Sticks and Stories

Part 1: PHX Cigar Week - Smoke 'N the Desert Talk

• Sticksandstories • Season 2 • Episode 10

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0:00 | 46:27

Cigars:

Stories: 

In this episode, the group (Keake, Brian and myself -Tina) combine to learn more about each other's flavor palette, discuss how Smoke in the Desert was coined and its inaugural year. The panel further discusses how smoking can be a social, loner activity and provide some integrity in a diverse and unfamiliar environment.  Then more on... 

This episode was recorded at Dragon's Lounge in Mesa, AZ - June 2026.  


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For audiences 21 and older. 

Tina

I'm just kidding. Hi, welcome to Sticks and Stories. This is our next episode of Sticks and Stories. Normally we have Gary or Lonnie on, but, Gary couldn't make it today and Lonnie has to work, so it's just me. And today I'm hosting a special guest with, Red Level Entertainment. If you guys can introduce yourselves. I'm so sorry. Yeah. I'm having a brain fart, but yeah. It's okay. Are you... But you're not with Red Level Entertainment? We're gonna tell you all about it. Okay.

Brian

So greetings, everybody. I'm Brian Thompson. I'm the owner and founder of Red Level Entertainment and one of the founders of Smoke in the Desert, PHX Cigar Week. Red Level Entertainment is a entertainment and marketing company that's been around for the last 26 years where we help create cultural events to the city that we're in and across the country, and we help businesses increase their brand and awareness and ticket sales come hosting events. Smoke in the Desert is, it's a weekend of- Four days, 10 events in one hell of a weekend,

Tina

And lots of fun I hear. Yes.

Brian

Yes,

Tina

yes.

Brian

Lots of flair and lots of fun. We bring people from all over the co- the country and show them the Arizona cigar culture

Keoki

Guys, what's up? Hey, man, hey, man. My name is Keyaki, and I am the founder of Wrapped in Smoke. Wrapped in Smoke and Wrapped in Smoke Cigar Club. Fully into that, but anyway. What Wrapped in Smoke is is we encourage women to wear their hair wrapped when they smoke cigars or whatever it is that you smoke, marijuana or cigarettes or whatever you smoke, to keep the smoke out of your hair. I say put some smoke in the air, not in your hair. Teach women how to wrap all the different fun styles and all that. But really, people want to be in this community, but they don't like the way that it's done with Tamala. And so we just kinda teach women about that, which-

Tina

Especially when your locks

Keoki

Yeah. Yeah. It's locks and braids, it's still your hair It's small. Mm-hmm. You know, I Right now, today, I, I'm doing the little pineapple style, and it's so, so cute. I'm gonna cry when I go in the car because I'm gonna have to go wash my hair. Yeah. But it's okay. It's fine. It's

Tina

fine. We make it fun. I am one of the co-founders of Smoke in the Desert. And just like Fran

Keoki

said, we have four days, 10 events, one hell of a weekend. We love, love, love to share the culture and community here in Phoenix. We have the third-largest cigar community in the nation, and some people don't know that. And so we just wanna share that. We wanna let you guys know about all of the cigar-friendly restaurants and bars, all of the cigar lounges that we have here. Oh,

Tina

we're gonna talk about that towards the end-

Keoki

Oh, yeah

Tina

for sure. Okay. 'Cause there's some stuff that I don't know about

Keoki

still. There is. Yeah. A lot going on out here in Phoenix. Phoenix is a destination city. People come here to vacation. People come here to retire. People come here for a good time. And for cigar smokers, brothers and sisters of the Leaf, we've got a really good time for you out here. So in October, when it's still really beautiful, still really warm, but in the rest of the country it's getting chilly, you can still come and enjoy some summer-esque vibes. And then we, we try to switch it up every year. We try to add some new things and, and so that you're not bored with it. And we have so much out here that we can do a lot.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

And so we just wanna show you what we have. And, and people love it. And once they come to Smoke in the Desert, then they come back to Phoenix to visit. Mm-hmm. And hit us up when you're coming out here. We'll come meet you out. We'll smoke with you, put some smoke in the air. It's a good time.

Tina

Also what's up, yay. My little buttons. Okay. So usually, just like I was saying before, we don't really have a format per se. We just, kinda talk about our cigars first and then talk about our businesses. So we've, gotten over the introductions. You guys know me. I'm Tina of Sticks and Stories, of course. And, Lonnie, by the way, he does wrap his 'cause he has dreads- Yeah and stuff too. He absolutely hates getting the smoke in his hair.

Keoki

And that is a thing too. I always say women, but men too. Yeah. Like, so men wear wraps too. Um, and that's actually something that I'm, I'm looking forward to promoting more, is that men wear wraps too. You can wrap your hair and keep that smoke out of your hair. My son wraps his hair when, you know, when he smokes. My, my son smokes marijuana, so- It, it really just helps keep that after effect of- Mm-hmm you having a good time, right? You, you still got a little hit

Tina

tomorrow. And, and you don't have to wash so much, so. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

Keoki

Um, the maintenance of it. Keep those oils. Yeah.

Brian

Yeah. I feel like I'm a little different. I, I feel like it's the, or the smoke is part of the lifestyle. I don't know

Keoki

But also you're a promoter and, like, you make your own schedule. You run your own business. Yeah, it's a little different. You don't have to necessarily be- Be

Tina

around people. Yeah

Keoki

ah, where you don't wanna be. Well, yeah.

Tina

Yeah,

Keoki

yeah, yeah. Right. So, like, when, when I started smoking, I started smoking about six years ago, during COVID days. Yeah. And, my kids were still in high school and stuff. I'm going to parent-teacher conferences, and doing this and that, and little meetings or whatever with teachers and stuff like that. I don't need them to know what I do in my personal life. I don't need to come in there like, "Oh, you just left the lounge. Okay."

Tina

All right. So I wrap my hair, and then when I leave the lounge, I take my wraps off.

Keoki

Yeah. Shake it out and brush my teeth and go on about my business, you

Tina

know? So how long have you been smoking? Just six years. Yeah,

Keoki

okay. Literally during COVID days., I always tell my little origin story. I went on a date with a guy during COVID and he took me to a cigar lounge. Took me to Fox.

Tina

Oh, okay.

Keoki

And it was COVID days, so it was it, not the Fox that- Yeah we know today. Yeah. Right? And, taught me how to cut, how to light, how to draw. Oh. And was very, very patient with me. I didn't smoke at all. I didn't smoke cigarettes- Yeah or marijuana, anything. Yeah. I had tried hookah once or twice, but, it's like, eh. Um- And it was so relaxing to me. And so, like, I'm very much a busy bee and here, there, and everywhere, and all the things I have to do, and it was an hour of me just sitting down and enjoying time to myself. Whether I'm communicating- Yeah, yeah with people or even vibing with people- Yeah but still, I don't have to be checking my emails. Yeah.

