How He Got Rich Selling Cigars In His 20s | Nick Fusco - Beyond The Wealth | Insights for Entrepreneurs

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Had no experience on the manufacturing side, the distribution side. I had no
experience running a business, really. Everything about starting El Mago
cigars was a shot in the dark. Tobacco prices have gone up a lot. Oh,
everyone's raising their prices and stuff. So I think the future is very bright for
the cigar industry. People who were from this is one
example. So they gave them nicotine pouches, and a % of the people who

(00:21):
got nicotine pouches went home within five days. Welcome back
to another episode of the Beyond the Wealth podcast. We are back to our in
person episodes, which is extremely exciting. But even more exciting
is I have my first three peak guest here, Nick Fusco.
I'm sure you guys remember him. Best performing episode, lifelong best
friend. Probably the most unique business that I've gotten the chance to interview. It's not

(00:44):
your typical info guy. It's not your online guy. He's building a cigar company
from the ground up. One of probably the hardest businesses to get
started, let alone at a young age, due to the fact the majority of the
people in the industry are a lot older. You've been doing it now three years,
I think, or we're going on like four years. We're actually going on three in
terms of sales. Sales. But it's four years since inception. Yes.

(01:05):
Yes. Yeah. Awesome. Yep. And for you guys that have maybe seen our
previous episode, I've gotten the chance to interview Nick every single year
that he's been company that's been selling, which is really cool. First
episode we did, you had three cigars. Three blends. Second
episode, you had eight blends. Mhmm. Now we're up to 10 blends. Up
to ten and eleven is coming in April. And 11 is coming in April.

(01:27):
Yep. So this is this is another fun episode. Like you guys remember from the
last one, we were smoking and drinking. I don't do this on any other podcast,
but I do think that this is a special moment. We do have a pretty
cool backdrop that you could see. All of Nick's cigars are lined up
behind us. What he's best known for in the industry is his loud
packaging. Bright, exciting, not like any of the other brands that

(01:48):
are black, brown, or red. And I think it's it's his main
selling point. I think it's one of the reasons why his brand has blown up
and the story which we'll go into again for anybody that's new here.
But let's start with a little light and a cheers. Let's do it. Thank you,
buddy. Appreciate it. Of course. And, a little cheers. Brought, brought out
some tequila for my buddy because this is his favorite thing to drink in the

(02:10):
world. Tequila. Cheers.
Oh, wow. It's the same as it is every time. Not that good. So
good. So good. But talk to him a little bit about
last episode, we were smoking the same cigar. This one, we're smoking different cigars. I've
got the Miami Maduro. Nice. The Pepe. Yep. And give
him a little bit of background on the brand while we kinda light these up.

(02:32):
So while we're smoking, both cigars are same
wrapper, San Mexican San Andres wrapper. Difference
with, binder in that one is a Sumatra. This is a
broadleaf and filler is both from, Nicaragua, which is where our
factory is. Shout out MGE Cigar Factory. We've got Esteli,
Liero, VISO, Seco from Jalapa, all our

(02:55):
own that we've that we've grown. And to give you a background on the on
the brand itself. I'll take that while you're doing that because Oh, the one's not
working? Nope. So the boxes in the background, the
packaging is all inspired by my grandparents. To, make
a long story short, unfortunately, my grandparents passed away in
the Surfside collapse in Miami Beach or in in Surfside in

(03:17):
Miami. And after their collapse, I wanted to create
something to honor and commemorate their legacy.
And I chose cigars because my grandfather was from Cuba and introduced me to
cigars when I was 16 years old. And
so I came out with El Mago cigars. And now, El Mago in English
means wizard or magician. That's the translation. I chose that name for the

(03:39):
first two letters of my grandparents' names. So m a is for
Maria, g o is for Gonzalo. And,
I don't know if it's zoomed in enough, but if you can see, there's a
picture of my grandparents on the box. Yeah. Maybe you could show
it. I could show it. And,
so behind them is the James Hotel, which is a hotel that my grandfather

(04:00):
bought, in, 1989 in Miami Beach, which
is the which is my inspiration for all these colors, because my,
it was it was really my grandparents that kind of decorated this hotel and made
it into what it was from a blank canvas. And then
also sharing their story. You wanna show the bottom of the box? Yeah. So the
bottom of the box shows their journey here. Oh, flip

(04:23):
it. Oh. There you go. Their journey here,
which, takes them from Cuba to Czechoslovakia to Canada
to Venezuela to Miami. And it's all their passports. And that's all their
that's all their passport stamps there. That's the reason why Almagua exists and
and that's why I'm so passionate about it and, it's been very
rewarding. I our like like you mentioned, our last episode,

(04:46):
I still still to this day, it's been almost a year since we filmed. I
still have people reaching out, like, probably once a week. I have, like,
a couple people at least reaching out because they found out
about the brand from the podcast, so it's been awesome. Dude, it was a it
was a pleasure of mine because, obviously, I've been supporting you since you
started this. I thought it was a really cool experience. Like I mentioned

(05:08):
on the last episode, Nick and I have been best friends since we were five
years old. I've had the chance to know the Fusco family, had the
chance to spend a ton of time with his grandparents, like amazing people. And I
think when you go through brands and, like, why they're successful, the
ones that are successful typically have a good story behind them, a real meaning behind
the brand. And this is one of, I think, the cooler stories that

(05:31):
you're going to find on the Internet when it comes to something that
happened, obviously tragic in this case, and you turned it into something really
positive. I remember when Nick wanted to make this
idea, he did a prototype of it and gave it to
his mom for Christmas. And if you guys could see the
video and like the reaction from his mom, like it was just a done

(05:53):
deal. Like Nick was chips on the table, had to build the brand. There was
no choice after that. And to see like where it is today
Hey. What's up, guys? Wanted to take a quick second from the episode you're currently
watching to let you know about my company, Stogies and Steel. You're obviously
watching the interview with Nick Fusco, the founder of El Mago Cigars, and my
childhood best friend. I've gotten the chance to watch him grow a very successful

(06:14):
business in the cigar space, and it has made me understand all
of the amazing aspects and features of this industry. I wanted to get my own
little piece of the pie, so I launched Stogies and Steals, a
free weekly cigar newsletter. If you're interested in learning more about cigars,
finding out about new releases, finding deals online for great
cigars at great prices, this is a weekly newsletter that gets sent to

(06:37):
you from us every week, and it is a % free to subscribe.
If this is something you're interested in, the link is in the description below, and
it's also the pinned comment. I'd love to see you in there. Our last
episode, we filmed in his office when he closed on this
place last year. It was just a white building. Nothing in
here yet. We were sitting in one of the offices. It was still carpet, right,

(06:59):
on the floor? Yeah. The the whole bottom, all the floorboards were broken
and now we're sitting here in the humidor that you've built and it's funny you're
almost outgrowing the space already a year a year into it,
which my dad always told him like hey I think your place is too small
you're gonna outgrow it. Fred warned me. Yeah. Fred warned me who's right. And I
think it just has to do like with the brand and everything. Everybody how they've

(07:20):
got behind it And there's probably not any
other 20 mid twenties founder in the cigar
industry, right now. And if there is, they're probably not doing the
numbers that you're doing either. Like, I think we talked off camera here.
You're in, like, 46 states now. You're in a few countries.
You've got 12 sales reps running around. You had you got invited

(07:43):
to PCA, the biggest event last year and had an amazing event. You doubled
the size of the booth for this year. Mhmm. And we could talk about that
because I know you're super excited about how much money you've spent on the
event. But I do want to
just kind of start in the early phases of like you built
this brand, you decided that you were going to go all in on cigars.

