.

So we had great traction

initially with promoting our

product.

Now it's a little harder, but

now we're relying more on like

friends in the industry, working

with them, like, you know, doing

podcasts with them to sort of

share the our followings to

promote their products, to

promote our products.

And we've really been focusing

more on the in person

relationships like you and I and

other retailers in the industry

to help booster our presence.

All right, so you're at 30.

Where do you want to be at by

the end of 2026?

And in 2026, I, I definitely

want to be in the hundreds.

And in 2026 for sure, I think

that is definitely possible.

It's definitely something that

we're working towards right now.

We have a few reps that we're

working with.

What do you have reps?

We we have reps, I'll say that.

Yeah, I mean, we're, you know,

we're not paying them salary.

I will say that.

But we are working with people

to.

To Commission based.

Commission based reps that are

willing to work with us and push

the product.

They like what we're doing.

They're also cigar guys, so

they're willing to work with us

and we're willing to work with

them to make something out of.

It what regions?

So SE mainly trying to look for

someone in the Northeast, but we

have the Southeast pretty much

is going to be covered this

year.

That's like our next goal.

Are there any particular

retailers that you want to see

your brand?

And like for me, one of the big

ones was like, I love cigars on

the Avenue, you know, I love Don

Patel.

It's a great, great store and I

wanted to be in there, right?

Are there any retailers for you

that you want to be like, hey, I

really want to be in the store?

I'll put it this way.

I think starting out, we've seen

our brand work really well with

smaller boutique kind of

lounges, not the superstores

that have, you know, hundreds of

thousands of cigars right now.

It doesn't really work there

because of brand recognition and

stuff like that.

So my goal is to continue to

service lounges that are willing

to work with us and help us

lounges with a cigar fits more.

And once we kind of get more of

those and establish more brand

presence, I'd like to get to,

you know, people like Cigar

International or bigger stores,

bigger retailers, 'cause you

have a lot of, a lot of the

cigar lounges are one offs, one

or two.

You're it's easier to work with

people like that.

So the next step would really be

to get someone that's got

multiple stores.

Are you worried about if you

take on a brand like CI, take on

a retail store like CI?

Are you concerned about them

discounting your product and it

losing its value?

Yes.

So that is something to consider

for sure.

And I think that's going to be

an issue that we will look into

when we get there because I'll

admit we're not at that level

yet of working with someone like

CI.

If they came to us, I would

definitely love to work

something out with them.

But that is part of the the

difficulty you have to work with

because you know with companies

like that, they're trying to

move volume and they have to

find ways to move volume for

their business.

So that is a little bit of a

concern, but I know that we can

definitely find a way to resolve

that.

Well, it's a unique dynamic,

right?

Because CI is owned by STGSTG,

makes her own cigars.

Retailers such as myself carry

general products, right, which

is STG.

But it's almost like if you

worked with CI as and if I sold

my brand to CI, they could

cheapen my brand, which would

essentially help them with their

other products.

No, yeah.

So I mean, I don't know if like

if CI approached me and said,

hey, you know, we're thinking

about taking on Postonia, I

don't know if I'd take it, you

know, unless it was totally

transparent of look, I don't

want to be on cigar bid or

whatever the hell they have.

I don't, you know and I don't

want to discount of less than

10% across the board, right when

it comes to boxes.

Or something.

No, absolutely.

And I think too, when it comes

to having that division between

someone like CI and the rest of

your brick and mortar locations,

I do think that the presence

that your brand is able to put

be like is able to give to the

lounge.

Like you guys, for example, if

we're able to have our presence

here, you know, every so often

and migrate with the consumers

here and kind of be known as a

brand that helps keep your

customers loyal to you when it

comes to purchasing our product.

And there's always going to be

those people that are looking at

cigar bid and trying to find the

best deals.

So those people, I in my

opinion, they're not necessarily

looking for a specific product

when they're going to like cigar

bid or discount stores.

They're just looking for the

best deal.

So it kind of separates the

consumers of who is going to be

more loyal to your brand versus

who's going to be just kind of

looking for good deals, if that

makes sense.

Sure.

So how many retailers do you

think like mid level retailers

do you think exist in the US?

I know it's thousands you.

Think it's in a thousands for

sure.

How many do you think are worth

a shit as far as carrying

boutique cigars?

Probably 1/4.

So you think 250?

Probably.

Let's say that, yeah.

OK.

So if you found yourself with

250 accounts, would you think

that you're kind of like that's

that's the number that you want

to be, that's your sweet spot,

that's your goal that you.

That would be a great number for

sure.

I think 250 would be a great

number for us and then we could

look to, you know, definitely

expanding the company after

that.

So and what about new blends?

So this blend came out last

year, right?

How many blends you think that

you could see you coming out

with?

So I do have a plan for when we

want to release new blends and

of course it's a slower schedule

right now.

So the initial goal was have the

Ecuadorian Habano, which is kind

of in the middle.

Our Mexican San Andreas came out

next.

So naturally we're going to have

some sort of variation of a

Connecticut or a shade grown

blend as our main 3.

