Interview Series Sean Mobley Cigar TV

Transcript

So this is Sean Mobley of Cigar

TV.

How you doing, Sir?

I'm doing very well.

I was running a little bit late

today.

I apologize.

No worries.

I have I have chaos behind me.

I'm.

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 you're doing a,

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.

OK, So we have essentially

created a streaming channel

where we're shooting 8 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, distributes,

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 lounge

life for shooting Season 1 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 or

whatever the case may be.

So you're doing that out in

Tampa?

Out in Tampa.

And I guess that's where you're

at.

Yes, we're in Tampa.

We also have studios in Orlando,

so we shoot half of our shows

there and half of our shows here

in Orlando.

But yeah, man, we went live on

Roku right before PCA.

We're 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 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, Right?

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?

Why would it not be played in

lounges, you know?

Yeah, I got to 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 you can interrupt,

that's OK.

Yeah, I saw the blending barrel

when I did my event over there.

They had it on there, right.

And then I came here and and

turned it on one day and I watch

it on Friday morning just before

I open.

Yeah, yeah, man.

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 what?

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.

Alright, so you're 27 years.

Oh, happy birthday, man.

So you're 27 years old.

You're not your quintessential

cigar guy, right?

And what made you want to do it?

Yeah, I was.

I was doing some studying last

night watching you guys the

show, and I was nervous you guys

were gonna throw brands and

blends and all this stuff at me

'cause I really have no idea.

I love that.

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.

My father streams television.

So this is a family business?

So your dad has like the.

He owns Freecast, which is our

parent company.

You would say 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.

But yeah, my grandfather, you

know, he passed away 20/20.

And my dad said, you know,

preserve your legacy.

You know, they have Kentucky

Gentleman Cigars up in Kentucky.

It's funny, I have an uncle

that's younger than me.

So yeah, my, my, my dad has a

half brother and a half sister

were, you know, younger than me.

Yeah.

They're running Kentucky

Gentleman cigars up there.

Cap City Cigar Lounge.

He passed away.

You know, I guess he's just

trying to continue the legacy.

Gotcha.

Yeah, man.

OK, so now how long have you

been doing this already?

I mean, the idea has been in

full swing for probably 2 1/2,

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, it.

Was that the first camera that

you had for the?

First camera we ever bought.

He was with me.

I think you were hired with 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 5 in Tampa.

There's another 8 to 12 between

programming producers and

editors over there.

So you know, it's a, it's a 20

man unit that, that right now is

we've dished out a lot of, lot

of capital to make it happen.

But we're starting to see it

start rolling now.

We're starting to see it roll.

All right, So it's been 2 1/2

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 OK, but when do you think

like the like the break even

would be for it?

What are your projections?

'Cause we're at 7 years, we're

still looking.

For yeah, we're, 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're 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, 2:00

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 explainable

capital in their minds.

So that's what we're kind of

going up.

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 so the regular guy who

sees people smoking cigars is

viewed as this luxury item right

in this lifestyle that people

want to live.

So you started this for cause of

your grandfather?

Yes.

Did you have to pitch it to your

dad, say hey, I got this idea?

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 spoiled from.

We were originally, I mean, I

was a pretty high level

basketball player, so I knew a

lot, a lot of athletes.

And originally it was just going

to be a podcast where I was

going to hang out 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 hair

bands.

And I'm not doing full level

production embossed bands, but

it's that middle man, right?

So that was going to be

originally what I was going to

do.

I was going to sell 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

5th Ave.

Ibor and it fell through.

And then this picked up and it

was, God, it was one of those

moments where it was, you know,

thank you for letting taking

that away because it's not

developed into cigar TV here.

So.

OK, 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 moved on a lot of

people.

I know got a lot of people.

I saw you at PCA bro.

You're running around like a

fucking banshee, bro.

But we walk like 20 miles a day.

Yeah.

Marathon.

Yeah.

We had like 60 scheduled going

into PCA.

We did like 105 interviews.

So we then doubled what we were

supposed to do.

One interview.

Nick Perdomo.

Yeah.

