Chris Strother of The Cigar Box on Cigars, Conversation, Entrepreneurship, Faith, and Building Community
A conversation with Chris Strother, founder of The Cigar Box and host of Sunday Afternoon Smokes, about how cigars can help people slow down, open up, and have conversations that actually matter.
When Cigars Become a Reason to Slow Down and Talk
What happens when cigars become more than something to smoke — and become the reason people slow down, open up, and have conversations that actually matter?
In this episode, we sit down with Chris Strother, the founder of The Cigar Box, to talk about the story behind his mobile cigar trailer, his podcast lounge, and the deeper purpose behind creating spaces where people can be fully present.
Chris shares how cigars became a powerful icebreaker, how his mobile cigar trailer grew from a pop-up tent into a custom-built social experience, and how personal challenges — including divorce, marriage, faith, caregiving, and resilience — shaped the way he shows up in business and in life.
This conversation goes far beyond cigars. We talk about authenticity, community, branding, entrepreneurship, the Upstate business scene, podcasting, meaningful conversations, and what it really means to build something that reflects who you are.
Full Transcript
The transcript below is separated by chapter. Click any chapter title to open that exact timestamp in the YouTube episode.
Introducing Chris Strother and the Cigar Box
Thanks for joining us again for the Upstate Press podcast. Today we have our friend Chris Strother. He's the owner of the Cigar Box and the host of Sunday Afternoon Smokes. Um we've actually had some of our uh participants be guests on his show. I personally got to watch that unfold. I thought it was a really cool way of doing the podcast. I love the conversation. So, it's a it's a really big honor to have you on the podcast today. Well, that's super kind of you to say. Um, that was fun when Jerry and Duncan came on the show. I wasn't expecting like six people to show up in my house [laughter] and then they're like, I'm getting texts from people, hey, I'm going to come by. Is it okay if I bring my friend? And I'm like, yeah, sure. This will be fun. You know, and then um Josiah shows up and Jerry shows up and Duncan shows up and I'm going to bring my friend Armand and then I don't think anybody said anything about you. It's the first time we ever
Unscripted Conversations Over Cigars
met. And so we had this whole uh kind of background people watching, observing, and we just had a really good time. Yeah. I mean, had a really great conversation. Cigars of course were plentiful, but then just talking about um you know, Upstate Community Press and what y'all do and yeah, I don't know. It was um it was a great moment and I appreciate the kind words about the show. It was really cool to watch because I think a lot of times things get lost in the sauce. Man, I think that um people try to create [clears throat] uh a funnel for what they're going to do and they forget to kind of just let things unfold and and really be engaged in that conversation. What I saw with you was that you you definitely engaged in the conversation. It made me really excited to do this conversation today.
Cigars as a Slow-Down for Meaningful Talk
Um because I feel like there's just there's a lot to dig into. I mean, even with you running your podcast, you've come across so many different people. You've had so many good conversations. This is one of those benefits of running a podcast. You get to kind of share that with with other people. But speaking of the cigars, thanks for bringing some in today. Absolutely. I was happy. You know, Duncan said that he was hoping to have some and and wasn't able to make it happen, but I told him I'm like, "Well, I know a guy." [laughter] So, you know, when you're running a mobile cigar hospitality business, you usually have cigars in hand. So, I was able to uh stock up for the trip over here and and I'm happy to share my good fortunes with the whole crew. Yeah. And well, it seems like it's a piece of the puzzle that you figured out where the link between the cigar and the conversation kind of grows like um it's almost like a like a little pathway. So, how is it that you find that enjoying a cigar with somebody leads to a good time? Well, I think with a cigar that's it allows you to slow everything down because we live, you know, if you back up, I don't know, a hundred years. Uh, and which isn't very far, you know, in world history. People had stuff to do. But now with the with the rise and increase of technology, you know, even from when you and I were kids, it's much different. Like we live in a 24/7 news cycle. But you and I grew up in a time where like I don't know past 900 p.m. 10 p.m. there was no TV. There were no channels. Mhm. Past then. And now everything is so focused on um new headlines as fast as you can get them, new Tik Toks, new reels on YouTube or Instagram, new shorts, like who can I get to watch my video? Who can I who can I who can I draw in? And a cigar and sitting down with somebody and having a cigar and putting your phone away eliminates all that. And you can the world obviously doesn't stop. But in just your little hemisphere right there. Yeah. For an hour, an hour and a half, none of that outside noise matters because a cigar you It's not something that you know you're going to light up and be finished in five minutes. Yeah, that's true. We actually lit up during the setup here and we're still rocking. Yeah, we're rocking, man. I'm only I'm only about the first uh I'm only about the first third into this uh flathead 554 and there's plenty to go. But yeah, you you can't rush a cigar uh for any number of reasons and that allows me just to sit and because you can rush a conversation. Yeah. You know what I mean? But if you bring a cigar into it, it naturally slows the pace of everything. Mhm. And that's that's I don't know, maybe that's a little, like you said, a little key that unlocks a little something there. It seems like it is. I mean, um, even in in speaking about cigars, um, it seems like an introduction into maybe some
Cigars as Conversation Icebreakers
shades of things that the person is is used to, ways that they like, certain ways that they uh were introduced to things, flavors that they enjoy, things like that. And it seems like a natural setup to become calm, relax, sit back into who you are. Explain this. Yeah, I really like this. This is good. I tried one of these when I was 16 and it just opens up some more pathways for you to have a good conversation as well. Yeah. Well, it's because it's a very small it's a very small question that's unassuming. You don't have to necessarily give anything away about yourself that's personal. It's just a preference like you know for somebody that doesn't or even just before we started recording somebody said well what do you recommend and I try and stay away from that because my take is that it's really irrelevant what I recommend because I'm not the one smoking the cigar. I want you to smoke a cigar that you will find enjoyable. And so I ask a small question like are you a coffee drinker? How do you drink your coffee? Do you like, you know, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, peanut butter when you drink beer? You know, are you drinking stouts and ports? Are you drinking, you know, uh, something much lighter? And that will help me navigate the what I would say if I were you, I might pick this up. But back to your original question or statement, now I've got some now you've shared some information about me that we can take to other conversation, you know, whether that's getting into beer or the food choices you enjoy or Yeah. So, I don't know. Cigars, they they're such a small object, but they carry a lot of punch. They do. They really do. And I've noticed the um kind of the social environment around them, cigar lounges, even uh even we
The Mobile Cigar Trailer as a Social Magnet
were at an event where you had the cigar box out there. Yeah. And I noticed people congregating around it. I mean, we were in a a large parking lot. There were things going on. There were booths everywhere. There was lots of like there were lasers on the wall. There was, you know, music pumping. And I look over and I see a group of about three or four guys standing over there just talking to you. And then I'm like, "Yeah, I'm going to go look at these cigars here shortly." And then about 15 minutes later, I look over, they're still kind of lingering and hanging out. Um, so I can see how it just gives that opportunity. It really does. Cigars give that opportunity. Um, not necessarily to toot my own horn, uh, cuz I don't like doing that, but part of the trailer is a custom build, and she's different than any other trailer in the upstate, you know what I mean? By by and large, there may be a few similar things rolling around. I'm not sure. So that that's like the visual hook, especially if it gets dark out and all of the LED back um back lighting is able to do that job and the neon sign and all of that. So it's it's kind of like, you know, a moth to a flame just because it's it's different. It's unique. It's attractive. And then you get up there and it's cigars. And I have people stop and talk to me all the time at events that don't even smoke. They're like, I just want to look at your trailer. Yeah, you know, so I've got a couple of draws there. Um, and then I just get to talk to people and of course the longer I run my cigar cigar business and and run my podcast, you just come to realize that they're really secondary. Like um, for a person in business, you are your best product. Mhm. And you know, I don't know. Well, I think there's a there's a whole aura about it as well. I mean, you have you have like um a contained enthusiasm is what I like to
Design Details of the Cigar Box Trailer
call it. Like you have no problem expressing things that you know, but it doesn't make anyone around you feel lost. It doesn't make anyone feel completely covered up. Um, even in just showing and describing the cigar box trailer, I mean, when I got to see that and you were showing me some of the more fine pieces that that went into it, it's like even that was like a a an inviting conversation to have. That was something. I'm sure that when you take these two events, um, like you said, people will come up and just, hey, I just wanted to check out your your cigar box. But there are so many details. I don't think people understand, but when you go to an event and you see the scar box, you'll you'll understand there are some layers to this. Uh some of the things that you've the lighting um there's a like a drawer that you pull out that comes out of nowhere and it's like the perfect place to have everything set up, right? Um you've got that neon sign going. It's very warm. It's cozy and inviting and there's like a a layer of luxury to it. Yeah. Well, that's the whole idea. I just came to the place and I couldn't even tell you when or why this happened, but just in my mind like if I'm gonna build something I and especially with cigars like because cigars have their own aura and their own element like [sighs] I don't know if you wanted to start a cigar business but your mood and your personality was kind of grunge funk that's that's cool that's fine if that's what you want to do and cigars fit into that. But like when when I think of, you know, just cigars fit most elegantly into this like vintage uh retro midmodern, you know, thinking like the, you know, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Rack Pack, just this this era and the way they dressed. And so like when I'm building out this trailer and I'm I'm think when I say building it, I didn't build it myself. That was Ryan Lockwood at Greenville Wheel Estate Collective. But just in my mind that mental what is I what do I want this to look like, right? I wanted it to be classy. Um and so I started thinking about how can it be that way? How can what can I incorporate into this trailer to make it carry that just exude that swagger, that feeling that I want it to? And the biggest thing to me was how are we going to showcase the cigars? Because the cigars are the main feature, right? That's what I'm there for. I mean, the tagline for the cigar box is I'm just here for the smokes. That's why I'm there for the cigars. And I didn't want, you know, I I just you go into any humidor brick and mortar, even ac, you know, across the nation and even across the upstate, there's a there there's a number of mobile cigar bars. And I just didn't want to have a trailer where you walk into it um and slide a glass door panel that's on a big humid door and then reach into a box and grab a cigar cuz there's all these boxes. And I just I was I remember doing my research on on humidors and I saw these photos of really old humidors and they had these cedar trays and like each cedar tray was scooped like scalloped and each cigar would sit in there and I'm like that's it. I want to display the cigars themselves not boxes. And so when you pull up and I take that door off and you have this this rolling humidor on wheels and it's all cedar built right there in that window and there's a hundred individual cigars on display. Yeah. It just has a whole It's just a whole different ball game than here's 20 boxes, pick a cigar out of one. It's like a cast of characters that you have. They each get to have their own personality and their own spot. You can see the differences. You can individualize it a little bit. And then collectively as a whole, I'm sure it just looks fantastic. Oh, it does, man. It looks beautiful. And like I said, um Brandy is the trailer. That that's her name from the song Looking Glass. Um you know, she's a fine girl. Um when the sun is setting and it gets dark and the light I mean she's great in the daytime, too, but like I don't know. You all know when the lights are glowing and it's back lit LED. So like it it's not it's not really back lit, but on the trailer window the way that swoop comes over right there because it's a teardrop trailer. So that window had to follow the the belly of the trailer. And so up under that in that front ridge there's a there's a LED light rope light that comes all the way down. and I click it on so it shines onto the cigars and they all just light up, you know. And I did the same thing in that cutting window or that that cutting lighting area. That's that tray you were talking about that pulls out. And I put out uh cutters and lighters and business cards and and stuff for
Functional Features and Personal Touches
community usage for people to cut and light their cigar. And I intentionally chose I wanted crushed gold velvet, you know, in the trailer just because it it just looks great, you know, and I didn't even really consider this uh until after the fact and you feel it. But, you know, in the back of the trailer where the neon sign is where I keep hats and hoodies and flavored cigars and other things. I mean, um, velvet's kind of grabby. You know, just driving down the road pulling that trailer stuff has a tendency to just shift and move around. But the the velvet plays a little bit of let me just kind of keep you right here. So, that helps. But, you know, I really chose it for the aesthetic and I just think it all came out swimmingly. It looks amazing. And I think another part of it that's really cool is I feel like there's part of you in it. Like I just standing there talking to you next to it. It's like, okay, I see this. I I can see part of your vision in the deal. Just the way that you speak about things with people. You're very personable. You're very calm and you speak frankly about stuff like you you want people to enjoy their own things and have their own experience. And um I think the piece of your experience you bring in is just that standard and it's so cool to see um and to see you get excited about it. And I know when you showed it to us, I saw it at the event that we uh went to, but then I got to meet you in person at your house.