Tina

I'm not running around doing

Keoki

all kinds of things. And it was so great to me that I went to a cigar lounge.

Tina

It puts you on pause. Yes. It- I love it. Definitely. Yeah,

Keoki

yeah. The first Cigar Week that I went to was so amazing to me. I invited a bunch of people. They didn't come. I went by myself, and when I got there, the founders of that Cigar Week was like, "You came all the way from Arizona to just be here?" Yeah. And I was like, "Yeah." Like, "By yourself?" "Yes." And had the best time.

Tina

Where was that?

Keoki

In Charlotte.

Tina

Oh, okay

Keoki

so that was way back in the day.

Tina

Way- They have a big cigar scene. They do. Especially a lot of women-

Keoki

Yeah

Tina

smokers out there.

Keoki

Yeah. And, and after that, it, it was a good time. Then one of the founders reached out to me and was like, "Hey, Kiaki, I want you to be one of our brand ambassadors."

Tina

Mm.

Keoki

And I was like, "I just started smoking. I don't know anything about anything." They're like, "That's why."

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

And, and ever since then, I've, been a brand ambassador for, Charlotte Cigar Week until we started Smoking in the Desert. And then I was like, "Hey, I got one more year free," but then I got my own cigar week. And so now I gotta focus on that. But-

Tina

you know,

Keoki

it's all love, you know?

Tina

That's what's up. It's about really good

Keoki

fun. And but just, kinda getting into that culture and community is really, really dope. Yeah. And I was like, we got way more lounges. We have a bigger community out here. We have all these things. Why don't we have this out here? And so we started that.

Tina

So w- you, you were part of the original- Of the original crew foundation. Oh my. Yeah. Oh my God. So tell me about that a little bit, 'cause I mean, I know we're gonna talk about cigars in a little bit, but tell me, 'cause I w- this is like juicy, juicy, juicy. I really wanna know. I really wanna know like how did it like,, come about? How did you guys run into each other? How did it actually form? Okay.

Brian

So Smoke in the Desert is, well, is little- It was a idea that came about in 2019. I had just moved here from Chicago and I was at, uh, on the s-

Tina

Look at everybody moving during COVID.

Keoki

Right.

Brian

No, so I moved, I moved about six months before COVID. Before COVID.

Tina

Well, before they said- Yeah it was a pand- Yeah but we already knew it was gonna be coming. Yeah. Yeah. Coming.

Brian

Yeah. Yeah. So I moved in August, 2019. Mm-hmm. I'm at the cigar lounge smoking. I'm starting to meet people here and I met this guy named Angel, who Angel had a friend called Cigar Safes. He-

Tina

Okay

Brian

he converted electric wine coolers into electric humidors.

Tina

Oh, that's what's up.

Brian

Yeah. And then- He's

Tina

still got that?

Keoki

No.

Brian

No.

Tina

He's gonna tell you the story. Okay.

Brian

So I, I began helping Angel do his marketing for his business and we, he came, same idea that most people have here. Phoenix is the third largest cigar community. Why don't we have a cigar week? He was like, "I got a idea for you. Um, Smoke the Desert." And he's like, "Think of kind of like Big Smoke, like Rocky Mountain, but here in Phoenix." Hmm. And so I'm like, "Yeah, it's cool. I like it." He was like, "Well, let's team up and do it." So we partnered and we started the business. We began to start looking for venues.

Tina

Mm-hmm.

Brian

Then COVID hit.

Tina

Mm-hmm.

Brian

Yeah. So that paused everything over the last couple years and 2022 Angel passed suddenly. And so- Oh you know, that kinda- Mm-hmm stopped things for a little while. Mm. However, during that time, just me being me and being out and about talking to people, the idea for Phoenix to have a cigar week has already, was, was being talked about. Right. But nobody was actively- Yeah doing it, so.

Tina

So it was like a little buzz. Yeah. But like, yeah. Everybody's

Keoki

talking about it and nobody's doing it.

Brian

Yeah.

Tina

Okay.

Brian

That's-

Tina

That's, that's how things go. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta get some people that can, uh, organize. Right. Right, right.

Brian

So, you know, met Keaki at Cigar Lounge at Puro.

Tina

Mm.

Brian

Talking about Charlotte Cigar Week and-

Tina

Gus

Brian

Hamlett.

Tina

Yeah. Yep. Okay.

Brian

And we talked about Smoke in the Desert.

Tina

Mm.

Brian

We talked about it for probably a year. At least.

Tina

Who, who came up with the name?

Brian

So my partner Angel came up with the

Tina

name. Oh, he did originally. Okay.

Brian

Yeah, my partner Angel came up with the name.

Tina

Okay. That's what's up.

Brian

Yeah. And so, um, I'm like, "Well, we already got a name," 'cause I mean, like I say, the, the business was formed. Mm-hmm. It was just a matter of, transitioning. So we talked about it for, like I say, over a year.

Tina

Mm-hmm.

Brian

One day we were at- Cigar Lounge Maduros East for a party that one of our friends was hosting.

Tina

Mm-hmm.

Brian

After the party, we came back to my house. We were sitting in the backyard. It's like 4:00, 5:00 in the morning.

Tina

All right.

Brian

And Phoenix Cigar Week came up again. So I'm the type of person that I don't like to just continue to talk about things. Mm-hmm. If we're gonna do stuff, let's- You talk

Tina

about it. Me too do about it. Me too. Nothing to talk about. Me too. That's, this is me.

Brian

Me. So it's 5:00 in the morning. I said, "We gonna do this thing." So we set some hard deadlines of-

Tina

Mm-hmm

Brian

some deliverables if we're gonna do this this year. We met those deliverables and smoking it. There's a PA Tech Cigar Week 4.

Keoki

That's what's

Brian

up.

Keoki

And so, like, I'm, like, the hype man of the group. Right? I'm the pretty one, but I'm also the hype man of the group. So I'm like, "Listen, we've been talking about this for a while. We've, we've really been talking about it. We've been like- "oh, we could do this and we could do that and do this and that." And, and at that time the team was, it was what? Six of us? Is it- Six. Six of us. We started with six of us. And, again, O dark 30, right? Mm-hmm. We done smoked all day. Mm-hmm.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Now we, now... And drank all day. And now we're in the backyard smoking and drinking some more- Until tomorrow. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right?

Tina

And

Keoki

so it's like, "Listen, we can

Tina

do

Keoki

this this year." Yeah. And

Tina

everybody's like, "I mean, like, this year is in four months. So, like, are we doing this in four months? Are we doing this- No. Like, yes. Yes, we're doing this in four months. Yeah. Why not? Why not? And, and they're like,

Keoki

Well, next year we could..."