Yeah, anytime I talk to him,

sometimes 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 Podomo, I

mean, we've 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, and everybody has one,

whether it's where they're from

or their grandfather like myself

or you know, how they stumbled

upon into a cigar lounge and

here they are working for, you

know, a major company or people

starting their own brands.

Like everybody has a love for

this.

Everybody has a unique story.

And for some reason people find

purpose in this.

And I get it now, or 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

you're doing an interview and

you're like, this is complete

shit.

This guy is completely full of

it.

And I'm not buying this at all.

Oh 100,000.

Percent how do you how do you

get out of it you you just.

You.

Yeah, absolutely.

You just eat it.

You just eat shit and be like OK

does it still see the light of

day or?

Do you?

Absolutely.

Yeah, 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 and 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 seeing where the

fuck it came from, you know what

I, I know, I mean, and there's

other people too just to say

this, like we've done cigar

lounges and people, they store

10 penos cigars, 10 para cigars,

any bore, OK, 16 years.

They have never had anybody come

in with a camera.

It's wow.

To me.

It's just like, how is nobody in

16 years come to try to talk to

you or put you on camera or

nothing?

So that was a big eye opener for

me when we were first starting

out.

Things like that.

People have no camera skill.

Yeah, 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 to cover kind of

everybody, you know, what about

what's what has been your

favorite retail store?

Like let's talk landscape.

Just just the overall atmosphere

of a story.

Like damn this place is amazing.

Yeah.

I mean, if you speak

immediately, I go to luxury,

right?

You want to say burn, OK, and

I'm going to say Tabacone and

Doral.

Beautiful store.

Not to float y'all boat but if

you talk about a membership, you

guys have the best membership

lounge ox that I've seen.

You got to go smoke on the

water.

I've been to smoke on the water.

I've seen that backroom.

That's a pretty badass spot.

And you can go fishing Outback,

man, I mean.

Do you think that 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 2 off the RIP.

I mean, you're based out of

Florida, which kind of makes

sense.

But do you think that Florida

probably has the most lounges?

Most.

Oh.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Florida cigar cultures, it's

unmatched.

I mean, I'm in Tampa, I'm in

Cigar City.

I'm spoiled.

I 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, 'cause

there's just so many, right?

Miami.

We've been out in Miami multiple

Times Now.

Great cigar culture.

Even here in Orlando, man.

Lot of great lounges.

Been to Houston, the New

Orleans.

We just did a trip up to New

Hampshire, Massachusetts and

Connecticut.

Great stuff up there, right?

Everybody's unique, man.

Everybody.

They are 100% all.

Unique and the stuff that people

carry is what I like to to look

for.

You know who's different?

You know what brands are out

here hustling, you know, yeah,

everybody's different.

The vibe's always different than

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're we're just in

Pittsburgh, right?

What was the There was a brand

that we saw everywhere that you

don't see.

Any Sinestro.

Sinestro.

Yeah, 'cause they're, they're

based right there.

Yeah.

The so they're 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.

He was on the Marquis.

I mean, it was, 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 the two

guys and talked to Dave Garofalo

up there.

I mean, you talk about

knowledge.

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 so 1000 things at

a dollar, you can make one sale

at 1000 and it's the same

difference, you know, so that

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

he's doing.

Just did.

Pedrone, right?

Yeah, he did Pedrone and then

Pedromo just released one.

They just released another one,

I think a couple days ago.

But yeah, man, Dave definitely

sticks out for sure.

Dave definitely sticks out.

That's pretty impressive, man.

OK, so so you you're working on

ad revenue for all types of

things kind of like that are

geared into cigars 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 you 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

now yet.

We haven't started reaching out

to people.

But I would love to advertise

people's cigar brands on our

channel.

It's it's unique because since

we control the channel and I

control that, they give you a 30

minute slot.

Right.

And they, 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, right?

So if I wanted to cut my content

down, the stuff that we're

shooting to 18 and that 4

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, it's a great

thing for events too, you know,

I mean, there's all type of

stuff in the cigar industry.

Man, what do you mean for events

like?

I mean, just off the top, New

England Cigar Expo.

OK.

So like so like a major.