From Pop-Up Tent to Custom Trailer
Yeah. And I got to see you go through it. And I'm going to tell you, man, there's like a little twinkle that starts to to peak up in your eye and you get really excited and and I don't know, man. It's there's there's something about seeing that connection. Well, I just I don't know. [clears throat] It I think that's probably true about anybody who's built something from scratch. You know what I You're really proud of it. That that's a that's a big accomplishment. You know, the cigar box started under a 10x10 pop-up tent with a 8ft folding table. You know, I had this vision in my head about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to accomplish and it was too big. You know, I quickly realized that. Um my wife helped me realize that, but finances really helped me realize that. Yeah, [laughter] they have a way of doing that. Yeah, they do. You know, the idea is like, man, let's let's buy like a a 25- foot old Airstream and, you know, remodel the whole thing and spruce it up and make it this like lounge. People go in and sit down and and then you quickly realize that's like a $60,000 project or something like that, you know? Yeah. Not only that, like I don't have the kind of vehicle that can I have a at the time I had like a four-door Mazda car and which I really like the car, but I can't pull a 25 ft Airstream with that. So, I'd have to buy a truck and I'm like, okay, that's not realistic. What What can I do? Yeah. you know, so I started looking around just um not I started looking around online, but also just as you're tooling around, you know, downtown Greenville or around the upstate and you're just driving down the road and your eyes are open and you're seeing stuff, you see a little trailer here, a little trailer there. I'm looking at it and I'm like, "Huh, that might work. That might work." And then finally after seeing a a trailer that was um you know there's any number of mobile bar services around here. Some of them are in vehicles themselves. Some of them are in a trailer and I saw one. I'm like that that would work that style but it's not exactly the style I want but it's close. So let's let's take that. And then, you know, I just sat down on the couch with my um I had a Samsung Galaxy uh tablet and I pulled out the stylus and opened up the uh opened up the little app where you can draw and I just kind of started sketching like what I would want this thing to look like. Made it like old teardrop style. And then um I that was the vision and I started working towards that and saving towards that and um eventually saved enough money and went over to Ryan Lockwood, like I said, at Greenville Real Estate Collective and said, "Hey, man. Um this is who I am. This is what I do. This is what I'm thinking. Can you build it? and he said, ' Let me think about it. Let me run some numbers. And uh he said, 'Yeah, man. He's like, I it's not it's not I don't remember if I said this on that podcast with Duncan and Jerry. I said it somewhere to somebody. I don't know. It's not exactly the projects that he does. He does a lot of, you know, he does a lot of just renovate. He does some stuff from for food trucks. He's the guy that takes an some guy that wants to live like van life out of a he he bought like an old ambulance and is going to tear it apart and make it his travel van and you know put solar panels on top and and he's just going to kind of live on the road. Ryan does a lot of that stuff and or or you're the guy who bought Yeah. you bought four Airstreams and you're going to turn them into like snazzy Airbnbs and put them, you know, close to the beach somewhere and you need somebody to do all that. Yeah, Ryan's your guy. Mhm. And so my trailer was kind of like adjacent to what he does, you know, and he's like, "This is just I've never heard of anything like this and it's such a cool project. I want to do it." And so, and so I pulled the trigger on it. Um, he said he was willing to do it for X. I said, "Here's a handshake and here's an envelope full of cash to get started and I'll deliver the rest of it at the end," which I did. And uh, got my trailer and and here we are. And those guys over there, man, they crushed it and they built they made the vision I had come to life. in that pull out drawer that's so functional. That was their idea. That wasn't mine. And I'm glad that they had that idea. There's something about trusting the process a little bit. Right? Like there's something about taking an idea to an expert and saying, "This is what I want." And having them come back and say, "I think this might be a thing for you, too." And having it work. It's just that collaborative process. Trusting Trusting the process, I guess, is one of those things. Well, you know, I mean, that's and you have to in certain things in your business and in life, I guess, but like building a building a trailer from the ground up like that, that's not a skill set that I have. I get to walk in and say, "Hey, man, here's what I want. Here's the vision." And I had all these photos, right? I I had pictures of trailers. I had pictures of how I wanted the humidor to look. I had pictures of light. I mean, so I opened it all up. Here's my idea. Can you build this [snorts] and he took it off and then you, you know, I I would stop by the shop periodically just to get a look. I want to see how it's going. And and there were times, you know, he was like, "I'm really glad you stopped by because I've got some questions. I've got some suggestions." And there were other times I drive by and I could tell he's like, "I just need to get to work. Can you like not bother me?" which is fair and fine and um but yeah, just I'm super pleased and I would highly recommend if you have a custom build to pay them a visit. But yeah, trust trust the process and trust the experts because you don't know everything. Yep. That's a thing. That is a thing. Now, we've talked about the the the trailer, and you know, I really hope people come out and see at the various events that you show up to, but one of
Catalyst: From Divorce to Cigar Venture
the things that we like to dig into at Upstate Press [clears throat] is the spark that started it all. What was that moment where you were like, "This is this is what I'm going to do." Like the moment where I, you know, I've always wanted to do this turned into, "I'm going to do this." What was that moment for you? So um I was going through a very difficult time in my life personally. You know I had pastored for 12 years in Southern California. I moved to the upstate of South Carolina in um the summer at the tail at the end of summer of 2019. I wound up going through a divorce and that was very intense. Yeah. Uh it's very hard. I have four kids. Um you know, and at the time they were like 16, 14, 12, and um about eight. And so it was it was brutal. And um you know when when I have a bachelor's of religious education um and after going through a divorce you know going back to being a pastor I just and there's people with different opinions on this about whether you should whether you can you know and um I don't feel like I can or should. And so now I'm a guy who's this is all he's ever done since I was 27 um until I was 39. Was pastor of church. And so now I'm divorced and probably never going to pastor again. And I don't have a skill set that the world, the business world cares about, you know, and a pastor like he people don't see it this way. They see you as the guy delivering a couple of speeches a week, but you're a church while it's not a business has a lot of business operation. you know, it's not a typical business, but you're you're organizing people, you're running a staff, if you have staff, you're organizing events, you're managing um on the on the back side of things. So, I'm like, what am I going to do now? I don't And I So, it was hard to really get a job that would take care of a guy that was 39, almost 40 years old. You know, nobody wants to hire a guy that was a former pastor with a bachelor's of religious education to come work in management in their business. Yeah. You know, so I found this um and I was hemorrhaging money, man. I was all I was on I was all alone. Um well, not all alone. I was on my own. After being married, you know, nearly 17 years, I was now a divorced dad, living in an apartment. Um, after owning my own home, only have my kids every other weekend. You know, it was brutal emotionally, financially, and I'm bleeding money. And I thought, um, I like I'm from Texas and I really like meat. [laughter] I like barbecue, man. I like I like beef. And I've always thought it'd be a fun job to be a to work in a butcher shop. Yeah. So, um I I just opened up Google and I uh just Googled butcher shops in the upstate and a number of them popped off. A number of them popped up and I sent random emails to the butcher shop saying, "Here's who I am. I'm looking for part-time work or I'm just looking for work if you need help. And I had a Revival Butchery in the West Village of Greenville. They emailed back and said, "Actually, yeah, I am looking for help. Uh, can you come in for an interview?" I'm like, "Great." So, I went in and um did an interview, started like the next week, started working in there, and I've been smoking cigars for for a while. And um I mean, I'm grateful for my time at Revival Butchery. I learned a lot. The people over there um they were really kind and gracious to me considering my needs, you know, and that's a week, that's a Saturday kind of business. and he was he worked with me. He's like, "Look, I'll give you, you know, every other Saturday off so you can spend it with your kids. I know that's important." So, that was that was very gracious of them. And and uh it's a it was a stop gap, but it's not the kind of a job that a 40-year-old man with four kids is going to be able to survive on, you know? Yeah. So, I'm thinking, what can I do on the side as a side hustle to make a little extra money? And I'm like, well, I like cigars. You know, what can I do with cigars? And um originally I wanted to start just kind of like a local cigar subscription thing. You know, it wouldn't take a lot of time because, you know, I order cigars, I pack them up, I get them to my local people once a month. It doesn't take a lot of time. Makes me a little extra money. But I met a guy named Jason Jansen. Um he run he owns and operates uh Broadwater Shrimp. Uh Broadwater Shrimp Supply, one of my best friends. And he Broadwater Shrimp was in its infancy when I met him. And he was he was running down to Charleston every probably every Thursday evening. Yeah. Every Thursday morning he was running down to Charleston because he he grew up down there. He has a lot of connections. He knows the the shrimp boat captains. Filling up ice chests full of shrimp, bringing them back to the upstate. Fresh seafood because like his thing was there's no fresh seafood in the upstate. Yep. And he's just selling shrimp out of the cooler, right? And he was headed towards I'm going to make a mobile seafood market. And I was and he's a fellow cigar smoker. And and I texted him. I'm like, and I told him, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do this this side hustle cigar thing. And about a week and a half later, he texted me and he goes, "Mobile cigar lounge. That's what you need to do." And I'm like, "Okay, let me think about that." And the more I thought about it, the more excited I got about it. And I'm like, "Yep, I'm doing it. I'm gonna do it." And um so the funny story about that is is you know I'm trying to make event uh I'm trying to make events happen. Like this is who I am. This is what I'm doing. I've got this idea. I'm