Tina

"Well, let's do it now. I,

Keoki

I feel like we could do this." And B was like, "You know what? I feel like we could do this." And so

Tina

it was like,

Keoki

Let's do this." Like- we, again, everyone's talking about it. Nobody's being about it. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Let's just do it. And we, and did, and it was so great, and the reception was so amazing. Um- And here

Tina

we are going into our fourth year, right? That's what's

Keoki

up. Uh, our team is a lot smaller now, and that's okay. You know? We, people transition, people have life going on and all of that. And so it's the two of us now. Um, but we're still doing the same thing. We're still showing people the culture and community here in Phoenix. And things have grown, things have changed, lounges have opened and closed, and-

Tina

Yeah all these

Keoki

different things. This is a new lounge.

Tina

Well, it was a lounge before, but now it's a

Keoki

lounge

Tina

again.

Keoki

Yeah. Yeah, it was Maduro's East- Oh when we started. Oh, yeah, yeah. And now it's Dragons, and just to see that transformation is really, really cool. So- I also used to work at Maduro's East when it was Maduro's East. Like-

Brian

Shout out to Dragon Cigar Lounge for letting us host this podcast here. Oh, yeah.

Tina

Yeah. Thank you. Shout out to Perry. We sure appreciate you. What, so your first, event, was it here? Or-

Keoki

Our first, uh, year one of Smoke in the Desert, we did Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Tina

Who, who was like, "We ain't got, we have nothing planned. Yes, come on in here."

Keoki

Oh, the first year was only three days, huh? It was

Brian

three days for sure.

Tina

It was three days the first year. We had to add a day

Brian

because- Yeah there was so much stuff. Yeah. Yeah. So year, year one it was three days. Year two, three, and moving forward, we're four days. Mm-hmm. So-

Tina

Okay

Brian

that's the tagline. Four days, 10 events, one hell of a weekend.

Keoki

So trying to keep it to 10 days is, or 10 events is crazy, right? Yeah. Listen, this guy right here. He's like- "We could do this, and we could do that. We got..." Sir, can we just do that next year? Like 10 events.

Tina

I know,

Keoki

but- Solid, hard 10. But-

Tina

It's like as somebody that's used to planning things, like, c- so I used to go to some of your events back in Chicago. So, um, so, like, for the people out there that are listening from Chicago, 'cause I get quite a few listeners from, you know, the Midwest, out east, wherever I've been, um, as well, can you kind of remind them, like, where they saw Red Level Entertainment before? 'Cause I remember you from back in the day.

Brian

So- In Chicago, we started out in 2000. Uh, I started promoting a comedy show at the Cotton Club, which-

Tina

Mm-hmm

Brian

is a very historical nightclub scene for the Black culture in the city. Um, the comedy show was Wild Out Wednesdays. Mm-hmm. And it was me, my partner D-Hunt, and we, some of our friends were kind of new in the comedy scene that, and we were known to promote the scene. So it was me, D-Hunt. Our host was, uh, Meechie, and our two repeat comedians that came out and supported us and got on the stage very early in that premiere was Wildcat and Lil Rel. Oh, Lil

Tina

Rel. Yeah,

Brian

Lil Rel. So-

Tina

He's super funny.

Brian

Very funny, very talented. We're very proud of him and where he's come from in the city and what he's doing now and-

Tina

Yeah, where he's at right now.

Brian

Yeah. He's, he, he's, he's, he's, he's definitely, uh, made a name and helped put Chicago on the map, just as many, many other comedians and entertainers from the Chi. But Cotton Club is where it started. I kinda built my name hosting the open mic at The Dating Game.

Tina

I remember The Dating Game.

Brian

And then-

Tina

Was that also That was on Stony Island?

Brian

The Dating Game was on 89th and Stony. Yep. Yep. Another historical nightlife, uh, venue for the city. Um, I used to do poetry sets at Cookies Cocktails Lounge. Um, I did a comedy showcase at Jokes and Notes with, uh- I remember- T Murph

Tina

Jokes

Brian

and Notes And shout out to Mary Lindsay for, you know, kinda helping guide me in the c- comedy career and where I am today. Um- From there, doing events, I kinda built up a email database. So we started off just collecting names and emails from events. Um, I built that database up to 10,000 Chicagoland subscribers, and I basically kinda helped the nightclubs and promoters and businesses send out their flyers to my database. And so that's kinda how Red Level Entertainment has evolved and where, you know, a lot of people know Red Level Entertainment, but don't necessarily know me per se. They may know my face, but a lot of people like, "Oh, that's that Red Level guy."

Tina

I know. I remember your face. I remember your face. So why did you guys decide to come out here, you, you and your family?

Brian

So I moved out here. I didn't wanna raise my youngest daughter there for high school. Wanted to kinda put her in a different environment. And where I was inside with my business, my business was at the point where I felt like I could run it from anywhere.

Tina

Mm-hmm. So

Brian

I didn't necessarily have to be stationary in Chicago. And when I moved, I didn't... Most people didn't even know I moved. A lot of people just thought that I traveled 'cause I was constantly going back and forth, which I still do, but-

Tina

Yeah

Brian

you know.

Tina

You still do events there?

Brian

I still do events there from time to time. Uh, there's a new venue out there, Events by Tiffany- Yeah which is a good friend of mine. I've kinda helped her do some comedy shows as far as like getting some of the comedians out there, and I'm, I've kinda one of these I'm kinda quiet behind the scenes, but I kinda know how to actually brand and market events. Yeah. So it's a lot of stuff that's in... I'm in the background.

Tina

It sound like it because Keachick was saying, it was like, "Yeah, let- we can do 10 events. I don't know. Put it together. Clock it out, you know?" Right. And she was like, "What?" But we can do 15. How can we do that, sir?

Keoki

There's only four days. There's only 24 hours

Tina

in a day. He was like, "Look, look, look, look." But look, it's- "Put a slot, a slot here, a slot there"

Keoki

we can run three events at one time, since there's two of us.

Brian

So-

Tina

What, what, how? Yes. I see the math. I see the math. The math. Man math. He's like, he's mathing. Man math.

Brian

The same... So before we started, we was talking about reading and all this good stuff. Yes. And so, uh, one of my books that I read or go back and forth and kind of refresh is The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss.

Tina

Okay.

Brian

And in that- Check it.

Tina

We gotta get that book, y'all.

Brian

Mm-hmm. You gotta check it out.

Tina

Yeah. We'll read

Brian

some of it. It's, it's phenomenal if you're an entrepreneur. Um-

Tina

I'll, I'll put that in the notes for this podcast, by the way.

Brian

Yeah. Yeah. It's phenomenal if you're an entrepreneur, but the premise of the book is how to, uh, effectively run your business- Mm on four hours a week. Okay. And it talked about a lot of things, like your business should be able to run without you. Mm-hmm.

Tina

Yeah.

Brian

And that's kinda what I strive to do when I put things together. So-

Tina

Okay

Brian

when I'm talking about, "Yeah, we can do this event and that event," my, in my head, my vision, I want, I want the event to be able to go where I don't need to be there.