Yeah, I mean, even even small,

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

sent on the table.

You have no idea who's looking

at it, right?

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 you're driving.

I'm able to tell people all this

information, which is where the

money comes from, right?

Right.

All about the You want to pay

for that, of course.

Yeah.

So that's what it is.

OK.

Palmer, you got any questions?

No, you have 0 questions for me.

Yes, nothing for Mr. Mr. Mobley.

No, this is your show.

I don't do with this show.

OK, but he's just, he answers

everything so fast.

I want to talk about something.

All right, go ahead, hit me.

Let's.

Talk about I saw you guys do

this half wheel segment.

Yeah, numbered cigars.

Yeah, guess what's guess?

Yeah, guess.

What's the score?

Yeah, I love it.

OK, I think it's great.

Yeah, I love this segment.

You guys do.

But I want to talk about why the

hell the cigar rating started at

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 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 60 fives have you come

across so far in on Half Will?

Little to none.

Yeah, very little to none.

And how many?

70s are usually as low as they

go.

And how many have you seen

above, I mean. 95 is the top. 95

and there's.

A couple of those, right, Maybe

a half a dozen, 90 fours, and

then it goes down.

Are you thinking about doing

something differently as far as

ratings?

Absolutely.

Yeah, We have our show Burn

Right, OK.

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 that

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

this show, I had no idea about

cigar raise.

I mean, I saw 90 twos on boxes

and 80 nines and I just had no

idea where it came from.

And for me, when I take a test,

right, it's out of 100, a

hundred 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 8 questions wrong,

right?

You smoke 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 8 ticks.

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 100, but

everybody's rating is still

different.

And not only is everybody's

rating still different,

everybody's experience and

pallets going to be different.

So that's why.

I was going to say there's no

standardization of any kind.

So even though half wheel gives

it a 92, developing pallets

could give it an 88.

Yeah.

And then you can talk about

bias, right?

That's obvious, You know, of

course, like, hey, you know, so

that exists as well.

That's that's apparent

throughout the industry.

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, I shall burn weight.

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 from me

coming from the consumer point,

which I've heard different tones

on this, I do, 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 the 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.

So how many have you already

rated some cigars?

Rated 48.

We're on to season.

We're on to Season 3.

Have you already released those

or?

Season 1 is up on our on our

Roku app.

And it's based on that still

that scale of 1 to 100.

It is one to 100, yes.

OK.

How many of them have been in

the 90s?

Our score is it's, 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 90s are rare.

I'm talking for something again

in the 90s.

I think we've had 3-4 maybe.

And it's not just big brands.

Like our highest rated cigar was

a Marcus Daniels.

Something like I don't even know

if you've heard of Marcus.

Daniels I have not.

It's we literally rate

everything.

That's cool.

Yeah.

So then we get into flavor

profile, which is worth 51%.

So the intensity of the flavors,

how obvious are they?

That's worth 15%, I believe, or

10.

Enjoyability is 23%.

And 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'm not that guy.

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 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, It's sitting there on a

piece of paper and I'm like,

what is it?

And they'll tell me it's insane.

Yeah, man.

Yeah, they are into it.

OK.

So do you do they've had

obviously they've had

interactions with people in the

industry, right?

One's got 7 years of experience,

one's got 4.

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 sort of 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 checkbook away,

Michael.

What checkbook bro?

We have one, we just don't use

it.

Yeah, 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 would 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 typed

some things into a blog, it is

there for people to use.

You can export your files and

save your stuff so you can go

back and check what you cigars

you like best and which ones you

did.

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 OK, I'm

coming to find out that I we got

lucky with the Oliva Tobacco

family hooking us up with the

driver and a place to stay.

I had booked the hotel, but I

thought it was like Dr. cause

I've been to Dr. Something 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, OK, Because you're not from

Nikka.

Right.

So.

I mean, I got 3 American guys

and some camera equipment.

I was.

Like it don't matter, you know,

like they'll 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, where were you

going to 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, but yeah, Trey Oliva is

actually allowing us to stay at

his family's house over there.

When?

We're there.

I mean, that's better, you know,

but save.

Him a couple bucks.