going to start doing events with cigars. So I reach out to Cityscape Winery, right? and they have they have a I don't know if they still do it, but they have a big like Father's Day weekend deal at Cityscape. I reach out to them. I introduce myself. Here's what I here's how I am. I have this cigar company. I'm like, I would love to be part of your Father's Day weekend thing. Bring cigars out to the winery. And they said, "We're interested in that. Can you send me some photos of your setup because we want to see how it [clears throat] looks?" Yeah. I didn't have anything. I I didn't own anything. I just all I had was I created an LLC online. [laughter] So, you painted yourself into a corner there a little bit. Yeah. Well, it was fine. You know, I painted and I'm like, um I'm like, you know, I don't know. You you you try you don't want to go spending a lot of money until you have work ready, you know? So, you're just kind of feeling it or feeling out certain things and they're like that we're interested in that. Can you send us some photos of what you got? because we'd like to see it and see how it would fit. And I'm like, "Okay, sure." And um and I just turned to my my wife because I had remarried by this point in time. I [snorts] turned to my wife and I said, "Um, all right, it's go time. They they want to see photos. I don't have anything. We got to make this happen." And so over the course of just like a couple of weeks, I bought everything. I figured out the setup. I created the website from Squarespace. did all that stuff. Again, back to Jason Jansen at Broadwater Shrimp. Um, we hosted my launch party for the cigar box at his house. It was June 12th of 2022. We invited a couple different mutual friends and their wives. We all got together. We all brought great food, took a lot of photos. I set up the the the the tent and the folding table and the banner. And, you know, it was a did a bunch of social media stuff that night. And um I sent photos of the setup to Cityscape Winery and they're like, "Yeah, man. That looks great. Why don't you join us?" And that and that was the beginning. That's awesome. That was the beginning of the cigar box. Man, there's a lot of little things that happen in that in that story. Oh, there's a lot. It's And the crazy part about it is, you know, sometimes people feel like everything has to line up for everything to go through, but when I hear stories like yours, it's like really everything doesn't need to line up, just these few pieces. And it's it's how you position them. It's how you take advantage of them. It's how you think about them and conceive them in your own mind. The moment where you said you looked at your wife and said, "All right, it's go time." I think that's the jumping off point that a lot of people [snorts] will back away from. And a lot of times when I interview businesses, like one of the main things that I ask is like, you know, what would you do differently? Uh one of the most common responses is I would start sooner. I would I would make the jump. Yeah. like I would. So, just getting to hear you say like you had that moment like this is it, it's time, you know? Uh that's a cool catalyst. Yeah, I experienced that recently with the podcast. That very thing you're talking about where you get to where it's like, okay, it's go time and are you going to go or are you going to hesitate?
Launching the Podcast Lounge: Overcoming Doubt
You know, because the podcast has been going for what's today? Friday. Mhm. Um, so in two Sundays, two Sundays, in two days from now, episode 62 will hit Spotify. Wow. Um, and the other places, Apple Podcasts and Amazon and iHeart Radio and all that stuff. But through a series of events, and we don't have, we can dig into them. We don't have to, whatever. But through a series of events, I mean, y'all know I'm converting my downstairs guest room into my podcast lounge. Yeah, the vision for that. Yeah. Well, you know, and my wife, she was on board with it after, she wasn't immediately on board with it, but she finally got on board with it and we looked at the budget and we're like, "Okay, here's how much we can allocate. Um, here's how much we have to spend and I'm looking at what we have personally and how much money I can throw in from the cigar box to to to make this thing happen." And it's all green. It's all been the green light is there. The money's there. And I'm sitting there on my I'm sitting there on my laptop with all this stuff in my cart from Amazon. And this is the plan. I know it's the plan. This is what I want to do. This is what I've been building towards. Hard to hit that button though, is it? Oh my gosh, [laughter] dude. I was so nervous cuz I'm like once I hit this but [clears throat] once I hit this button Mhm. there's no going back. I've spent the money and now I've got to go to work. And it it's it's exciting, but it's nerve-wracking all at the same time. And I hesitated, man. I did. But then I was like, click close the laptop. There you [laughter] go. And then you live with that decision, right? Like when you and when you live with that decision, you find ways to be okay with living with that decision. Why? Well, why is it hard to pull the trigger on something you actually want to do? Oh, I mean, look, [laughter] you're you're talking to the captain of of just being that way, right? um the worry, the past, the things that didn't work out before, the who am I kidding? I'm not this guy. You know, just there's there's there's self-doubt. There's there's outside things. Sometimes you have people in your life that aren't as supportive. Sometimes maybe you don't believe in yourself as much as you believe in your idea. There's so many things that lead people to be so apprehensive towards that. Um, but when you boil it down and think about it, any major decision you've made in your life, you've had to live with it. You've had to go based off of your gut and your heart, your knowledge, and go for it. I think it's easier to question your idea than it is to question, you know, something out of your control. Um, yeah, I think it's uh all those things you just said. It's it's what I've discovered going through going through the divorce and and everything after that, it's fear of the unknown. Oh, for sure. it like and I think pe I I don't want to turn this into a a marriage counseling session but you know when people are in a marriage that's bad and they want to leave but they struggle to leave it's it's kind of that idea that you know like the the devil I know is better than the devil I don't. Yeah. you know, but but it's really just at least even though this sucks or and and I don't have to I don't mean it about marriage. Like there was a lot of good thing. There was a lot of good about my previous marriage and a lot of not so good. Um I suppose that's the truth behind every marriage that crashes and burns, right? It's it's not all bad. uh generally speaking, but at least at least I'm famili familiar with this and I know what to expect versus if I step away, I don't know what to expect. Yeah. And that's scary. It is. And so it's the same thing like even if I feel confident in my abilities as a podcast host, even if I feel confident in what I'm seeing happening with the numbers behind the scenes on the podcast, even if I feel confident after having people come on my show and time after time they say after you're finished recording, "Man, that was fantastic." Mhm. It's still the unknown when you when you level up to a whole another thing that you're not you don't know anything about. Like I don't know anything about video. Mhm. I don't know how this is going to play. I hope my room works for air exhaust and smoke exhaust and like like there's just and I've I've building something I think is really cool, but so much of it depends on things that I can't really control. And that's a bit nerve-wracking. Yeah. Well, I think the fun part to leaning into that lack of control is seeing what comes out on the other end, you know? I mean, when you when you try when you do something, you might do great. I mean, you might hit it right out of the gate and you might not. But either way, if you're really tuned into it, you're going to learn from it. you're going to figure out what's going to make that next thing better. And I think that's the mindset that I think a lot of people are afraid of is the mindset of failing to succeed. The mindset of wandering off into the dark feeling around so you can see what the environment's like. So when you when you made that turn into the into the podcast, you know, like you said, you had that same moment where it was like this is it. This is what I'm going to do. You do the thing. What was the first payoff where you thought to yourself, [snorts] man, this is really what I want it to be or this can really be what I want it to be? Well, let me ask you a clarifying question because there's like the the podcast, I guess, is in phase two now, which we're going to video. Um, Sunday Afternoon Smokes is going from strictly audio only podcast and going to video and that'll be hosted on, you know, Spotify and YouTube. But so are you talking about this jumping point to video or you talking about when the podcast started? I would say [clears throat] started initially. Well, to be frank, like I never even intended the podcast to get to where it is. That wasn't my goal. I never I never thought to myself, man, I'm going to start a podcast and eventually I'm going to take it to video and it's going to rock. Yeah. you know, that was never a thought in my mind. Um, it was more along the lines of, you know, I'm running this cigar business and I just think it would be fun to have a weekly podcast where I sit down with local business owners and entrepreneurs because I'm an entrepreneur now and I understand what the grind and the hustle is about, right? Yeah. Why don't I just sit down with people once a week and we'll smoke a cigar because I'm running a cigar business anyway and we'll smoke a cigar and uh and we'll just have a conversation and we'll just talk about it and I can help people who don't have a lot of reach put their story out there. And I mean on the on the I never thought this way and I don't think selfishly, but it just works this way that when you run a cigar business and you interview a bunch of business owners, those are all potential clients for events and parties and you know, and so there's a little bit of benefit there. And I figured it was it like it's a easy low barrier entry to advertise for my cigar business and to do some casual networking. I hate mixers. Yeah. I hate going where there's like, you know, a hundred people and there's 75 different business owners and maybe a few assistants and going around and talking to strangers. I hate that stuff. But if I can just invite you into my home and offer you a cigar and we can talk, well, that's I mean, it's it's about me having a nice conversation with you. But it's it's a small networking moment, you know? Well, it's a real connection. Yeah. Which is much better than a mixer. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Um, so I was like, I'm just going to do this. And man, I tried like three or four different times. Uh, I tried to like I told a friend of mine about my podcast and my idea and what I wanted to do and um and he's like that's really cool and it morphed into more than just a solo and me and two other guys and it it didn't really work out because we couldn't figure out none of us are technical. I don't understand microphones and computers and how to get a finished a a raw audio file edited up to Spotify. I don't know how to do all that. And so the it the my other friend has a nice beard like or he did he he shaved it off. Shame on you, Keith. Uh he shaved it off. Um but it was called Men with Mains. There you go. Yeah. And it went nowhere. Um because we couldn't figure that stuff out. But I, dad gum it, I still wanted to do my podcast, you know, and I went through like three or four different iterations with different kinds of microphones and trying to figure out how to plug them in and get everything until I finally figured it out. I didn't quit, you know. Um, I finally figured it out and I just started sitting down once a week with people and and talking and it was super enjoyable to do. and my attitude. I mean, I think the show where it's headed has an opportunity to actually make some money