Tina

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Brian

And that's why I kinda- That's what I try to strive to, to be able to do. Yeah. But I'm a, I'm a hands-on type of guy. Yeah. I like to be, be there. So if we got two events going, I wanna be that person where, all right, I'm pulling up in the beginning at this event, and then I'm off to the next.

Tina

Yeah. So- Making sure things are

Keoki

running the way- And, and within the cigar culture and community, like it is such a social environment. People want to see us.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Right? Like, they, they don't necessarily just come for us. They come for the cigar culture and community. Yeah. But, you know, I wanna get to hang out with you guys. Yeah. That's what we do. We, we go to the lounges because we wanna smoke with these people. I do. These are our friends.

Tina

When I see you guys, I always, I'm like, "Oh, let me, let me get over there and make my rounds."

Keoki

Yeah. Exactly. And we, and, and that, right? Make our rounds. Let's make sure that people ackno- we acknowledge that people came to support what we're doing, make sure that we see you.

Tina

Mm-hmm.

Keoki

You know? You come here so that you can have some social inter-

Tina

It is. It's

Keoki

community if you just wanna smoke cigars, you could smoke at home.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Right? But you come out for the fellowship. Yeah. Right? Yeah. You come out for the comradery, and so we wanna make sure that we're delivering that as well, right? We wanna, we don't wanna be so stre- stretched so thin that- Mm-hmm we don't even get to see you. We don't get to shake your hands and, you know- Yeah smoke with you. Yeah. 'Cause you smoke in the air. We wanna actually smoke with you and not just- Felt that first. Yeah hey, how you doing? Yeah. You know, I wanna smoke with you. I wanna talk with you, chop it up with you. Yeah. Honey, what you, what's been going on with you? You know? Give her

Tina

that scarf.

Keoki

Yeah. Right. You already know. Listen, I ain't gonna say nothing about it. Like, you know what I'm saying? I, I need that. Girl, it's yours. It's, it's yours. It's yours. It's hers, isn't it? It's yours. 'Cause listen, every, every scarf that I see, every piece of fabric that I see- every dress. This dress, after I w- I done wore this dress and as soon as I get two pictures in it, then it's a, it's a hair wrap now.

Tina

It's gonna be if I'm a scarf. Yeah.

Keoki

Yeah. It's, it's a hair wrap now. So if it's fabric, I can wrap it. Yeah. So, yeah.

Tina

Do you sew?

Keoki

I don't sew. If I sew, baby, y'all wouldn't know what to do with me, honey. Let me find out how to sew. Um, but, um, my daughter is actually learning to sew because I'm actually looking to have both of my children participate in Wrapped in Smoke.

Tina

Mm-hmm.

Keoki

So again, with my son, um, like for cannabis, and then one of my daughter for the actual hair wraps. Okay. My daughter is a artist and she, you know, she paints and draws and designs things and all of the stuff. So, um, I'm gonna have her on the wraps, have him on the cannabis. I do the cigars, and then we just, it's a all-encompassing- That's what's up um, little family thing that we have going on. So that is the vision for Wrapped in Smoke, um, with the cigar club. It's really getting the ladies together, teaching women how to smoke. Yeah. Teaching women how to be feminine and ladylike in the cigar lounge, right? In a male-dominated, um, environment, um, how can you go and enjoy yourself and enjoy your cigar? Yeah. Right? Know what you're doing when you get there so these men are not looking at you like,

Tina

Oh, you want a Tatiana?" No, actually I smoke. Yeah.

Keoki

You know? You

Tina

don't have to tell me.

Keoki

You don't... I do this. I got it. I went, I went to Denver Um, and I, I walk into this cigar lounge, go to an event. And I walk into this cigar lounge, and nobody knows me, of course. And so I'm, I'm looking for what I smoke. And this guy, he goes, "Oh, can I recommend something for you?" I'm like, "Yeah, you can recommend something for me." And he, you know, "Oh, hey, we've got this, you know, this chocolate-" The sweet "and we've

Tina

got this," blah,

Keoki

blah. Automatically the sweet. Yeah,

Tina

whatever this one.

Keoki

Yeah. I was like, "Oh, actually, like I smoke Don Pepin Garcia Original." Mm. "I smoke Asajimo Empress of Sheba. I smoke," you know, all these different things that I smoke. Yeah. I said, "LFD Double La Head," and he was like, "Oh!" Yeah. "Oh, you smoke?" Yeah, no, no. He started to process. I said, "It's for real." I was like, "Actually, I'm the co-founder of, of Phoenix Cigar Week. It's called Smoke in the Desert." And he was like, "Oh, oh. Okay, well, just let me know if you, if you need any-"

Tina

He went inside, back down.

Keoki

Yeah. Because, "What you're smoking, sir?" Been there, done that Yeah I mean, that, that was a year or two for me. Yeah Like, I'm, w- we've moved on. We've

Tina

graduated.

Keoki

I, I smoke heavy now. Thanks,

Tina

sir. Um,

Keoki

but it, it's just really funny to see. You know, I'm alway- I'm kind of a, a prissy girl. I'm gonna wear a dress and I'm gonna wear heels, and I have my hair wrapped up. And, you know, they're like, "Oh, this cute little girl."

Tina

Yeah, okay.

Keoki

Yeah. I can outsmoke most of y'all.

Tina

Yeah. So- Go on ahead and sit down.

Keoki

Yeah. I got it. I g- I know. I mean, you know, and again, I, I'm always up for recommendations. I'm always up for, you know, I like to try new cigars. Yeah. I smoke what I like to smoke, but I'm definitely down to trying things. Um,

Tina

but don't come in here like, oh, you don't know what you're doing. Yeah.

Keoki

Actually, I mean-

Tina

Well, let's segue then to what we're smoking right now. So, um, I've brought in some Mexican, um, Experiment Tatawahe. Mm-hmm. So they had these, um, you know, shout out to ambassadors on the low. Yeah. Um, so they had... These are actually the original. This is what, uh, Vartann was telling me. These are the original, um, from 2017 even though what you're gonna see out there is mostly 2019. And so, um, that's where they're from. The wrapper is Mexican San Andreas Escurio. Mm. The binder and filler are both Nicaraguan, which I absolutely love. Same. And so this is what, you know, it's a old, old stick, guys. It, it says 2017, but we don't know. It probably got made, like, three years before- Right because, you know, they season a lot before- Right you get them. So, um, so that's what I'm smoking.

Keoki

Yeah. I'm so excited to smoke it. I'm almost done with what I'm smoking now. I'm, uh, this is my first stick of the day. I'm smoking the Leaf by Oscar Sumatra. Um, this is

Tina

the- I still gotta get into those. I've only smoked one ever. Yeah. And I was like, "Oh, I still, I-"

Keoki

Which one was it? Do you remember?

