Episode 142
Adam Levine | League Of Fat Bastards Cigars Contribute to Mental Well-Being | Box Press Ep. 142
This cigar podcast could save your or a loved one's life.
Following his own mental health crisis, Adam Levine founded the League of Fat Bastards Cigars. The boutique Nicaraguan cigar brand gives away 40% of its profits to men's mental health initiatives; hosts events where men can get real about their lives; and encourages intentional discussions about mental health over cigars.
Interview by Drew Emmer at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry.
What is Boveda? League Of Fat Bastards Cigars recommends Boveda 2-way humidity control for wherever you store cigars. Boveda preserves the flavor and character of premium cigars by keeping them at ideal humidity. Boveda prevents cigars from drying out and mold growth. With Boveda in your humidor, you'll enjoy full flavor and a perfect smoke from every cigar.
Feel better about storing cigars, use Boveda. Click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0
00:00 This is Box Press
00:24 How did the League of Fat Bastards Cigars get its name?
00:45 Creating space for men to chew the fat
01:23 Organize cigar events with celebs and athletes to normalize mental health struggles
01:47 LOFB Cigars gives back 40% of profits to men's mental health groups
02:15 Using cigar smoking as therapy
03:10 Living in London in the heyday of Cuban Cigars
03:34 Adam Levine had a severe mental breakdown
04:46 Create a movement to help men live their best lives
05:16 Only cigar brand produced over Zoom?
05:51 The Goldilocks cigar blend, Serie L made in Nicaragua
06:40 League of Fat Bastards is an everyman cigar on purpose
07:06 What cigar should your first cigar be?
07:26 Discover the joy of cigars and provide an opportunity for men to open up emotionally
09:20 Why did this happen FOR me?
10:56 LOFB Cigars packaged with Boveda
11:50 Reusing Boveda packets from cigar boxes
12:22 Keeping cigars at the perfect humidity maintains their condition
13:13 If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988
Transcript
- I like that.
Speaker:Hey, you can sing; I like that.
Speaker:He's got a sweet voice.
Speaker:♪ I get so emotional, baby ♪
Speaker:- Maybe that was my calling.
Speaker:- Yeah, I think you missed that, man.
Speaker:- And here I am at PCA
talking to Adam Levine.
Speaker:And this is, without question,
Speaker:the most enjoyable thing
that I'm gonna say all day.
Speaker:- Yes sir.
Speaker:- The League of Fat Bastards.
Speaker:- Thank you kindly.
Speaker:- You gotta tell this story.
Speaker:How did that happen,
League of Fat Bastards?
Speaker:- Okay, so I think the best way
Speaker:to introduce the whole concept
Speaker:is to firstly understand
our mission of why we exist.
Speaker:100% of the reason why we exist
Speaker:is to make a positive global
impact on men's mental health.
Speaker:The name League of Fat
Bastards, very simple,
Speaker:comes from our belief that
we need to find a new way
Speaker:for men to chew the fat, right?
Speaker:So chewing the fat, little bit
of an Aussie colloquialism,
Speaker:- Ah, chewing the fat.
- It's sitting down,
Speaker:and chewing the fat,
having a conversation.
Speaker:- We're chewing the fat!
Speaker:- We're chewing the fat right now, man.
Speaker:- Right now in real time.
Speaker:- In between you singing
and sort of serenading me
Speaker:and telling me how nice
I smell, which I love.
Speaker:It's all good, and I appreciate that.
Speaker:So, seriously the whole
brand is predicated 100%
Speaker:around supporting men's mental health.
Speaker:It's a very serious
process that we go through.
Speaker:We do that primarily
through organizing a range
Speaker:of on-premise events,
where we will bring in
Speaker:high profile individuals,
sportspeople, personalities,
Speaker:and get them to share their journey
Speaker:that they've been through
Speaker:so that it can start to
normalize that conversation
Speaker:amongst the men that are there.
Speaker:So the other really important
part of what we do, Drew,
Speaker:is that we give back
40%, that's 4-0 percent.
Speaker:- Four zero?
Speaker:- Four zero percent of
the profits that we make
Speaker:from the sale of our cigars
Speaker:to NGOs and organizations
that support war vets,
Speaker:that support first responders,
that support nurses,
Speaker:medical staff, EMTs-
Speaker:- All those trauma people.