Purpose Over Profit: Podcast Philosophy
for me. Um, but I have said this a bazillion times to myself and to the people on my show. The goal of Sunday Afternoon Smokes was never to make money. I do it strictly because I enjoy it. That's it. I enjoy sitting down and talking to people and having a genuine moment. Yeah, a genuine conversation. If I can monetize it, great. If I can't, I don't care. And that and that has allowed me to podcast stress-free. I don't look like I don't spend time looking at my analytics. Yeah. I don't waste my time diving into that. That can be a great source of discourage. Like if you're if you want to start a podcast and you're like, I'm gonna do this because I'm gonna make some money at it. Good luck. you know, seriously, I'm not saying it can't be done, but that's going to be a grind and that's going to be a lot of pressure. Um, I don't spend my time I've never spent a single penny on ads. I don't spend my time looking at the analytics and who how many people have listened. I'll look at it just when you log in to upload an episode or something like that. And the only one I care about is how many hours of listening, not downloads, not plays, hours listened. That's the only thing I really care about and I don't really even care about it that much. And so, and especially after my wife had a stroke in April of last year or almost a year away, I didn't let that kill the podcast either. You know, it would have been a good reason to quit because now I'm a full-time caretaker. But I realized with all that I'm having to do now, this podcast allows me once a week to escape the stress. Yeah. And connect with somebody and have a cigar and have a talk and just take a break. So like if the show grows and does great, I get a bunch of sponsors and lounge partners. Awesome. If it doesn't, I don't care because my goal is just to sit and have a nice conversation with somebody. Yeah, that that's what it is. That's honestly me and Jerry were talking about that yesterday. Um, you know, we do these podcast things on on Fridays here at Blanket Fort Studio and
Studio Setup and the Desire for Presence
I love being here. Like I just love being here. It's a good environment. It's fun. I get to hang out with my friends and like play drums and, you know, just do some of this stuff. But, uh, when it comes to the production and the setup and everything for the podcast, there's always this little element of stress, you know, and then last night we were talking about it and we were just like, I think we're missing the point, you know, like the point is the part that comes after the stress. Like, let's just get through that part. You know, we show up today and I think we both kind of had it in the forefront of our brain. Like, let's just get that part done. And then, you know, it ended up kind of being part of the fun. and like here, set the light up, do this, make sure the mic's right, make sure you you sat here. We have to make sure all the everything's good and do all that kind of stuff. But what it is is it's just a vehicle to what's about to happen. Mhm. You know, this is kind of what I long for throughout the week. Just being able to kind of sit and hear something and kind of be present in something. We live in a world where like everybody's only about 30% present in almost anything that they're doing at any point in time.
Guest Guidelines: Emphasizing Presence
Driving included. I see you guys on your phones. Oh my gosh. Um, but we get to be present in this conversation. Even leading up to this, we're sitting here getting the mic set up and we're just having a good conversation anyway. And I I felt in my in my bones like, "Okay, this is going to go good." Yeah. Um, I see what you're saying with that because like when you have that release, when you have that availability for connection, some of the stressors in your life, some of the other things, they get to melt away. You get to be present in that moment. Um, yeah, I just love the way that it it feels. I can tell that you enjoy it, too. Yeah, I do. I send every guest that comes on my show several emails ahead of time for various things. And now that the lounge is pretty much complete, it'll be finished after this evening. Um, I've got a document that I send to all my guests coming on the show and it's called the um, you know, the document is the the Sunday Afternoon Smokes lounge experience or the lounge guide or something like that. And I list out just kind of here's what to expect. Mhm. Um, and the only thing I require of them, it says it in the document, is to be present.
Authenticity Without Performance Pressure
Just be present. And at the very end, at the very end, under my name, you know, it ends something like cheers, Chris. And under the at the bottom under my name, I think it's in italics, it says the conversation is the occasion. Mhm. That's what we're here for. Yeah. All the rest of this stuff is fun. It's going to be nice and moody and we've got cigars and we got some drinks and but we are here to have a meaningful conversation. you know, um, a bunch of the guys here, you know, there's there's guitars and drums and everything around here. And I'm sure being surrounded with a group of men in this a room the name Rick Rubin, everybody knows who that is here, of course. Yeah. I not have any idea who Rick Rubin was until probably six weeks ago. Um, it's not the world I live in, you know, but and this is the philosophy of my podcast because like I said, I don't chase I don't chase clicks. I don't manufacture moments. They're like, "Ah, I got to watch this rage bait." You know what I mean? I don't do that. And um I think about my show and Rick Rubin said, this is not an exact quote, but it's basically the same. He said, "I don't make music for my fans. I make music for myself." Yeah. I make the music I like and then I put it out there. And that's the same with my show. Like I'm grateful that people listen to it. Um I don't make my podcast hoping people listen to it because of everything I just said to you about just connecting with people in the moment and the escape from the stress in my life. I make the show I want to make and I put it out there and if people enjoy it, that's awesome. But I'm not making it for the world. I'm making it for me. Yeah. And it allows me to be stress free and to be authentic and not feel like I have to stress out if it's not
Building Partnerships and Emotional Milestones
performing. And the other great part is, you know, my wife and I, when it comes to the the cigar box and Sunday Afternoon Smokes, we did it all on cash. I don't owe investors. So if my podcast doesn't perform and meet metrics and get paid, I'm I'm not stressing like if I I don't have anybody to pay back. If it doesn't go anywhere, heck, at least I have like a really great smoking room in my house. Yeah, for sure. I [laughter] mean, there's no downside, right? It's all positive progression in in some way or another. Um, in the ways that that you do have your conversations with your with your guests, in the ways that you enjoy it. Um, was there ever a moment when you kind of just sat back and let it wash over you and you were like, "Yeah, this yeah, this this is right in the pocket. I'm happy." Like was there a moment for that that you can recall? There was a moment about two weeks ago. It's been building, man. It's been building ever since my meeting with Josiah whenever I had him on my podcast and I was showing him this is where I'm headed. Yeah. And you know, God bless that guy. He is a major part of the show from the standpoint that he just out of the kindness of his heart gave me the camera and the lens that I need to make that happen. That's an immense gift and I am grateful for that. And some of the artwork that's going to go in the lounge with, you know, Freedom Inc. Oh yeah. Yeah. You know, we've that's kind of been put on the back burner for a few different reasons, but we'll get there. And I have another friend of mine, Cody Stinson. He was episode 56, a really, really cool episode. He runs a company called Media Lifeline, and he does website development and has a killer CRM, so I can keep up with all my guests and correspondents and social media and all that stuff. And I talked to him and he's like, "Hey, man. You know, he he said, uh, I talked to my wife about this and he's like, I I really just I love your show. Oh, I love the way you do it. You're doing really good work. He said, I I I've never seen anybody be able to craft a conversation like you. He's he actually lives four doors down from me and we go to church together. But he's like, I really just believe there's something God wants me to do. We're just going to build your website and give you the CRM and you're not going to ever pay me anything. Wow. So, we're just going to we're going to be a sponsor of the show. That's awesome. And then I've got other people already. I've got a lady making like uh custom ashtrays for the lounge. She's going to be a a lounge partner. I think I have another lady lined up. Um I have to meet with her. It's not for sure yet, but she has a local candle company. I approached her about making a like a sweet tobacco candle to burn in the lounge. And I told her over over DM. I said, "Hey," cuz I I've met her a couple of times with the cigar boxes doing events, vendor events. And I said, "Here, you know, um, here's who I am. We've met, you know, me. Uh, I run the cigar box, but I've also got this podcast. I'm interested in you creating a sweet tobacco, maybe like I don't know, tobacco vanilla, tobacco sandalwood, something along those lines." And I'm like, I'm happy to pay for them or if you're interested in being like a a lounge partner and that way you I mean because they'll get visual placement every episode, you know, when when they come up and get to talk about them. Yeah, that's my that's my lounge partner so and so, you know, we appreciate their support. And that's just evergreen advertising that's there for however many episodes that live on forever. and five years from now, somebody searches blah blah blah and there's their stuff. You know what I mean? So, like all these sponsors are lining up and I haven't even built the lounge yet. Yeah. You know, all these people are like, I I really like what you're doing. I like how you're doing it. I believe in your vision. And so I'm sitting up there and I've spent a lot of time developing sponsor contracts, specific things about it as a as a as a way for this podcast to get monetized. And I just walk downstairs and sit down by my wife on the couch and my eyes are filled with tears. And I said, "Babe, I've built something. I haven't even built it yet." I'm like, "But I've created something and I'm fixing to build it and I've already got all these people lined up that just want to be part of it." And I was just It was an emotional moment, man. It's overwhelming. Yeah, it's because it's a part of people believe in you. It's uh I don't really know why. [laughter] Isn't that the thing though? Never question why. Just kind of follow the fact they do. But they I mean obviously it sounds like people are believing in what you're doing. So that's that's an obvious reason to get overwhelmed a little bit. Yeah, it is. I don't I mean I'm very grateful for these people wanting to partner with me. It's humbling. Um, and you know, I don't know, like just like you said, don't don't ask why. It's kind of never look a gift horse in the mouth kind of a thing. Yeah. you know, but but it's humbling, but it's an but it's also very exciting because I'm thinking to myself, okay, if these people believe in me enough and see the value of what I'm building and and how I do it that they want to partner with me, then I'm pretty sure there's other people out there once the full aesthetic gets realized that they will want to partner with me in some ways that's very beneficial for I for my wife and I financially. And that's that's exciting. But like I said, I operate it stress free because if it doesn't happen, that's okay. Yeah. I think some of the some of the benefits from doing a podcast and actually being able to have