(08:04):
What were some of the challenges you faced upfront that you had to
kind of navigate through to even get to where we are today? Well, I think
the biggest factor starting off was in any
industry that you start off with a new brand, obviously, that that in in and
of itself is a challenge. But being so young in an industry
where probably the majority of,

(08:27):
whether it's retailers, manufacturers,
distributors, brokers, whatever it may be, They're probably in
their forties to sixties, and some are
still going and and working in their seventies and eighties.
And, you know, that that difference in age is was a
big challenge. And earning respect in the industry, that that

(08:50):
was, that was probably a big one of the bigger challenges for me.
Gotta go in there with confidence in your product. Gotta go in there knowing
that people have been around, been in the in the game for thirty, forty
years, and they're looking at you like you're 23 years old. Like, what are you
doing here? You know? And you get and it was my job to prove to
them that I, you know, I, at least somewhat,

(09:11):
I belong here. And and I confident in my product. I know what I'm selling.
I know what I'm doing. And I think, the other challenge
was starting off in Miami. So being in South Florida, it's
like Florida's the hub. Florida's the hub for cigars, you know? So
people really know a lot of information, regarding tobacco
in and of itself and have relationships with a lot of people in the

(09:33):
industry. So convincing them that that you belong
is tough. And, I think being able to do
that fairly well, I'll say at least, was a
big factor in this brand taking off and kind of
growing and and being able to make it in
this industry as a whole, and in other markets as well.

(09:55):
Because like I've told you before, like, South Florida is
considered the hardest market Yeah. In the whole United States
in terms of, in terms of cigars. So that was a
that was a big thing for us to break into. And
then, I guess, really, the other
the other challenging part was just how much I had to learn. Right? I

(10:18):
was I love cigars, smoked cigars. I was a consumer,
but I had no experience on the manufacturing side, the distribution
side. I had no experience running a business, really. This is my
first business that I that I opened. So, there was Don't
discount the six months of our Market Movers Discord server. Six months of
Market Movers. Yes. Yes. Best stock picks on the planet.

(10:40):
Yeah. Just the crap we did to make money back then.
But, yeah. Yeah, those those were the challenges and I
guess kind of being able to overcome that hurdle propelled
the company into, into another realm, I'll call it,
where I had other people that are more what I would consider, like,
veterans in the industry that started to believe in me and

(11:03):
believe in my brand. And that kind of just put on the gas. Like, that
accelerated things pretty quickly. And one of the things that you mentioned there at the
end, like, having to learn all this, one of the one of
people's favorite parts of last episode, one of the things that people are
the most interested in is how do you even
start a cigar brand? Like, this is an industry where like the

(11:25):
regular person doesn't even understand that it's a possibility.
You went from I love cigars to I have a massive
cigar brand in two years. Take people through what it takes to actually
start a cigar brand from the ground up. Okay. So there's several things I need
to name, but number one, I'll start off, you need to have access
to a reputable factory. And that's one of the things I was saying where

(11:47):
I still get messages from people who saw our last video.
A lot of them are asking me, hey, can you help me start a cigar
brand? You know, like, what what do I do? Yeah. And
so, that's where, you again, you need to know a
factory. So that's step one because you need a place to source good
tobacco, which it's it's challenging because you can go

(12:09):
to a bigger factory and you know they have good tobacco or, you know,
at least most likely they have good tobacco, but they're
probably not gonna be as willing to be flexible with
you as as a new guy. Right? They're gonna want a minimum order of five,
ten thousand cigars payment upfront. You'll get the cigars in three
months probably. Think you know, like, things like that make it challenging to

(12:32):
enter. And then also, like, they probably don't wanna work with you as much
to make your blend the way you really want it. They're like, we have this
on hand. Like, this is this is what you're gonna get. You know? Because it
is it is, a hassle for a lot of, like, the
big factories pulling pushing out massive production to
set people aside to make something special for you, and the

(12:53):
quantity is not that big for them. So that's a big challenge
and I was lucky to find MGE Cigar Factory. Shout out shout out
Miguel Pinto. Shout out Miguel. Shout out Miguel. And, you know,
Miguel Miguel was willing to work with me and, like, kinda, like, take me by
the hand, make me, show me how to make the blends, you know, how the
how the whole process is done, take me to the fields.

(13:15):
Because Miguel, I believe there's over 16 and a half acres,
that he's got. So he showed me everything from
fields to the barns to the to the pilons to,
deveining the the wrappers, which
you could imagine what that is. Take the vein out of the leaf. Yeah.

(13:36):
To, to, you know, bonceros, which is bunching,
to then molding of the cigars. Like we went into the
Ammonia Room, the aging Room, which the Ammonia Room is very impressive. You cannot, cannot
breathe in there. It's crazy. You actually can't like That's a lot. It's tough. And,
and those people that work in there for hours and hours and hours Can't be
that healthy. Yeah. I I don't know. I don't know. I don't know the science

(13:58):
behind it. Like, I don't know what ammonia, like, I'm not sure, but
they they handle, like, champs. So factory's big,
number one, you know? And that's why, like, the way that
Miguel helped me, I'm always looking to help people that reach out in the same
way and kind of give them the same attention that he
gave me because without that, like, you you're nowhere. You're like

(14:20):
in quicksand. And then number two is sourcing the packaging, so
you can have a brand. Right? You gotta you gotta have branding.
That's another challenge, and it's all a volume game, so all the buying
has to be fairly big quantities. And then the third
thing, which is the hardest, is the distribution.
Gotta you gotta get distribution yourself to start off with because I

(14:43):
mean, unless unless you have and there's there's people that have done it that I
don't wanna mention, but, you know, unless you have a ton of money and
just throw it at people and say, hey, sell my brand. You gotta go out
and do it yourself. Build a base so then other people start
seeing your product everywhere, believing in you, wanting to sell it.
So you got those steps in the way. And then, somewhere

