Interview Series Sean Mobley Cigar TV

Transcript

So, this is Sean Mobley of Cigar TV. How are you doing, sir? I'm doing very well. I was running a little bit late today.

I apologize. No worries. I have chaos behind me. Rudy brought all the kids.

It's beautiful, man. I was waiting for the red, you know, Hellcat to pull up. Yeah. There you go, man.

So, yeah, I just wanted to kind of get your story. I think that what you're doing is remarkable. I've been skeptic at times, because it is definitely something new and innovative, but you're working your ass off, man, you know, you're covering retailers, you're covering brands, you're covering manufacturers, so why don't you go ahead and just kind of introduce exactly what it is that you're doing. Let's start there.

Yeah, so Cigar TV is a global streaming channel that's dedicated to the cigar industry and lifestyle. That's my one liner I use when anybody asks me what it is. So we have essentially created a streaming channel where we're shooting eight original shows right now, and just like you mentioned, I'll go over our shows real quick, Unrolled, we shot with you, go to cigar lounges, tobacco farms, factories, distribution centers, and break the places down, we got Burn Rate, which is our cigar rating show, which I would love to talk to you about today, behind the blend, we bring in sales reps, owners of brands, we break down product and then hear their story, we're doing a, Perfect Pair, which is, we taught AI cigars, so we have a historian, an aficionado, a culinary expert, and a mixologist. People ask questions, the AI answers are real human answers, and we kind of compare.

Okay. Lounge Life, we're shooting season one at Grand Cathedral, which is kind of like Pawn Stars, reality style stuff, you know, people come in looking for a specific type of cigar, whatever the case may be. So you're doing that out in Tampa? Out in Tampa, yes.

And I guess that's where you're at? Yes, we're in Tampa, we also have studios in Orlando. The show's in Orlando, so we shoot half of our shows there and half of our shows here in Orlando. Okay.

But yeah, man, we went live on Roku right before PCA. We were going live on Distro on Friday, along with 29 other streaming services in 21 different countries. So, I mean, we're pulling reach right now from places that we didn't even think we would. I mean, we're talking Netherlands, even crazy places like Iran and Iraq, Afghanistan, like people are watching this stuff.

Right. That's awesome. And there's a whole, you know, middle market as well. But yeah, man, it's, for years, cigar aficionado, I mean, you know, I don't want to say it saved the industry in a way, but, you know, throwing faces on a magazine cover was, it did something for cigars that nobody had really seen before, and with just the way things are changing, we thought it would be a great opportunity to, you know, throw cigars on television, like, why would it not be played in lounges, you know?

Yeah, I gotta tell you, so my brother popped it on a couple weeks ago. Oh, you popped it on, Palmer? You could talk, you don't, you know, you have a mouth. I don't want to interrupt, you yelled on the other show.

So you can interrupt, it's okay. Yeah, I saw it at Blend and Barrel when I did my event over there, they had it on there, and then I came here and turned it on one day. And I watch it on Friday morning just before I open. Yeah.

So my brother's like, oh, I can't stop watching this. Oh, we appreciate that. Oh, yeah, he sat down and he was just completely enamored. yeah so why what made you want to do it because like the cigar industry i mean for me i personally believe that it's on life support and we have to do everything we can to kind of absolutely to put it in the right direction but like how old are you i'll be 27 tomorrow all right so you're 27 years now happy birthday man yeah so you're 27 years old uh you're not your quintessential cigar You're a cigar guy, right?

And what made you want to do it? Yeah, I was doing some studying last night watching you guys' show and I was nervous you guys were going to throw brands and blends and all this stuff at me because I really have no idea when it comes to the actual cigar itself. My grandfather, to my knowledge, was the first person to ferment tobacco up in Bourbon Barrels up in Kentucky. He did Blanton's first stuff and my family was growing cigarette tobacco and chewing tobacco before that.

Okay. My father streams television, so this is a family business. Okay, so your dad has like the... He owns FreeCast, which is our parent company, you would say.

Okay. He congregates streaming services, he manages them, gets them on different streaming services. But he, I would say he's like the general manager, and I'm more of the coach. Okay.

But yeah, my grandfather, you know, he passed away 2020. And my dad said, you know, preserve your legacy, you know, they have Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars up in Kentucky. It's funny, I have an uncle that's younger than me. Nice.

So, yeah, my dad has a half-brother and half-sister who are, you know, younger than me. Okay. Yeah, they're running Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars up there, Cap City Cigar Lounge. He passed away.

You know, I guess it's just trying to continue the legacy. Gotcha. Yeah, man. Okay, so now how long have you been doing this already?