Tina

Um, it was a Leaf by Oscar. I don't know. Um, it's been so long since I've had it, and I didn't have a palate for it at the time. Okay. So it's one of those that I have to keep smoking- Yeah. Mm-hmm to, to see, you know?

Keoki

And they have a nice range, right? So they've got from the Connecticut all the way up to the Maduro, right? And so, and, and everything between. The Sumatra for me is kind of the middle of the road. Like, hey, this is my first stick of the day.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

You know, I did eat some food this morning. I am well-hydrated, and so I can smoke, right? Yeah. And that's something that I very strongly encourage. Eat something, drink something. Don't just come in smoking on empty

Tina

stomach. I tell people that all the time.

Keoki

You're gonna be like, and then- Yeah you, you don't know why you don't love cigars. Yeah. Because, well, because you're gonna die.

Tina

Yeah. Because your stomach Just don't do that.

Keoki

Don't do that. Oh, I'm, I'm smoking a, you know, triple Maduro in my horse tail. Like a horse tail. Like, please don't do that. Please don't do that. Uh, women even tell me all the, "I wanna smoke, but, you know, somebody gave me this whatever and, and then I almost died." Well, 'cause they didn't tell you nothing how. They didn't tell you that this is one of the strongest sticks that there was ever created.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Right? Start off mild.

Tina

Yeah. Start off mild. Start off

Keoki

Learn how to smoke first.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Right? And that's what I appreciated about my first experience. Somebody taught me how to smoke first, and they gave me something really yummy. My very first stick was, um, a Java Mint- Mm my first

Tina

stick. Okay.

Keoki

Delicious.

Tina

Yeah. Chocolate, coffee.

Keoki

Like, what are you gonna do?

Tina

Now Kay still, um, she still does some of the sweeter things- Yeah I think.

Keoki

Yeah. Every now I do it as a dessert. Yeah. I call it my dessert. Yeah. So

Tina

I,

Keoki

I

Tina

might

Keoki

smoke three cigars, and then I still wanna smoke 'cause my friends are still smoking.

Tina

Mm.

Keoki

But I'm done.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Right? So I'll smoke something a little lighter, a little sweeter.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

And now it's my dessert and okay, I'm just wrapping up the night kinda thing. You smoke how you smoke.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Smoke what you like.

Tina

It's whatever

Keoki

your-

Tina

But- your flavor palate is. Yeah.

Keoki

Everybody is different. You What I smoke, you won't necessarily like, but you might love it. You gotta try some stuff, and you don't know what you like until you smoke a lot of things.

Brian

So I've had some people ask me in regards to, like, what's a good cigar? And my, my saying is this: there's no such thing as a bad cigar- Mm only better.

Tina

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I agree.

Brian

Uh, so for me, I probably done smoked about 18 years. Um, I started smoking with some of my older big bros back home.

Tina

Yeah. They,

Brian

you know, they, they were like, "D, you know, you gotta start doing this."

Tina

Do you remember your first cigar?

Brian

I do. It was a Hoyo de Nicaragua. Okay. And it put me on my ass. Oh.

Tina

Oh my God. Yes. Right. Yes. Yeah. I like those. Yeah.

Brian

And then it was, like I say, it was strong. It was harsh. It was I wouldn't even say harsh. It was very strong- Yeah for my palate at the time.

Tina

Yeah. Some of y'all be jumping in the deep end up in here. Oh, yeah. Not me. Not me. I did not. What the hell?

Brian

They had no clue.

Tina

Yeah, they were like, "Smoke them." Yeah.

Brian

Right. Right. So I'm gonna backtrack. I'm gonna tell you my, the first cigars I ever bought.

Tina

Mm. Mm.

Brian

Didn't know anything about it, but I was 21, I was on a cruise and- Okay it was in, uh, the Bahamas. And so I said, "I'll get these cigars. I'll get these Cohibas."

Tina

Mm-hmm. Uh-oh.

Keoki

Right.

Brian

I, I brought them back, had no clue of what to do- Do you remember

Keoki

what, which Cohiba?

Brian

No, they, they were probably some fake Cohibas. Right. I was in the Bahamas. Okay. I bought them at the beach. Didn't know how they, you know. Some guy was like, "Hey." But these are

Keoki

five pack. "These

are Cu- these

Brian

are

Cuban. A five pack for $20." Right. They're Cuban. That's

Brian

part.

Keoki

They just- They're Cuban. They

Tina

just wrote Cuban on it?

Brian

Yeah.

Tina

Or Cuban- In, in Sharpie.

Brian

Right. We talking 2000. Yeah. So-

Tina

Yeah

Brian

I bring them back, say, "I'm gonna smoke when I get back," but then I said, "So I'm saving them for a special occasion."

Tina

Yeah, uh-huh.

Brian

Didn't know you need to keep them in the humidor. I got them wrapped up in some, some cellophane and-

Tina

You couldn't keep- It, it- You couldn't do that here. They would've- And then- They would've disintegrated in Arizona

Brian

Listen, I put them in my top drawer, not the refrigerator, my top drawer, and they stayed there for probably three years.

Tina

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my

Brian

God. So when I pull them out to try to smoke them- They're little cork they, they just fall apart. I'm talking about, like, they like disintegrated.

Tina

It was like ashes.

Brian

So- What happened? Needless to say, I didn't smoke those.

Tina

No, no, you can't do that.

Brian

A few years later, like I said, my good friends- Sniffing that they put me on, and I think they, I think they was trying to kill me, 'cause like I said, they gave me the- They said they Nicoriano like this.

Keoki

Be travesty.

Tina

And they looking at you like-

Brian

Right

Tina

trying to see your reaction. Right.

Brian

That part.

Keoki

Why do people do that? They call themselves your friends, and they give you the hardest cigar. They don't tell you any information. Do you hate me? Are you not my friend? Do you not love me? What are, what are we doing here?

Brian

It's a- Yeah it's a rite of passage.

Keoki

Okay. Oh. Ugh. Yeah. I don't like that rite. Sounds like that you were being hazed.

Brian

If- No, no I feel like I was. But needless to say, I kinda learned, you know, learned how to smoke. Um, I, I went all the way down to the Connecticuts and worked my palate back up.

Mm-hmm.

Brian

For a few years, you know, back in Chicago, there was this brand called Delicioso. Mm-hmm. And, you know, a lot of, you know, a lot of guys kind of frowned upon the infused cigars. Mm-hmm. But the Delicioso was a phenomenal infused stick. They had a mint and a black cherry that I absolutely loved, and I smoked those. You know, those were kinda like my second stick of the day type of smoke, and I could even smoke the mint if I had a cold.

Wow.

Brian

Mm-hmm. I moved here I couldn't find those sticks anywhere so once I got here my palate just started to change a little bit. Yeah. And so now I'm, you know, full body Maduro pretty much

Tina

every day. We're spoiled in Arizona. Yeah.

Brian

Yeah.