(15:06):
along the way when it starts growing, you realize, oh, shit. I have to spend
$6 on cardboard boxes to ship stuff out. I have to
spend a grand on tape. I have to spend $3
on on on stickers. Like, you know, that just starts to
add up. You learn you learn that you learn that in business. There's you should
always expect and prepare for the

(15:28):
worst in terms of the cost you're gonna be spending because there's many,
there's many hidden costs, and it's not, in business in general,
it's not as, like, clear cut as probably the initial idea was.
So always a learning curve, and and that's what it is. But really, if I
had to, like, big three, factory,

(15:49):
packaging, distribution, that's what that's what you need
just to just to get something off the ground and give it a chance
to live. And with your packaging, obviously, you went
completely against the grain. Like and when you do that, you take a
risk. People either gonna love it or they're gonna fucking hate it.
Obviously, people really loved it. If not, we wouldn't be sitting here with all these

(16:10):
boxes around us. What were some of the initial reactions you brought?
Because every box in a humidor and you and I, when you were
building the brand, we would walk into tons of humidors, And
I didn't know anything about cigars. So all I would do is walk around and
see what caught my eye, like, what was interesting. Everything was
red, black, brown, maybe a few blues here and

(16:32):
there, but wooden boxes, like nothing crazy.
Then you show up with blue, pink, yellow, orange.
Like, what were some of the owners of these shops reactions? What was the
industry's reaction to these colors? I definitely got a lot of holy
shits when I walked in with this packaging, but it
was it was like, there was a few reactions where people are like kinda

(16:54):
kind of like, I get it. They're like, this here. You need a lighter? Yeah.
They're like, you know, this this could work, because from
a from a store owner's perspective, they're always you know, they have to
they have to look at their best interests, like, what will sell. Right? Because when
they buy something, they've gotta move it. They've gotta make sure it sells. And I
think I think a lot of a lot of accounts that I

(17:16):
visited, they were you know, I I'd like to I'd like to think that, like,
for me, the story is the most important part of of of my brand, and
it's what I care about the most. But from a store owner's perspective, you know,
the the story, in some cases
took a little bit of a back seat, which fine, you know, like,
they they got to pay their bills and they basically saw the

(17:38):
packaging. They saw the story as, like, a
selling point, and they saw the packaging as, like, probably the biggest selling
point. And a lot of people, their feedback was we don't have to actually,
like, try to sell your product because the customers
will find it. Mhmm. They'll go out and find it and they'll try it.
And and then I gave, you know, cigar owners, cigar lounge

(18:01):
owners some product to try and and they when they thought it was good, they
brought the product on because they were like, yeah, the customers will come back and
buy it again and again. And that's,
you know, pretty much what ended up happening. And so my
inspiration for the the colors again was the the the James
Hotel, my grandfather's hotel, but also spending a lot of time in

(18:23):
cigar lounges. I saw that, you know, the cabinets were just wood
color, you know, usually cedar. And then you have boxes that are also
cedar, same color. Things kind of blend. Yeah.
And, I wanted to do something cool and exciting. And
the inspiration for the tubes was also my grandfather. He always he always,
like, when he smoked a cigar at the hotel, which he would do all the

(18:45):
time, if he had to put it out, he would put it out, cut
it, put it in a tube, put it away, and that's why I came out
with tubes. It's a it's a big added expense, but to me, it's it's well
worth it, to, you know, truly,
make the, you know, the tribute to my to my
grandparents, like, real and authentic.

(19:06):
Yeah. And I remember when we were, like, talking
about it early on, like, tubes, not everybody put everything
in tubes. It was only like the expensive cigars or like
what people thought were the luxury ones. And you said you kind of said F
it. Like, I'm going to put all my cigars in tubes. Yep. And the tubes
are like collector's items. Like people keep them, people put

(19:28):
them like on their shelves and stuff. And I think it just looks
bad ass in the box too. But,
yeah, it's it's it's crazy. And I remember, like, I remember
we talked about it early on where it's like, alright, like, we're gonna like the
color. It's gonna be cool. Like, it's gonna come down to people actually like the
cigar because you're competing with it's just like alcohol. Like,

(19:50):
when I buy vodka, I like Tito's. I think it's a cool brand. So I
just buy Tito's when I walk into a store. Dude, speaking of alcohol, where's your
drink? Oh, my bad. Cheers. Thank you.
Sky. It's rude to cheers and not take a sip.
But, yeah, like, you you you had to go in and win
the customers over because the customer that comes in

(20:13):
probably buys five different sticks and that's it. So
when did you kind of start to realize like, oh, shit, like people really actually
start to like the brand? Was that when stores started to reorder
like way more because people started to put your sticks in their regular
rotation? Yeah. To be completely honest, everything about
starting El Mago Cigars was a was a shot in the dark. I was boots

(20:35):
on the ground, going into cigar lounges, telling the story,
explaining, you know, where our factory
is, our processes, what tobacco is inside the
cigar. And then ultimately, like, it's a matter of,
like, there's almost a sense of confidence, but also, like, a little bit
of arrogance where, like, try it. Try it.

(20:57):
Yeah. That's it. Just try it. You're betting on the product. Yes. And,
you know, we created a phenomenal product, products
in general, and went, got the initial
sale, you know, great. I was ecstatic and I started
seeing that, Yeah. You know? And and I initially started only with the box behind
you, so I had one blend out. Yeah. One blend only. So I was seeing

(21:19):
that almost every account I went into, you know, they don't
wanna take a big chance on your first. Right? So they'll buy two boxes.
Right? Maybe maybe four. If if it's a good if it's a
good day, they'll buy four. So they would buy two, and by the end of
the week, I was getting a call like, hey. Yeah. It's it's working. We need
more. But but I'm doing this for you as a

(21:40):
favor. I got that a lot. I got that. We're doing this for you as
a favor. And I said, okay. Well, I appreciate the favor. And
then reorder again and again and again. And now we're talking
about, you know, four to six reorders within two months or two and a half
months. And by the time the third month comes around, the
tone has changed. Mhmm. It's not, hey, we're doing you a favor. It's,

(22:01):
hey, thank you. You created a great product packaging that I I don't need to
do much to sell it, but I wanna tell your story anyway.
And this has been this has been the easiest sale that that that
has come through my door. And so that's kind of how the
that's that's kind of how the tone ended up being set after a few months
of, you know, struggling, I'll call it.

(22:24):
And that's kind of, you know, that's kind of been the tone since then. And
so, you know, I I feel like I feel like I got
very, very, very lucky because I feel like I
have, you know, the spirit of of my grandparents within me and in this
brand, and it gave me the strength to, like, really push through the the
tough parts of of starting it. And then on top

(22:46):
of that, you know, again, big shout out to Miguel who mentored me through all
of this and made me some badass blends, like showed
me some some blending secrets, I'll call
it, on on, how to create a great blend.
And, that's what we have in our cigars in our cigars today. So
just good, good juju all around, I'll call it. Yeah.