I mean, the idea's been in full swing for probably two and a half, almost three years, we've been shooting content for two, so the stuff that's on our Roku channel right now, that's like the original stuff we shot a year and a half ago, I mean, I got Anthony with me now, my camera guy, we picked up that camera in a shopping plaza, we bought it off a dude on Craigslist. Stop it. Yeah. Was that the first camera that you had for this?

The first camera we ever bought, he was with me, I think you were hired, what, two weeks maybe? And you know, now it's, you know, we got full grade Netflix commercial equipment, we have a team of, you know, I have five in Tampa, there's another eight to 12 between programming producers and editors over there. So, you know, it's a 20 man unit that right now is, we've dished out a lot of capital to make it happen. But we're starting to see it start rolling now.

Yeah, we're starting to see it roll. All right, so it's been two and a half years. When do you think, like, I don't know how it makes money. And if you don't want to share it, that's okay.

But when do you think like the like the break even would be for it? What are your projections? Because we're at seven years, we're still looking. Yes, we're seven, we're seven years and we spend money every single year.

It doesn't matter, you know, but we're not as scaled as you for sure. Yeah, so we were running some numbers and we're looking at two years. We make money on ads. I mean, there's a huge ad market in the cigar industry, right?

Guys are hanging around, and gals, you know, it's 12, 1, 2 o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, and they're smoking cigars, they're spending $15 on a stick, some of them have a drink in their hand, who doesn't want their commercials played in front of those people, so you're talking resorts, liquor, watches, guns, golf, you're talking music, you're, I mean, pool tables and bars, I mean, anybody wants their stuff in front of that, because those people have expendable capital in their minds, so that's what we're kind of going through. It's the lifestyle, man. Who doesn't want to be a part of the lifestyle? You see cigar smokers, and obviously when you're in the business like yourself, you probably see some things that a lot of people don't see.

Yeah, that's true. But to the regular guy who sees people smoking cigars, it's viewed as this luxury item. Right. And this lifestyle that people want to live.

So you started this because you're a grandfather? Yes. " It was funny. We were sitting down watching a basketball game, smoking a cigar, and my question was, why do I never see cigar commercials on TV?

It's illegal. And then that's where, I had no idea, right? Yeah. And then this is where it kind of spiraled from.

We were originally, I mean, I was a pretty high-level basketball player, so I knew a lot of athletes, and originally it was just going to be a podcast, where I was going to hang out with my basketball buddy, smoke cigars, we have another company called Celebrity Cigars, where we created a software, it's like Nike ID for your shoes, But for cigar bands, it's not those ripped tear bands, and I'm not doing full level production in boss bands, but it's that middleman, right? So that was going to be originally what I was going to do. I was going to sell some custom scars and laser boxes and the whole shebang and just do podcasts with my guys to try to draw attention. And we were building a lounge on Fifth Avenue, and it fell through.

And then this picked up. And it was God. It was one of those moments where it was, you know, You know, thank you for letting, taking that away, because it's now developed into Cigar TV here, so. Okay, so you cover so many different avenues, right?

Which is kind of crazy. Tell me about, like, the brand or the manufacturer that you've interviewed so far, that you're like, "Damn, that was a good interview," or like, "That was the most interesting person," so far to date. I mean, 'cause you're gonna do more. Yeah, I mean, we've done a lot of people.

I saw you at PCA, bro. You're running around like a fucking Banshee, bro. Yeah, man. Well, we walk like 20 miles a day.

Yeah. Yeah, we had like 60 scheduled going into PCA. We did like 105 interviews, so we nearly doubled what we were supposed to do. One interview, Nick Perdomo.

Yeah? Yeah. Anytime I talk to him, it's not that he makes me feel like I'm not working hard enough, but when I leave there, I feel like I need to do more. Interesting.

So, definitely Nick Perdomo. I mean, we've got the opportunity to go to the Fuente Factory in DR. You talk about, you know, Disneyland of cigars. A visionary like Carlito, I envy that.

I mean, everybody, man, everybody has a story, and I think that's what's so unique about cigars. Anybody I sit down and talk with, it's an immediate connection because of this. And everybody has one, whether it's where they're from, or their grandfather, like myself, or, you know, You know how they stumbled upon into a cigar lounge and here they are working for you know a major company or right people starting their own brands like everybody has a love for this everybody has unique story and for some reason people find purpose in this and I get it now I did it before I get it now it really is a beautiful thing for sure have you done an interview and you don't have to say the name but have you had an experience so far where you do of you're doing an interview and you're like this is complete shit this This guy is completely full of it, and I'm not buying this at all. Oh, 100,000%.

How do you get out of it? I don't. You just... Yeah, absolutely.

You just eat it. " Does it still see the light of day or do you...? Absolutely. Absolutely.