Tina

We are so spoiled.

Keoki

And we're so close to everywhere.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Like, it's so easy to get to other places. So if we don't have it here in Arizona, we can go to California real quick. We can go to, you know- Vegas Vegas. We can go everywhere. Everywhere is a quick little flight. Everywhere is a quick little drive. You can get all kinds of really fun things and try things. Um, there I know, um, a cigar club that I have, uh, been a member for some years is, uh, Denley Cigar Club. They do a really cool thing. It's called, uh, the Traveling Humidor. Yeah. So one person, let's say I start a humidor. Um, I'd get a, get a nice little boss, like similar to that one but bigger, right? Mm-hmm. Um, put some sticks in it. Mm-hmm. Put 10, 20 sticks in it, whatever. I send it to you. You take out what you want. You put in that many or more.

Tina

To replace

Keoki

whatever, yeah. And, mm-hmm. Yeah. And then you send it to him, and he takes out what he wants, and he puts in that many or more. Oh, that's nice. And then all the way around- That's a very good idea goes all over the country, so you're getting sticks from everywhere, right? That's a

Tina

good idea.

Keoki

Stuff that I can't get in Arizona I might be able to get in Chicago, I might be able to get in Florida, I might be able to get in all these different places, whatever. It gets all the way back to me. Since I started, whatever's in there, I get to keep it.

Tina

You guys need to have a member in Miami too, if you don't already have one. Yes.

Keoki

Yeah. Yeah. It, I mean, it is super, super dope. It's a really dope experience, and, um, I've been wanting to do something like that, like locally. Um, but I'm, I'm so nervous about doing it local 'cause, you know, I'ma see you tomorrow. Yeah. Then I don't see you tomorrow, I see you next week. Yeah. And then I see you however, whe- you know- Yeah kind of thing. I think with, um, doing it when people are in different states, it's like you are obligated. Yeah. Hey, you got 48 hours. Pick what you want, put it in the mail. Pick what you want, put it in the mail.

Tina

I think that's such a good idea. You

Keoki

know what I mean? Yeah. Really, really cool. I've tried some sticks that I never even would've imagined. You get some really high quality stuff. You get some stuff, you're like, "Eh, this is not my jam."

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

You know? But you try things that you wouldn't have otherwise tried.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Super, super cool idea. Shout out to

Tina

Denley for that. Do you remember anything that kind of stood out in your traveling humidor?

Keoki

Um, yeah. Um, I actually got some Padrón 1926. Is that what that is? Oh. I don't remember exactly, but like s- really, really high quality. Some Opus X, um, the red- Yeah and the blue and-

Tina

Yeah

Keoki

you know. That, that group, they are very, very cigar All in. Yeah. Pretty much all the research, all the everything, and- Yeah all the cool things that are coming out and stuff. So that you know that with that, you're gonna find some dope, dope sticks. All the Tatuaje, all the, just everything from all over everywhere. And you don't know what you don't know, right? Um, the, uh, 15 minutes of fame I got out of there. Mm. Um, the, uh- Mm oh, just all kinds of really cool things, limited edition things. Mm. Right? And, and that group specifically because they are so, uh, cigar focused, very, very generous with... Like, I mean, I got this, I got a five-pack of this. I could, I could let one go.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

You know, I got a whatever. Yeah. I know a guy who knows a guy who can get me this, that, and everything. Yeah. And so I want my club to smoke really well. Yeah. I want people to smoke amazing things that they can't get in their city or their state. And so it was just a really dope experience, a way to really fellowship long distance. Yeah. Right? So again, COVID times.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

We can't really just be in the lounge all the time. That, that's a great idea. We can't really be up on each other and breathing on each other all the time, but we can share with each other. We do- Yeah you know, virtual herfs. I fucking love, like, one of my favorite,

um, things to do is a virtual herf.

Keoki

Everybody get online, get on Discord, get on whatever your platform is. Yeah. Let's just smoke together. You at your house, I'm in my house, you at the lounge, we outside, we wherever we are. Smoking together. But smoking together, talking about any and everything. That's a good idea. Talking about families, talking about life, talking about cigars.

Tina

I can probably do that for my podcast. Super, super

Keoki

dope. It would be so... I love, love, love that idea. Like a little caveat. So, so, so amazing.

Tina

Um- If you have any ideas.

Keoki

Yeah, yeah. And that's what- This cultural community is about. Let me meet some people who are doing some things that I don't do. Yeah. Open my mind, expand my mind. You meet the dopest people, you do the best business, 'cause these people are... They do have integrity. They do. They know they're gonna see you again next week.

Tina

Yeah. Right?

Keoki

Yeah. It's not a little, Ponzi scheme or whatever. It- I'll see you in the lounge next week

Tina

I know. So I say smoking cigars... but, I feel like the cigar lounge itself is kinda my safe space. Whenever I go out, of my city-

Keoki

Mm-hmm

Tina

that I've been used to, so now it's been from Chicago to Boston. I've lived in Virginia for a little bit, and now I'm here. And so I feel like the cigar lounge has been my safe space. Like, in Chicago it was my safe space is because I grew up there. Mm. And, I know cigar lounges that are there anyways. But, when I was in Boston it was, like, the cigar lounge, and then when I was in Virginia it was a cigar lounge. But, I would go out, in the wild as well. Mm-hmm. Here it's been the, it's been mostly that here because it's just so, it's so diverse to a point where I do not wanna be out-

Keoki

Yeah

Tina

en masse because it's just too variable. Yeah. And so I think the cigar space, like she was saying, is just a place where the integrity is there. And then, it's just to me a safe space.

Brian

I, I mean, I can agree with you in the sense- Typically when I travel, that's the first thing I'm looking for is a cigar lounge. And I'm, I'm usually out by myself a lot, and-

Tina

Me too

Brian

I can go up to a cigar lounge, walk in, not know anybody, and walk out knowing everybody. And, you know, the, the, go- the cigar community, like I said, it's very diverse.

Tina

Yep.

Brian

It's very welcoming. Once, we having conversations about cigars, we're not talking about politics- Yeah or anything like that. Yeah. We're talking about the leaf, what we like.

Tina

Yeah, we definitely try not to talk about politics in the cigar- Yep lounge.

Brian

That part.

Tina

Or anywhere, but-

Brian

Yeah. And-

Tina

Definitely not in the lounge

Brian

but meet so many cool people. I've, I've met so many people in a cigar lounge that I'm exchanging information with. They come to Phoenix, I pull up on them. I go back there, they pull up on me. And it's just a, it's a great time. Yeah. It's almost, it's a, it's a community. And I feel like the cigar community is, is vast, but it's small at the same time. I feel like we kinda all know each other, especially through traveling the cities and social media.

Tina

Yeah.

