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Smokes, Stories, and Substance. Hosted by The Ellijay Cigar Lounge in Ellijay, GA.
Before I met you, if I was to get married, the intention would not be to glorify God. It - that would not be the the main purpose of it. In an effort to just kinda, like, please others, we wouldn't have made it so Christ centered and put an emphasis on having you pray, having Damon pray, and just really even caring about what is the purpose of marriage in the first place. But after meeting you, that became the goal when we got married. And, I could leave Ellijay tomorrow, and I'll never forget you for that reason alone.
Davis:Welcome to the 2nd season of The Burning Questions Podcast, the official podcast of the Ellijay Cigar Lounge. I'm your host, Davis Lacey. Thanks for joining us as we bring the community of our cigar lounge to you through smokes, stories, and the substance of life. The Ellijay Cigar Lounge just recently turned 2 years old. And on the Burning Questions Podcast, I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by sharing the stories of some of the people I've gotten to meet during our 1st year of business.
Davis:Today, we'll hear from Justin Marshall about how smoking cigars changed his life, or at least how smoking cigars was the venue in which his life began to change. As you're listening, it may be that you have a story that's similar to Justin's. And if so, I'd love to hear from you. Email hello@burningquestionspodcast.com . I'd love to set up a time to hear more.
Davis:But until then, enjoy this conversation with my guest, Justin Marshall, as we launch into the 2nd season of the burning questions podcast.
Davis:Alright. So I'll set the stage for those of you listening at home. We are at, Ellijay Cigar Lounge North Annex, AKA my back porch, which is just north of downtown Ellijay. And I tell you what, it's a beautiful mid June day here in North Georgia.
Davis:It's a little warm, probably in the low eighties or so, but it's cloud cover. And compared to the, like, mid to upper nineties, I feel like, that we've had over the past few days in direct sun. This feels really pleasant. There's a breeze blowing. The birds are singing.
Davis:So if you hear some birds chirping in the background, that's not added in, that's not filtered. That's just, that's just the beauty of North Georgia right here. And we welcome you to this episode of the Burning Questions Podcast, and I'm pleased to introduce to you my guest and my friend, my brother in many ways, Justin Marshall. Justin, welcome into the Burning Questions podcast.
Justin:Thank you.
Davis:Yeah, man. Glad that you're here. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule and your busy day to be here and have a cigar with me this afternoon.
Justin:Absolutely. Thank you for the cigar.
Davis:Yeah. So we're smoking, and this is the first time you've had this one. So I'm not gonna put you on the spot and and make you, like, remember the name and the brand and all that kind of stuff. But we are both smoking, the Aniversario series from Aganorsa Leaf. You've got the Aniversario Maduro and I've got the Aniversario Corojo, which is their original blend on that.
Davis:Both of these are fantastic. You know, all of this is grown in house from Aganorsa Leaf in Nicaragua. They're a seed to ash company. So high quality control. They cut out the middlemen, so you're not paying a markup at any point in the process.
Davis:You get a great quality product at a fair price. Is this the first Aganosa Leaf product that you've had?
Justin:It is, actually.
Davis:Would would you smoke them again based on your first puffs?
Justin:Yep. Another fine cigar out of Nicaragua for sure.
Davis:Tell me this. If you remember it, what was the first cigar that you ever smoked, and how was that experience for you?
Justin:The first cigar I ever smoked, was a recommendation, and it was the Champagne. Why am I drawing a blank here?
Davis:10th Anniversary from Perdomo. Is that right?
Justin:That's the one. Yep. That's the one. Yeah.
Justin:And, you know, I was at such an early stage in cigar smoking that I probably couldn't tell you the difference between a quality cigar and just something that wasn't very good. But I've acquired my taste over the years, and, I'm definitely more of a Natural and Maduro. You know, I enjoy those the most.