Speaker:- All those individuals who
are of service to others
Speaker:but are suffering themselves.
Speaker:- So we believe that there's
an opportunity for us
Speaker:to use the camaraderie around cigars
Speaker:as a way of creating a
movement to help others
Speaker:deal with that trauma.
Speaker:- Beautiful.
Speaker:- That's the core mission,
man; that's what we're about.
Speaker:It's very simple.
Speaker:- And with that being said,
Speaker:if that's your purpose,
Speaker:if your primary purpose is
not to sell a pile of cigars-
Speaker:- No, you're wrong!
Speaker:Our primary purpose, and I'm gonna swear,
Speaker:is to sell a shit-load of cigars.
Speaker:Because the more cigars we
sell, the more profit we make,
Speaker:the more money we give back!
- More money you give
Speaker:to the cause, yeah.
Speaker:- Oh my God, I wanna sell
Speaker:millions of cigars.
- So how'd you get
Speaker:onto cigars in the first place?
Speaker:- So, yeah, interesting story,
Speaker:I started in cigars being
a passionate cigar smoker
Speaker:when I was 25 years old.
Speaker:I'm 53, thank you very much.
Speaker:- You look good.
Speaker:- Thank you very much.
Speaker:- Yeah, nicely done.
Speaker:- Thank you.
Speaker:And I was living in London
with my wife at the time,
Speaker:and it was the heyday of the Cuban cigars,
Speaker:and I was living in a very famous street
Speaker:called Jermyn Street, J-E-R-M-Y-N,
Speaker:where JJ Fox [James J Fox] is.
Speaker:And I remember going in
there for the first time.
Speaker:I was blown away.
Speaker:Long story short,
Speaker:that passion continued
all the way through,
Speaker:but the reality is that in 2019,
Speaker:I had a very severe
mental episode, myself.
Speaker:I had a breakdown, and I was suicidal,
Speaker:and it was a very difficult period for me.
Speaker:But part of the recovery
process, believe it or not,
Speaker:was some lessons that were told to me
Speaker:around how to get through that.
Speaker:A couple of those were things like,
Speaker:"Adam, stop and smell the roses."
Speaker:"Adam, don't be afraid to be selfish
Speaker:"and take some time out
to be kind to yourself."
Speaker:"Adam, find an opportunity
to declutter your life.
Speaker:Make things simple."
Speaker:And amazingly for me,
Speaker:I was actually able to
achieve those things
Speaker:when I was sitting and enjoying my cigars,
Speaker:stopping to smell the roses,
obviously appreciating,
Speaker:being mindful about the 300
hands that touch the cigar
Speaker:all the way through the process,
Speaker:enjoying conversations with men,
Speaker:other buddies who were cigar aficionados
Speaker:or cigar connoisseurs.
Speaker:And so, when I got through the
other side of that process,
Speaker:I suddenly thought, hey, why
don't we do something positive?
Speaker:Let's do something different with cigars.
Speaker:Why can't we use that as an opportunity
Speaker:to create a movement of people
Speaker:who want to help men get through life,
Speaker:and live their best life into the future?
Speaker:So that's what was the instigation.
Speaker:That's how we started it.
Speaker:- When did you start this?
Speaker:- We officially launched in the U.S.
Speaker:on the 17th of February.
Speaker:We've been distributing
for a little while in Asia
Speaker:out of Singapore,
Speaker:but it had been a two-year project.
Speaker:I think we're probably
the only cigar brand
Speaker:that's been produced over Zoom
Speaker:because I was in Australia
and Joya, as you know,
Speaker:up in Nicaragua, and it was
the back end of the pandemic,
Speaker:so there was no travel.
Speaker:So Juan Martínez is just
the most amazing individual.
Speaker:That family is fantastic.
Speaker:I can't tell you how appreciative I am
Speaker:of them and what they've done.
Speaker:They're great people.
Speaker:They, basically, would send me samples,
Speaker:and then, Juan and I would
be on the Zoom together,
Speaker:and we'd actually be
talking through the blends.
Speaker:And we did that through about
Speaker:sort of 10 or 15 different blends,
Speaker:and we came to what I
call the Goldilocks Blend.
Speaker:So it's something-
Speaker:- This is the Goldilocks Blend?
Speaker:- That's what I call it.
Speaker:- The Serie L.
Speaker:- Serie L.
