I come from a generation and place that when you said he is a "Stand Up Guy" it meant something. The qualities that stand apart from the ordinary cover many different shapes and weight classes. It's not so much in want they say, but what they simply do. I had met Don Pepin earlier this year in Miami. I was introduced to him by an old friend Ernesto Carrillo (La Gloria Cubana), and my immediate impression was I am in the presence of a "Stand Up Guy." Although English is not his first language he does not flinch to what is being said, and he looks at you in the eyes. Ernesto informed him that I had opened up the Grand Havana Room, in Beverly Hills and New York. This made it very easy to talk about Pete Johnson (Tatuaje) and to the time (1995) when GH started and all the characters that crossed our paths. Not to mention Pete's success and how Don Pepin is a key guide to Pete's journey. He was also informed that my ex-wife was of Cuban descent and it was she who first introduced me to Ernesto. I felt he did not see me as a complete stranger to his world or language.
There is another quality that fits this mold and separates a man like Don Pepin from others, and that quality is "humility." He makes you feel as though you know him from some other time. He embraces any questions you may ask about cigars and his journey to the top. His passion for what he does is without edge, but not without a genuine smile.
My second opportunity to meet with Don Pepin was on December 10 at Cigar Masters Boston, where I am employed as the Director of Operations. The event was titled "A Night of Family." The reason for the event was just that. Here at CM we are a family and cigars provide us the connection that ties us all together, not only within our own establishment but with a man like Don Pepin. Listening to Don and his daughter Janny talk with such passion about some of the brands within his cigar line (My Father, Don Pepin Blue, and Tobacos Baez), I feel as though the brands have become members of the Pepin family. It is also with that same passion for creating such distinguished cigars that makes me understand what brings a community like ours together. One of the highlights that night was watching him roll cigars. He moved through the tobacco like Manny Paquaio moves in on his opponents. He did with speed and and exact precision, and the finish roll was a knockout.
Don Pepin is not only a "Stand Up Guy" he is a champion, and all the great champions that I have seen and admired, seem to be blessed with a touch of magic. The kind of magic that is effortless in the face of greatness!
Ringside with George
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Yea You said it all, da don is a great guy and he makes a cigar almost as good as himself !
ReplyDeleteI'm so full of "SH" huh
In agreement, a stand up guy is delivered by the beliefs he puts in himself and the passion that goes into his ideas. Too many times, we see great people fail to achieve their full potential because they never fully realized the strength was in them all along to becoming a stand up guy. Too many times so much is said and not done, but with these stand up guys mentioned above, the opposite is true.
ReplyDeleteLess is said and more is done. A very common trait.
Being true to yourself, standing by what you believe, and following it through to the end. Even if failure is the verdict, completion of the vision and goal is what is important. Failure is just as necessary and important as success. A stand up guy realizes this and fears neither.
In our world of cigars, people like Don Pepin Garcia, Lido Gomez, Carlito Fuente, Zino Davidoff, Rob Levin, George Padron or Ernesto Carrillo (naming only a few) emulate this philosophy of being stand up guys. They embrace failure, success, integrity and relationships; and it is important to recognize, carry on and teach these valuable ideals.
Thank you for taking time to recognize one of the very things that makes the cigar business so enjoyable to be a part of: being surrounded by stand up guys in a world with so few.