James Lee has always thrived in-between the trenches....
As a former Offensive Tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, James made his living providing protection for quarterbacks and creating space/lanes for running backs. Today, he has schematically applied these concepts from his former NFL career duties into a lifestyle brand and enterprising construct. A Cigar Pxrn Goal: Help uphold Tampa’s reputation by protecting & creating a positive space/lane for us stogie-heads that will in-turn assist in the longevity run & sustenance of our beloved Cigar City.
As I touchdown & navigate my way through the “Cigar Pxrn Hub”, (cigarpxrn.com) I’m presented with some unique and fresh categories for the amateur and mature cigar smoker to simultaneously indulge in. The cigar world has been enamored by the popular Cigar Pxrn T-shirts, which have local, national and international acclaim, yet according to the CEO, this is only a trailer clip to a bigger picture: “I want to create items that people use on a daily basis while expressing their passion for Cigars” says Lee. “Aligning with various types of apparel and accessory products such as caps, backpacks and carry on luggage...increases our brand recognition and maintains company consistency “.
It’s been quite a ride for one of Belle Glade, FL. finest athletes. A little over a decade ago, James went into the NFL as an undrafted free-agent to the Cleveland Browns. After 5 years in the NFL and 2 years in the Canadian league, he decided to retire from football in 2014 with ambition to pursue a Youth Sports Business. After reaching a level of success with the business, James decided to move back to Tampa in 2017 with an objective in mind...become an intricate player within the cigar industry. “I did research for 5-6 months and took notice that all of these cigar manufacturers would come out with so-called swag products that included t-shirts, caps etc.,but it was not their main focus. It usually was a part of a raffle of sorts.“ James identified this as an opportunity to create a non-cigar company affiliated apparel and accessory line..filling the void for aficionados and novices that didn’t want to necessarily be associated with an established cigar manufacturer or brand.“ I knew it would work, and I knew that Tampa (Cigar City) was the only place in America that made sense for me to launch my vision.”
There has been a few obstacles that have come along with Cigar Pxrn’s success. According to James; “Women initially did not want to be associated with the word “porn”...so I opened up the conversation and proceeded to fix the issue by introducing various styles of t-shirts that would provide appeal, and make them more comfortable without compromising the brand.” Cigar Pxrn now offers a t-shirt that gives a concise definition of the name Cigar Pxrn as well as one that just has the word “Cigar” with various unisex/v-neck styles.
James has attributed a simple formula towards Cigar Pxrn’s overall success: “Hard work..it can never be defeated”. When you do things the right way, put the time and effort into it and take no shortcuts...nothing can be defeated!” James also recognizes the power of social media, and how it has influenced and driven sales in an insurmountable way. Cigar Pxrn currently has marketing/sales representation on the ground in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
It’s quite evident that Cigar City/Tampa, (Home of Cigar Pxrn) has embraced James in his endeavor to make Cigar Pxrn a continued success. Whether strolling through Ybor City, The RiverWalk or any major outlet within the Metro-Tampa area, Cigar Pxrn t-shirts, caps and other apparel/accessories maintain a level of popularity, synonymous to items and gear worn by fans of The Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stogie burners should galvanize and continue to support James and Cigar Pxrn. With FDA Regulations continuously threatening the fabric of the cigar industry and Cigar City, (including all of its rich cigar heritage, appeal and character)...symbols of stability like Cigar Pxrn can only aid in transitioning the mindset of government into a more favorable outlook...that serves well for cigar connoisseurs locally and tourists that visit our great city constantly from all over the world.
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Plumeberg Media Inc. 2019
by Nosakhere Kamau