Speaker:- So the Goldilocks Blend, Serie L,
Speaker:we're gonna have a Serie
O, we'll have a Serie F,
Speaker:we'll have a Serie B, yeah?
Speaker:- But the Goldilocks
Blend for this, for me...
Speaker:Well, you tell me.
Speaker:- No, I'm impressed.
- You tell me.
Speaker:- This is a delicious cigar.
Speaker:Immediately my brain starts
going, okay, who's making it?
Speaker:I have-
Speaker:- Well, it's Joya that makes it.
Speaker:Joya de Nicaragua, right?
Speaker:So they're the manufacturers.
Speaker:So it's got a 100%
Nicaraguan filler and binder,
Speaker:so mixture of Estelí and
Jalapa filler and binder.
Speaker:It's got an Ecuadorian
Habanos: Speaker:- It's yummy.
Speaker:- Thank you so much, and that's the idea.
Speaker:The idea was, and I call it Goldilocks,
Speaker:so I wanted it to be an everyman cigar
Speaker:because importantly for
us, given our mission,
Speaker:we wanted to be able to cater
for both those individuals
Speaker:who were rare cigar enthusiasts,
Speaker:and those that were
serious cigar enthusiasts.
Speaker:So someone that would enjoy
cigars on an irregular basis
Speaker:wouldn't find this offensive.
Speaker:They would say it's approachable.
Speaker:They would say it's not-
Speaker:- Well, you're not gonna get blown away
Speaker:if you've never had a cigar,
Speaker:and you end up having your first.
Speaker:If this is your first cigar,
Speaker:you're gonna love cigars
for the rest of your life.
Speaker:- Thank you.
Speaker:I really, really, really-
Speaker:I can't tell you how much
effort was put into that.
Speaker:- That's accessible.
Speaker:I think that's all
about, creating something
Speaker:where you can discover the joy of cigars.
Speaker:It's interesting because
Joya de Nicaragua,
Speaker:the joy of Nicaragua.
- Absolutely.
Speaker:- You're talking about,
discovering the joy of cigars.
Speaker:And we've had more than a
few people sit in that chair
Speaker:and repeat the mantra in this industry:
Speaker:This is not a cigar.
Speaker:This is a moment in time
shared between friends.
Speaker:That's gold!
Speaker:- Absolutely.
Speaker:- Especially if guys get real.
Speaker:- And that's what I wanna do.
Speaker:I wanna take it to the next level
Speaker:because the camaraderie
in the cigar sector
Speaker:and the cigar industry is
strong, as you know, right?
Speaker:So for us, for me, it was
an obvious avenue for me
Speaker:to use that camaraderie
to provide the education
Speaker:and to provide the opportunity
for people to then open up.
Speaker:The problem is that guys
get together, you know,
Speaker:we'll have a drink, we'll have a chat.
Speaker:Sometimes things come out,
sometimes they don't come out.
Speaker:But as you know, in a social
circumstance, it's interesting.
Speaker:He or she who talks first
Speaker:generally sets the tone
of the conversation,
Speaker:and so our aim is when we
have our guest speakers
Speaker:and we go deep quick,
Speaker:it brings that mood into a serious state
Speaker:where it's deep quick
so people can open up.
Speaker:We also provide,
interestingly, online resources
Speaker:where people can actually, you know,
Speaker:go to read a little bit about, understand.
Speaker:We're gonna create actual
physical location resources
Speaker:where people will be
able to get information.
Speaker:So we want to create this community
Speaker:where not only are you enjoying the cigar,
Speaker:not only are you learning to open up,
Speaker:but you actually have additional resources
Speaker:that can go back as well, right?
Speaker:So it's a closed-end solution.
Speaker:- Chewing the fat.
Speaker:- Love it, man.
Speaker:- Beautiful.
Speaker:What a great idea.
Speaker:- Thank you so much.
Speaker:- What a unique angle on what
cigars can do for people.
Speaker:- And d'you know, it's funny you say for.
Speaker:So this is a really interesting concept,
Speaker:and everyone should try this.
Speaker:So we all go through shit
times, a 100%, right?
Speaker:We all have a shitty day.
Speaker:There's all that crap happens,
Speaker:and we say, "Oh, why the
hell did this happen?"
Speaker:You know, "Oh, woe is me, woe is me."
Speaker:You know, "Why me?"