We are big brands, small brands, and everybody in between. I want to showcase you. If you're willing to throw your own money into a gear setup or coming out with your own cigar, I am more than willing to sit you down, talk about your story, and talk about it. But I know when I see that box walk in the door, if it's like you've never been to Nicaragua or DR or even seen where the fuck it's came from, you know, and I know.

I mean, and there's other people, too, just to say this, like we've done cigar lounges and people, they store Tempeño cigars, Tempero cigars in Ybor, 16 years. They have never had anybody come in with a camera. Wow. To me, it's just like, how has nobody in 16 years come to try to talk to you or put you on camera or nothing?

That was a big eye opener for me when we were first starting out. Things like that, people have no camera skill, you pull out the cameras, they lock up, and it's like pulling teeth, but it is what it is, you know? I mean, what you're doing though is, no one's ever done that, no one's ever gone into retail stores to cover kind of everybody, you know? What about, what has been your favorite retail store?

Like, let's talk landscape, just the overall atmosphere of a store. You're like, damn, this place is amazing. Yeah, I mean, if you speak, immediately, I go to luxury, right? Okay.

I'm going to say Bern. Okay. And I'm going to say Tabacone in Doral. Okay.

Beautiful store. Not to float y'all boat, but if you talk about a membership, you guys have the best membership lounge that I've seen. You got to go smoke on the water. I've been to smoke on the water.

I've seen that back room. Yeah, pretty badass back room. That's a pretty badass spot, and you can go fishing out back, um, um, man, I mean, do you think that, uh, the lounges in Florida are, are, are more like dominant or like predominant as far as that kind of atmosphere? Do you see more of them?

Because what you just named was like two off the rip. I mean, you're based out of Florida, which kind of makes sense. Yeah. But do you think that Florida probably has the most lounges?

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Florida cigar culture is unmatched. I mean, I'm in Tampa.

I'm in Cigar City. I'm spoiled. Right. Like, just even as a consumer, right?

It's like, where am I going tonight? And I have too many options, you know? And I feel bad when I go to one over the other, you know? Because there's just so many.

Right. Miami, we've been down to Miami multiple times now. Great cigar culture, even here in Orlando, man. A lot of great lounges.

I've been to Houston, to New Orleans, we just did a trip up to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Great stuff up there. Right. Everybody's unique, man.

They are, 100%. It's all unique. And the stuff that people carry is what I like to look for. Who's different?

What brands are out here hustling? Everybody's different, the vibe's always different, and everyone you go into, it's just kind of finding what you like. Yeah, we've kind of noticed that when you when we travel, if there's a strong broker or somebody in that hub in that area, they will do a good job really cultivating the brand in all of the shops in that vicinity, like, we were just in Pittsburgh, right? Yeah.

What was the, there was a brand that we saw everywhere that you don't see? We saw Espinosa everywhere. Sinestro. Sinestro, yeah, because they're, they're based right there.

Yeah, so that's kind of their hub, and every single, like you could see that all the retailers were kind of on board supporting that brand. Yeah. He was on the marquees, I mean it was weird. Yeah, yeah, he was everywhere.

Has there been a retailer, so like you could see that retailers have different personalities, retailers believe in different cigars, has there been a retailer that, as far as personality-wise, you're like, wow, that guy's pretty impressive or pretty amazing? Anybody like that? I mean, we just went to two guys and talked to Dave. Yeah.

I mean, you talk about knowledge. Yeah. One thing he said that stuck out to me is it's as easy as it is to sell a box as it is to sell one single cigar. That was big for me.

I was like, damn, it's like, you know, you can sell a thousand things at a dollar. You can make one sale at a thousand. It's the same difference, you know? So that was an eye-opener for me.

But he is a plethora of knowledge. I mean, you can see his 40th anniversary is this year, and you can see all the collaborations. The collaborations he's doing. Yeah.

Just did Padrón, right? Yeah, he did Padrón, and then Perdomo just released one, they just released another one, I think a couple of days ago. Yeah, man, Dave definitely sticks out, for sure, Dave definitely sticks out. That's pretty impressive, man.

Okay, so you're working on ad revenue for all types of things, kind of like, that are geared into cigars. It's one way or the other, right? Whether it's just luxury, relaxing, like you said, mentioned your pool tables, alcohol or whatever the case may be. So, but are you also going to focus on particular brands promoting on the cigar TV as well?

Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, we haven't done anything yet. We haven't started reaching out to people, but I would love to advertise people's cigar brands on our channel. It's unique because since we control the channel and I control that, they give you a 30-minute slot, and each platform is different.

It's either you get 22 minutes for content or 24 minutes for content, but in that 22 or 24 minutes, I can do whatever the hell I want to do. So if I wanted to cut my content down to stuff that we're shooting to 18 and add four minutes of commercial slots for people, I can do that. And then also we're going to sell sponsorships for shows, do stuff in that realm, but I think it's a great thing for events, too. I mean, there's all types of stuff in the cigar industry, man.

