Hustle Recognized Hustle | Carlito Fuente Jr. + Boveda Founders | Box Press Ep. 100

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(upbeat blues music)

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(upbeat blues music fades)

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(soft guitar music)

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- There's a story inside every smoke shop

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with every cigar and with every person.

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Come be a part of the cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

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This is Box Press.

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- It's a real privilege to talk to you.

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And my question to get the ball rolling

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in this sort of a celebration of a friendship

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that's lasted many years, my question is

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what did you think of Sean and Tim when you met them?

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- I thought they were good looking.

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(gents laughing)

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No, no.

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Obviously, they're still very, very good looking

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but, you know, they just come across very easy

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to get to know and eventually get to love.

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You know, it's something that grows, that, you know

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getting to the first day came to me they had an idea

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and I don't recall exactly where it was.

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Could have been a Cigar Aficionado event.

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I don't recall where, but come up with me

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with this event, because I think they have heard that

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or they had read somewhere, probably back then

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was a tobacconist publication for the smoke shops.

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Because back then, I don't even know

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if there was Cigar Aficionado was even speaking

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about humidity or things like that.

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- Probably not.

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- But they saw that I was working with it.

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I had an interest in it, I believed in it.

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And they brought this subject up

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and we just got into a conversation of humidity.

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Humidity in every step

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from the planting of the seed,

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and I'm not exaggerating, all the way

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to when the cigar is removed from the box, fluctuation

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of humidity has, it's incredible the effect it has

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on the overall experience of enjoying a cigar.

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And I recognized that.

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I didn't know how to control it.

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We were the very, very first in the entire cigar industry

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to really create an aging room.

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And we were the very first in the entire cigar industry

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to humidify that aging room and keep it

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at a constant temperature, you know

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365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

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But it wasn't perfect.

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And I knew, and I'm always looking for perfection.

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I knew it wasn't perfect because first of all, I realized

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that some cigars were aging differently than others

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because we have different blends.

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And I didn't really know the reason why.

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But as the company grew

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I started building different aging rooms

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and with different temperatures and different humidities

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because I compare cigar makings a lot

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to a cooking or a chef, a great chef.

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You know, you don't cook a four-inch bone-in ribeye

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at the same temperature and the same length of time

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that you do maybe a two-inch Chilean Sea Bass

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or a one-inch Chilean Sea Bass.

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You adjust it because you know

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the results you want to achieve.

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And they started speaking about, you know

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they started speaking about humidity

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and two-way humidity, which is very important.

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Because normally what's done or was done

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in the industry, things are dry.

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You throw water everywhere

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and hopefully something's absorbed.

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Or you get burlap sacks or you put bags

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I mean, buckets of water, and you put burlap sacks

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or something for it to give off humidity.

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But you have no control of uniformity of that humidity.

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And I remember, if I remember correctly, I go,

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"My god, does this work."

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Obviously, even though after they proved to me

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over years, years coming to visit me

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back and forth, they proved that it worked.

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I ate the solution.

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And you know, I stepped on it and bounced on it

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to see if it was gonna break.

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Because from the moment I met Tim and Sean

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to the moment that we actually sealed the negotiations

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the deal to use the product, it might've been two years.

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And during those two years, my father's phone did

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not stop ringing by critics. Some of them, the most powerful

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and most influential people in the cigar industry

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that their son was crazy,

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that their son is gonna destroy the brand

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because this pack was obviously gonna break

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and it's gonna ruin the cigars.

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And we're gonna have lawsuits and everything against us.

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My father said, "Son, are you sure

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"you know what you're doing?"

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I said, "Dad, I believe in this.

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"This is a solution."

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And I remember that I said,

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"Dad, the cigar industry has a bunch of carts."

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They build all these wagons and carts,

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but nobody's ever decided or found

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out you need a horse to pull it.

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And my father always believed in me.

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He always supported me.

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Never, never, never discouraged me

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for anything I believed in.

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And today, many, many years, many years have gone.

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Almost two decades?

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- Yeah.

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It's been 20 years.

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- 20 years.

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Amazing, huh?

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20 years.

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Basically in the beginning-

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- 22 since you started putting it in the boxes.

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- 22 years since we started putting it.

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Basically, at the launch of Fuente OpusX

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it was a time of my life

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where so many exciting things happened.

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Today,

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a lot of people wish they could use it.

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Because no one could deny it works.