Once we establish after that

point, I would like to dive more

into limited editions and maybe

different themes.

So I would say, I mean, if we

hit let's say 200 stores, I

would like to, you know,

approach somewhere in like the

10 different blends that we

have.

You have your core line and then

maybe like limited editions that

come out.

So something like offer 10?

Different, different blends.

Total, Total, yeah. 3 core

lines.

Right, exactly something,

something like that.

And I don't, I don't have a

vision of like creating 50

different blends.

I think that if you have a brand

that is too diversified with all

these different blends, it just

kind of gets confusing for the

consumer and even for the

retailers.

So I kind of want to focus on a

handful of quality blends that

our consumers love as opposed to

just always making something

new.

Gotcha.

OK.

You want to cover some general

topics?

Yeah, sure.

All right, so for starters, what

do you think that Elon Musk

should have commented on his ex

being down for 11,000 people

because Palmer was very upset?

I think that they will come out

at some point and tell us what's

going on.

When, when did this happen?

Like was it today?

Yeah, yeah.

So I think it's still relatively

a new development.

I don't think that they need to

have an answer right away, but

I'm sure that they will say

something when they have when

they meet together and say, OK,

let's tell them this. 11,000

people, I mean, like, no offense

to you guys, but that's, you

know, not, that's not too bad.

I think too that the, the media

right now is doing anything and

everything they can to make Elon

Musk look bad, IE make Trump

administration look bad.

So every day is going to be a

new article about why Elon is a

bad guy and why Trump is a bad

guy.

So I try not to look too deeply

into all the developments that

come out unless I think that it

might actually be for the

greater good of America or not.

So yeah, that's kind of my

opinion on that.

Right.

OK.

You want to talk about we got an

event coming up?

Yeah.

So March 21st, we're going to be

here, bass of cigars, the cigar

guys and we have a raffle going

on.

So if you come here between now

and the event, every cigar you

purchase gets you a ticket to

enter the raffle and you can

either win a watch or a humidor.

You've seen the humidor?

Yeah, it's beautiful.

It's about this big, they call

it like the purpose of the

humidor was kind of to be like

an on the go.

Like if you're having a a picnic

or if you're going somewhere, it

has portable ashtrays, it has

the cutter, the lighter and this

whole piece that's magnetic that

kind of comes off and gives you

a lot of options there.

It's a really beautiful humidor.

But essentially, come here

between now and the event and

definitely come on the event

March 21st, meet us and smoke

bass of cigars with us and then

you have a chance to win some

cool prizes.

You got a lot of accessories on

that too.

You got more rings than that, No

So.

I got a couple rings here.

This is a like a Christian cross

here.

I I kind of dressed myself for

the the whole scanner bag

defender of Christianity thing.

So I've got my Christian like

Templar cross here Rep that as

well as a traditional

Christianity cross so.

No kidding.

You got the watch, You got the

beads.

Look at you.

You're like maximum.

Have you been hanging out with

Greg?

Is that what's going on?

You know, I, I, every time I put

this ring on specifically, I

think about him, 'cause I'm

like, he's got all these big

rings on here.

Every time I shake his hand,

it's like just a clunk of metal.

It's ridiculous.

But I wanted to make a good

impression for you guys.

I don't even shake his hand.

Well, I assuming you don't.

It's very admirable of you.

I just do like this.

Just do like a poke.

That's just one finger.

So how many viewers do you have

currently on YouTube?

Because I heard like the

viewership's kind of going away,

right?

You can have an algorithm where

one particular thing pops.

Yeah.

So we monthly with our long form

and shorts probably get around

30,000 a month average.

So we're focusing on making

every, every long form video

that comes out.

We're trying to focus on how is

this video going to get traction

right away.

Because what we noticed with our

videos is when you get like

hundreds of views that night or

the next day, it's more than

likely going to go into the

thousands.

So we did a interview with

Miguel Chadel and with our, with

our usual promotion, he didn't

promote it initially.

I think he ended up promoting it

like a few days or a week later.

But right away that video got

hundreds of views.

And now it's sitting at I think

around 5 or 6000.

And I think the thumbnail

helped, the title helped.

And once they actually got in

and started watching that

interview, great interview, I

mean, full of knowledge, great

guy.

So people watched that whole

thing, people started

commenting.

So we're focusing on, you know,

step one, get people to watch

this episode via thumbnail, via

title.

We try to focus on titles that

people are searching for and

then through that make sure our

content is of high quality.

So that way they are staying and

watching the full thing.

So we're seeing that work quite

a bit and we're just going to

continue to do that every week

with each episode or any other

videos that we come out with.

And the shorts really are just

to help get more views to the

channel and get more people to

subscribe.

So that way it's easier to have,

you know, hundreds of views that

first day or night when you

release an episode.

And then just, I mean, it's it

like the cigar industry, it

takes time.

We're only officially two years

into the podcast and it's been

doing really well, but of course

we'd like to see it take off for

sure.

So how many how many times a

week do you do a podcast?

Once.

Once a week, we upload once a

week.

So sometimes we'll do 2 to catch

up or, you know, just have one

in the barrel in case.