Branding Insights from Podcast Guests
some of these conversations is to have some aha moments that your guests bring to you. Has there been anything that stands out that you've been talking about on one of your episodes that just really hit you later and affected how you live your day-to-day life or or maybe a decision that you made? [sighs] Well, I think there's been some reinforcement and I've heard some lines. Um, a couple of them like, and I repeated this on the on the episode with Duncan and Jerry, and it's a line I heard from Josiah when he said, "People don't buy services as much as they buy people." Yeah. Yeah. I mean that was like wow. Okay. Which lends which is the reinforcement of what I have believed for quite some time. I just had never heard it said that way. And it's it's more there's much more clarity there. But it's just that I am my best product. No matter what I'm selling. If I'm running the cigar box, yeah, I'm selling cigars. But anybody can sell cigars. How do you sell cigars? How do you treat people when they come up to the trailer? How do you talk to them? How do you I never want anybody to walk away from the cigar box feeling like this guy thinks I'm an idiot or all this guy cared about was making a sale and getting my money. Yeah. I never want that, you know? So people people buy people more than they buy services. And that was a light bulb moment. I've had a couple of marketers and and brand developers on, but I think it was Jerry who made the statement that people don't shake hands with a logo. Yeah. [clears throat] And I'm like, okay, light bulb, you know, and these are all just this kind of constant reinforcement of of what it takes to build something. And I've had other people like graphic designers, and here's something that is news to me. There is a world of difference between a between marketing and branding. like a brand and marketing are not the same thing, you know. Yeah, they kind of they might overlap, but but they're not exactly the they're not exactly the same. And you know, I've been fortunate I've been fortunate enough in um 1 hour, 3 secondsin what I do to just a pretty specific taste, so I already know what I want it to look like. But a 1 hour, 11 secondsgood piece of advice I got from Laureno um she's episode way back when I'd have to find her. She's a graphic designer 1 hour, 20 secondsand she said if you're starting a company like you don't have to have a logo. 1 hour, 27 secondsEverybody thinks you have you man I'm g start this company I got to get a logo. 1 hour, 31 secondsYou don't have to. What if you get a logo and your business 1 hour, 38 secondsdoesn't go in the exact direction that you expect that it does and nine months later your logo doesn't really and you've been flexible so you've kind 1 hour, 47 secondsof followed where things are taking you but now your logo doesn't really fit where you're at. 1 hour, 52 secondsYep. Now you're rebranding now. Well, and it creates confusion if you're developing a customer base and you're starting to get out there a little bit, which may take more than nine months, probably will, and that's fine. I just snatched a number out of the air, but you want to be cohesive, same [snorts] every time. And people begin to recognize that, you know, and so she said, "Look, why not just why not just pick a nice font? Pick maybe two colors at most." Mhm. and use them until you can figure out your brand. Till you can figure out really who you who you are, what your business is, what your product is, what service you're selling. Just use that. It's much easier to take text and colors and morph them into a logo than to just undo a logo. Yeah. And start over. So, those are a couple of things that have been, I think, pretty helpful. Then I've interviewed a lot of people who are kind of have gone through some stuff.
Stories of Resilience and Overcoming Hardship
Yeah. Um and it's about just showing up even when it's hard, you know, and I know what that's about. And those are all those are all fun episodes where I can really relate to somebody, you know, Jeff Ryan who is um he's a local chef, founder of I define because his daughter was diagnosed with Clestra syndrome, very rare disease. He started Southern Roots Barbecue as a fundraiser which is next Saturday. Cigar Box will be there for that. I had him on and we had a big conversation just about hardship and and showing up even through it. I have a guest coming up Monday. His name's Nico Denunzio. He's a customer experience uh team leader. Um I don't remember the name of the big company that owns Ryobi, but that's who he works for. And he's a stroke survivor. I met him through he started the stroke support group that my wife and I attend. Uh but he recently he's got a young kid that's about two or three years old and is diagnosed with a rare uh genetic disorder called sin gap one. There's some there's some code missing in in the in the DNA. There's a gap and so his son has some issues you know and it's just look if you want to build something it's not going to be easy but you just got to show up. Yeah. Day in and day out. I think one of the things that I like so much about your podcast and the way that you the way that you view it, [clears throat] you get to know the people because at the core of the businesses, it it is these people. It it it comes from them. You talk to entrepreneurs and yes, they're they're entrepreneurs. You talk about the businesses that they do and how they operate their businesses. Um, but at the end of the day, I think getting to know the people, getting to understand and relate in some other ways, I think that makes the business side of it more accessible. Well, the it it does, but the more I have talked to business owners and entrepreneurs, the longer you're in conversation, you I feel like I you really start to see that the business is secondary. Yeah. It's you're serving people. Yeah. and you you have a product or a service that can help their company do something better. Um, and so the real joy for a business owner, and I'm not talking, look, I'm not talking about massive corporations, right? I mean, we're not talking about Target. We're not talking about Home Depot. I mean, they probably have the same philosophy, but it's just different dealing with a a a giant corporation versus, you know, your your local bakery owner. Yeah. You know, who's got one shop and like four employees or whatever it is. But it's really about like these people in the upstate, the more I talk to them, yeah, they love their business, but they want to serve people. And that seems to [clears throat] be a recurring theme as I go through. Um they're excited about what they do, but they just they want to use it to help somebody. And and that is really again that's the that's the that's kind of the core of Sunday Afternoon Smokes. It's a casual conversation where I just let somebody's story, their journey naturally unfold. But what I wanted to do is just help give somebody a voice and let the people of the upstate know what's available to them uh in a different way because you you get to I mean it's easy to open up your your phone or your laptop and just Google um hamburger joints. Mhm. It's a It's a whole another thing to discover Sunday Afternoon Smokes and find the episode with Matthew Bradford at Matty's Patty's Smashburger joint down in Anderson, South Carolina. Uh Matt's a cool guy. His episode was fun. His burgers are great. I've been down there. In fact, um I'm I have not said anything at all publicly about this. I just hit him up a couple days ago and we'll we'll I got to get down there and do some brainstorming, but we're going to do a um later in the summer. We're going to do a
Smoke & Smash: Cigar Meets Burger Event
Smashburger cigar night um called uh Smoke and Smash [laughter] or Smash and Smoke. I don't remember which one it is. I suggested maybe Smash and Ash, but he preferred Smoke and Smash. And so, yeah, I'll bring the cigar out there and we'll have a we'll have a night where it's like cigars and smashburgers, but you know, so I wanted to just give people an opportunity to tell the the upstate about their business, but it's it's more than that because I that's the great thing about a long form podcast when you can sit down with somebody for an hour and a half or two or two and a half hours because I don't want I don't want people in the upstate just to know what Matty's Patties is. I want them to know who's Matt Bradford. So that when you go into Matty's Patties, it'll mean more to you. Yeah. You know this guy's journey from you know this guy's journey from food truck to brick and mortar, you know, and it's it's just a much better experience and people get to share their life. Yeah. And you know, honestly, we we talk about the upstate so much. I've lived in a lot of places, you know, um I've seen
Upstate Community: Mutual Support and Collaboration
a lot of different things. There's something special about the upstate of South Carolina. You think so? I really do. There's something special here. Um it becomes a gear that turns and everybody kind of plays their part. I've even seen people with competing businesses just be so friendly with one another because, hey, they're opening people up to the same thing that I do. You know, there's enough business for everybody. Um, I've seen people be able to share more about theirelves because we do feel like a close-knit community. We do feel small. Even though we're the fastest growing, even though we just keep changing and getting bigger and bigger, we still kind of keep that mentality of that small town vibe. And I don't know, man, something about the upstate kind of helps that story go. Um, when you see a lot of these people that you talk to and you hear how much they care about the people that they want to serve, you know, what kind of hope does that give you? Well, it's nice because look, I don't know when I don't know when the when the transition flipped
Media Narratives vs Upstate Reality