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And no one could deny or diminish the contribution

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that Boveda has done for the world of cigars

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and people who love cigars so much.

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It's unquestionable, it's unchallenged.

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It's definitely the greatest product ever developed.

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It's the greatest product ever introduced,

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the greatest product to ever enter the world of cigars.

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- That's very nice.

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Thank you, that's a compliment.

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- You're welcome, you're welcome.

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- Well, you were very instrumental in helping us establish

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that leadership in the marketplace.

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And, you know, Sean and I talk about all the time

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just your vision and your leadership and your courage

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to do things that are different and outside the box

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to change it, to get things better.

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Just even, you know, taking molds.

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I mean, you could tell that story,

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but how you said there's a better way

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to do molds versus wooden.

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- Yes, that's right.

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But you said were, I still am.

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- Yeah. - Yes.

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- I still am.

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I've never felt more optimistic, more energized.

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My vision is just, you know, and I'm just ready to continue

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to drop napalm continuously and create new things.

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But yeah, the molds, the molds.

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It was impossible to increase productions.

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It was wooden modes.

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But, you know, at one time they used to sail

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across the ocean in wooden ships.

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Today there're no longer those wooden ships put together

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with the old boards and everything

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even though they're beautiful and they're collectible

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and I would like to own one.

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I remember we couldn't make production

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couldn't make shaped cigars

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because no one was making shaped molds.

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That was a thing of the past.

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And it was something that I only saw

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in old black and white photographs of my grandfather.

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And studying the history of cigars

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going back to the heyday, so to speak

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which I think we're living in today.

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But when you go back to the '40s and '50s

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70% of cigars were Figurados.

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But then for decades, it was just not even available.

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No one made them.

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No one was making molds.

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We went to the mold maker, there was only one mold maker,

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Fulgueira, out of Tampa.

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He used to supply the industry.

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First of all, you had to wait a year

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a year and a half to get a mold.

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It was difficult.

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His equipment was so obsolete and old

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that the bushings, he didn't have time to stop it,

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you know, change the bushings and all the things.

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So, you know, the ring gauges were, you know

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they were off and there were variations.

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And, you know, that has fins and they chip.

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You have to be putting it together.

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Plus wood, wood expands and contracts with moisture

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and you need moisture in tobacco.

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But something used to occur

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in the cigar industry that is amazing.

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When we talk about humidity, again,

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everything's around humidity.

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When you press the cigar, you press it

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from the top to bottom.

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Then you rotate a corner turn.

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So you press it again, that other side,

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so you try to get it round.

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And you take any edge off because no matter what

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the pressure's from the top to the bottom.

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And no one realizes that wood absorbs.

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And tobacco has natural essential oils.

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Those oils get in the wood.

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So the binder, before you apply the wrapper

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when you go turn that cigar

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you may have a little sticking and everything.

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And when you turn it, you could get a micro fracture

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or maybe a fracture in the binder.

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So what happens is when you light your cigar

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the heat from the tobacco burning expands.

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But there's a micro fracture in your binder.

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People, something that no one ever thought

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about, with the wood, it would fracture.

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So if you have a delicate wrapper, like a Sumatra

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from Ecuador, or you know, some lower primings

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that are the sweetest part of the plant, or African Cameroon

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or something, there's a chance

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with that expansion, that wrapper will crack.

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We always used to blame the wrapper

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and the tobacco growers and there's a reputation,

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"Oh, the tobacco's very brittle, very brittle."

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It's humidity, but it's also the binder expanding.

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- It's expanding, yes.

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- Since we went from wood to the polymer

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the new type molds, never had that problem again.

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- Amazing. - It's incredible.

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And all you have to do is believe.

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- Yeah. - Believe

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- That's right. - Believe.

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- And you pioneered that.

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When we first started, we would talk

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to anybody who would listen to us.

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And so we met with and literally every major manufacturer

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at that time, but nobody had any reaction

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to it other than no thank you.

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But here we met with the one manufacturer

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that didn't need to do anything differently at the time.

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And I remember when we first met, it was actually in Vegas

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at the RTDA show at that time.

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The first miracle that happened was the fact

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that we were able to get you

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away from the booth at that time.

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To a couple of these young hunks.

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- Same miracle today.

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- In their 20s.

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- Well, I haven't been to my booth, that's why.

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And I intentionally did not go to my booth

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because for the last four days you guys have been been.

