Help please --- How do I become part of this scene?

[LatakiaLover]

There MUST be a way to attain such impeccable coolness.

The video is 15 minutes long, but the immersion is worth it. You'll come out the other side just like me. A Believer. (There will be a sense of loss that you've wasted your life until now, but there's nothing to be done about that.)

So. Want but have no idea how to GET there.

I'm desperate. Someone here must know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfegjiZSi9s

[finster]

So wait, they carve ducks and pipes?!

[LatakiaLover]

I see what you did there.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

Although I don't care for his pipes very much, he seems like a very genuine guy from my brief interaction. He started doing YouTube videos because he didn't have anyone in his area that was into pipes and wanted to have interactions with other pipers in a pipe club type way. It blew up and now he has a successful business. I can tell you this. He has brought untold amounts of new pipe smokers into the industry, and in the next few years some of those guys will undoubtedly be graduation into handmade pipes. That is 1000% more than I have done for the hobby, and he deserves respect for that alone.

[LatakiaLover]

... He has brought untold amounts of new pipe smokers into the industry, and in the next few years some of those guys will undoubtedly be graduation into handmade pipes. That is 1000% more than I have done for the hobby, and he deserves respect for that alone.

Exactly. Soon there will thousands upon thousands hooked into the scene, and I'll be left behind.

I grew up with guys like Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Paul Newman setting the social standard for male comportment and class. The PipeWorld equivalent was London's High Street shops and pipe smoking's association with a well-reasoned demeanor, thoughtfulness, and man-of-the-world sensibility.

Which made me sick, of course. Posers one and all. Society itself was deluded. My social heroes were those people who sounded and behaved more like John Belushi in Animal House, and were into body odor and belching. But no, such individual expression wasn't allowed. In fact, my highest hope was that one day pipe smoking would be associated with a performance artist I saw in New York City who vomited into a bucket, ladled it into a bowl, and then ate it with a spoon.

While I may not live long enough to see such free and adventurous self expression as the norm, I am tremendously relieved that things are finally---and obviously---moving in that direction.

So, back to my original point... what can an inherently un-cool guy like me do to join in without it looking or seeming artificial?

[sandahlpipe]

It all starts with growing a beard...

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

As a friend George I feel the need to tell you your curmudgeon is showing again. growing a beard is the first and most important step. Looking like a lumberjack in general will work, but you need to get your mug out there more. You almost had it with your YouTube videos. You were a little too informative. Let's go with a more casual approach. Maybe the way two sailors would converse while below deck drinking.

[WCannoy]

Aside from the few minutes I've spent in their company at pipe shows, I've had the opportunity to fellowship with this trio for several hours at a local meetup. I am nothing like these folks, but I came as I was, as did they, no judgments. Super nice folks... Super nice.

To dispose of all pretense, just be yourself, and allow others the courtesy of letting them be themselves... Such a simple directive seems so difficult to practice, but these guys have mastered it.

As Joe pointed out, these guys can rightfully be credited with shepherding countless new, young pipe smokers and collectors into the fold. This can only be good for the industry at large. A "trickle-up" effect will certainly follow as many of these new enthusiasts mature and graduate to more sophisticated levels of pipedom! The pipe industry is thriving right now, and it's not a result of anything that the "old blood" is doing. Witness the attendance at the Chicago Pipe Show this year; The demographic has certainly shifted toward the youthful side. A whole new generation of pipe collectors! This excites me! Now, let's get the village together and raise these children, instead of casting them out!

There are still plenty of Sean Connerys, Roger Moores, and Paul Newmans in today's pipe community, but you must recognize, even in their heyday, that the overwhelming majority of pipe smokers were working class rabble.

[WillAndersonpipes]

Looks like he's pulled Jeff Bridges into the scene... That's pretty cool


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pipedreamer]

George, You are fine just like you are.There have been times I didn't like your nit picking, but you give to those that hunger for transformation the instruction for doing so.Just be who you are; You can't please the whole world, but you can adapt and live longer and happier.You already have the meaning!!!Acceptance and happiness follow.

[oklahoma red]

This I know for sure: If I see you in KC next June with a lumber-jack beard a beanie on your noggin, swilling craft beer and most importantly have a hot Asian chick hanging on your arm then I will know you have "made the scene".
Having a side kick that looks a bit like Jeff Bridges will also be a plus.
One word: promoter

[Ratimus]

To dispose of all pretense, just be yourself, and allow others the courtesy of letting them be themselves... Such a simple directive seems so difficult to practice, but these guys have mastered it.

George, You are fine just like you are.There have been times I didn't like your nit picking, but you give to those that hunger for transformation the instruction for doing so.Just be who you are; You can't please the whole world, but you can adapt and live longer and happier.You already have the meaning!!!Acceptance and happiness follow.

George, you can't join the scene because you've already been in the scene the whole time. You just didn't know it. Wake up to the potential that's inside of you. Embrace your inner beard, bro.

[LatakiaLover]

It all starts with growing a beard...

Hm...

It would seem there's more to it than just that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToqNa0rqUtY

[LatakiaLover]

Also, there's this:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/bear ... verywhere/

I don't know about you, Jeremiah, but reducing my Babe Posse from its current 10-12 to, say, 4 or 5, would be a helluva price to pay for me. Being orbited 24/7 by a dozen gorgeous young women, all of them hoping to be one of the two or three lucky ones chosen that night, is something a man gets used to... and they'd probably tire out if there were fewer. That would be bad.

[sandahlpipe]

Well I have a baby posse, and if we continue at the current rate, we'll be up to a dozen in no time...but I think you're talking about something else altogether.

[Charl]

So come on gents! Who is up for making some money? Trying to get George cool can't be that difficult!

[LatakiaLover]

So come on gents! Who is up for making some money? Trying to get George cool can't be that difficult!

I know it will be disappointing to hear, but I must confess... Pipe repair actually hasn't made me a billionaire. I know thats what I claimed a while back, but I was exaggerating a little. (The difference between a hundred dollars and a billion is only a few zeroes.)

In short, the most I can reward someone for helping to increase my coolness factor is about a dollar fifty. Two bucks, tops.

[oklahoma red]

Ever have one of those songs that just will not get out of your head? After Charl's post, "The Impossible Dream" just will not go away.

[Charl]

The way the exchange rate is at the moment, I'll go for 2 dollars, George!
(Not that it will help your case having uncool Charl around! )

[LatakiaLover]

(Not that it will help your case having uncool Charl around! )

No worries. The coolness of South Africans was forever assured when this woman was born:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3TTi_gAS5c