What do you mean for events? I mean, just off the top, New England Cigar Expo. Okay, so like a major... Yeah, I mean, even if somebody wants to pay the money to get their stuff on the channel, I'm going to show you what kind of eyeballs you're getting.

It's not a magazine where it's sitting on a table and you have no idea who's looking at it. I know how old you are, where you're from, what kind of golf clubs you're swinging. I know what kind of car you're damn near driving. I'm able to tell people all this information, which is where the money comes from.

right all about the people want to pay for that of course yeah so that's what it is okay um palmer you got any questions no you have zero questions for me yes nothing for mr mr mobley no this is your show i don't do with this show um okay but he's just he answers everything so fast i want to talk about something good all right go ahead hit me let's talk about i saw you guys do this half It's a half-wheel segment. Yeah. Number cigars. Uh-huh.

Yeah, guess the score. Yeah, guess the score. Yeah, I love it. Okay, I think it's great.

Yeah. I love the segments you guys do. But I want to talk about why the hell the cigar ratings start at a 90. I have no idea where this came from.

I'm a consumer. For me, it feels like everything just starts at a 90 and people go up or down a couple points. Yeah. He's got a good point.

I think that there's a couple of simple basis points that really kind of get you into that It's a 70-ish range, and then it's very easy to really kind of get into the low 80s and kind of above, right? But everybody gauges things a little bit differently as far as construction, as far as flavor profile, as far as consistency, and all of those things create those different notches. But like realistically, if the cigar draws, it should score at least in that 60 to 70 range minimum, you know, how many 65s have you come across so far? How many of you are in on half will?

A little to none. Yeah, very little to none. And how many? The 70s are usually as low as they go.

And how many have you seen above? I mean, 95 is the top. 95 is the top. And there's a couple of those.

Right. Maybe a half a dozen 94s, and then it goes down. Are you thinking about doing something differently as far as ratings? Absolutely.

Yeah. We have our show burn rate. Okay. We have two tobacconists, Brian and Chris.

Brian's been in the industry for seven years. I don't know anybody who has more passion about cigars than I've ever met. And then Chris Kelly's been in the industry for 40 years, owned a shop up in Pennsylvania, has his own brand, was doing blind tastings for reviewers back in the day or whatever the case may be. But for me as a consumer, when we were first coming out with the show, I had no idea about cigar ratings.

I mean, I saw 92s on boxes and 89s, and I just had no idea where it came from. And for me, when I take a test, right, it's out of 100, 100-question test, You're telling me that some of these cigars only got eight points off? You're giving a 92 to me, you only got eight questions wrong? Right.

You smoked that cigar through, from the time a consumer walks into that store, decides to spend his money on a cigar, cut and light it, and smoke it all the way through and leave, that it only got eight ticks? Sure. It doesn't make sense to me. No.

Oh, not only that, it's even more complicated than that. Everybody, a lot of people will go off of that rating of, you know, one to a hundred, but everybody's rating is still different. And not only is everybody's rating still different, everybody's experience in pallets is going to be different. That's what I was going to say, there's no standardization of any kind, so even though Halfwheel gives it a 92, developing pallets could give it an 88.

Yeah, and then you can talk about bias, right? That's obvious. We'll add money here and there. Of course, it's like, hey, you know, so that exists as well, that's apparent throughout the industry.

Yeah, I mean, I think that's what really kind of happened to Aficionado, was they really kind of lost, in my opinion, they lost some integrity in that fashion, you know, so... Yeah, our show Burn Rate. Yeah, tell me more about it. Yeah, we created this rating sheet with different variables and different percentages for each.

It's either 18 to 20 different variables. We rate everything from craftsmanship to flavor profile, smoke assessment, and burn performance. What about appearance? Well, we thought, and for me coming from the consumer point, which I've heard different tones on this, we do rate presentation and packaging as far as the band and the artwork that was taken to put in.

I think that's important. For us, it was the thought that, you know, consumers coming in, they're spending their money and they're buying with their eyes first. Of course. So, there has to be some thought and effort and that should be rated, right?

Right. It's only worth 8% of the overall score. Interesting. But yes, there's that.

Other in the craftsmanship is presentation. I think construction's 8% as well. So, you know, you're looking at that wrapper. Is it discoloration?

Is it, you know, soft spots? Is it flawed? We look at color of the foot. Does that tobacco look vibrant?

And then Vitola's worth 1%, which is just a subjective thing. Okay. So how many, have you already rated some cigars? Rated 48.

We're on to season three. Okay. Have you already released those? Season one is up on our Roku app.

Okay. Yeah. And it's based on that scale of one to 100? It is one to 100, yes.