Davis:Yeah, man. So every, you know, every episode of the Burning Questions Podcast, we try to hit a few different things. We try to go smokes. We try to go stories, and we try to go substance. And so we wanna have just talking about cigars or pipe smoking if you're a pipe person.
Davis:We wanna talk about stories. You know, the story swapping that goes on in a cigar lounge is so great. So for folks that can't be here, you know, we want them to be here with us virtually at a distance, you know, whatever. And then trying to get into some of the substantial matters of life. And so, we'll get into that here in just a little bit.
Davis:But we always start with smokes. Seems like you enjoy Nicaraguan tobacco, and it seems like you're a fan of stuff that's more Natural and Maduro. What are what are some of your favorite companies or favorite cigars that you're that you're going to time and time again these days?
Justin:I'm going to My Father time and time again. Enjoy, the, La Aroma de Cuba. I like those very much. And then, of course, I like the, pretty much anything you recommend.
Davis:I did not pay Justin to say that, but, but he's right. So come on by the Ellijay Cigar Lounge. We'll take care of you. We'll hook you up. 100%.
Davis:Good deal, man. That's great to hear. That's great to hear. Well, man, it's so fun because this is the first time I feel like that we have featured somebody who I didn't know when we started this podcast, didn't know, obviously, when we opened up the lounge. You know, it wasn't a specific industry professional that I was reaching out to.
Davis:[You're] a customer that I met in the cigar lounge, that I shared conversations with, that we've got a deep friendship that's got some real substance to it. And so, as we kick off this next season of the Burning Questions Podcast, I wanted to have your story and just your presence here on the podcast. And would love for you to share with our listeners maybe just a little bit about your background, man. You can share as much or as little as you want to, but just help us get to know you, and that'll set the stage for our conversation today about how cigar smoking in many ways has changed your life for the better.
Justin:Sure. Yeah. So I moved to Ellijay, 2 years ago. And, I moved from Ohio. And before that, I was born and lived for over 30 years in South Florida.
Justin:Let's see. Where do I even begin? So, water treatment is my life, and it has been for a very long time. I must have been 13 or 14, and I would go to the the, pet store, and I would get a little 10 gallon fish tank. And I would ride my bike to and from that store with a little fish bag tied to my handlebars.
Justin:And I was learning about chemistry, pH, ammonia, nitrates, that sort of thing as an early teenager, and I just, couldn't escape water treatment. I got into manufacturing, and, I when I moved to Ohio, I tried to actually go into business with my brother doing something else. That didn't work out. Long story short, I moved to Ellijay. My mother lives here.
Davis:Okay.
Justin:And decided to reinvent myself. And so it's been about a year and a half now that I have started my own company called Liberty Water Purification, and I'm installing water treatment systems for residences and businesses here locally.
Davis:That's great, man. That's fantastic. What were some of the reasons in your life that led you to desire a reinvention, you know, a reimagining of Justin Marshall? What were some of those things that said "It's time for some change?" Like, walk us through a little bit of that in your story.
Justin:I got to a point where I decided even if I do this and fail, it's still going to be worth it. I don't - I don't wanna say I don't do well working for employers, but employers don't seem to appreciate all that I'm capable of. And so I'm just realizing, that I act I flourish and I thrive when when I'm in a leadership role. And, having the freedom to form an LLC and just give it my best has been better than I could have even imagined.
Davis:Yeah. That's great, man. So, you know, you have lived here for about a year and a half. And did did I get that timeline right?
Davis:About a year and a half ago, you moved to Ellijay?
Justin:About 2 years.
Davis:About 2 years. Yep. So it's funny because you moved to Ellijay in I guess it was June of '22, something like that.
Justin:Summer. Yeah.
Davis:Yeah. Summer of '22. So almost the exact moment to the day that the Ellijay Cigar Lounge was opening up.
Justin:That's right.