Like, I mean, we, we travel a

lot, whether it's personal or

business.

So we like to have at least one

in the barrel just in case.

Like, hey, we can't meet this

week for whatever reason.

Like I went on my honeymoon in

November.

I was gone for three weeks.

So we're like, we need 3

episodes like in the barrel

because you know, I do all the

editing and.

Which is a pain in the.

End, which is a pain yeah.

So I'd like to just make it

easier on the rest of the guys

so they don't have to rely on

doing any of that.

Yeah and I'm a little bit of a

quality control neat freak too.

So it's like I want to have that

I have that vision in mind.

I want to make sure it's being

done.

Palmer and I have that same

problem.

I'm like, no, not He calls me

Scorsese.

Oh, Martin Scorsese's here,

right?

Palmer?

Yeah.

Palmer's.

Palmer's saying yes.

He's shaking his head.

Yes.

The Thanks.

Thanks so much for that added

value.

Yeah.

We we can still hear you.

We can still hear you.

Faded in the background.

Yes.

Thanks, Palmer.

OK.

Do you have any questions?

Booths, I do have a question.

Yes.

Yeah.

All right, Alex.

So I have now smoked two

different bases.

How?

Now if I wasn't in the cigar

world a little bit right and I

couldn't tell the difference of

the wrapper, how could I

decipher the two different

blends?

OK.

So the way we have it set up

right now is if you're in a

retail shop, the boxes have

different like covers on here to

tell you the different cigars.

We're working on a second band

currently.

So if you have it in the

humidor, it's a little easier to

decipher SO in SO.

If you're retarded, you can,

right?

Right.

Some instances, you know, no

offense, but some instances we

will put a, a sticker that says

either natural or Maduro on

there.

So if you have them in your

humidor, it's a little easier to

decipher.

But we have put into

consideration getting a

secondary band for the Maduro

specifically, just in case you

do run into that issue.

Yeah, because I've been in other

retail shops and I've seen it

and I'm always like, well, which

one is the Maduro?

Right.

Hopefully they have a sticker on

there that you know, says says

so.

This one is Maduro.

Well, you know, now, you know,

the normal consumer that comes

in, those guys are so quick in

the humidor and they're not

really reading anything.

So like a color or a secondary

band or something like that to

decipher the difference.

You know, that's what I was

always looking at when.

I was first coming in, yeah.

At the end of the day, as long

as they enjoy either or then

it's OK.

Yeah, you.

True, true.

OK.

Well, I think that that pretty

much covers everything you have

anything to ask us are.

You guys all going to be there

for the event.

What's the what's the date?

Friday.

Yeah, I should be there.

OK, cool.

Yeah, I should be there.

No, no, no.

Next Friday?

Yeah, it's next Friday.

Yeah, I should be there.

Good deal.

Yeah, no, I'm looking forward to

it.

I'm looking.

I always appreciate seeing you

guys and hanging out with you

guys, everything you guys do.

I mean, you guys starting the

podcast and stuff.

Part of our motivation for doing

what we do, you know, especially

you guys being local.

So I'm just, you know, really

appreciative of you guys and

everything you do for.

Us, I thought for sure at this

point, and this is like kudos to

you that you'd be like, I don't

want to do this anymore.

This is this whole thing is

extremely tough.

You know, you're getting your

brains beat in.

I'm not saying that you are, but

like just kind of figuratively

speaking.

I know the cigar industry to

some degree, and I know not

having a name and kind of

establishing and working your

ass off, you know, it's like

treading water, right?

And it takes a long time before

it starts to track.

Well, I know, too, like

initially when we came to you,

like from the very beginning,

you know, we talked about it and

you like the cigar, but you had

that sort of pushback of, well,

this is a very new brand.

We don't know how well it's

going to do.

Right.

And then a year later, you know,

it's like, oh, you're still

here.

OK, let's give it a shot.

What the hell?

And then, you know, yeah, every

time I come in, it's like, OK,

this guy's still around.

Like, you know, maybe he does

kind of somewhat care about what

he's.

Doing well, you definitely care

about what you're doing.

That goes without saying.

But you know, and you provide

good content on, on on the

interwebs, right?

So I think that's super

important.

But you know, like, like I said,

I thought that maybe you would

be a little more Jaden.

You're not.

Well, yeah, I mean, because for

sure, we've definitely learned a

lot through our experience.

I mean, again, like I said

earlier, starting out, we really

didn't know anything.

You know, we knew the gist.

I mean, I've been smoking cigars

for a while.

I've talked to people in the

industry to have a general idea

of what to do, but we learned so

much as we progressed.

And I think that the most

important thing is knowing that

you do know nothing and willing

to learn and expand your

knowledge and change things when

you like.

You know, putting a secondary

ban on it or whatever, you know,

taking criticism from other

people in the industry that have

been in there longer and working

towards a goal of just making

your products better.

Absolutely, man.

OK.

Well, that's it, man.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate you and we look

forward to seeing you next

Friday, all.

Right.

Take care everyone.

All right?

Bye.

Show Notes

Alex Gonzalez Internet Sensation with Besa Cigars