Speaker:Rather than saying, why
did this happen to me,
Speaker:I think we need to change that and say,
Speaker:why did this happen for me.
Speaker:So you look at a circumstance
like we went through,
Speaker:or I went through, and I sort
of say it was a terrible,
Speaker:terrible dark place, but
I look back and I say,
Speaker:well, why did this happen for me?
Speaker:And I can see now why it happened for me
Speaker:because it gave me the opportunity
Speaker:to create this amazing brand
Speaker:and to start to do some good in the world.
Speaker:You know, when people say they
finally found their purpose?
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:You found your purpose.
Speaker:- I reckon I have.
Speaker:- That's beautiful.
Speaker:- And quite genuinely, and I love it.
Speaker:And it's so important to me
to be able to be passionate
Speaker:and interested in something.
Speaker:I can't believe that we can,
Speaker:that I can do something like this
Speaker:and also create some good in the world.
Speaker:Like it really fills me with joy.
Speaker:I've got-
- No, it's terrific.
Speaker:It's terrific.
Speaker:It's League of Fat Bastards.
Speaker:40% of the profits, sales of this product
Speaker:are going to support those
Speaker:that have been traumatized
in our emergency services.
Speaker:- Correct, those that serve us.
Speaker:- Veterans, people that have served us.
Speaker:We're gonna serve them back,
Speaker:give them an opportunity to talk.
Speaker:Oh, and look at this!
Speaker:- Boveda.
Speaker:- They're packaged with Boveda!
Speaker:- And we do that, and I have to say,
Speaker:the Boveda company, how
do you pronounce it?
Speaker:- I say Boveda, but we
don't care what you say.
Speaker:- You don't care?
Speaker:- No, you can say-
Speaker:- the "B Company."
Speaker:- The B Company.
Speaker:- The B company, the big B?
Speaker:- The big B.
Speaker:- The big B, the one we all love,
Speaker:have been amazing in their support for us.
Speaker:- Be the B.
Speaker:- Be the B! (laughs)
Speaker:I gotta say, seriously, the
crew that you guys have got
Speaker:are fantastic.
Speaker:They're a great team.
Speaker:They're a hundred percent
supportive of what we're doing.
Speaker:We actually deliberately decided in this,
Speaker:and I'm gonna take a big risk right now-
Speaker:- Go ahead.
Speaker:- And open this box.
Speaker:Ah, look at that!
Speaker:So we have in here
Speaker:a large 69.
Speaker:- Yeah, it's good.
Speaker:And it's still supple;
it's hanging in there.
Speaker:- So what we decided though,
was to put the large bag in,
Speaker:Not the small.
Speaker:A lot of retailers will use
the smaller sort of bags,
Speaker:which is fine.
Speaker:- But they can repurpose this.
Speaker:They take it out of this box,
they put it in their humidor,
Speaker:they can-
Speaker:- Exactly, it's gonna
last for a long time.
Speaker:Talk about repurpose,
it's very interesting.
Speaker:I saw a photo from someone
who had bought a box of ours,
Speaker:and I saw them with a
whole range of cigars
Speaker:in one of the League
of Fat Bastards boxes,
Speaker:and I thought that was so cool.
Speaker:People are reusing our box
Speaker:because it's a nice
cool little box you can-
Speaker:- It's a very cool box.
Speaker:- It's got the, you know,
the magnetic sort of open.
Speaker:But for us, you know, the
humidification process
Speaker:is actually quite a serious business
Speaker:because number one, it's
about quality, right?
Speaker:So in my mind, people can
get interested in the cigar
Speaker:because of obviously our
mission and what we do,
Speaker:but people will come
back and buy the cigar
Speaker:because it's a good cigar.
Speaker:And part of that is making
sure the product we deliver
Speaker:to our customers, to our
clients, is in perfect condition,
Speaker:is maintained well, and clearly,
Speaker:the right humidification is part of that,
Speaker:particularly as we're
shipping around the world
Speaker:and moving things around.
Speaker:So, our partnership with
Boveda is super important,
Speaker:and we really do appreciate it.
Speaker:- What a privilege for us
to be involved in this.
Speaker:You know, we love Juan Martinez
Speaker:and all the people at Joya de Nicaragua.
Speaker:They're class act.
Speaker:I'm thrilled to have a chance to meet you
Speaker:and talk about this very unique angle
Speaker:on what cigars can do for us.
Speaker:(groovy music)