But you'll you would be OK at

some of those hotels.

Los Arcos is like the main one.

Hex is right, yeah, is right off

of the main highway.

So they I mean, there's a few

there are you only doing are who

you hitting?

Who you going to see?

AJ first OK Marcy staying at his

compound the first night we're

going to prodomo oveja negra HVC

tab back a layer of pages essay.

OK.

Oliva Tobacco.

JC Newman.

OK, Dissident cigars.

We're meeting with a lady.

We're going to see her grow as

in her field and shoot an

episode of Behind the Blend with

her, and then I'll have us

waiting to hear back from Is It

Nika Sueno?

You got to see Skip.

Man yeah.

So we're we're working on Skip.

He flies in the 17th, we leave

on the 19th, 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.

And then I have one slot left.

I'm hoping Drew a state well, a

lot was sitting 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, so.

It's there's nothing going on

Sunday.

Sunday so that was I think the

the the deal so.

But you still get a tour of the

place, you know?

Yeah.

I mean, they have a ton of

pilons and they have a gigantic

facility.

Yeah, so.

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?

9:00 Monday to Tuesday.

That's a long time bro.

Yeah, man.

I mean, I figured we're going,

we're going.

You know, for the first time, I

think 9 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 short,

you know, like, oh yay, 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.

I was like, let's just stay a

couple extra days, right?

We just booked some other people

so.

That's cool.

Yeah, man.

OK.

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 the

tobacco fight.

I will not be doing that

interview, but we will be

conducting that.

What do you mean?

Why aren't you doing it?

I mean, I could, but I, I would

much rather somebody from PCA be

the one talking with somebody

and get that footage.

I feel like, I mean, I, 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 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, they 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.

They got to have a media person

who has like a list of things.

Or something, 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 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, you call yourself a

coach like your dad's AGM and

you're the coach.

You're kind of the quarterback.

You know what I'm?

Just thinking more quarterback.

You know what I mean?

The quarterback still calls the

shots.

You can tell the coach to go

fuck himself as long as you do

it, as long as it works, then

the coach will just say, OK,

I'll just shut up.

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.

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.

Yeah, I mean I'm trying to get

to enter the back.

I got to get a couple of.

I got to get to Lai, got to get

to the West Coast.

What about TAA coverage?

You think you can get in there

or no?

I don't know too much about TA

man.

I'm like, I'm like I just said

dude I'm new to.

This I love that dude.

I, I, I love, I love your

honesty.

You know, I think that that's

something that you don't see a

lot in this industry.

And I, I kind of love the fact

that you're, you're so almost

innocent about all of it, right?

Like, hey, I don't know the,

the, the, the hard part about

that is that there are so many

people that 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, Nope, that guy's

full of it, you know, but I

think that that that takes some

time, you know, and I mean,

here's what I've seen.

You go, you go into stores and

you go in to talk to people, and

people are 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 getting ready to send

out a Roku package to all

lounges, so it'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 it.

I don't even know if I'm allowed

to say this, but I'm going to

say it.

But 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 gonna hook you up.

We're going to deliver a

package, send people Roku

devices in case they don't have

Roku TV's.

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, and there's 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, 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 TVI don't

know.

OK, who's going to turn it on

every morning row?

What?

Never.

Heard Yeah.

Row what?

Yeah.

OK, 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 going to

be, it's a struggle bus.

You're just like, like I am

giving you the content, right?

This is totally free for you to,

to stream and to keep your

customers engaged and interested

where they would want to stay.

Like, you know, I, I, it's like

I have done everything for you

at this point.

I just need you to hit the on

button right?

I'd, I'd be curious to see how

many of them do it and how many

of them you're like, oh, well, I

didn't, I didn't expect that.

I didn't see that coming.

Absolutely.

You know.

I think that's the, 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, 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, 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 you're showing the

distribution centers, you're

showing where these cigars are

coming from.

You're, you know, the cigar that

the guy is smoking and, you

know, say it's a Podomo or

whatever it is and Nick Podomo's

interviews 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.

And I'm going to throw you a

little kickback if you stream my

stuff for X amount of time.

