Interview with Tony Barrios from Stallone cigars: A bird should not be kept in a cage, it should fly freely.

It all started as an interview but it felt like I got a good friend in return. You can tell from Tony that his word is his law, if he has given you his word he will do everything in his power to fulfill it. Not for the sake of the word or honor, but for the sake of friendship. A person you should be grateful to have in your life. Our conversation went from everything from cigars to his grandfather and why people with any kind of illness find peace in horses and what makes them so special and healing.

Almost all of us humans have a person from our childhood who leaves a strong impression on our lives, people who almost become some kind of guiding star even after they have passed away. This person was Tony’s Grandfather Redo Di Pasquale. I want to tell you right now that the words of wisdom Tony received from Redo are words I wish more people would learn and that shaped a large part of Tony’s thinking today.

Table of Contents

The foundation before the start and the escape from World War II Italy

When World War II broke out, he was called into the war and became a military policeman. We all know how terrible it was and how much worse life was in the concentration camps, where a terrible fate awaited with no chance of survival. During the war, Redo was imprisoned but somehow managed to escape 6 months after his capture. Determined to create a better future for himself and his family, he fled to Venezuela with Tony’s mother who was then 4 years old. Redo never gave up his passion for tobacco and eventually managed to start a new farm in Venezuela despite having nothing from home with him. In addition to the tobacco he sold, he also had a small cigar factory and sold cigars locally.

Tony’s interest in tobacco and horses began with Redo on the tobacco farm.

“I spent all the time I could with my grandfather and my mother usually drove me there on Fridays after school. I spent time with my grandfather, I rode horses, rode tractors and learned everything there was to know about tobacco. I learned how to grow, how different seeds are affected by different types of soil and how to process the tobacco. My passion for agriculture just grew and grew more and more. He gave me my first horse, it was a Stallion named Nino. I tried to ride it over and over again, weekend after weekend without success. I didn’t understand why I was given a horse that couldn’t be ridden, the answer I got was – You will be able to ride it when it’s ready and you will ride many Stallions in the future”

A tough and valuable lesson

Now we come to a slightly tougher lesson that Tony had to learn but that I want to highlight a little extra. I never highlight the wisdom behind stories until the end, but this one is a little special. A lesson that everyone should live by and that echoes in my thoughts. Even though I have lived that way, the metaphor behind it has settled deeply in my thoughts.

“Grandpa gave me a cage of birds and I was given the responsibility of taking care of them. I fed them week after week and did everything I could to take care of the birds. One day when I got there the cage was open and the birds were gone. I was completely devastated. He sat down on one knee and said – a bird should never have to sit in a cage, it deserves its freedom. I was completely devastated, but the lesson was invaluable. Everyone deserves their freedom”

What I want to highlight, if you are working at a job you hate, hanging out with people you don’t trust or living in a relationship you don’t feel good about then you are sitting in your own cage and will never fly. To live a life you deserve and feel true happiness, then this is where you have to create change. You only live once, don’t be stuck in the cage, you deserve your freedom.

The first cigar and a wish from Redo

“I usually went to my grandpa’s on Fridays and one Wednesday he called and asked me to come over. I was 15 at the time. We went to the aging barn, he rolled a cigar and gave it to me. He preferred to roll them and smoke it right away. I looked at the cigar, said it was nice and gave it back. He toasted the cigar and gave it to me again.

– It’s yours to smoke.

– My father will kill me if I do.

– Don’t worry about your father, I’m the boss of our family. I’ll take care of your father. Do as I say and smoke the cigar.

I puffed the cigar quickly and didn’t know what I was doing, he told me how to smoke. I ended up almost turning green and feeling sick. I half lay down on the table while he laughed a little and gave me honey that he had already prepared. In my grandfather’s time, a man was considered a man at the age of 15 and at my age he had already learned hard work and how to handle military weapons. The idea behind it all was that he wanted to see me become a man and smoke my first cigar before he passed away. I didn’t know at the time that he was dying and 3 months after the cigar he sadly passed away. His wish was that one day I would open my own cigar company”

The start of Stallone cigars

Neither Tony’s mother, father nor either of his two sisters had any interest in tobacco and Tony inherited the tobacco farm after Redo’s death. Tony trained as an engineer and when he was 20 years old he chose to follow his passion and follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. The farm had been untouched for a period of 5 years and when he returned after his studies everything had been stolen. The only thing left was the land under his feet and the dream he had. He rebuilt the plantation with bright Tobacco and later a slightly smaller part with black Tobacco. Despite loving what he did and the earnings were good, Tony was never completely satisfied. He wanted to follow a slightly more deeply rooted dream. He changed course and started growing more black tobacco to be able to start his own cigar brand.