Brian

You know, I get, I get phone calls all the time, "Hey, I'm coming to Phoenix, uh, what, you know, where can, where can, what should I smoke?" I give them a few suggestions- Yeah based, based on their vibes. Yep. And, let me know when you're gonna be there, and I try to pull up on you. And I feel like I get the same thing in return when I travel.

Tina

Yeah, yeah.

Brian

You know, it's, it's almost like it's a fraternity.

Tina

Yeah, I was gonna say that. A fraternity. Yeah. I was gonna say that. It's great, like, when you come to a city and, like, say you're doing business or just traveling- Mm-hmm to meet relatives or whatever. It's great when you come and even if you've not been in that city, to be welcomed-

Brian

Yep

Tina

and to have something else to do outside of whatever you came there for. Um, yeah, so.

Brian

Yeah. I f- I f- like I said, I feel like, for me and cigar smoking, I kinda, it's- I use it to get away for, the nightlife.

Tina

Yeah, me too

Brian

So I've been in nightlife- i've, uh, I use cigar smoking, you know, as my, as my, as my safe, not safe space, but it's my place away from the house.

Tina

It's my safe space. Yeah. I try to... No, like, for me it's so I, to me it's an alternative, and I saw in Chicago recently they have something as an alternative. It's not cigar smoking. It's like a workout thing that people do, is, like, midnight workout. So-

Brian

Speaking of midnight workout, when, when I get into my workout phase- Yeah when I was in Chicago, I would literally, I would go to the cigar lounge. I would go to the cigar lounge, then I would go to the 24-hour gym.

Tina

Yeah.

Brian

2:00 in the morning, I'm on the treadmill, walking out for smoke.

Tina

No, you sound, you sound like Ron and his business partner. Puro. 'Cause that's what they did. Puro Rich. Yeah. Yeah. That's what they do. Yeah. Yeah. They'll, they'll still smoke and then run three miles- Right and be fine. I'm like, "How are y'all doing that?" They were like, "Well, it's just, it's breathwork. We got it." And I'm like, "Y'all do. Y'all are good." So.

Brian

Hey, them my guys, but I, I would say this, they are also younger than us, too.

Tina

Right.

Right.

Tina

That part. That part

Brian

But nah, they're, uh, I, I would like- I would go to anywhere else

Tina

No, so what we were saying, Keyaki, is that this, this, this has been our, just kind of piggybacking on what you were saying before, cigar smoking has been our, safe space. Mm-hmm. Especially when we travel. Yeah. Because, it's just a way to kinda, connect with people- Mm-hmm and also be in a space that's alternative to, like, clubbing.

Yes.

Tina

Cause, I'm way past clubbing. Mm-hmm,

right, that part.

Tina

Like, every now and then I'll do Fox on a Wednesday night. But. But, just like I was telling Kay, I was like, "As soon as the DJ comes on, I set my timer for one hour and I'm out."

Keoki

Right. And so that was, when I started smoking, that was the thing where I felt like an... I turned 40 that year. Mm. So I, I felt like an adult. I was like, I'm, like, "I'm an adult for real now." Yeah. Like, this is sophisticated. This is fun. This is, I'm not twerking. Like, I got arthritis in both my knees, child. I can't twerk nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing. I can get low but I can't get back up. Uh-uh. I need help. Like, all the stuff. So it was an environment where I can sit down, and it's okay to sit down, and just enjoy conversation with people. Yeah. And people wanna talk to you.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Cigar smokers are bougie as all get out.

Tina

Yes. I'm talking about bougie- We were talking about this last time to the W max. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's right.

Keoki

But they are very generous and they're very friendly, to a certain degree. Yeah. They wanna know what you smoking now. Then they smoking a- Yeah you in the lounge and you smoking a Tatiana, they gonna talk about you. Yeah.

Brian

Later. I fe- I feel like, I feel like, folks kinda judge you, see what kinda smoke- Mm-hmm based on it. Like, "So what you smoke?" It, it's, it's a r- it's like a ritual, yeah. I meet people here and they tell me they from the Chi first. "Where you from?" Yep. "Where you from?"

Tina

Right. Right. Exactly. "What side of town you from?" What side of town?

Brian

And based on how you answer- Woodblock that's gonna let me know-

Tina

Woodblock, yep

Brian

Right.

Tina

Yeah. So when people- It's the same with cigars. I, I know, I know. So go ahead. I'm sorry.

Brian

No, I'm just saying it's the same with cigar with smoking. I

Tina

got

Brian

caught up in

Tina

that.

Brian

And you know-

Tina

Oh, okay

Brian

you-

Tina

When they say, "Oh, okay." So this story I was telling on the last podcast, which I have not posted yet because there was something wrong with the audio that day. But in any case, I was telling this story, and it was, so basically what happened, 'cause, and I'll ask you guys this question too, like what your most memorable smoking experience has been thus far, 'cause obviously we're gonna have many more. Yeah. So one of my most memorable, and I, so I asked the question and I wasn't prepared to answer it myself, and then I thought about it for a while. I was like, okay, this is kinda what happened. It was like a whole scenario where I talked about Virginia, I talked about Boston, I talked about Chicago. It was just like, 'cause all them things came together. Like sera- cigar smoking can be serendipitous. Mm-hmm. It's just like you never know who you're gonna meet. Yeah. And so I remember I was in Virginia, so I've lived, so I'm from Chicago, but I've lived in Boston because of work. Boston, Virginia, here. I moved here for other reasons though. But in any case, so I was in Virginia, and so I had forgotten my cutter, so I was staying at this apartment complex. It w- used to be like cigar and cigarette factory type of thing. They used to do like Lucky Strike there. And I stayed there 'cause it was, I forget what it was called. It was like a smoky name or whatever, but I thought it, that was pretty cool. Yeah. So I was like, yeah, I'm staying here. So anyways, I would go across the street sometimes to a speakeasy 'Cause they had, like, this outdoor space almost like this on the outdoor inside that you could smoke there.

Okay.

Tina

And so you couldn't smoke in the restaurant, but they had this little area in the inside of the restaurant that was outside. And, so I went in and I was telling people at the bar, I was like, "Man, I forgot my cutters." And they were like, "That's fine. There's some guys out there, they just sold their company. You can get a cutter from them." I was like, "All right." And so I go out there, this big group of guys, like seven, 10, something like that, and I was like, "Hey, guys. Let me have a cutter. I forgot my cutter." Yeah. And so they were asking, they were like, "Well, so what kind of cigars do you have?" Sort of like what you guys were just saying. Yeah. And so I pulled out, I had a, My Father Opulencia.

Okay.

Tina

And they were like, "Oh yeah, that's a good cigar." And then I also pull out, they were like, "Well, do you have a lighter?" And I was like, "Yeah, I got a lighter." And so I pull out this, like, Bunsen burner. I g- gotta show you guys a picture of it. It's like a Bunsen burner looking thing, whatever. You, like, turn the thing and the flame. Yeah. It's a soft flame. And they were like, "Oh, shit, that's our company."