um in our country. Like part of it is the 247 news cycle we live in. Yeah. in the competition for eyeballs and clicks. Um, so there's a lot of rage bait out there. We know that the the national media is very divisive and they want everybody in their camps, which is fine. I mean, they're out to make money, you know, and so they if if all you ever did was watch like Fox and CNN and MSNBC and The View and whatever other place you get your news. I mean, you would think that the country is like half of the country is ready just to murder the other half. Yeah. Yeah. Like yesterday, but then you go out and talk to people and people are generally very nice. Yeah. And and I have a hard time working this out in my own mind because when we have a presidential election and you look at the the popular vote number, you know, it's kind of close 5050. And so part of me is like, okay, the country really is divided, but I'm not quite sure as divided as the media wants you to think it is. Um because like you said, when I go out into the community of the upstate, the people are friendly. Now, of course, look, I mean, just to be fair, this is the South. Yes. And the South is very different than the Northeast or even in the West Coast. Like I lived, you know, almost 20 years in Southern California. You don't say hello to your neighbors. Mhm. You You don't know who your neighbors are. That's just not how it works over there. You don't go to the store and say hello to random people and ask them how they're doing. And I don't know, there's something different about southern culture, you know. So, just to be fair, um, but yeah, there like there there is a thing here in the upstate of South Carolina where everybody wants everybody else to be successful. In fact, just at the tail end of last week, I got a random text from a guy that runs u I think it's called the Continental. It's another local mobile cigar thing. And he said, "Hey, my name's such and such." I don't remember his name. I never met him before. He said, "I got your name and number from Nick Brown. Nick runs Castillo Mobile Cigar Lounge." And he said, "Um, there's an event coming up
Navigating Competition in Mobile Cigar Business
and I'm already booked, but I wanted to pass it along to you if you want it." Oh, wow. And I'm like, "Hey, man. I really appreciate that. You know, that's" and that's exactly like and I'm worried about this starting my mobile cigar thing because there's others and I'm like, "Can I make this happen? There's already people doing what I'm doing." And then I realized, look, everywhere there's a Home Depot, there's a Lowe's, everywhere there's a McDonald's, there's a Burger King, everywhere. Like, and I realized that the upstate is big enough and there is so much happening in the Greenville, Spartanberg, Clemson area. There's plenty of work for for mobile business, for pretty much anybody. There's plenty of work to be had. Now, you you're going to have to go out and get it. Yeah. It's not going to come knocking on your door, but there's there's plenty of room for mobile cigar business. And I've had people reach out to me, can you do this? I'm like, nope, I can't. Sent it off to another cigar guy. I sent stuff to Castillo and said, um, hey buddy, somebody wants me for this. I'm booked. If you want it, I'll give you the info. You know, I we are all better when we all succeed. Absolutely. And you know, I think one of the things too is you can do the same thing that anybody else does. There can be any number of mobile cigar lounges, right? There can be any number of them and [snorts] they can all offer the same cigars and they can all offer the same basic general knowledge and education. Um, but only you can do it the way you do it. Correct. And I think that's the flavor. Yeah. Yeah, that's the flavor that we can, especially around here that we can get is you can go out and be yourself in your community and people will see what you do and recognize it. Well, the old I mean the different strokes for different folks, however you want to phrase it, you know, like when it comes to um cigars, the way the way I roll up with brandy might not be exactly the aesthetic they're looking for. Maybe they want Castillo, maybe they want the Continental, you know? Somebody wants Castillo for something, they're like, "That's nice." But I that's not really kind of what I'm looking for. Oh, here's this guy the cigar box. Yeah, that's what I'm, you know, and so whether it's and it's the same with podcasts, you know, there's a like when I started a podcast, I did a
Transitioning the Podcast to Video
little bit of research. I'm like, is this really even worth doing? How many podcasts exists? There's like millions. I mean, there's an absurd number of podcasts out there in the world. But I'm like, you know what? I don't really care. I just want to do it. But that's the that's the thing. If you want to start a podcast, go for it. I'm sure there's somebody out there that will like what you put out because we're all a little bit different. Yeah. You know, it's just a matter of them being able to discover you. That's the trick. Yeah, that's the hard part. Yeah, that is the hard part. I mean, I think one [clears throat] of the things that makes business in general, podcast especially, um, have longevity is just the ability to authentically be what you are because then you're not having to cover anything up. Then you're not having to double back and change a thing. Then you're not having to really reconstruct or revamp. You just go out there and you do what it is that you intend to do. And people have different intentions. Mhm. I mean, you know, maybe with our podcast in in in particular, I mean, we're chilling, we're talking about this, we're smoking cigars. There's a lot of like business related podcasts that are going to be like, "Oh, I'm not going to do that on camera or I'm not going to do this or do that." Um, we just kind of go with the flow. That's why I liked yours so much, being able to watch it, because I kind of want to sit here and take in what you're doing, but I also want to be me the whole time, too. Like, I feel like I can get more out of you if I act like me. [laughter] You know what I mean? Is that Well, people can sense what's phony and what's not. Yeah. You know, you can sense what's authentic and what's manufactured. And I think, you know, I've said probably on this episode a time or two already that that's like that's the whole idea behind Sunday Afternoon Smokes. Of course, they can't all be true if it's the but but they are like there's several different whole ideas behind Sunday Afternoon Smokes. Like we live we live in a world of overproduced micromanaged looking for just the right moment that's going to go viral. So let me put it out there. That is the exact opposite of what I want to be. That is not what Sunday Afternoon Smokes is. Apparently that's not what Upstate Community Press podcast is going to be. [snorts] the way now my my introduction on video will be much different because uh an audio only introduction doesn't carry over the same way when it goes to video you know it's just weird like
Preparing for Video Podcast Launch
but for people that have never listened to for whoever's watching this podcast you've never listened to Sunday Afternoon Smokes by the way go listen to it it's on Spotify it's on you know Apple podcast um it's Hey everybody welcome back to Sunday Afternoon Smokes my name is Chris, I'm your host. I'm the owner and operator of the Cigar Box, a mobile cigar bar that serves the upstate and beyond. If you've been listening to these conversations and enjoy them, uh the best thing you can do to support the show is just give it a follow. But and then and then we're off and running. It it's it's not manufactured. I just said, well, I'd let you know who I am, what I do. Um, I think I left I might have left out a sentence, but I always say, "Welcome back to Sunday Afternoon Smokes, your casual conversation podcast from the upstate of South Carolina." That's what this is. I'm not here to ask a bunch of I'm not here to grind axes. I'm not here to to ask gotcha questions. I'm not trying to get anybody in trouble. I'm not here to talk about hot topics. Whether you believe in abortion or you want to like never let another immigrant into this country ever again, that's not what we're here to talk about. Now, if the conversation winds up there, I'm not afraid to talk about those things, but that's not the aim. We don't we don't normally wind up there because that's not the aim of Sunday Afternoon Smokes. It's what's your story? What's the business? because it's about entrepreneurs, business professionals, and creatives. So, and it I want them to talk about their business and then tell their personal story and how they wound up where they are. And so, there is um I don't know, maybe things will change for Upstate Community Press podcast down the road. I don't know how much prep work you did you do any prep work before this or we just sitting down talking however it happens. Honestly, I did I did get to see you and I've listened to some of the podcast episodes. Um, and I just kind of left it there because I really kind of just
Enjoying Authenticity and Future Vision
wanted to to take this opportunity knowing how you are. Yeah. To let that be what it is. So, and sometimes you have to pull things and sometimes you have to kind of steer things in certain directions, but um, you know, you never argue with a good thing. Sure. I mean, I do a I I I don't I don't want to say enormous, but it's not insignificant. And I do quite a bit of prep work for the podcast uh for the people coming on on the show for myself and for them. Um because I mean we go wherever the conversation takes us, but I do have a little bit of outline and I'm I you know you got to see it in audio only so I had like full scale outline of where we were going and I tried to do work in some kind of like story arc on these people you know beginning to end. I'm transitioning away from that because it would look really dumb to sit on a video podcast and have my computer and I'm glued to it trying to talk to somebody. So, I'll be moving to a much more skeletal just kind of bullet point outline um with pen and ink and follow along. But yeah, like I I am not out to manufacture moments. Yeah. The conversation is the occasion and when the conversation is good people will listen to it because it stands out amidst all the noise of the way our society works right now. Rage bait, like I said, rage bait clicks, this viral moment of some dude screaming in this woman's face or vice versa or just all of that stupid stuff that we're consumed with. And I was thinking last night that, you know, five years from now, six years from now, I want my show to be the kind of show that um that's interesting and good conversation and that a dad could hand to his 15-year-old son a pair of headphones and say, "Hey, listen to this episode. It's good. You'll learn some good things on it." And that it's a it's a wholesome show, you know? that that's what I want. Well, I can tell in in the way that you do things that you thoroughly enjoy what it is that you're doing. Oh, I love it.
Impactful Conversations and Audience Alignment
And so, I think that's a piece that makes the conversation good, that makes it uh available to a lot of people. Um, but that aspect of it, being able to say to your friend, to your child, to your parent, hey, I heard this and I really dig this. you know, they listen to that episode. I have friends that do this to me all the time. When you when you've lived in a lot of places and you have friends all over the place, it it basically comes down to sending each other reals and podcasts. Um, [laughter] but I can really tell that a person gets me. I can really tell that a friend thoughtfully presented something to me based on the content they send based on the content content that they send. Um, and so yeah, reaching into that point, being able to have some of these conversations that can get people to kind of realize that they align a little bit more than they thought. Mhm. I mean, that's got to be a good feeling to know if they if you get that across. Um, and just being able to be yourself.
