The Cigarist Manifesto
For every soul kept warm by a cigar.
I puffed my first cigar at twenty-one years old. By twenty-five the puff turned into the weekend ritual. I wondered, why did I not find this sooner? Where was the culture? I had to dig for it. I bought some graphic T’s, but found myself not able to wear them to most family places. Then I got a corporate job where “everyone is welcome to be their true selves.” I saw crop tops and belly buttons, political shirts, etc., but my graphic T’s were still too vulgar for some reason. So I looked for a cleaner alternative. I couldn’t find a cigar clothing company that sold anything other than guayabera shirts. Nothing wrong with those, but are graphic T’s and guayabera shirts the only options? I wanted a classy T-shirt that I could wear to the office without having to dress up. I wanted something to let others at the office or kid’s birthday party know who I am at heart. I wanted a shirt that when I see others wearing it, we have the eternal bond of being a “brother of the leaf.”​
Welcome Cigarist.
There’s a deeper meaning to Cigarist than just what meets the eye. Cigar culture or “smoking” is under attack. Smoking has been under attack for more than twenty years now. As a kid, I remember the smoking section inside restaurants, the first step in segregating the smokers. Then, the smoker section disappeared as fast as my childhood. Sure, smoking has health effects; so does the sugar-laden menu the same restaurant happily serves. One kills eleven million people a year globally; the other kills less than five hundred thousand. Guess which one we've made a moral panic out of. America was built on smoking. Nicotine and coffee are perhaps the driving forces behind what America has become. Don’t believe me? Look at pictures from the early 1900s. Now, we live in the upside-down world where marijuana is accepted or even promoted, and cigars and cigarettes are shunned.
There has to be pushback. Cigars are the most iconic signatures of celebrations, momentous occasions, or actors in movies with wisdom. However, you rarely see a cigar in public. If a cigar is such a high-value item, shouldn’t we bring them out more into the real world? How have we come to a society that hates cigars yet secretly loves purveying them in the aforementioned occasions? Something doesn’t add up. We must bring cigars back into society. The simplest way is by showing who we are with what we wear every day. Make cigars and cigar culture commonplace again. Get cigars on everyone’s mind around you. Take back what’s rightfully our place to exist.
Welcome Cigarist.
In the fast-moving world of today, artificial intelligence (“AI”) is solving problems and changing the modern world into the futuristic one we’ve only dreamed of. One of those problems speculated to be solved is cancer. Here’s a bet I’m making. If cancer is “cured” in some form or another, and rates drop precipitously, smoking will roar back with a vengeance. Further, as AI changes work and leisure, folks will be desperate for more culture and more individualism. The meeting of these two phenomena will drive cigar culture deeper than it ever has before. The best way to show you are a part of that culture?
Welcome Cigarist.
Welcoming more folks into the cigar world and making it more mainstream does not denigrate it from the high perch you only see in movies. It only lifts it higher as more can relate. Cigars aren’t just for the suits and trophy rooms; they're for the idealist, the artist, the A-list, and every soul kept warm by a cigar. One should not be scared to have a cigar if they don’t know how to cut it or can’t name sizes, characteristics, or brands. Cigars are meant to slow down time. They are meant to be enjoyed like meeting someone new and getting to know them, and maybe never even seeing them again, but you’ll never forget; that’s a feeling everyone can relate to. I, to this day, do not know my favorite cigar and cannot name notes, but I do know I love them. I love them at events and I love them in my backyard by myself. I hope everyone gets a chance to meet a cigar and fall in love as I have. I hope everyone falls in love with the culture and the ritual. I hope everyone welcomes Cigarist.