(23:08):
Yeah. And something another thing that people really liked from the last
episode that we went into a little detail was, like, the creation of the cigar.
You mentioned it a few times, the blending of the cigar is
what makes a cigar. Obviously, the packaging is cool. It looks
cool. But if it tastes like shit, people aren't going to keep smoking it. So
talk a little bit about like what it actually looks like to blend a cigar.

(23:30):
You were just in Nicaragua. You got the chance to sit there and I know
you got the chance to blend a few new cigars while you were over there.
Like, what does that process look like to the person that doesn't know a ton
about cigars? So, in any given blend in
a cigar, you have three components. You have the wrapper, the binder, the
filler. The wrapper is the part you can see. The binder is

(23:51):
on the inner layer of the wrapper, and then the filler is what's in the
middle. And so just like in in in wine where you have grapes
that are, you know, grown in or different strands of I don't
know if you call it strands, but let's call it strands of grapes grown in
different altitudes, different climates, aged a different amount of time. It's the same
thing with with tobacco leaves. So, you got a tobacco plant,

(24:12):
you know, probably you're looking at a five to six foot
plant when it's fully grown and ready to be cut. And
the different leaves on the plant from bottom to top, top to
bottom, however you wanna look at it, have different functions
and different flavors. And obviously we're talking
about all natural flavors here, right? So you

(24:34):
get a, a wrapper, you get a binder, and you get
an assortment of fillers. And so, like, if I'm talking about this
cigar here, our wrapper is from Mexico. It's a Mexican San Andres
wrapper. So that is one component of the
cigar. The binder is a US broadleaf, that's another component.
And then the filler is an assortment of tobaccos from Nicaragua. In

(24:57):
Nicaragua, you have, like, the big four, I'll call
it, cities where tobacco is grown. You have Esteli,
Condega, Jalapa, and Ometepe. So in this
cigar, we have filler from Esteli
Condega And Jalapa, and then,
in some of our blends, we top it off with a little bit of Dominican

(25:19):
tobacco as well. And basically, that's what a blend
is. A blend is the assortment of all that, and it's
based on it's on it's on a percentage basis. So what percent of the
total weight of the cigar are you gonna put this type of
tobacco? And this one and this one. And,
yeah. So that's how a blend is created. And like the last time I went,

(25:40):
we, for our new blend called the Jaguar, we, we
created Also, why are you calling it the Jaguar? I'm calling it the
Jaguar because my grandmother, Maria, I
remember, like, being little, getting picked up from school by her on
the, you know, the instances where my parents were busy or something like that, or
when she would just drive us around, go to the beach on the weekend or

(26:01):
something. She drove a black old school Jaguar.
And so that's a honor and a tribute to her.
But yeah, we made three different blends. Wrapper and binder were the same
because that's we were looking for something specific in terms of the wrapper
and binder, and then we just changed the filler. Sometimes we changed
the the mix of the filler completely, and in another

(26:24):
instance, we change the percentages of the fillers. So an example
of that is like having more a higher percentage of
Ligero in a filler of a cigar
or a higher percentage of viso or vice versa, lower percentage.
And they all have, like, their functions and and and their and their taste,
and it's all unique. And it's something that takes a very long time to get

(26:45):
your palate accustomed to and learn. So that's one thing that, like, Miguel has
taken me through and that I've I feel like I've been able to develop my
palate well and I can identify what is what is what. Not
obviously not not like perfectly or anything like that, but I can definitely, I
can make a good blend. I'll put it to you that way. I can make
a good blend. That's awesome. And then another thing that people are always really interested

(27:06):
in is, like, the three different types of cigars,
or three different Like the typical wrappers? Yeah. Like, what are what are what are
those variations? Well, there's there's more than three different types of wrappers,
but the main ones that you're referring to, which is what most people know, is
Maduro, Habano, Connecticut. So really,
like, what people associate the difference

(27:29):
in those three wrappers is really just the color of the wrapper.
So you got a Connecticut, which is like a, like a lighter tan color,
almost like a cardboard box color. You got a Habano that's like a
brown. And then you got a Maduro that's like a, you know, a
darker brown, could be almost like a blackish color in some
cases. And I think people, a lot of times, like they

(27:51):
shop with their eyes, right? And so they see the, they see those three
different wrappers and they think like these are very, very, very
different cigars in terms of their taste. And sometimes that's true.
And that's like, you know, it's tailored to be that
way. So, for example, people associate Maduros with being strong, but I
can make a Maduro that's not strong because of the tobacco

(28:13):
on the inside. And then people associate a Connecticut as being a light cigar, but
I could make a strong Connecticut that's gonna you're not gonna wanna stand up
after you smoke it because of the tobacco on the inside. So those are the
three main ones, but there are more there are more wrappers than that,
but that's that's what the market generally knows. And, I
would say it's almost like a like a stereotype. Like a Maduro has to be

(28:35):
strong. Habano is like a medium ish, and a Connecticut is a light.
And that's that is usually the case, but it also doesn't have to be the
case. And then, obviously somebody might look here and be like,
why do you have 11 different cigars? Like different
sizes, different strengths. Like what is the angle with
having all of these different skews and like the lotus behind

(28:57):
you is a lancero skinny and long, the Pepe is a box
press. Like, what is the angle behind all that? Every
blend is a different smoking experience. And just like in a given
week or month, you might have many different types of
meals when you're eating. It could be the same thing with cigars. Right? You
might you might have a cigar for a morning cigar. You might have

(29:20):
an afternoon cigar. You might have an evening cigar. And you might have, like, a
late night cigar. So we wanna offer a little bit of,
diversity in the blends where you can you can go from, you know, something mild
to mild plus to medium to medium plus to full body to full body
plus and, you know, everything in between and and all that kind of stuff.
And so that's why we've come out with multiple blends is that anyone who wants

(29:42):
to try an Almagos cigar, they can get something that they want.
And we're one of the few companies actually that makes
each blend. So each box you see here, we only make it in
one size. There's a lot of companies that make one
blend in, like, seven to nine or, you know,
five to nine different sizes. We stick to one size,

(30:05):
because that's, that's really like, that's the way I see it, like,
making sense in my head. A lot of
companies, they make multiple sizes in one blend so that they have more
shelf space in a humidor. It's like a tactical warfare type
of thing, you know? But, you know, we make one size,
one great size, one great blend, and that's that's our motto.

