About 8 months ago I came across two pipe smokers, much younger than me & I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed their company. Both of them display the same love, dedication & joy to the hobby as I do. I have spent a lot of time talking & smoking my pipes with them. Slowly this got me to thinking that these guys are the future leaders of our community. In some respects they are already in fact leading within their circles.

Some members of what we could call the Old Guard (of which I am to an extent a part of) in our hobby is starting to see their ideas go by the way side. Unless these guys adjust & change their views, they will quickly be forgotten. There is so much ego in this community & we are all doing so much better without it.

The New Guard is actively doing a lot of ‘innovation’ to shake things up good & proper. We are currently seeing them attempt to stake their place in the ground. Who will ‘stick around’ remains to be seen.

What about the Future Guard? What is in store for the hobby 10 to 20 years from now? Who will be leading the charge & pushing ideas, information & in general, who will be influencing all of us?

On the collecting side of this question, I am profiling one of my new pipe smoking friends. He went to his 1st Chicago Show this year and I asked him to write about that experience as well as to give us some insight into any deeper issues he see’s going on in the pipe world today.

With the hobby or what seems to need a better term these days, the ‘Industry’ continuing to grow at a Very Impressive Pace, especially on the pipe making side, this new generation will be very busy dealing with a host of new issues that the pipe hobby/industry faces.

I give the floor to him and remind us all that this is the future of our community. These are the people who will carry the torch forward.

A small sample of some of Josh’s favorite pipes. He adores a bulky & beautiful Roush. A beautiful & funky Gracik & he loves the Danish elegance in Eltang.

Josh talking about his first time. 😉

So there you have it. A 25 year old pipe smoker & collector. I for one am impressed & there are a whole heck of a lot more of them out there.

Retailers, pipe-makers and all in the industry. Take note. This is where your future marketing will be heading. They are a smart bunch who see more than you think.

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