Davis:And so, you know, it was funny. You you may have been in before, but the first time that I remember meeting you was - it was a cut and light event. It was with La Galera Cigars, Tabacalera Palma, and it was a Saturday night in August right after, you know, right after we'd celebrated our 1st year in business. And so we're hanging out. There's a decent crowd, but it's not a massive crowd.
Davis:And, you came in. That's the first time that I remember meeting you, and we talked for a few minutes. And it wasn't necessarily a massive substantial conversation, but I remembered you. It made enough of an impact for a week later when you came back on the next Saturday night.
Davis:I remembered your name. I remembered a little bit of your story and all that sort of stuff. And at that point in time, without an event going on, you and I sat across the the bar and and had coffee together and had a cigar together and, really had a much more substantial conversation at that point. So I remember the first time that we met. I'd love to know what you remember about the first time that you met.
Davis:When you came into the cigar lounge those first couple times, man, what's going through your head? Like, what's - what's going well in life? What burdens are you carrying at that point? What what were some of the things that led you to say "Chilling in a cigar lounge and having a cigar is something that I need in life right now?" Walk us through that.
Davis:Well, first of all,
Justin:I commend you. Your your memory is outstanding, especially because I know all the things you have on your plate. For you to remember all those details is pretty impressive, but that's that's also how I remember it. I walked in. We we met briefly.
Justin:I bought a few cigars. I left, came back about a week later, and then it's been nothing but substance, between us ever since. And that's that's something I've always, really just loved about the lounge and the environment. It's filled with substance. I moved to Ellijay , and, I don't I don't know Ellijay without the lounge.
Justin:So for me, it's just - it's always been there. And it is just an iconic part of Ellijay to me, and it's it's the place we go. It's when when we want to, celebrate, when we want to make memories, when I'm not even a sports guy, but I'll go and
Justin:watch a game,
Justin:just because of the environment. But specifically between you and I, I mean - I mean, we've had some some deep conversations as it relates to, you know, you mentored me. You guided me through, you know, some of the tough questions I had about getting married. You know?
Justin:And then eventually, you prayed at my wedding. You know? You know, it's because of you that I moved out of my apartment with my girlfriend 6 weeks leading up to the wedding.
Justin:It's also because of you that we we abstained from sex, and I - we also sought counseling, which which you were a major part of, that as well.
Davis:So if you go south, it's probably because you had a bad pre - marriage counselor. You know?
Justin:That's funny. Yeah.
Justin:You know, I also wanna mention that I found a fellowship through through you and the lounge with these transformation groups that stem from from Autumn Ridge.
Davis:Sure.
Justin:I was and, you know, this is just one of those things that you just can't make up. I was, you know, I had worked at the water plant in Gilmer County, working night shift and just it was just, I had no social life, and I was starting to just - just kinda feel a certain type of way about that. And so I was seeking a, during that week time period where we met, I was actually seeking a local, support group for Alcoholics Anonymous. Specifically a men's meeting, which I never found. You know, in South Florida, there's a lot more options for those
Justin:sorts of things compared to Ellijay.
Davis:Sure. And it's not because it's more prevalent. It's because in Appalachia, we like to pretend a whole lot more than other people. I can say that having grown up here, man. We just don't talk about that stuff.
Davis:We play with it. We pretend it's not there. It's the elephant in the room.
Justin:Well, I'm not afraid to talk about it.
Davis:I'm glad that folks like you are moving into our community because I hope it brings cultural change and personal transformation in a lot of people.
Justin:Well, who knows? Maybe one day, I can help pave some of that ground.
Davis:I hope so, man.
Justin:We'll see. We'll see. But, you know, to to conclude that thought, it was at that time that you had mentioned, you know, we we have men's meetings. We have transformation groups. And they - they're, you know, they're not Alcoholics Anonymous based, but I've found that they're even better.
Justin:And, they've - they've had and they continue to have a lasting impact on my life.