(30:28):
Most of our sizes are Toro. We have a Lancero here, like
you mentioned. And the Lancero was something, like, personal that I wanted to make
because that is the original size of a cigar from
Cuba. Right? That was the, like, that was the original size was a
Lancero. And it's a it's an amazing smoking
experience. A lot of people won't try it. I know a lot of, like, guys

(30:50):
that I've met out there, they say, oh, it's it's very feminine to smoke
a Lancero. But I I encourage you people who say
that to try it because the wrapper
is a key. I mean, as you can imagine, it's a key component of a
cigar. And with the Lancero, you're getting majority
wrapper in the flavor you get. There's less tobacco in the

(31:13):
middle. So it's a really nice experience. And
for Arlantera, I went with the Ecuadorian Habano, which is the same wrapper as the
Art Deco edition. And I think, I
for those of you who don't, who haven't tried it or, you know,
think that you won't try it, I encourage you to try it because it's it's
an awesome smoke. And, it also shows

(31:35):
it's a little bit of a of a show off size because it
takes a lot of skill to roll a Lancero with that's constructed well
that continues burning. You know, it doesn't doesn't have any burn issues,
anything like that. Doesn't turn off. And, I think we've done a
really good job with ours. Feedback on it has been great.
So that's that's an example of, like, a specialty size.

(31:59):
Are you guys the only Lancero on a tube right now? Or,
I can't imagine that there's that many people that wouldn't even blend and create
that cigar, let alone put it in a tube. So we're the only
as far as I know, as far as I know, we're the only Lancero in
an in a aluminum tube. Okay. I
think I've I think I've heard of one in like a paper kind of box

(32:20):
thing. But, yeah, aluminum tube, we're the only ones, which is
good because this is, like, the easiest cigar to damage. So you got your
Lancero protected when you buy with El Mago. Nice. I want to put you
on the spot here. You've got, like, we've talked about a bunch of times, 11
different blends. What are your top three blends and why
do you like each one? This is number one, the Pepe. I like this

(32:41):
one because I told you before, I don't like to go into, like, the flavor
profile. You know, I don't like to say this cigar tastes
like marshmallows that have been over a fire for three point
five seconds and it tastes like baby
aardvark toenails. You know, like, all this stuff that people talk about, I don't
like to talk about it like that. I enjoy this cigar because it's a to

(33:04):
me, it's a medium plus in strength. It's very smooth. Notes of
sweetness, notes of coffee, that's all I'm gonna say. I'm not gonna say anything else,
and I really I just really enjoy the cigar. It's got a great, great
draw, great smoke time. I would say
it's a cigar for me. That would be number one.
Number two would be the Miami Maduro, it's

(33:26):
a I would say it's a true medium,
and again, a sweeter flavor profile, which is, that's what I
like. So to me, that's like a, that's a sugar I
could smoke any time of the day, every day. So
Miami Maduro for sure. Number three, I'd have to say it's the Solstice.

(33:46):
I when we created this blend, that was, like, the first time that I fell
in love with the Sumatra wrapper. It has such a distinct
flavor, the Sumatra wrapper. I honestly, like, I can't get over it.
So that would be number three for me. And actually, that was
so the solstice inspired the Jaguar. So the Jaguar
sneak peek, the Jaguar is also going to be a Sumatra wrapper.

(34:08):
So those are probably my top three and there's, there's a lot of honorable
mentions in there, but for me, that's that's what it is. Yeah, I think for
me, my number one is the Miami Art Deco. That's the first one I
smoked. That was obviously your first blend. I remember being in the
back my old backyard and you got your first, like, package of them in and
we're all sitting back there. You're the only one that actually, like, knew how to

(34:30):
smoke cigars where all the rest of us are just eating shit trying the product.
Dude, I was I was ecstatic when you tried it because I'm the one that
gets you to smoke cigars. If not, you would smoke zero in the
year. Oh, zero. I think I think I I think I can get you to
smoke, like, maybe maybe 10 cigars if I put a little bit of
effort in a year. Yeah. Is that right? Yeah. 10 to 15 is probably a

(34:50):
fair enough year. I think cigars are cool like for a celebration.
Also, I think my favorite thing about because I actually love cigar
lounges. I think cigar lounges are one of the coolest places to hang
out. Not only have I consistently met really cool people in the
lounges, I'm somebody that doesn't shut the fuck up. Like, all I do is
talk, talk, talk. And cigars lend

(35:12):
themselves well to that because you could smoke a cigar for an hour and a
half. And if you're with cool people, you're with good people, you
can really have a really cool conversation and a cool, like,
experience with cigars. Oh, yeah. And I think that's probably my favorite thing
and, like, typically, I won't, like, just smoke one. But if we're around cool people,
if the company's good, I always Makes you wanna smoke. Yeah. I always think it

(35:33):
just lends itself to an amazing experience, which I think is one of my favorite
parts about cigars, and and just the culture that comes
with it. Like, it's funny now, like, it's cool to smoke
cigars and, like, everybody saw Andrew Tate and it's like Andrew Tate smokes cigars.
Now, I smoke cigars. But, like, when you actually meet like
people like yourself who are in the industry and then people like Miguel and

(35:56):
Leo and these other individuals who are have been in the industry for thirty
years, like, there really is a passion behind it.
And one of the things that you thought was really cool and is probably my
favorite part about the cigar industry and you have it on your
boxes, that quote of handmade to handheld. Talk a
little bit about that. Yeah. So cigars are one of the few products,

(36:19):
that are completely handmade. Right? So no one plants the seed
in the ground by hand. Plant grows. They cut the
leaves by hand. Hang the leaves up in the barn by hand.
That's when the that's when the leaves dry out, and you essentially get the the
the turn and the color, the change from green to brown.

(36:39):
And literally every process in curing and aging the
cigars, it's all by hand. There's, I always say there's, like, no machinery
involved, no technology involved in in creating
this except for a scale to
weigh the tobacco. And then some people use, a draw
master, which essentially is a machine that tests,

(37:01):
like, the airflow through a cigar to make sure
that you can actually, like, draw the smoke.
But beside like, I mean, and then there's some people that machine
roll cigars, but that's, that's, like, that's pretty frowned
upon, I would say, like, generally speaking in the industry.
So everything is done by hand. Everything. Putting this label on

(37:23):
is even done by hand. The cellophane is done by hand.
You know, like, every, like, every aspect of it that I could think
of is done by hand. And so that's what makes the cigar
industry very unique. And, also, I have to mention the news that I
just told you about that, a it was
a a, Peruvian,

(37:46):
what do you call that? Archaeologist discovered that that
tobacco, that people would consume tobacco from a
tobacco plant 2,500,000 ago. So
this is a this is an ancient art form,
probably and there's I mean, there are a lot of, like, spiritual
aspects to it. Whether you whether you incorporate that in your everyday smoke or not