Okay. How many of them have been in the 90s? Our score is, it's out of 10. So we're going to add all these percentages up and then it's out of 10.

So a lot of them... A lot of them, '90s are rare. I'm talking for something again in the '90s, I think we've had three, four, maybe. And it's not just big brands, like our highest rated cigar was a Marcus Daniel something.

I don't even know if you've heard of Marcus Daniels. I have not. We literally rate everything. That's cool.

Yeah, so then we get into flavor profile, which is worth 51 percent. So the intensity of the flavors, how obvious are they? That's worth 15 percent, I believe, or 10. Enjoyability is 23%, you know, enjoying those flavors together, the complexity of them, you know, how many are there, and then the finish.

So you rate it as well, right? No, just those two guys. My palate's ass. I mean, I could, I'm not that guy, right?

I have no idea. I don't think that that's true. I mean, I know enough, but I can tell it's spicy. I can't pull out if it's a cayenne or a different type of spice.

I think that shit's crazy in itself. Anyways. Dude, these guys, I'll literally give them a cigar to smoke and they'll tell me what fucking country's from and what region. Really?

Oh, yeah. And it's sitting there on a piece of paper. " And they'll tell me. It's insane.

No kidding. Yeah, man. Yeah. They are into it.

Okay. So, obviously, they've had interactions with people in the industry, right? One's got seven years of experience, one's got four. If they don't like somebody, do you think that that would affect their opinion on the flavor profile?

I've made it very clear that I will fire them and find somebody new if I feel any toward a bias. And I will never take a check for this show to rate a cigar and make it a higher rating, ever. That's pretty impressive. I'll put the checkbook away, Michael.

What checkbook, bro? We have one, we just don't use it. Hey, will you take a post-dated third-party out-of-state check? Just two digits?

Yeah. Is that the thing that you're most excited about, is the reviews? I wouldn't say I'm most excited about it, but I think it's a new way for consumers to get involved. Our scoring sheet is live on our website, so anybody can go buy the same cigar we're reviewing, or take their own, and everything is laid out there.

It's not a hidden agenda. It's not just somebody type some things into a blog. It is there for people to use. Okay.

You can export your files and save your stuff. So you can go back and check which cigars you like best and which ones you didn't. That's pretty cool, man. Yeah.

So what, what are you excited the most about when it comes to recording all these different things? Like which one do you look forward to the most? Well, I host Unrolled, so it's our destination show. We're going to Nicaragua next week on Monday, so I'm excited for that.

You never been? No. And I didn't know everything that I now know about it before I booked the trip, but I'm coming to find out that I, uh, we got lucky with the Oliva Tobacco family, hooking us up with the driver and a place to stay. I had booked a hotel, but I thought it was like DR because I've been to DR.

So I'm here, I can call an Uber, there might be a couple restaurants around there telling me it's nothing like that. Like bring a couple 20s in case somebody stops you and give them a couple bucks to keep moving. Well they won't take money from you because you're not from Nika. Right, I mean I got three American guys and some camera equipment.

Yeah, it don't matter, you know, like they'll shoot a show of us right here. They'll talk with, you know, they'll talk to whoever's native there that's helping you. The driver. but then yeah um where were you gonna stay los altos that's a great place yeah that's not a bad hotel it's a very small hotel yeah i was excited to go check it out um but yeah trey oliva is actually allowing us to stay at his family's house over there yeah i mean that's better yeah you know um but save a couple bucks but you'll you would be okay at some of those hotels los Los Arcos is like the main one, Hex is right off of the main highway, so I mean there's a few there, are you only doing, who are you hitting, who are you going to see?

C. Newman. Okay. Dissident Cigars.

We're meeting with a lady. Okay. We're gonna go see her growers in her field and shoot an episode of Behind the Blend with her. And then I'll have a, waiting to hear back from, was it Nika Sueño?

You gotta see Skip, man. Yeah, so we're working on Skip. He flies in the 17th, we leave on the 19th. He does.

So it would have to be the 18th. So I'm talking with Mike right now to see if we can get in there with him. Okay. And then I have one slot left.

I'm hoping Drew Estate will allow us in there. I'm sure they will. Yeah, we're talking back and forth, but it's just kind of a scheduling thing. It's a Sunday, and I don't know how the work schedule is over there for those people.

Gosh, there's nothing going on Sundays. It's a Sunday, so that was, I think, the deal. But you still get a tour of the place, you know? Yeah.

I mean, they have a ton of pylones, and they have a gigantic facility. Yeah. I haven't been, so I'm excited to check it out, man. I'm very new to this, you know what I mean?

Yeah. And how many days you going for? Nine. Monday to Tuesday.

That's a long time, bro. It's a big time, bro. Yeah, man. I mean, I figured if we're going, we're going.