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Exactly. - Yeah, that's right.

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That's what we had to do today, too.

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It was a miracle that we got you away.

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But there's one thing that you said

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that was so impactful to both of us.

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You said, "If what you do is just provide humidity,

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"I want nothing to do with you."

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- Yes.

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- But if you do what you say you do

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this is gonna revolutionize the industry.

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- That's correct.

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- And all the other people that we've met

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with in the industry, they don't see that.

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They don't look to benefit and really showcase the passion

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that you and your family do so much

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to say, we can get better.

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And everything that you do in your pursuit is to say

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how do we get even, you know, this much better, and so on.

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That was a big risk for Fuente to step out.

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- Yes, it was. - It was huge.

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And it was like, we have so much gratitude

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for you and your visionary aspect of that

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to bring it on the forefront,

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to really give us credibility at that time.

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And it means the world to us.

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And we were able to stick around

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and be here 26 years later.

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- You know what, I'm very proud.

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I'm very honored of our friendship above everything.

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And if you two wouldn't have been as impressive

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and good looking, and I didn't mistake you

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for a movie star, I would never have spoken

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more than three words with you.

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(gents laughing)

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But no, it's grown beyond that.

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It's a family relationship, it's a friendship.

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And it's something that's been beneficial not only

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for our mutual companies, but for the world.

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And that's what we do.

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I mean, that's what we want to do.

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That's what we strive for, is share the love.

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And how better way could you share that love

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than protecting the products?

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Just like you protect your children.

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- Yeah. - Yeah.

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- And the cigars are like my children.

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And to have the opportunity of something

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that protects them and hands them, allows them

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to properly age,

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- Yes, that's right.

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- Without losing the essential oils

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that give you the aromas and flavors,

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it is a win-win for everybody.

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- Amen to that.

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- Amen, amen, absolutely.

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- Amen. - Well, in part,

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you know, in the great part we talked

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about the friendship, but over these past 22 years is

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that you are just, you are a real person

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that has a heart for other people, as well.

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And you do that in so many other areas.

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But we've recognized that just in our relationship to you.

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- Well, I wanna also thank you for all the years

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that not only physically, but you have

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financially supported Cigar Family Charitable Foundation

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of this, you know, as you know, a 501(c)(3) foundation

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that 100% of the raised goes directly to help the children,

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everything from health through education

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through just life skills and so forth.

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And you've been very much involved in supporting that.

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I want to thank you and the entire Boveda team

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and everybody you reach and everything

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because without being able to achieve a great product

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and reach the people, you're not able to give back.

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But I believe in life that you, I've been blessed

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with this opportunity, this privilege.

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I have the obligation to share that

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with the rest of the world and those in need especially.

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So, you know, thank you for being a big part of it

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both of you and, of course, your entire team and everything.

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- Well, it's an honor to do, you know, what little part

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that we do and can, compared to everything else,

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but it's just an honor.

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We remember the transition of the foundation

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you know, when that whole thing started.

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And the idea was already hatched,

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but now everything was in motion.

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And when you were buying land and negotiating all

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of that, remembering back to that time

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and seeing where it has today and the level of work

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and effort that has been put in it is run so professionally.

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It's just absolutely amazing.

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- No question.

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- And then to meet the little children there

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when they're older, seeing them when they're younger

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but then older and they've become doctors, dentists

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and professionals, and they're so educated.

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And if people had the opportunity that we had

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to see what it was like in that region, in Bonao

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before that development of that,

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it is absolutely life-changing and so impactful.

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And it's just so neat to see.

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- There was no running water, no electricity, no schools.

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It was the most violent community

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in the entire Dominican Republic

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where criminals used to hide

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because there was no law enforcement.

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We did not know it's surrounded by gold and nickel mines.

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We just knew they were the richest

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and most fertile soils in the Dominican Republic,

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and, I believe, the Caribbean.

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We went there, but once we were in

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and committed, you know, we had a reputation.

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And everybody said we're gonna fail.

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It was impossible to achieve what we wanted

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to grow a wrapper, not only establish one

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of the most sought after trademarks in the world,

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you know, definitely for premium cigars,

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but we didn't know what we were walking

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to this social conflict and just disaster.

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And within the six months, you know, children were coming

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up to us, barefoot in a hand-me-down clothes,

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looking for work, six and seven years old.