(38:07):
is a different story, but, it's just it's cool to be part of that.
And and and the fact that it, like, has barely changed, really
all we have now is, like like I said, the scale and then
shipping it on a plane, you know? But the actual process of making it
hasn't changed for many, many, many, many, many years is it
just feels cool. Like, and it feels I think it makes you want it makes

(38:29):
me want to smoke another cigar. I'm already thinking of smoking another one after
this. Yeah. I mean, I think for me, like, when you explained that to me,
it was like, whether I love the cigar or not, it's still
cool. Like, it's still interesting and still something that's fun
to partake in. And I wonder what that smoke sash two point five million years
ago looked like. And then And different. And what the On the back of an

(38:51):
I don't know, brontosaurus or something like that. Oh, man.
One of the things that we we've talked about a lot off camera
is the state of the industry. Like, it is older industry.
We're talking about it right now. It's been something that's been around for a long
time. And for the people that listen to this podcast or watch this
podcast, you know, I'm typically interviewing a 22

(39:14):
year old that's made a million dollars a month off some ridiculous
tchotchke online or or something crazy.
And a lot of the people in this industry are are very old, have
been around for a while. Do you think being younger,
understanding a lot of the trends, lends itself well to you and gives
you a competitive advantage? And do you think it sets you up over the next

(39:36):
twenty years to be successful when we kind of see this changing
of the guard now as older people are are
unfortunately like leaving the industry and newer people are entering?
I think the cigar industry is a is a very, like you said earlier,
it's a very hard industry to get into. And so I think it
could work out to be a good thing getting in young because it

(39:59):
takes, like, opposite of what a lot of people you interview
where they are, let's say, they're marketing geniuses. Right?
And they figure out how to blast some product they bought off of
Alibaba out there and, like, make a killer return in
months. The cigar industry is so opposite to that. So
it takes takes over a year to make one of these, and it takes a

(40:22):
long time to establish a brand because it's a handshake,
in person, hi, how are you doing type of industry.
And I don't I don't see it changing much from
that in the coming twenty years, let's say.
So I think being able to get my kind of
get my foot in the door early is good because it's a business where

(40:46):
it's like a commitment. It's you care about the business and you
care about the product a lot. And so, like, someone like
me, you know, I obviously, my business is was
created for my grandparents, right, for their honor and legacy.
And so caring about that side and caring about the product
as well, it's it's a it's not a it's not a get rich quick

(41:08):
scheme or, like, you know, in and out type of type of thing.
So I see the industry being that way, and
anyone who tries to reinvent the
wheel will probably fail. If you can maybe
someone can tweak the wheel a little bit to make it

(41:28):
a little more efficient. Could it could work out, you know,
like, on the distribution side, maybe utilizing some technology, which
is aside from, like, the ordering and shipping, like, there's not too
much technology. It's a very, you know, in person
sales rep, distributor, broker, you know, that type of
industry. But I don't see it changing too much

(41:50):
because the people that have been in this industry for a long time,
they have a strong footing on
this industry and on, you know, the manufacturing side, the
distribution side, and kind of, like, all the sides.
So, that's what makes it so hard to break into.
It's like, you could be, you could be a new company,

(42:13):
and within a year, if things work out, you
can know everyone in the industry, and they'll know you.
Even, like, the guys that have been in the industry for seventy plus years. So
it's it's like a small, big industry. And,
I think that's what makes it awesome, number one, but

(42:33):
challenging for new people to get into, number two. Yeah. I need a I need
a relight. But You need a relight and drink your drink, bro.
Yeah. But one of the one of the the fun parts
about this is, like, you and I have always been really
close especially after high school when it's like, how are we gonna make money? Like,
how are we gonna be successful? What businesses can we start? Now, you're

(42:55):
like a full fledged business owner like, you have 12 I think it's
12 sales reps. You've got an office that we're sitting
in right now. What have been some of the things that you've learned in,
like, actually running and operating a company? And
what does it look like? What what is your day to day as the owner
of a cigar company look like? So at the at the stage I'm

(43:16):
in, there's I'll say that I'm the
owner, and I I manage a lot of the processes.
Yeah. And I manage a lot of the processes. So, obviously, like any business owner,
I want the best for my company. Right? So I like to be I like
to be involved. There's some, you know, companies where maybe the
owners, you know, kind of paid his dues in a sense, and

(43:38):
they're more on the back end of things. But I like to be very
involved because I just I love I love for people to know that I
care. And I feel like if I have someone in my place to do my
job at this point, they might be like I'm
like, Nick's? Where's Nick? Yeah. You know? And I
like to be involved. And so I am very involved in in the

(44:01):
process. And right now what I'm, you know,
mainly focusing on is I'm traveling a lot,
with my sales reps, doing events, doing,
shows, doing a select few,
multi vendor events because not only is it,
important to meet people, like I said, it's a in person industry,

(44:24):
but it's very rewarding because, like, I don't have really expectations,
honestly, like, in general. But I'll go to an event, and there will be people
there that are like, like, Nick, like, can you can you sign this
box of cigars, please, for me? And it happens happens,
like, way more than I would expect it to happen. So it's so
it's it's very rewarding. Like, people people know

(44:46):
my story better than some cigar lounge owners,
And and they they, like, they recite it to me, and they say
how how cool it it is that I've that I've done this. And, I
mean, it's beyond flattering. So it's cool for me to
be at the forefront going, you know,
visiting different places, meeting new people. I

(45:08):
was actually it's funny enough, I was supposed to be in North Carolina. Yeah. But,
Delta's flight decided to flip over, and so they canceled my flight. They
didn't want they don't want to take chances in the snow. But, yeah, I
was supposed to be doing an event. But, you know, that's that's kind of where
I'm at, going around, meeting people because that's what make this
that's what makes this industry fun. Right? That's what makes it fun. So

(45:29):
doing that and then also going back and forth visiting the factory a lot
because we're growing at a at a big rate. So
everything needs to be in check over there. So everything is in check over here.
So we can fill these boxes with top tier cigars.
I forgot to mention your favorite part, packing boxes. Isn't that your
favorite part of why you got into this? You know, I I I step

(45:52):
in I step in as a so I'm a let's say that I'm a manager
and I and I like to step in as a warehouse manager too because I
like to make sure that's is is that what you ordered? Yes. That's what you
ordered. You're gonna get exactly what you want. No complaints. So,
yeah, I like to I like to come into the warehouse and, you know,
pack pack and oversee. And I

(46:12):
don't like to think of myself as a as a control freak, but I wanna
I wanna make sure that that my, that my baby is
being represented well. Because anyone who's in the industry who's listening to this, whether
you're an owner or a rep or a broker, if there's a little
if there's a little issue with an order, it's a massive headache for you.
So I like to I like to keep, like, quality control in

