Interview with Roman “Agrob Hookah” Vlasov /// Boxing for the most interesting question!

  Good day everyone, friends! We decided to interview Roman Vlasov – cigar and lagnard maker, blog author and creator of his own universe.  

— Tell me, Roman, where are you from and what do you do now?

I’m from the Leningrad region, the town of Kingisepp. I work for Russian Railways as a track fitter.

— Your name is Roman, and what or who is Agrob? An alter ego?

It’s an image invented for online games And he also became the main character in the invented world of the channel).

— Can you tell us, please, what is this fictional world? How did you come up with it and why?

I’ve been reading books since childhood, fantasy, sci-fi, classic literature, in general, everything I can read. A book of 450 pages I read in 5-6 hours. And ever since I was a kid I was wondering what would happen if I united all the worlds I visited thanks to books. That’s how the tavern was born, in which all the actions take place)

— Who are Businda and the Minstrel?

They’re fictional characters. Businda is my cat, who became the prototype for the tavern owner. And Minstrel is music. After all, who else but wandering performers know a lot about music?)

FLU-FFY!!!

— What got you into the cigar/hookah craft? How did you learn how to do it?

I actually liked the smell of someone smoking a hookah in company. I started to understand what it is and how it works, and slowly got involved. And I started brewing because the strength of the tobacco was no longer enough. Yes and aromatics got bored, I wanted to make something strong and interesting, I started to try to brew, test different possibilities of cigars and cigarillos, asked a lot of those who brew, and all this time brewed, tried, and stayed in this event.

— How did you start making lanyards, where do you get your materials, how energy intensive is it?

The lanyards didn’t come quickly. But at one point I wanted aesthetics in the moment of smoking. And there is nothing more aesthetically pleasing than stones around the neck. And that’s where the search for materials begins. At first I was looking for stores with a large assortment, but then I went to marketplaces and realized that there is a lot to choose from. Actually, now I order stones, beads and small parts there. In terms of energy consumption, honestly speaking, both a lot and a little at the same time. Some I redo 5-6 times simply because I do not like the result. That’s why I rarely make for the soul.

— Is the tavern more of a hobby for you or is it still your main (additional) income?

It’s a hobby, and a part of life. The opportunity to get to know new people, socialize and learn something new).

— What are your plans for the future, is there a development plan?

There are always plans for the future) Moving to St. Petersburg, development in terms of photos, development of the channel, development in cigar brewing. There are a lot of plans. And all of them will be gradually brought to fulfillment).

— How did you get acquainted with the brands Africa and Himera? What do you have in common?

I met the guys more than a year ago. It all started when I saw the Elephant bowl. And I became interested in how it was made, it was original, so the person who made it was obviously interesting. And so it turned out, Eugene turned out to be a man passionate about what he does, passionate about Africa and its culture. We met and had a chat. From then on we exchanged prototypes and opinions on what we were doing.

I was introduced to Vova by Eugene. And it became clear to me why they are friends. Zhenya is a calm person, Vova, on the contrary, is in motion.

Vova is an emotional man. But that doesn’t bother him.

They know exactly what they want and strive to do it.

In general, I am glad that I met them.

— What advice do you have for those who want to start brewing cigars?

Don’t be afraid to experiment, write everything down in detail and taste what you brew).

— What or who is the biggest pride in your life?

“Who” are my friends, they make me proud for sure)

And “what” is my books, which have been read more than once already)

— Tell us about your perfect day.

A perfect day is a day you spent in the company of friends, no matter what you do on this day – board games, hookah, walking, socializing. So it will always be different, but it will always be with close people)

Thank you so much Roman for such detailed answers, and right below this post, on our Hookah Hub platform we offer our community members to hold a Q\A session – ask any question to the brand representative in the comments.

10 days after publication, Roman will answer and choose the author with the most interesting question and send a gift:

A secret box