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And I said, "Why aren't you in school?"

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They said, "There are no schools."

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And their parents putting pressure on us and say,

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"If my children don't,

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"if you don't give them work, they don't eat."

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They have to find something in chores to do

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so they could eat that day.

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And it was incredible.

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We started with the idea of small little classroom.

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It turned into a 26-acre project.

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And as Sean was saying, and Tim

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these children that were looking for chores or jobs

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to be able to eat are now doctors, teachers, engineers

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entrepreneurs, have their own companies.

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But they don't go to New York

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or Chicago or leaving to a major city

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like a lot of people want to do to escape this misery,

Speaker: 00:16:37

they come back to their community

Speaker: 00:16:38

because one thing we teach them

Speaker: 00:16:39

the philosophy of giving back.

Speaker: 00:16:41

You've been given a gift by big hearted people.

Speaker: 00:16:44

You have a responsibility to give it back.

Speaker: 00:16:46

And it multiplies.

Speaker: 00:16:48

And that community was the most violent community.

Speaker: 00:16:50

Today you see people with gardens that didn't exist, lawns.

Speaker: 00:16:54

People are building. Students who are professional now

Speaker: 00:16:57

going back and building homes for their parents

Speaker: 00:16:59

with double-pane windows for hurricanes with electric gates.

Speaker: 00:17:03

You know, teachers.

Speaker: 00:17:04

The teachers and the some of the teachers

Speaker: 00:17:05

in school graduated from that school.

Speaker: 00:17:07

Some of the doc, the doctor that goes there,

Speaker: 00:17:09

he's a medical graduate.

Speaker: 00:17:11

It's incredible.

Speaker: 00:17:12

It's the greatest gift of life is to have the opportunity

Speaker: 00:17:15

and to be able to give and to see the results

Speaker: 00:17:18

that you could achieve.

Speaker: 00:17:19

It's a miracle, that's really what it's all about.

Speaker: 00:17:21

- That's right. - Yes.

Speaker: 00:17:22

Absolutely.

Speaker: 00:17:23

- For people that can't see it, it is truly, it's amazing.

Speaker: 00:17:28

- Well, I'm just gonna say one thing.

Speaker: 00:17:29

You know, you're speaking about this.

Speaker: 00:17:30

God speaks to us in many different ways.

Speaker: 00:17:33

Too many times I've been called by my cleaners

Speaker: 00:17:35

because they're very honorable people.

Speaker: 00:17:37

I just realized, I had just realized, and thank God

Speaker: 00:17:41

because today's the last day of the show

Speaker: 00:17:43

I would've gone home with a $20,000 check.

Speaker: 00:17:48

I just realized I haven't given it

Speaker: 00:17:49

to the CFO of Cigar Family yet,

Speaker: 00:17:51

a $20,000 check for Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.

Speaker: 00:17:55

Before you know it, who knows, man,

Speaker: 00:17:56

it might have been ruined.

Speaker: 00:17:57

I would've forgotten about it.

Speaker: 00:17:59

So thanks for reminding me.

Speaker: 00:18:01

(gents laughing)

Speaker: 00:18:03

Dallas!

Speaker: 00:18:05

Here, pass this to Dallas because I'll forget again.

Speaker: 00:18:08

- Make sure that gets there.

Speaker: 00:18:09

- Thank you.

Speaker: 00:18:10

- Oh my God, thank you all.

Speaker: 00:18:11

Listen, I could speak to you for hours and hours.

Speaker: 00:18:14

There's just so many stories we could all to share together.

Speaker: 00:18:17

Yeah, it's really, it's not about the cigars

Speaker: 00:18:19

it's about the people.

Speaker: 00:18:21

And I, again, I'm very privileged and honored

Speaker: 00:18:23

to have been blessed with this relationship,

Speaker: 00:18:27

which is really is something spectacular.

Speaker: 00:18:29

So I want to thank each and every one of you

Speaker: 00:18:31

and just everyone who supported Boveda

Speaker: 00:18:34

who believed in Boveda, and, you know.

Speaker: 00:18:37

- Thank you.

Speaker: 00:18:38

- Carlito, thank you so much.

Speaker: 00:18:39

- And, you know, keep doing what you're doing, man.

Speaker: 00:18:41

Just keep humidifying the world, man,

Speaker: 00:18:42

and keep us young and fresh.

Speaker: 00:18:44

(soft music)