(46:34):
every step of the way until the order arrives to
the actual customer, which is which is the lounge. So that's
that's very important to me as well. I want to give the people what they
probably want to hear because a lot of the people that are probably listening or
watching, because this will be out by then, are going to come look for you
at PCA, see you at PCA. What can they expect from you this

(46:55):
year? What are you doing this year that's a little bit different than next year
that you can share? Because I know it's in New Orleans this year.
You've you've grown a lot since you were there last year. So, what does
it look like for you this year over there? So, any of you going to
PCA, you got to visit us at Booth 1953.
Booth 1 9 5 3. Pretty sure that's what it is. Come

(47:17):
It'll be the brightest booth if you don't if it's not right. Yes. So
we so we doubled the size of our booth this year.
I think it's more than necessary because last year was
it was awesome, but it was, like, it was tough because we had a lot
of people visiting. And there was a lot of people that wanted
to sit down and if I had more chairs, we would have I

(47:40):
mean, we would have had that thing packed like a lounge. So, I'm
kind of trying to go for that this year and I I think that's what
we'll accomplish. Funny enough, last year
at PCA, I had five sales reps.
So this year there will be 12 that will be there
and bringing people left and right, so I need to take my vitamins before I

(48:02):
go. Yeah, right? Yeah. But it was it was a blast last
year. I've never I've never I don't think I've ever been that tired before in
my life after it was over. I don't I don't sleep on planes, but I
slept on the whole ride home. But now I'm I'm
I'm really excited for it. And I've never been to New Orleans. So I'm looking
forward to the food, looking forward to the events, meeting new people.

(48:24):
So it'll be it'll be good. And then we'll be, we'll be
releasing the Jaguar, and that will only be available to a
select. Select fee. Select select amount of
customers. Yes. Very exciting. You gotta save me a box on the
side because I'm such an avid smoker. Done. Done. One of the
last things that I wanted to touch on just because people are infatuated with it.

(48:46):
And I also think it's good education for the people that aren't, like,
regular smokers and just don't know as much. Obviously, it's in our heritage. We're
both Cuban. Cuba has, over the last few
years, changed a lot of things. And when people think of
cigars, they think of like, oh, Cuban cigars, Cuban cigars. Explain a
little bit of, like, what's kind of gone down and now how there's been this

(49:08):
big branch off to places like Nicaragua, places like Doctor,
Rollers and Growers have moved over there, like that that kind of part of the
industry. I really think it boils down to, like, when you mentioned these
countries like Nicaragua and Dominican Republic is adopting
a capitalistic kind of point of
view in terms of the tobacco industry.

(49:30):
So the, you know, the unfortunate thing with with the
Cuban cigar market is that they're, you know, kinda just
limited by the by the government's restrictions.
Whereas countries like Nicaragua, Dominican Republic,
even, like, Ecuador and Honduras, they the
country really supports the industry because it's a it's

(49:53):
a big export of theirs. So the
business conditions are favorable for the tobacco
industry in all these countries, and that's why you see, like, the number
of cigars, you know, in net weight
that they export per year. It's just it's constantly going up
because the experts on the manufacturing side

(50:16):
are moving there because, a lot of times they get on
average, they get paid significantly more than other jobs
that are offered in the country. So it's a favorable
job to have. And I think also,
like, peep people like being part of something that has legs, something
that's a that's a little bit, you know, bigger and meaningful. So that I

(50:39):
think that's why you see, like, these other countries really,
taking over the industry. And I've had several phone calls with people in
in countries where Cuban cigars were kind of always,
like, it. Like, that was it with a period at the end of it. But
now in the last probably two, three years, the tone is changing
because supply in Cuban cigars has gone down and prices have

(51:01):
gone up significantly, where people are like,
yeah. And and, you know, those Nicaraguan cigars, like, they're
great, and they're they're not not as expensive. It's like,
yeah. Yeah. Same thing with same thing with Dominican Republic.
So, you know, the tone is changing with that. And I I think
there I I don't have a crystal ball, but I think in the next ten

(51:23):
years, there will be a massive change, unless
something really positive happens for Cuba, where
these other markets will take over, you know, like, The Middle
East and and Europe, in terms of sales
and all that because those countries have, like, really
difficult restrictions and taxes and fees and blah

(51:45):
blah blah on their cigars. So if you have a cigar that's
already expensive, I mean, you're just throwing a bunch of more money
on it. It's it's tough. It's tough. Like, I don't think
you should have to pay 50 to $60 to
smoke a cigar No. In the country you live in. You I
don't think you should. And that's that's why The

(52:08):
US is the biggest cigar market because if you want to, you you
could pay $60 for a cigar. If you want to, you could pay $200 for
a cigar. But if you want to, you can pay
7 to $15 for a cigar, which is kinda where,
you know I mean, now seven's a little low. Everyone's raising their
prices and stuff. Tobacco prices have gone up a lot.

(52:29):
But let's say let's call it 10 to 15. You know, that's kinda
like the sweet spot. So that's much more reasonable
to pay than $60. And the other thing that a
lot of people don't realize is the cigar industry, it's not an
industry. It is not an industry for rich
people who drive Bentleys, have private jets,

(52:52):
have an island. It's it's not for them. They can smoke cigars.
They do smoke cigars, but it's not for them. It's
for blue and white collar people. I would say the
majority of it is is for them. Those people
are people who are very hard workers and like to end their
day. Like, a lot of people like to end their day at a bar, you

(53:14):
know, with, like, a beer or something like that. These people, they end their day
at a bar. It's just a different bar. Right? Yep. There's a cigar
involved. And so the these people are
what I would consider the backbone of the industry.
And then, obviously, cigars are still associated with luxury
because they should be. Because it still takes over a year to make this. So

(53:36):
you cover, you know, that tier, and you have your
blue and white colored people as well that are the bulk of it. And
even even people that are on the lower
income scale of things could buy affordable cigars anywhere
in any not any state, probably most states
in The US. You know, you could you know, cigars are not,

(53:59):
hard to come by, and the prices are not ridiculous. So I I think we
have something great going on here in The US and I hope other
countries start to kind of adopt that model, because
this last year was a big year for cigars. We had a big differentiation
between cigarettes and cigars, which they always group them together for some
stupid reason. Like, cigars don't have 250

(54:21):
plus chemicals in them. They have zero chemicals in them,
and it's just a leaf. It's just a combination of leaves. So I
think the future is very bright, for the cigar industry. And I went
off on a tangent. I totally forgot what your initial question was. No. No. That
that that that was that was what I was looking for. Well, you
mentioned the cigarette thing, and I thought I saw something funny. Like, they have

(54:43):
250 plus chemicals in them, but the
FDA is trying to ban nicotine instead of any of the other
problems that they have in them. And we were talking about it like
before we jumped on camera. Nicotine actually has plenty of positive
benefits. And I know this is something that you're interested in.
But what are some of the positive benefits of nicotine and like

(55:06):
why is smoking a cigar not that bad? So from what I read
and I guess I have to say, like, I'm not a doctor, You know?
I studied accounting and I sell cigars. But
from everything I've read from doctors,
people who were hospitalized from COVID, this is one
example, they gave them, obviously, they're in a hospital,

(55:28):
so they can't smoke cigars or any type of nicotine. So they gave them
nicotine pouches, and a hundred percent of the people who got
nicotine pouches went home within five days.
And, unfortunately, a lot of people that didn't have the
knowledge that that was a big health
benefit, you know, like, that might not have necessarily made it out of the

(55:51):
hospital. And another big thing is we're talking about
dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, neurological diseases.
Basically, what scientists have said, and and, again,
not a doctor, is that it's it's near
impossible to get these diseases if you consistently consume
a form of nicotine because nicotine is neuroprotective.