“Everyone around me advised me against cigars, told me to continue with what I was doing and that I would never be able to make money from cigars like I did now. I wouldn’t make as much money from cigars in the beginning, but cigars were my passion. Growing black tobacco is a completely different type of agriculture and refining the tobacco is a completely different process and requires more precision. Despite everyone’s opinions, I chose to take my own path and follow my dream. It was in Venezuela that I started Stallone cigars in 2014. At the time when I started Stallone cigars, I was growing tobacco there. The politics changed in the country and I eventually chose to move my production to Nicaragua, which has soil and tobacco most similar to Venezuela. In Venezuela, the politics went to the point that if the government wanted to seize my land to make its own profit, they could do it without asking or bargaining. The name Stallone comes from my interest in horses and to honor my grandfather”

Despite everyone’s advice to never start with cigars, Tony followed his dream and proved to everyone that it was possible. His blends became successful and at the time of writing his cigars can be found in 17 countries around the world.

Tony who had been blending with tobacco since a very young age has an expertise that many others can’t even dream of and is himself the master blender for Stallone cigars. What is really worth highlighting is that he has an interest in every part of the process and is incredibly quality conscious and wants to give more people a moment of enjoyment by not setting the price at a higher level than they could have been.

Horses in focus

In addition to cigars, Tony has had a burning interest in horse riding and horses since childhood. He has a Ranch in Texas and a farm in Venezuela with a close friend where they breed horses. The horses that he thinks have the best personality he brings to his ranch in Texas. His interest in horses made him start competing and already in his first year Tony became Rookie of the year in the National Cutting Horse Association competition in 2009 and has since been among the top 10 best riders.

Being around animals and horses has long been known to have a healing effect, especially for people suffering from some form of illness. How is this possible?

“Horses are incredibly strong, energy sensitive and complex animals. Many people believe that their sounds are part of their communication, but it is incredibly rare for them to make sounds. Their communication consists of energy and body posture. A horse can sense your energy from about 8 meters away, so before you even get close to them, they sense your mood and adapt incredibly well. They are also one of the most honest animals that never shows anything other than their true feelings. They are incredibly humble and sensitive by nature. You can say that you form a special bond.”

How do you follow your dreams?

In our conversation about how to follow dreams, we talked a lot about social parts of society, such as the influence of social media and how our social networks can hinder us if we don’t learn to control our thoughts. Many times we are guided by the norm of what is right and wrong thanks to what influencers on social media say and think instead of following our hearts. If we don’t learn to disconnect from all the thoughts that come when we are told that it is useless or impossible by those around us, we will never follow our dreams.

“A dream is a seed planted in your heart, if it is deep enough, you have to follow what your brain tells you, even if it says it is wrong. Many times, society will tell you that things are wrong because you are going against the grain. To follow your dreams, you need passion, a vision, courage and give 100% of your energy. You have to learn to filter out other people’s advice, filter the negative from the positive advice. There will always be people who want you to fail to raise themselves. Around 90% of everyone around you will not be happy with you. No matter how many steps you have to take and how small or big they are, you have to take them to get closer to your goal. When you follow your dreams, there will be storms you have to get through, it will not be easy but at the end of the day worth it. I followed my dreams. I had a good time growing bright tobacco but I put everything into my dream of cigars despite what everyone around me said. They said it was impossible and worthless. But I still chose to put everything into my dream and in the end I succeeded. Today, despite what everyone thought, I sell in over 17 countries from not selling my cigars in any country at all. What was hard was that the friends I thought I had closest to me in the industry and never thought would stab me in the back did. Their fear of competition showed, instead of us helping each other. But I chose to fight on for the dream anyway”

I really want to say a few things here. When a person stabs you in the back, no matter how hard it is, there is a good lesson to be learned. When a person stabs you in the back, it shows that the friendship you had was a fake one. See who stands by you in the storm and lifts you up extra when things are going well. These are the people worth putting your energy into and they are the ones you can trust.

A lot can be said about our conversation and I could almost write a book about everything Tony has to teach and convey. What I noticed quite quickly about Tony and his way of being is that there are two things that I really respect. His view of freedom and a wholehearted loyalty that he conveyed. I think loyalty is becoming more and more rare in today’s society and is something to look up to and respect.

Stallone Cigars Series

Read about the cigars by clicking on the images.

I want to thank you Tony for your time. It was a real honor for me to be a part of your story. There is a lot to learn and many things I think many in society would feel better about following. The quote “A bird should not be in a cage, it should fly free” Will echo in my thoughts for a long time to come.