You know, for the first time, I think nine days is fine. I think that you'll have a good time, because you're going to see everybody for kind of the first time, and it'll be exciting for you. I think a second time, you might want to cut a little bit shorter. Right.

You know, you'll be like, okay. Yeah. Like, seen it. I was trying to do a Monday to Sunday.

With the damn flights, it was either I was going to have a long layover somewhere, or the flight was going to be really expensive. It was really expensive. I was like, dude, let's just stay a couple extra days. Right.

We just booked some other people. That's cool. Yeah, man. Okay.

And do you have any other questions? How are we doing on time? 28 minutes. Do you have anything coming up that you're excited about?

Something new that hasn't come out yet? Oh, yeah, man. We're going to the PCA Fall Fundraiser, September 8th through 11th or whatever it is, and we're going to be shooting advocacy content with PCA. So we're going to be talking to politicians, people are fighting the tobacco fight, I will not be doing that interview, but we will be conducting that.

Okay. What do you mean, why aren't you doing it? I mean, I could, but I would much rather somebody from PCA be the one talking with somebody and get that footage. I feel like, I mean, I could do it, right?

But I would rather somebody who knows what's really going on to do it. I think you'd be a better fit for it. Why? Because you're comfortable with all of this, you're comfortable with the camera, like, I mean, but you could still do it and have somebody aim everything in the right direction, like, hey, here's, here are things that we're looking to cover with this person, or whatever the case may be, I mean, I'm sure Antoine's good at it.

As I was gonna say, they gotta have a media person who has, like, a list of things. Yeah, you know, he could put you in the right direction, but I don't know, man, I think that you're doing a lot here, and you're the face of this brand. You should continue to be the face of the Cigar TV brand. Yeah, don't turn it over to somebody that maybe does half as good a job as you would.

Just my two cents. I mean, you call yourself a coach, like your dad's a GM and you're the coach, you're kind of the quarterback. You know what I mean? Yeah, I was thinking more quarterback.

You know what I mean? The quarterback still calls the shots. You can tell the coach go fuck himself. " But yeah, I think that you're more QB than you are coach.

That's fair. Yeah, I think the coach would be just behind the camera and you're in front of the camera. Yeah, I got a call with them when I get back from Nicaragua, so we'll see what happens. Definitely see what happens there.

Dude, it's crazy. You're running all over the place. Yeah, we're non-stop. I mean, I'm trying to get the end of the back in Germany.

I got to get to LA. I got to get to the West Coast. What about TAA coverage? Do you think you can get in there or no?

I don't know too much about TAA, man. Like I just said, dude, I'm new to this, you know what I mean? I love that. Dude, I love your honesty.

You know, I think that that's something that you don't see a lot in this industry. And I kind of love the fact that you're so almost innocent about all of it, right? " The hard part about that is that there are so many people that, These are very smoke and mirrors, right? And as long as you continue to kind of ask the questions, you'll quickly be able to decipher like, oh, nope, that guy's full of it, you know?

But I think that that takes some time, you know? And I mean, here's what I've seen. You go into stores and you go and you talk to people and people will rattle off a story that they heard from so-and-so, almost verbatim, and they believe it as gospel. Because they don't know anything else, right?

And then they either A, figure out that that guy was completely full of shit, you know, three or four years later, or they can just continue to kind of echo that conversation. So what's really important is that those conversations slowly diminish over time. And I think that you've seen that in the past decade or two, but there's still a ton of it, man. There's still a ton of it.

It's crazy. Yeah, we're getting ready to send out a Roku package to all lounges. So, that's something we're working on, I'm excited for. So, like, is that something that the lounge would buy?

No, I would send it for free. We're going to offer, I don't even know if I'm allowed to say this, but I'm going to say it. We're going to offer incentives to lounges. So, kind of like a loyalty program, but I'm sure how it is for swag or, you know, you're buying cigars and selling a product, right?

It's going to be the same for us. The more stream time you get, the more I'm going to hook you up. up um we're gonna deliver a package send people roku devices um in case they don't have roku tvs right make it very streamlined for them and easy for you know some lounge owners you guys are hip right you guys got the camera you guys kind of know what's going on i mean there's some guys you mean you and they're 67 year old dudes who are living on a pension check who open a cigar line don't even know how to work an iphone yeah you know so it's like 80 of them they're just seeing the rabbit ears on the black and white who are you right you want to plug in my tv i don't okay Hey, who's gonna turn it on every morning? Yeah.

Ro what? I never heard of it. Yeah, Ro what, yeah. Okay.

So we're working on that right now too. I'd be interested to see the data as far as the retailers and how it's received, you know? Because, you're right, there's a lot of them that you're gonna be, it's a struggle bus. Like, I am giving you the content, right?