Davis:That's amazing, man. That's amazing. So just to recap, we meet as strangers in early August. And in our second conversation, it goes from a customer - proprietor relationship to, I mean, man, you - I think the amount of openness and transparency that we were able to share with one another in that second conversation, really our first real conversation, right, where we're sitting with each other, we're smoking a cigar, we smoke it to the end. We spent 60 minutes with each other or 75 minutes with each other.
Davis:That was the start of a months- long process for you where in in less than a year, you went from not being part of a church to part of a church. You went from not really reading a whole lot of the Bible to pretty regularly being exposed to that, both in church, but also personally. And then these transformation group settings.
Justin:That's right.
Davis:You went from, you know, not having a support system to coach, mentor, or support you through, you know, recovery from alcohol addiction to now you've got that place where you can talk and you can process, and you got brothers that that have your back that are supporting you in that. And and you went from, you know, having a committed relationship, but a cohabitating relationship, and there's some questions... And you guys took some really hard steps and countercultural steps of moving out with one another, of refraining from sex for a period of time before you guys got married to where as you guys got married, you were moving back in with each other. You were becoming much more intimate, not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually in, like, a very healthy [and] God honoring way. I mean, all of that, bro, was like, a cigar started all of that. That's that's pretty incredible to me.
Justin:It is, isn't it? Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, since that moment, I've increased in faith, decreased in fear, become just a better man.
Davis:Amen, dude. I affirm that. I received that. That's cool. What was it (just going back to that first conversation before we talk about some of the other stuff), what was it about that first conversation that you and I shared?
Davis:Was it the cigar? Was the cigar just part of this culture of openness and non judgmentalism? Like, what was it that made you feel comfortable not just talking about surface level stuff, but really actually maybe starting to get into thick of things. Was it stuff that I was doing and saying? Like, talk me through maybe what what led to that?
Justin:It's hard to put my finger on it exactly. I think it was a combination of just the environment, your personality. Just, man, I don't know if everyone can just naturally have the kind of, I don't know, reciprocating thing we had going on, but, it just felt it felt natural. I felt relaxed. Just it was easy. I wish I could be more specific.
Davis:That's okay. But It's it's good that you didn't feel like I had a a process and a procedure that I was trying to follow. Right?
Justin:No. Never felt like that.
Davis:I've got principles, and those principles are, like, hospitality, warm welcome. I love cigars, and not everybody loves that me as a Christ follower, as a as a pastor, loves cigars. But, man, I read in the Bible and see such freedom to enjoy that - if you're gonna do it for the glory of God. And one of the ways that I do that for the glory of God is just using it as a bridge. If you and I can talk about cigars, I think inevitably, one of the questions you probably asked me 30 minutes in was, "Dude, what made you want to start this?"
Davis:And for me, that's that's the $1,000,000 question in the lounge because it's not me trying to do a sales pitch. It's just me giving an honest answer of: I love people, and I love people because I love Jesus, and I love cigars, and I love cigars because I love Jesus, and this is sort of the mingling of all of this. I love this community that God's called us to, and I do that because I love Jesus. And so I think being able to talk about that, hopefully, there was sincerity and intentionality without there being this awkward, pushy sales pitch kind of stuff. It's it's just like this is who I am, man.
Justin:No. No. Not at all. Not at all. Actually, I just remembered you were, like, mid- dinner.
Justin:You had some kinda, like, Tupperware from a microwave. You were eating and talking at the same time.
Davis:That's super on brand.
Justin:And it was just it was just like, like, you were my buddy instantly. I'm talking to my here. He doesn't care if I'm stuffing my face while I talk to him.
Davis:That's pretty on brand for me. That sounds about right. Yeah. That sounds about right, man.
Davis:That's cool. That's cool. Well, bro, that's great, man. As we've known each other now, you are, you know, you're you're a regular at the lounge, which I appreciate. You are a fixture at our church, which I also appreciate.
Davis:What are what are some of the things now in this season of life where you're hoping to experience some breakthroughs or some transformation? And and how can I - how can I be part of that with you?