Living Authentically and Embracing Self
Any chance you have to be able to be yourself is the best chance you I wouldn't want to be anybody else. Like, why are we I I That's part of the problem that we live in, right? I mean, there's a bunch of nasty stuff on Instagram and Tik Tok and Facebook. That's that's fair. You know, uh it's probably gotten worse over the years, but generally speaking, what I told my my my youngest children is, and I don't know that I can I I can't avoid this alto together because they're they're growing. And of course, I'm a divorced dad and I don't have full control. I don't control what goes on in their mother's house. But I told him like, "You guys stay off social media." Yeah. Stay off it. It's not good. I only do it because I run a business. Um, and I told him like, "People only put the best versions of their life on social media." It's deceiving. It's not People don't generally put their worst moments and catastrophic things and heartbreak. you don't get to see all the ugly and and and so social media can just be this especially as you know I'm sure you've paid attention to news and other things especially for young girls you know just the this is what it means to be beautiful girl dad I see that all the time no that is not what it means to be beautiful at all ever you know and I'm I've a couple years ago my uh my little girl because she was you know 11 at the time or whatever she's just asking those silly young girl questions like, "Dad, would you still love me if I was fat? Would you still love me if I was this, if I was that?" And I say yes to all of them. And then finally, because she kept asking questions, I just looked at her and I said, "Honey, I love you because you're mine. That's why. Doesn't matter what you look like. Doesn't matter how big or small you are, what color your hair is. None of that matters by virtue of the fact that you're mine. Mhm. That's why I love you, you know. And so I God, I just Why would I want to be anybody else when the world is I believe
Marriage, Love, and Personal Challenges
it. I believe the world is hungry and thirsty and craving for authenticity because so much out there is fake. And that's what Sunday Afternoon Smokes is. It's just me being me. And I told a guest, Kimberly Bertrand, she was uh episode 59, I think, maybe 58, the Smart Face Lady. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I told her. So, after I went through my my introduction audio-wise, um I I told her I said, "Kimberly, welcome to the show." She thanked me for letting her be there. I said, "The way I operate here on Sunday Afternoon Smokes is I just like to let my guests introduce themselves. So say as much or as little about yourself as you like." And she said, "Wow, pressure's on right out of the gate." And I said, "No, I said not really." I said, "I I don't like introducing people and listing their, you know, their degrees, their accomplishments, their bona fides, you know what I mean? I don't want to box them in and say you have all these things that you've accomplished and now for the rest of the episode mentally they're framed into this box. Yeah. I want people to introduce themselves and I told her I want people to be able to come on my show and just be who they are. Yeah. It's one of those things like I like to do this is what I know them for. Let's find out what we don't know. Um, what's something what's something that you've learned about yourself in doing this podcast, in running your business and going through the things that you've gone through over the last few years? I mean, what's something that you've learned about yourself that makes you who you are authentically? That's a deep question, man. You're a deep guy, so it seemed like the right direction to go. Well, something I've learned about myself in running my business is I I don't know. I I I think uh maybe I'm a little bit. I'm a little bit tougher than I thought I was. I don't know. That's a weird thing to say. It's not like guys spend their time sitting around thinking about how tough they are. [laughter] You know what I mean? But you just kind of look back over your life and you see things that have happened and that you've made it through. I mean, I've I've I've been through some some bit of a meat grinder. Um, I've never considered myself a builder of anything. Mhm. But I've I've built a little cigar business and I've built this podcast. And that's interesting to be able to say because I didn't intend to build it. It's just something I wanted to do and so I worked towards it and so literally I built it. Yeah. But I I just I don't know if I consider myself uh a builder as much as I would just say I had something I wanted to do and I did it. I don't know. Does that make any sense? It does. I mean it does. like it's it's not like I I don't feel like I am trying to go out there and leave my mark on the world. That's not really my goal. Um I mean if I want to leave a mark anywhere, I want it to be on my children. Mhm. And I want I mean I am a uh I am a Christian unashamedly so. I'm a fully committed believer in and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and I want to honor him in how I love my wife and my family and my kids and how I treat people that I come in contact with, my friends. I want that to be clear. Um, I don't know, man. That's a really difficult question to answer. In the pieces [clears throat] that I've gotten to see, you know, sometimes I really like to be the fly on the wall.
Observations and Appreciating Details
When we came to your house that night, yeah, you know, I'm watching Armandd was there. Um, that's a cool guy. He is a cool I want to talk to him, you know. But sometimes what I like to do is listen to like things that Armandd was saying about what he was noticing about what was going on. I'm curious. What did he notice? You going to get into that? Oh, I'll get into it a little bit. I will let you talk to Armandd yourself, but I want to have him on the show. Yeah. You know, we sat there and he looks at me and he's just like, "This is not your typical podcast. This seems very thoughtful." Interesting. You know, and when first of all, his accent is amazing. So when you have a guy from South Africa, you have a guy from South Africa with the coolest mustache known to man and the coolest hair. I had to step my hair beard, man. I wish if I like with my beard, if I had his hair, I'd be in business, bro. I had to step my hair game up a little. I'm getting there. I will catch up to Armandd. [laughter] Um, looking at you, Armand. House of Holland tattoos. House of Holland tattoos. But I got to I got to see what he was thinking. I got to watch my closest friends, my business partners. I got to see them interact in a situation they don't normal normally interact in. I got to see how you reacted to that. You drop little pieces of yourself in in your conversations. And you're not afraid to say, you know, that's not really what I was thinking. I think this and get to see the reactions. Um after you wrapped up, we got to sit there and talk for a few minutes. I got to learn a little piece of this part, a little piece of that part, you know. Um, I got to see you with the with the the teardrop trailer and see all of that kind of stuff. Um, and I get to listen to a few other podcasts. But one of the things that I've noticed, you remind me a lot of the journey of my grandfather, right?
Grandfather’s Lessons on Service and Faith
So, my grandfather's a guy named Glenn Ward Stevens. He was absolutely one of the greatest humans on the planet. I've I've yet to meet a person that's had a bad word to say about the guy. and he was very quiet. He was a devout Christian. Um, you know, and he was him. He was him. And one of the things that I felt separated him from a lot of people and what reminds me of him with you, he wasn't out there to become that person. He wasn't trying to make that mark. He wasn't trying to etch himself into something. He was just out there to be Glenn Stevens. And that's how Glenn interacted with people. He asked about their mom. He asked about their kids. He wanted to know if they needed any help with anything. I got a boatload of kids. They can help you. You know, like he just he he always had a smile on his face. He whistled. He fell asleep in church. You know, like it was all the all these little things that made him him. And he wasn't trying to do any of that. And when I hear those stories, when I talk to my children about who my grandfather was and things of that nature, that's kind of where I go. He wasn't trying to be this. He was this. And it made all of us something else. It gave all of us an opportunity to see things this way. It gave me an opportunity to realize like, man, you really don't have to go out and be the top number one alpha guy in every hobby that you have. You don't have to be the expert in everything. You don't have to be the most political person. You don't have to be the most the most Christian Christian. You don't have to be all these things. You just have to be you and do it your way and it will make its own mark like a stream running over a rock. I mean, eventually it will make its impact. Um, it's like I guess the difference in being a chisel and being a stream. Well, that's a high compliment, man. Um, and I'm humbled by it. [snorts] you're I think if we can teach that to our children our our posterity will be much better for it and and if they carry that on like I don't need I don't need to impress people. Yeah. I don't need I don't need people's validation. I don't care about people's criticism. Now, that's not to say like if I've done something stupid and wrong, that's fine. I'm I'm totally willing to admit I messed up and I owe you an apology and how can I make it right? That's a different matter. But it's just the world like, you know, if a if my podcast grows and gets some traction, it's just the world. There's going to pe there's going to be somebody out there that has negative things to say. Yeah. about Sunday Afternoon Smokes and me as the host. And you know what? I don't care. It's not really for them. It's not for you, right? And there's going to be a bunch a bunch. There might be. I don't know. But there may be people out there who have a lot of great things to say about Sunday Afternoon Smokes. I'm glad for that. I don't care. Like I just don't I'm not into I don't want to be into myself. Yeah. You're not changing the recipe. I'm not changing the recipe. And of course, that is all part of Christianity, right? This isn't about me. Um, I'm just a servant here to serve. I I'm here to help people. I'm here to love my wife. I'm here to love and train my children. I'm here to bless and serve my friends and fellow man however I can when I can if I have means and opportunity to um by the way you asked about uh things that I have learned from my guest those moments and I was talking about nobody shakes hands with a logo Jake Henderson said I firmly believe that means and opportunity equals obligation. Oh wow that's a big one. Yeah. [laughter] If you have the means and opportunity, you should. Yeah. Um but I'm I'm just like that's and by by loving my wife no matter what, everything that's come our way. And here's something I think about a lot the last several weeks. This thought uh has popped in my mind about just my marriage and my wife. And sometimes it's difficult with her being disabled now and and sometimes I get frustrated with
Supporting a Disabled Spouse and Finding Balance
certain things, but I just remind myself what is the primary obligation of my marriage. Mhm. It's to love my wife. It's not to be right. Right. Yeah. It's not to be right. It's to love her. Let me tell you a story. This happened a couple weeks ago, man. This happened just so I started work on the podcast lounge last week. Yeah, I hate painting more than anything in the world. This is my like I'd rather like chew shattered glass than paint. But I had to paint because I don't have money to pay people to do this stuff. So I had to prime everything. I had to prime all the walls in the ceiling. Um, I use a shellac based primer which seals up so smoke doesn't creep into the drywall and just hang out there forever. Seal it, then paint the walls, then paint the ceiling. Um, and then start doing all the pretty work. Get the carpet in, get the rug in, get the chairs in, get all the all the stuff, right? So, I did all of that like uh Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday morning, we're packing up, headed for a weekend trip to Alabama to see some friends of hers. We drive, we we drive there Friday, we spend Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, we come back Monday. We are exhausted. Tuesday morning, I get up and I'm immediately to work in the podcast room and um she's upstairs. I didn't really hear her. And here's the deal, like she needs me now because she's disabled and she will call for me. Her voice is not as strong as it used to be. It's not always easy to hear her from upstairs when she calls for me. And so I go upstairs and uh she's really upset that I didn't show up when she called. And she asked me if I've been working in the podcast room and I'm like, "Well, yeah, I've got to get this done." And she just kind of blew her stack, you know, because this is like such a focus of mine. I can't focus on anything else. And I mean, it's good reason. I mean, it's a hard focus. cuz I'm up against some deadlines and things I'm trying to accomplish. But anyway, and so I get mad. I get mad because she's mad at me and I'm like, "Baby, I can't hear you. I'm sorry." And I get mad and I walk away and I need to go back up there for some reason and talk to her. Um, and she managed to get herself dressed and I'm I need to go back up there and I'm sitting down on the couch. I'm sitting downstairs on the couch and I'm thinking I'm thinking about should I be frustrated? Is it legitimate that she's frustrated? How can I I mean, you know what it's like to be married and trying to deal with the strife and the and the wife and you and all this stuff, dude. And so I go back upstairs and she's on the bed. She's got herself dressed and she's sitting there and I sit down next to her and I say, "How can I love you better?" Well, that's what I asked her and she just like her face crumples and she starts to cry. And that's just and I look at her and I say, "Look, I know we have a lot going on. I have a lot going on. you got a lot going on, your stroke. And I said, I do not mean to do things to increase your stress and and I'm sorry and I want to take things away from you that are um that make things more difficult. I want to make them easier and better. And that to me, I didn't really intend to say that. It just kind of came out of my mouth when I asked her that question. But
Seeking Ways to Love Better
it's like that is the primary objective of a Christian husband is to love his wife. Maybe maybe it was unreasonable for her to think that I can hear her while I'm down there working and she's upstairs. So what? Mhm. How can I be a better husband? And that is just I don't remember exactly how we got on this topic, but it's to love my wife and love my kids and do good to my friends and to be to be a Christian and a good example of it. And that's just who I am and what I want to be. I don't need to be anything else. Oh yeah, it was I don't care about the criticisms, but I also don't need the val the validation. I just want to love Jesus and love the people in my circle. Absolutely. And I I can think of when you said that, it hit me really hard. I can think of several relationships in my life where that probably needed to be the thing that I said, "How do I love you better? How can I do this in a way that makes you feel loved and seen and heard?" You know, when you can do that with your with your partner, when you can humble yourself to the point of realizing, hey, maybe my maybe my gripe right now or maybe my stress or maybe my defense right now isn't the main course. Um, that works in a lot of avenues. Yeah, that works in a lot of relationships. that works. And I think it's the older that I get and the further away from what I thought I was going to be, the further the world gets away from what I envisioned it was going to be when I was younger, the more I realize why did I put so much pressure on being something I didn't understand, you know? Um, you got to ask the people in the moment. You got to be present in the moment. you you can't look forward in the future and say, "I'm going to be this type of husband and I'm going to be this type of thing and I'm going to be that type of thing." Because you haven't experienced those moments, you don't know the other variables when you can get down into the thing and say, "What is it that you need? What is it that I can do better?" I think those are the moments that form us. Um, and just trying to do that in everyday conversation with people, man.