Right? This is totally free for you to stream and to keep your customers engaged and interested where they would want to stay. Like, you know, it's like, I have done everything for you at this point. I just need you to hit the on button, right?

Yeah. Yeah. I'd be curious to see how many of them do it and how many of them you're like, oh, I didn't expect that. I didn't see that coming.

Absolutely. you know i think that's i think that's kind of the cool thing and what i'm excited about is you know what i hear when i ask people is like future of the cigar industry what do we need to do as a whole to make it you know continue progressing right it's that education factor right um in creating an experience you know there's only so many cutting lights you can do sure there's only so much you can do in a lounge as far as you know kind of keeping people engaged and what my kind of I don't want to say pitches, it's what we're doing is, you know, if you play this on your TV, you're now going to have either a new cigar smoker, or a guy who's in there every day, and you are now able to educate them on a different level that they've never seen, right? So you're showing the distribution centers, you're showing where these cigars are coming from, you know, the cigar that the guy is smoking, you know, say it's a Perdomo or whatever it is, and Nick Perdomo's interview's on the damn thing, there's a whole nother education level there for people to stay locked in. Right.

So that's kind of, you know, what I'm kind of pitching to people is, you know, hey, yeah, it's cool and it promotes the cigar industry, but if you want to create an experience to keep these people around and, you know, kind of keep people in this industry, you know, here's an option for you. It's not a cutting line. You don't have to place an order for boxes. And it's free.

Right. And I'm going to throw you a little kickback if you stream my stuff for X amount of time. Right. Here's another source of revenue.

Right. So, I mean, I don't know why people would say no, right? Some are, obviously, but it's kind of what we're going for. Okay, so why would they say no?

They would say no because if they don't carry the products, they're like, well, I don't get to control what you're talking about, right? And I don't want to turn my consumer onto a product that I'm not necessarily going to cover, I'm not going to pick up. That's fair. So, I'm only stating that for you because I'm a big believer that if you can kind of see the pitfalls, then you can figure out the answers, right?

The show that he does about other shops and things? Yeah, some retailers are… They're going to go, well, now that place looks cooler than mine, and it's only 15 minutes down the road, and everybody left. Which is absolutely insane to me. You know, I would say that in my early years, I had a similar mindset.

I was like, oh, you know, just because I got rubbed the wrong way and I got pushed back by, you know. Somebody. Yeah, the big dog in the area, right? I had that similar sense when somebody kind of came into our area.

But then I realized, I'm like, bring it on, man. You know, you're not going to be able to do it better than me anyways, right? I'm gonna outwork you, and hopefully you become friends with these guys where you can grow together, man. I think that we have a great experience, a great relationship with Blend and Barrel now, you know?

Great people. Yeah, whatever we can do for them, we're more than willing to help. So much to a point where, like, SBC drops, he did a cutting light there before it came out here, you know? Like, we're always the last, you know, just because I don't want that image of, you know, We're trying to steal business.

I'm not. I'm actually trying to raise consumers, make more cigar consumers. I think that's what you're trying to do. And that's, that's the thing for me is, you know, whether that, that guy walks into my shop or your shop, right?

If you, if we can retain him as a cigar smoker, that is better for everybody. A hundred percent. Um, so, you know, I, I get that. I've heard that from lounge owners as well.

Um, that's why I would love to shoot everybody. It's probably going to be impossible for me to shoot everybody. You can go on the app on the VOD player and pick your episode and just stream that one. That's fine with me.

But yeah, you know, you know, a cigar smoker that's willing to stay in the industry is good for everybody. Yeah, and to make that cigar consumer more than one cigar a week, I mean, if you turn them into three or four... A box buyer. Yeah, or a box buyer, you know, that makes a big difference for this industry.

Apparently, it's as easy to sell a box as it is to sell a single. You know what? Here's the funny part is, I mean, Dave's been doing this long enough, he's probably right. Oh, if Dave said so, yes.

He's probably right. You know, I've gone to retail stores and I've done events and what they'll do is, they'll cover the single sticks and you're just buying the box for the events. I'm like, that's brilliant. You know, that's got to make a huge difference in revenue.

And the reality is the consumer is going to smoke more if they have it at home and ready to kind of rock and roll, right? If they just buy one and they smoke it, they're done, it's not, you know, whatever. But if they got a whole box, I'm like, oh, I'm going to go smoke a cigar, I'm going to relax, you know? Absolutely.

I was kind of surprised at the fact that no one else has covered you. Yeah. Yeah. And that's kind of insane to me, because I thought for sure, like I texted you, I think yesterday, I'm like, I feel like I know you've done an interview, but I cannot find an interview, right?

And then you said you did Rocky Mountain, and I honestly couldn't even find that interview. It was a long time ago. It was a long? Two years ago.