Justin:Well, that's an excellent question. So I've already begun, forming new friendships at the church,
Justin:I might even call them small partnerships. Just doing a little bit of - ways of making a living, with some of the guys at the church. I'd like to maybe see what other kind of opportunities there are there are to expand upon that. You know, my business is doing well. I'm just not as busy as I'd like to be.
Justin:So maybe, maybe that can grow more here in the near future somehow. But, yeah. You know, I've just - I've just made a lot of mistakes in my past, so it it weighs heavily on my mind that, for a 36 year old, I just I feel kinda behind. You know, I'm still - Carly and I , we're not homeowners yet. We're we're trying to get out of debt from, you know, I've got a college loan that I'm still trying to pay off, that sort of thing.
Justin:So, you know, I'm just trying to catch up on those sorts of things right now.
Davis:Sure. That makes sense. That makes sense. Well, on the flip side, you know, I wanna encourage you that, yeah, there's there's room to grow, and that's true of all of us, right?
Davis:Your areas are different than my areas, but like - we all have room to grow. But we also, led by the Holy Spirit, can look back and see how much growth has been taking place. So just in the context of your relationship with me, and I know that means your relationship with the lounge and your relationship with the church, but it kinda started with us. Right? Smoking a cigar together over the course of the past 10 months now or so.
Davis:What are some of the biggest growth points that you've seen that you could look back on and say, man, "I see transformation here." "I see growth here." And not to oversimplify it, but, "This is how cigar smoking with Davis has changed my life."
Justin:Right away, what comes to my mind is I had the courage to go out and get married where I'm I mean, months before
Justin:I - I don't - I didn't have that kind of conviction. I just didn't. And now, the same goes for having children. You know?
Justin:I cannot say I'd be in this in this place without meeting you and the bridge that we're talking about that the lounge has to offer. And then, of course, being led by God, throughout all of this.
Davis:That's the big one, man. That's the big one. That's awesome, man. Well, as as we start to to land the plane here, number 1, you're - you're busy, man.
Davis:You are, you know, a business owner, and I understand that all consuming a lot of times. But you're also a new husband. You have just recently moved, so you've got all of the the unpacking and the the honey-dos.
Justin:Don't get me started on that.
Davis:Yeah. Well, cigars help with that. So, you know Yeah. But, you know, take take maybe our listeners back to where you were 10 months ago in August. And - and if someone is listening to this episode and they're in the same spot, and maybe it's they want support for recovery of any sort.
Davis:And and maybe it's not that. Maybe they just have some questions about faith or questions about life in general or whatever. Man, whether it's a cigar shop, whether it's a church, wherever somebody's gonna go look, you know, you did a really good job of opening yourself up to to take this. It wasn't just, "I want some help," or, "I want some support," or, "I want some encouragement." Man. You really went out and and sought it.
Davis:So what advice do you have for our listeners in terms of them saying, "Here's how I could go about finding a similar support group or support person?"
Justin:That fear you have of being vulnerable, get rid of it. Because you're - you're gonna- you're gonna say things and do things that might embarrass you once you finally do find a support group, and a good support group is gonna see you through that. A good support group will help you build. Don't try to do this by yourself. Yeah.
Justin:I mean, I still - I still am humbled, especially in the presence of you and, you know, the great guys in our group. I feel like everyone is further in their walk than I am. And while that is so encouraging and I and I learned so much from you all, I do sometimes, just feel hindered by it. But that's my own doing. I would just say, you know, again, just find that group.
Justin:Don't do this alone.
Davis:Yeah. I I would agree with you, man. And I think I would add for folks that might be, you know, in terms of our relationship and how it started off, folks that might encounter folks who, whether they know it or not, are seeking this kind of support or are open to this kind of support. From my standpoint, man, that first conversation we had, it wasn't about me trying to get any specific messaging across as much as it was me just, like, genuinely, as simply as I can - I just took a genuine interest in in who you were, what your story was, and just, just tried to ask some good questions. And not not with, like, an ulterior motive, but just, "I really wanna get to know Justin." And from that, there's a whole lot that we can talk about, but at that point, it's in the context of conversation and relationship and not I'm not - I'm treating you like a person and not as a project. You know what I mean?