(56:14):
And this goes back to what I said earlier. Like, it makes sense
why they found nicotine usage, evidence two and a half
million years ago. Like, it's a plant. It comes from
nature. There's nothing man made added to it. It has a plethora
of health benefits to it. And then to top it all
off is the social aspect. Right? Something bad is going on in your

(56:37):
life. Something stressful happened to you.
You had a bad day. You have a significant other
who, I don't know, maybe doesn't understand you or you don't communicate well with and
you can't vent to them, something like that, go to a cigar lounge. Go to
a cigar bar, hang out, see what happens. You'll strike
up some amazing conversations and really, like, get a ton

(56:59):
of stress off your chest. And that's why people go. That's why
this industry will always be an in person industry.
And and to top it all off with
technology on the rise like nothing we've
ever seen before, a lot of people are getting more socially
awkward and more, like, distant

(57:23):
socially, in terms of, like, their communication with other people.
Go to a cigar lounge. Go to a cigar lounge. If if you're an introvert,
you may be you may be overwhelmed from
in certain places you go, but, like, it's a great thing
for being social and,
not being, not being antisocial, really. So I

(57:47):
think those things I mentioned are probably like the biggest
benefits in the cigar industry. And that's why I think this industry will
thrive. Yeah. The social aspect is definitely like my favorite part about it. And
I saw somebody made a post, Christian from Client Ascension. Shout out Christian.
He made a post saying that like this generation is struggling a little bit because
we don't have our third place. And what that means is historically,

(58:10):
you've always had your home, the office and
then your social gatherings. We don't go to the office anymore.
So, there's not that third place to do things. You hang out
with people more often, which is great, but it's still anything
repetitive starts to lose its edge a little bit. You're
home all the time. That's not healthy. You used to

(58:32):
go to the office and that used to be the thing that separated you from
those two things and gave you a balance. We don't have that now. And
I wanna interject with one thing. I saw a post that said,
gonna talk about men here for a second, at men, you know,
whether you're in a relationship or not, three boys'
nights a week is very healthy for you

(58:54):
for your your mood, your brain, and all that. Yeah. Don't let your wife hear
that. But I assume there's a
similarity with with women because, like, at least here in Miami, a lot of
women get together and go to a cigar lounge and, like, have a good time,
listen to music, and have a drink, smoke cigars, you know? So like you
said, the third place is very is very important,

(59:16):
for your mental health, for your well-being. Right?
100%. I want to tie a bow on this conversation
with I've gotten the chance. One, I've grown up. I've lived my whole
life with you, but we've gotten a chance to document the journey here for
you unintentionally by interviewing you every year of the
business. For you now with everything that you've built, what is the

(59:39):
perfect or perfect's not a good way. Like, what is
Ideal. The next five years look like for you in this business?
Within the next five years, I plan to come out with several
other badass blends. I plan to keep doing what
I've been doing and grow on that, and my goal is to be in every
state, including our beloved

(01:00:01):
California with their, with their laws.
And, on top of that, we're already in talks,
with with five different countries to go international, because
I I think that the international cigar market is going to boom. I
really do, especially with the new introduction of
Dominican tobacco, Ecuadorian, Honduran, Nicaraguan tobacco.

(01:00:24):
I mean, you're talking about you're talking about price points
that they've never seen or, like, price points that, you know,
Cuban cigars were at, I don't know, ten years ago, eight
years ago. So I think that market is gonna boom, and we're gonna be part
of it. I just plan to keep, you know, growing the
business and and, getting our cigars out there for people to

(01:00:47):
enjoy. And, you know, I
I I really I see things in terms of, like, the laws
going favorably for the cigar industry because, again, they group
tobacco, they group, like, nicotine, and so the cigar industry is,
like, there is tobacco, there is nicotine, but we're, like, out of that. You
know, like, it's it's so different. It's so it's such a different dynamic. So

(01:01:10):
I see I see another boom happening, and I see people
adopting the healthiest form of smoking as
their form of smoking and their form of,
being, you know, like a social hangout.
So I'm bullish on the industry. Bullish on the cigar industry. Very bullish
on the industry. Yep. Well, I I want to make sure anybody that's still with

(01:01:33):
us now and still watching, listening wherever it is can go and find you and
connect with you. Obviously, if you're watching this on YouTube, like the last video,
leave a comment. I see Nick probably seven days a week. So
and I I I send him every single comment anyways. But
what's a good place for people to follow you and connect with you, reach out?
If anything they've heard is interesting, if they want to start a brand, like all

(01:01:55):
the stuff we've talked about. Sure.
My Social Security number is no. You can
follow me on Instagram and Facebook at elmago cigars,
e l m a g o, cigars, one word.
My website is elmagocigars.com. Reach out. Like I
said, I'm, I'm not in the background, so I like to be

(01:02:17):
involved. So a lot of people that reach out through Instagram or Facebook
or, we have it like a chat, a chat plug in
on our website. A lot of times I might be the one answering and,
to top it all off, if someone is interested in starting a cigar
company or needs some type of, mentorship,
I'm always happy to give that out.

(01:02:38):
Nick@elmagocigars.com is my email and, yeah.
I love it. Yep. Let's do a final cheers here. I made it through.
Probably didn't make as many bad faces as possible. You did good.
Oh, you smack it on the knee. I don't know why I did that. It
means nothing. But to wrap it up, thank you everybody who's
still here, tuned in, and watched. It's a pleasure having Nick on the show.

(01:03:00):
First three p guest. We don't have to pay Pat Riley for that who
owns the trademark for three Pete. Nope. But again, thank
you all for listening. That's it for this episode of Beyond the Wealth and we
will see you all on the next one.

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How He Got Rich Selling Cigars In His 20s | Nick Fusco

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}How He Got Rich Selling Cigars In His 20s | Nick Fusco