Keoki

Oh, wow. Wow.

Tina

And so I had gotten this lighter from somebody in Boston. He just gave it to me 'cause- Yeah we were talking. I was like, "Oh, you're a fund manager." He was like, "How the fuck did you know that?" Yeah. And I was like, "'Cause I was in finance." Right. "And I know how you talk," whatever. And so he just gave it to me, whatever, 'cause he's a millionaire, whatever. And so, so happened to be their company that they just sold. So fast-forward, I'm in Chicago ta- telling the same story- Mm-hmm to one of the guys that worked there, whatever. He's trying to get me to smoke a pipe, by the way. I was at Iowa Race downtown.

Keoki

Mm-hmm.

Tina

And so he was like, "Oh, shit, those guys sold their company. Do you know how much they sold their company for?" I was like, "No, I didn't ask." He was like, "72 million." What? I'm standing up here talking to fucking celebrities. Right. That's what's up. Right. Chilling. Yep. You never know. That's the thing.

Brian

That's the thing about cigars.

Tina

Oh, my God. Cigar guys. In g- cigars in general w- is even

Keoki

here in Phoenix, because people come here to retire-

Tina

Yeah

Keoki

they're coming- Yeah to get out of the spotlight. They come to-

Tina

Yeah

Keoki

just relax.

Tina

Be inconspicuous and all that. You never

Keoki

know who you're talking to. That's

Tina

true.

Keoki

All kinds of NFL, NBA players. All kinds of- Mm-hmm CEOs of this- Mm and presidents of that. And house wives. And look, I don't know. I don't know any better. House husbands and

Tina

all that stuff. You're just talking to people. Mm.

Keoki

And that's one of the things that I really love about our cultural community. I always tell people, I- I've been trying to get B to, incorporate this with Smoking Desert. He, he not here for it yet. But I, I always tell people, "This ain't that." Yeah. This

Tina

ain't that.

Keoki

Yeah. Where you came from, this ain't that. Yeah, yeah. We do things differently.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

We, in Atlanta, you gotta be dressed to the nines if you go outside. Yeah, it's like there- You come from work, whatever you got on from work Yeah,

Tina

yeah

Keoki

come, come to the lounge. We gonna kick it. Yeah. And you'll be talking to you don't know who. Mm-hmm. Multi-millionaires, multi-billionaires. You're talking to housewives, and unemployed people, and all these different things, and everybody is equal. What are you smoking? That's all we care about. Yeah. What are you smoking? Yeah. Oh, you smoking a Oliva? You're smoking a Drew Estate? This or that. Mm-hmm. You're smoking a My Father's this or that. Mm-hmm. Whatever. Okay, cool. Yeah, I've smoked that before. I really like this, or actually I like this better, or you know what? Yeah. I got this thing. You should try that. If you like that, you'll love this. Yeah. And just that is how you make the best friendships. Yeah. That's literally how we met. Yeah. We met in the cigar lounge.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

You know, uh, I was online or whatever and meeting people who smoke and all that stuff, and "Hey, you should go to this lounge," and I went to that lounge and met these guys, and, and we've been friends ever since. Yeah. We've been- That's what, so- I don't even know how many years in we are at this point, but- Yeah. You know what I mean? Some of your best friends-

Tina

Yeah

Keoki

could be p- your business partners, your whatever. Yeah. You, you meet romantic partners. You meet all kinds of different people. D- your homies.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

It's so dope, and it's so, like, easy. As an adult, I saw this really funny little meme, a little video on Facebook the other day, and it was like, if adults made friends the way that kids make friends.

Tina

Oh, yeah. Right? I, I saw that.

Keoki

And he, he was like- Yeah "Oh, I like those cookies." "Oh, do you want one?" And then they're, like, besties all summer. Yeah. Right?

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

That's how it is in the cigar What, what are you smoking? Oh, I smoke this, or I smoke that. Yeah. And you love me, and now you're besties.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

Going forward. Yeah. That's how it is. It, it's really cool. It's a easy way to make friends as an adult.

Tina

Yeah. I would say that some of the people that I first started smoking with on a regular basis were in Boston, and I still to this day keep in contact with them. Mm-hmm. They were mostly dudes, though. I think one girl in that bunch, but for the most part, we still keep in contact with each other. Yeah. One of the girls, Livvy, that I met here, we met smoking. Now we're business partners. Yeah. Now we're starting a business together.

Keoki

Exactly.

Tina

And yeah, that's, that's how it is.

Keoki

Yeah, it's so fr- W- with Wrapped and Smoked Cigar Club, I, so again, I did not wanna start a cigar club at all. I was already a member of a cigar club, and then I'm still fairly new in the game and, and that, and, and my girlfriends were like, "Oh, you smoke cigars. That looks so cool. You're always out in these really cool places. We wanna do this. You gotta teach us how." I'm like, "Okay, I can teach you how. Like, we can go to these places, all that stuff." And I was like, "Oh, you should join my club." And they're like, "I don't wanna join that club."

Tina

I'm like, "Okay, you don't have to."

Keoki

Like, but- if you start a club, we'll join that club. I'm

Tina

like, "I don't

Keoki

wanna start a club. It's a lot of work." "Well, if you, but if you start a club, we'll join the club." Yeah. I'm like, "I don't want to." But so when you start the club- Yeah yada, yada, whatever, supporting, right? Yeah. Because I want you to be successful, right? So and, and with Smoking Desert, we We do cigar events,

Tina

right?

Keoki

We do cigar-friendly events. We want to promote the cultural community here in Phoenix. That doesn't mean that we don't support other cigar events. Just 'cause you also do cigar events, that doesn't mean we don't support. We will support other things.

Tina

Yeah.

Keoki

If you're doing a thing, so I appreciate that.

Tina

Yeah. Me too. So, we're gonna wrap up this episode of Sticks and Stories. Thank you guys so much, Keyaki and, I'm now gonna call you Kevin. Eddie. Eddie.

Keoki

Bryant.

Tina

Bryant. Red Level. Thompson.

Keoki

All the things.

Tina

All the things.

Brian

I feel like everybody's gonna start calling me that one now.

Keoki

Yeah. You're

Tina

Eddie. Hey, Eddie. You do- I'm gonna get you a Charlie you do kind of look like an Eddie. I, I wanna get you- Do you guys w- have any closing remarks or anything you wanna say to the people?

Keoki

Absolutely. Smoke in the Desert, October 8th through the 11th. Pull up to us. Come and fellowship with us, smoke with us, put the smoke in the air with Smoke in the Desert, PHX Cigar Week. Follow us on Instagram at PHX Cigar Week. A time will be had by all. I promise you, you will have an experience that you will remember for a long time to come.

Brian

Thank y'all for coming out. God bless. Good night. Yeah,

Tina

right. Thank you.

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Tina

Host
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Gary

Co-host
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Lonnie

Co-host