Justin:And that's exactly why I ended up at Autumn Ridge that very next Sunday. And I've been going ever since.
Davis:I was about to say, man. That was funny because that was a Saturday night, and you were there the next Sunday. If I had a dollar for every time I've met somebody at the lounge, and it's like they say, "Hey. We're gonna come check out your church." And then never did it. Like, I would I would be a rich man at this point.
Justin:Yeah.
Davis:And that's okay because there's also a handful of folks that have have followed through and have, you know, taken taken me up on that. And that handful of folks is more encouraging to me than the folks that haven't followed through on that are discouraging to me. I'm way more encouraged than discouraged that there's anybody who would - who would benefit from what we're doing at the lounge and what we're doing at the church instead of thinking about all the folks that aren't. Does that make sense?
Justin:Completely.
Davis:Yeah.
Justin:Yeah.
Davis:That's good, man. Well, dude, I know you're a busy man, and I know that our listeners are busy. And so, I just wanna thank you for your time and for being appropriately vulnerable and open right now. You're practicing what you're preaching, man. You're you're not afraid to do that, and I appreciate you sharing that with us.
Justin:It's been an honor. This is my first podcast ever.
Davis:Oh, well, it it won't be your last, man. We'll get you back at some point. We'll get you back at some point. Before we go, you know, you are a business owner. So you've got Liberty Water Purification.
Davis:Tell folks a little bit about what you do and where they can find out more about you. In that way, if there's anybody listening that that might be interested in supporting you in the work that you're doing, if we can be a blessing to you in that regard, we'd love that.
Justin:Yeah. So my website is libertywaterpurification.com. I'm also on Facebook. And we, I, I say we, I plan to to grow, but, we test water, and then we diagnose and then prescribe a a treatment for it. So maybe that looks like just removing iron because you don't want stains, or maybe it's more health related.
Justin:You want to know that the water you're drinking is not harmful. These are all things that, we can discuss in detail. I usually go out and do preliminary testing and an initial consultation at no cost. We look at what an installation would entail, and then we take it from there. So that's that's basically it.
Davis:Awesome, man. Fantastic. Well, dude, thanks for your time, and thanks for joining us on this episode of the Burning Questions Podcast. Like I said, I hope that we get to do more of these in the future as we continue to see what God's gonna do through us having conversations and relationship and Lord willing smoking many, many, many more cigars together as the days pass.
Justin:Sounds great.
Davis:Awesome, bro. Thank you so much. And listeners, thanks for listening along. We'll tell you all about the ways that you can follow along with Justin's story and stories like Justin's by tracking along with the Ellijay Cigar Lounge and tuning in to future episodes of the Burning Questions Podcast.
Davis:What an encouragement that was to me. I hope that this conversation was an encouragement to you as well. Once again, special thanks to Justin Marshall for sharing his story and to you as well for listening along. I'd love to personally invite you to come and pay us a visit at the Ellijay Cigar Lounge. I'd love to hear your story, share more of mine, and see what might happen together, all while sharing a great cigar together.
Davis:But even if you can't make it to Ellijay, there are a couple of ways that you can follow along. First, please subscribe to the Burning Questions Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts. Not only will you automatically be updated when new podcast episodes drop, but you'll also help boost our analytics and get stories like Justin's in front of others. And secondly, in addition to subscribing to our podcast, please feel free to drop us a line. You can email hello@burningquestionpodcast.com .
Davis:We'd love to stay in touch with you. On behalf of Justin Marshall, Liberty Water Purification, and all of us here at the Ellijay Cigar Lounge, I'm your host, Davis Lacey. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Burning Questions Podcast.