NO BLOWING SMOKE
By Paul Anthony Arco
The taste of the first cigar to touch Steve Mann’s lips burns deep in his memory.
“It was disgusting,” he said, laughing.
The less than desirable experience was short-lived, however. After graduating from Georgetown University, the Brambleton resident began his career as a corporate lender. At 25, Mann was introduced to cigars and bourbon by senior bank partners.
“I fought them tooth and nail, but they finally got to me,” he said. “We still laugh about it almost 30 years later.”
Mann spent 24 years as a corporate lender and the past decade in various roles for Microsoft. He retired last year at age 54. With plenty of time on his hands, Mann turned to his hobby of cigars, which led him down a fortuitous path he never imagined.
In January 2025, Mann launched a podcast dubbed “Burn & Learn: The Cigar Lifestyle Podcast,” which can be found on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. Mann discusses the cigar lifestyle with guests from the cigar industry, covering topics like cigar pairings and accessory collecting.
“I relish the opportunity to bring people together to have great conversation,” he said.
Once a month, he records two episodes at a time in the private cigar lounge on the third floor of Rebellion Bourbon Bar & Kitchen, a 200-year-old historically preserved building in downtown Leesburg.
“I had been a member there for about a year or so,” Mann said. “The general manager walked by, and I asked if I could use the lounge to record a podcast, and he said sure. I had no clue what I was doing.”
But those who know Mann best say he can usually figure things out.
“I’ve been around him long enough to see how he engages with people,” said Dr. Ray Solano, a chiropractor in Falls Church and cigar enthusiast. “I’ve seen him talk to people about sports, politics and banking. He has the ability to meet them where they are in a professional and pervasive way.”
Two months later, Mann started StogieHub, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling high-quality, pre-owned cigar accessories. Mann started by selling about 100 travel cases, humidors, cutters – anything that was laying around his home.
“I would go to cigar events and end up with a lot of stuff,” he said. “I had so many lighters. At one point I thought my wife was going to say these have to go. This was my approach to thin the herd.”
He’s currently partnering with manufacturers of cigar accessories so customers can order customized items through his site.
The one thing Mann doesn’t sell is cigars. “I’m not an expert on curating tobacco. It’s an overcrowded field. You have to really love the product and the process.”
Mann says the podcast has been good for driving traffic to his site, StogieHub.com. Guests travel to Leesburg from all over the country – on their own dime – to appear on the podcast.
Mann says the feedback has been overwhelming. “I used to reach out and now when I post an episode, people call me to be on. The backdrop sets the stage for a top-notch product.”
Solano joined the podcast as Mann’s co-host three months ago, armed with plenty of media experience, including local TV appearances, from his chiropractic work with many professional athletes.
“We have excellent chemistry,” Solano said. “We don’t rehearse. It’s organic. What drives the program is the guests and their passion. We just let it flow.”
Mann has taken his early success and branched out to help cigar lounges across the country market their product. He and his mobile video crew have even hit the road to interview lounge owners on their turf, from Seattle to New Jersey. Mann provides the owner with a video for a flat fee.
“There are 3,000 cigar lounges across the county who don’t necessarily have marketing experience,” said Mann. “This opportunity became an unintended consequence of my business.”
Renee Ventrice, an Ashburn-based marketing strategist, helped Mann initially promote his business. She believes the possibilities are endless.
“StogieHub could be the Amazon of cigars,” she said. “His audience isn’t just cigar smokers. I don’t smoke, but I buy cigar gifts for my husband. There are definite growth opportunities, and Steve is the right guy to find those revenue streams.”
Solano sees the same potential from the “Burn & Learn” podcast. “I can see this thing going nationally to cigar conventions, golf events and the bourbon and whiskey communities,” he said. “I see it only getting better.”
Right now, Mann is taking things one day at a time. And he’s having the time of his life.
“My wife still doesn’t understand how I found a way to monetize my hobby,” he said. “That was not my intent. This started as a passion project. You know the mantra – do something you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life? Truer words were never spoken. I’ve been blessed.”
Paul Anthony Arco is a longtime journalist and freelance writer who has written for publications around the country.