Really? Yeah. I started scrolling down, I'm like, damn, it's gotta be somewhere, I couldn't even find it. So, because I don't like to ask the same questions, right?

But you're still so kind of new and so in your infancy here. I mean, I know you're two years in, but like two years really isn't shit, especially with what you're building. Is there any podcast or someone in particular that you listen to or you hear and then you're like, man, I'd like to be on that show. That'd be pretty cool.

You know, other than us. Yeah. Other than obviously. Obviously.

Not really, man. I'm going to be honest with y'all. Like, I'm a fishing guy. Like, when I go home and my day is done, I'm clicking on YouTube and I'm watching fishing YouTube.

Right. I am not the cigar nut who's reading Half Wheel. Right. I am not that guy who's streaming podcasts on YouTube in the background.

Right. I am not that guy. I mean, obviously Dave Cigar Authority I've heard of and I've seen his stuff. I would love to be on that show one day.

Right. And I'm gonna give a shout out to the cigar guys. Right. I mean, I love what they're doing, they're young guys, local guys, and I would love to do something with them, which we're planning on doing a show on our end in the next couple weeks when we get back.

You know, man, I'm open to it, and I'm willing to come drive and fly out and do something, I'll book a trip around and hit on rolls and shoot shows. Right. I mean, I'm willing to do it, but no, there's not really somebody who sticks out. Well, the Cigar Guys are similar to you in the fashion that they work hard.

Very much so. We picked up on that probably like a year ago or so. I'm like, damn, these guys. They're everywhere.

They're hustling, man. They're hustling. They came into the shop, and it talks about their brand, and I'm like, okay. Like, whatever, right?

And then you start seeing their feed and see how hard they're working on things, and I'm like, I don't know how I don't support these guys, you know? Even if it's just a few boxes, but I want to give them the shelf space. I want to give them the opportunity. And we've developed a friendship with them for sure.

Yeah. I mean, they've been over to St. Pete. I went to a cutting light they did over there at Central Cigars in St.

Pete. And the content that they're creating, it's unique. You know, it's not just typical. It's just, let's hang out, smoke cigars, and shoot the shit.

It's, you know, they're trying to get creative in what they're doing, and their little snippets and stuff like that, which I enjoy. So just different, right? You know, you gotta be careful, because it is an old industry, and that's something we're very cautious of, is dropping too much on people at one time. But I think there's a lot of room for growth in this industry.

A huge amount. There is a huge opportunity for not only media like myself, but I think lounge owners and brand owners, to really take this thing to the next level. And I mean, you see this new generation coming in, I mean, you see the sons of the cigar makers, it is that new generation coming in, and you're either going to be with the times, or you're going to get left behind. Right.

So, I mean, I think there's a lot of opportunity, there's a lot of opportunity. Absolutely. All right, well, is there anything else that you want to plug before we let you go? I have another question.

Oh, yes. Where do you get your news for your news segment? Yeah. Do you guys scam off halfway like we do?

Yes, it's pulled from everybody. Do you have a person or an email where we could send our press releases? Absolutely. I will give it to you right after this.

Okay. You can announce on the show if you want, unless you don't think you're comfortable with it. I don't know what the email is off the top of my head. com.

Okay. Yeah, but yeah, I would love to get your stuff. And we do give credit to where credit's due, right? That's what your credit's due, right?

If we pulled it from half wheel, per half wheel, you know, per Cigar Aficionado, per everybody. And our thing is, too, like, I'm not one of these media companies, like you just said, you know, talking about lounge owners, it's not beef, like, let's all collaborate and work together. Like, I would love, we're talking about, I would love to give Cigar Aficionado their own show. Let me come record a cover shoot.

Let me interview this guy on camera. Let me promote this industry, Cigar Snob, Cigar Journal. Let me come on these photo shoots and these things that y'all are doing, and I will highlight them. So it's really an all-inclusive thing, man.

For me, it's staying neutral, right? Because I am media and I don't want to be that guy who's persuaded by money or liking somebody or whatnot. Obviously, you have your relationships, right? Right.

But I'm very much trying to stay neutral and keep everybody inclusive. Right. Well, I mean, your dad already has the jet, so, you know. Yeah.

Right. I wish we had a jet. Two jets. Yeah, man.

All right, well, perfect, man. Well, thank you so much for coming out, dude. I think this is a great interview. I think it's going to be eye-opening for a lot of people.

And however we can get attention to what you're doing, I think you're doing a great thing. Awesome, man. Well, we appreciate you guys having us on. Yeah, our pleasure, man.

Absolutely. All right, that's it. Bye.

Show Notes

In this episode, we sit down with Sean Mobley from Cigar TV to hear the story behind the channel — how it all started, what inspired him to launch it, and where it's headed next. From behind-the-scenes insights to future plans, this is a must-watch for cigar media fans and creators alike.