Today we’d like to introduce you to Shane Roberts.
Shane, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Just about a year and a half ago I started my journey into smoking cigars. Through the time relaxing and detoxing life while enjoying a cigar, I found myself having interesting conversations with my wife while we would enjoy a cigar together. This sparked an idea about starting a podcast with her. My wife declined as she never wanted to be on camera or had interest in doing a podcast. I started brainstorming some ideas and reached out to a couple life long friends to see if they were interested in doing a podcast. The birth of the podcast called Cigar Talk Toronto was just about 3 guys smoking cigars, drinking and having every day real conversations about life, thoughts and opinions in a raw unfiltered context. The trajectory changed a bit when I made connection with a woman in the cigar world Karina Owen, and she had connected me with some people.within the cigar industry to have on the podcast to interview. This help kick start to podcast to a bigger audience, and now we had a new concept of doing episodes ourselves but also having interview type episodes. Through this I made connections with Ba Lance Morish Cigars out of Houston and Dallas, Texas. We were able to obtain some of their cigars to sample for the show, great cigars and great people. This led to another connection with another cigar brand out of Texas thanks to the people at Ba Lance, which was Croatian Mafia Cigars, which til today is the official cigar of our podcast. As we started doing more interviews, we had a guest on by the name of Loretta Mallory, the sister of Prodigy of Mobb Deep ( RIP Prodigy ). This actually opened up a new door into the hip hop world of podcasting, and I thought what if I blend the cigar lounge feel and go with the flow conversations, with people of the hip hop industry. This opened the door to having Ty Nitty, and Big Twins on the show which launched he show into a whole new reputation. Through work schedules and life it became harder for everyone involved to maintain the work load the podcast was starting to throw our way, so it ended up turning into a one person interview type podcast going down the world of hip hop. This connected me with people like DJ Mikey G which led me to having my show on The Block 105 Radio, and that led me to connecting with Lefty Pachino and we did an interview which turned out to spark the concept of his new album, which Cigar Talk Toronto is executive producer of. And now we are just keeping the momentum going with to goal to bring the listeners the best conversations with the artists we can bring them.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s honestly been smooth. I have had to change pace and trajectories at times to go where it was naturally gravitating towards, but being the facts this is a passion project, my goals and intentions are genuine, it’s allowed me to establish the trust of every guest on the show to lead them in a proper conversation to tell their stories. So smooth yes, hard work YES!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The podcast is a passion project, I love the hip hop music and culture, it’s an honor to be trusted to represent it properly and to have had the honor of having so many talented artists and legends give me their time on the show, connecting with so many people in the cigar world as well, the cigar community hands down is the best community I have ever been a part of, the support they give is unlike any other. What had made the show so unique was being able to blend the cigar world with the hip hop world and bring conversations that highlight the person, their story and success,.all positive no drama click bait. By day I’m a contractor, nothing to brag about. Lol
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think a mentor can really be anyone, you have to branch out always in what ever field of work you’re into, talk with people, and be open to learning. I compare the podcast to my training in kickboxing, the more you train with others, the more polished and refined you become. There is always something to learn. So what really works is understanding that there is always more to learn about your craft, and get out there, have discussions, meet people, ask questions, be a sponge, and you can find a mentor in anyone willing to share their skills with you, just keep it genuine.
Pricing:
- To be in the show is FREE
- If anyone wants to sponsor the show let’s talk
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cigartalk_toronto
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cigartalk_toronto
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cigartalk_toronto