Here's another source of

revenue.

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 to for.

OK, so why would they say no?

They would say no because they,

they, if they don't carry the

products that are, 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,

that I'm not necessarily going

to cover or not going to pick

up.

So I'm only stating that for you

because I, I'm a big believer

that if you can kind of see the

pitfalls, then you can figure

out the answers, right?

The 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 in mine and it's only 15

minutes down the road.

Everybody left.

Which is absolutely insane to

me.

You know, I would say that in in

on my, in my early years, I've

had a similar mindset.

I was like, oh, you know, just

because I got rubbed the wrong

way and I got pushed back by

yeah, you know, somebody.

Yeah, the, 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 gonna be

able to do it better than me

anyways, right?

I'm gonna outwork you and, and

hopefully you become friends

with these guys where you can

grow together, man.

I, I think that we had a, we

have a great experience, a, a, a

great relationship with blend

and barrel now, you know, and

yeah, whatever we can do with

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.

And 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. 100%.

So, you know, I I get that.

I've heard that from Lyon Jonas

as well.

That's why I would love to shoot

everybody.

It's probably going to be

impossible for me to shoot

everybody and 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 3 or

4.

A box buyer.

Yeah, we're 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, it's probably right

if.

Dave said something, yes.

He's probably right.

You know, I've gone on to, 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 makes, it'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'n'roll, right.

If they just buy one and they

smoke and they're done, it's

not, you know what, whatever.

But if they got a whole box and

I'm like, oh, I'm going to go

smoke a cigar.

I'm going to relax.

You know, I was kind of

surprised at the fact that no

one else has covered you.

Yeah, like that's that's kind of

insane to me because I thought

for sure, like I I text 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 years ago, really.

I started scrolling down.

I'm like, damn, it's got to be

somewhere.

I couldn't even find it.

So 'cause I, I don't like to ask

the same questions, right?

But you're still so kind of new

and so in, in your infancy here.

I mean, I know you're two years

in, but like 2 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.

Yeah, other than us.

Yeah, other than, 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 fish on

YouTube.

I'm not the cigar nut who's

reading Half Wheel.

I'm not that guy who's streaming

podcasts on YouTube in the

background and I'm not that guy.

I mean obviously Dave's Cigar

Authority I've heard of and I've

seen his stuff.

I would love to be on that show

one day and I'm going to give a

shout out to the cigar guys.

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.

But you know, man, I'm, 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 roads and shoot shows, right?

I mean, I'm willing to do it,

but no, it's not really

somebody's.

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.

Yeah, they came into the shop

and they talked about their

brand and I'm like, OK, like,

whatever, right.

And then you start seeing their

feed and see how 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.

I mean, they've been over to

Saint Pete.

I went to a cut like they did

over there at Central Cigars in

Saint 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 and shoot the shit.

It's, you know, they're trying

to get creative in what they're

doing and the little snippets

and stuff like that, which I

enjoy.

So just different, right?

You know, you got to 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.

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 Suns, the

cigar makers, it is that new

generation coming in and you're

either gonna be with the times

or you're gonna get left behind.

So I mean, I think there's a lot

of opportunity.

It'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?

Or it's pulled from everybody.

Do you have a person or an

e-mail where we could send our

press releases?

Absolutely.

I will give it to you right

after this, OK?

You want, you can announce on

the show if you want.

I don't care unless you don't

think you're comfortable with.

That I don't know what the

e-mail is

offthetopofmyheaditissomething@freecast.com.

Yeah.

But yeah, we'd love to get your

stuff.

And we do give credit to where

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 scarfishing out of their

own shell.

So let me come record a cover

shoot.

Let me interview this guy on

camera.

Let me let me promote this

industry, Cigar stops cigar

journal.

Let me come on these photo

shoots and these things that

y'all doing and I will highlight

them.

So it's really an all inclusive

thing, man.

For me it is 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, but I am

very much trying to stay neutral

and keep everybody inclusive.

Right, well, I mean, your dad

already has the jet, so, you

know, you know, I wish we had a

jet. 2 jets.

Yeah, man.

All right.

Well, perfect man.

And 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 so.

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.