Formative Moments and Family Health Struggles
Like I I like I get really weird with certain things. is um I have um you know family members that are stroke survivors and we went through it was bad. Oh, so you know what it's like. It was bad. It was like my my 13th birthday and normally my dad would come and pick me up from school and take me to Red Lobster and that's what we would do. Um and then I get the call over the loudspeaker that was a vastly different call. Your mother's here to get you, you know, and then I go up there and I'm like, what is this? That can't be good. your dad's had a stroke. He's in the hospital. You know, we were thinking everything was over. He was a baseball coach. It was a whole thing. Very active guy. And, you know, then he's having trouble with mobility. He's having to take these medications. He's having he's a he was a totally different person after that fact. Um, I've had this role in my family where I kind of take on the role of caretaker when people are in their final days, you know, and these are things that I've experienced and have made me into who I am have definitely changed a lot of things about how I operate and how I move, how I see myself, how I want things to be. And then when I have general conversations, it is so off-putting sometimes to people to be that vulnerable to be like, "Hey, well, this is, you know, that reminds me of a time when I was going through this with my family." And it's it's always a weird situation to see people like tighten up and get uncomfortable, but there's
Choosing Authenticity Over Legacy
always this really great feeling at the end when you can see somebody come over the hill and say, "Oh, they're doing this. I'm going to do this, too." And they relax. Yeah. and become their self. Um, I kind of think that's kind of part of what you get in your podcast. I think you are yourself and you have these conversations and you don't lead you don't lead them. You know, I think there was something that you said uh in your podcast with Jerry and Duncan where you said, you know, people say you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink, but you can certainly make sure they're thirsty. You can put salt in the oats. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. So, it's one of those situations where um I think by being you and by allowing things to be what they are, I think maybe it's allowing people to be themselves a little more as well. And I think that's something that we need. Yeah. 100%. Just be yourself, man. Unless you can be Batman, then [laughter] in my case, it's Spider-Man. I get it. I get it. So, what is it that you see in the future for for the podcast for Sunday Afternoon Smokes? What What is your hope for the future? I know you're making the video transition. I know you're doing all these things, but instead of leaps and bounds of where it goes as a money maker or as a business or as a thing, where does it go in your mind that makes you feel like it's evolved, that makes you feel like you've reached your next level? I don't know, man. That's a good question. I've never thought of and you see, but that's that's that's how I've operated with Sunday Afternoon Smokes. I don't think in those terms. That's cool. I I don't I again, not to beat a dead horse, but it's just I'm curious about people. So, to stay curious then. Yeah, I guess. So, you just want to stay curious. I just want to sit down with somebody, talk about their business, and discover and let them tell their story and ask questions along the way. Yeah. And just keep doing that, you know? I mean, like the the the podcast was not an accident, but like building this podcast lounge in my house and taking it to video, that was never a goal. It just kind of happened. You know what I mean? But the podcast doesn't change. The format of the podcast stays the same. We're just adding a new element to it. Yeah. you know. So, as far as me like leveling up, I don't plan to level up. You just want to see how it happens. I just as the show grows and new opportunities come along, if they're right, then I'll jump at them. But I don't really have a And I guess it goes back to that whole um parallel you made between me and your grandfather. I'm not trying I'm not trying to level up. I'm not trying to leave a mark. I'm just doing what I do. And if the podcast and my persona and the brand that is being created behind it, if it catches certain people's eye
Staying True to Podcast Roots
and they're like, "Hey, we'd like to have you X, Y, and Z." Well, as long as it's in proper alignment, I'm happy to give it a whirl. But it's not like I'm just not that ambitious. You know what I mean? Yeah. Well, hey, staying curious is a is just as good of an answer as anything else. Yeah. And sometimes like that's what what I like to do is is ask these questions that people are ready for at a time when their mind isn't ready for it. You know what I mean? Because sometimes the simplest answer is is the true one. Mhm. You know, you you don't really want it to be a thing. You just want to be a thing with it. Well, that and that's the you know, that's some of the I think that's some of the wildest um some of the wildest realities of things that happen that are amazing. They're not planned. No. And the whole reason they happen that way is because they are not manufactured. You know, if you are if you are, like I said, man, I want to I'm going to start a podcast and it's going to be awesome and I'm going to make videos and they're going to be great and and I'm going to attain this and I'm going to do that and I'm going to win this award and I want to be I want to be this at this level in the podcast world. Okay. Yeah, that's a I mean, I'm not saying don't go for it. go for it if you want to, but there's going and there's it's going to be a hard accomplishment to get and that's fine. And it's much easier um for me just to be, like I said, for me just to be myself, make the show that I want to make, and if it attracts the right people that want to help me level up, whatever the heck that means, I'm open to giving it a try, you know, but it's not the intended goal. I don't ever because I I mean just to be honest I do think Sunday Afternoon Smokes and the way I run the podcast and the conversations I've had you attended one you said you've listened to a few others and the aesthetic that's coming.
Emerging Aesthetic and Brand Opportunities
I mean I'm going to have a dedicated set um that nobody else I mean not nobody else has at least nobody else in the upstate which is fine. I'm not doing it just to try and be the coolest guy in the upstate. That's not again it's not a goal. But I've in I have intentionally created a very curated room that I think brands will want to live in. And so I think there's real opportunity for me there to to leverage that. But whenever I was making all of it in my mind and running through scenarios and how it might look with chat GPT, I was never thinking to myself like this could get you X, Y, and Z. It's just now that I've really looked at what I've made and how things are going, I think there's the opportunity for that. And if that happens, cool. And if not, like I said, I've got a really cool place in my house to smoke cigars.
Closing Gratitude and Acknowledgments
I [snorts and laughter] mean, that's it. That's a good way to look at it. Chris, I I have thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, man. And I really I really I hope that we get to do like a follow-up point and get to do this again. I'd love to be on your podcast like you asked earlier. Um I think there's a whole lot of stuff we can get into. I think your approach to things and the way that you the way that you just are that that to me is um really easy to get on board with. I feel like um the conversations that you have are wonderful. The direction that you're going is great. Um and even if you don't have a lofty goal for yourself, I certainly have high hopes for you. It's really fun to watch to be on the outside of it looking in. It's really great to watch. So, you're a great person, really good at conversation. Um, and I hope to see a lot more of them. Well, I appreciate it, man. That's all very kind words uh from you. They're humbling and they are appreciated. And I appreciate your support and the support of of um Duncan and Jerry and the whole crew here at Upstate Community Press. And yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys are going to do, too. But I will definitely get you scheduled for an episode. And uh unlike Duncan and
Future Guest Invitation and Scheduling
Jerry, man, you get to come in for like the lounge. They got they got to sit on the on the back patio. I mean, it's not a bad patio. No, it's a great patio. Um but you know, the lounge is now [snorts] that's leveled up. The lounge versus the patio. That's leveled up for sure. So yeah, I mean I appreciate the invitation. I'm so happy to be here and have this conversation with you. It was excellent. This is the first time I've ever been on the other side of the microphone as a guest and so it was very enjoyable and um yeah, let's do it again in the future. Absolutely. We're going to have to do this outside of podcast settings, too, because I feel like there's a lot we can talk about. Yeah. But on the last note, just remind everybody where they can find your stuff. Yeah. So, if you're interested in the cigar box, a mobile hospitality cigar service for the upstate, you can visit
Upcoming Podcast Website Launch
mobilecigarbox.com or you can jump on Instagram, mobilecigarbox. You can shoot me a DM there. As far as Sunday Afternoon Smokes goes, it's on Spotify. It's on Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, it's on Amazon. Um, it's on another little one called Pocketcasts. Uh, video is coming soon. very first. I don't know when this episode will air. You know, I know y'all are building building up a little log. So, by the time people hear this video will already be launched, but first video podcast uh will be dropped April 19th. So, that's I think uh three Sundays away. So, I'm excited about that. And a dedicated podcast website is coming. I already own the I already own the domain just Sunday afternoonsmokes.com. So in the next several weeks um four to six weeks, I don't know. Got to talk to my guy. But that podcast is coming. That podcast website that's on the way.
Final Sign-off and Call to Subscribe
That's fantastic, man. Well, I look forward to it. Um thanks everybody for joining us. Obviously, you heard where to find him. Check him out and uh always come back for more of the Upstate Community Press podcast. Shoots. [music]
