How did you get into cigars?

A friend brought over some Swisher Sweet Outlaws, the raggedy end ones that looked like something out of a Clint Eastwood western. Then a local place opened up a smoke shop with a walk in humidor. We were hooked for a while until they closed down. I took a ten plus year hiatus until I smoked a few on occasion from a cousin and uncle at family gatherings. Decided I should invest in a humidor, found this forum, and the here we are.

Very nice. Welcome to the fun house @MadMan5117 .

I was introduced to cigars in 1995 at a cigar/dinner party at a restaurant that I was a bartender at. My first cigar was a Macanudo Hyde Park. It was awesome and I have been hooked since. I could only afford 2-3 cigars a week way back then. Now, for like the last 10 years, it’s 5-10 a week.

A good friend has smoked cigars since young. During a visit we woukd sit by the pool and he would cut a Short Story for me.
Started buying my own, then after a while signed up here. Couple years later and its today.

We'll doc, it all started when I bought a mobile home out of high school and we had card nights at my house. Someone brought cigars. 
It was only a once in a while thing. 

A few years later, I was doing some work and some Marines brought some. And I couldn't very well offend them by saying no.

Then my family fishing in Alaska, my step dad kept a box of RyJ on the boat for me, when we were running back in from the Bering Sea. He'd smoke his pipe and I'd have a cigar. Still remember the small of the ocean and tobacco smoke filling the wheel house.

For a long time, cigars got forgotten and then my son was born, stopped at the local news stand and bought a box. And when that box was given away or smoked, it became forgotten again until the second boy was born. 
Again, another box.
Same thing. Smoked, given away and forgotten.

One day, I received a cigar catalog in the mail and there were hundreds of different cigars. Ones I'd never heard of. And it started all over again.

Then, the internet and the wonders that it afforded. Things like the devil site. Looking back at my account there, it says I registered in 2000. LOL!

IndustMech said:

At what point did you discover Cameroon wrappers?

Years ago, I found I liked AF cigars. So I started to look into why I liked them.
Since the cameroon wrapper seemed to be the primary flavor, I started looking at other cigars that had the cameroon wrapper. 
And when the internet took off, I discovered a wealth of info on the cameroon wrapper and then, discovered the Torano 1916.
The 1916 became my go to cigar, as the price was quite low and tasted great. 
From there, I started to search out other cameroon cigars.
Some have been great, some not so great. 

I was in San Antonio in 2011 and walked by this cigar shop in an indoor mall somewhere within walking distance of the river-walk section of town and they had rolling tables up front near the window. I went in to check it out. The rollers were not there that day but I spoke with the owner and he recommended a few of their cigars and I bought a handful and smoked a few on the balcony of the hotel overlooking the river-walk. That's where it all started for me. I had had a few cigars over the years but I got very enthusiastic after that visit to the cigar shop in San Antonio.  

My father tried the same thing. He told me if I wanted to smoke he would buy the pack, but I had to smoke them all at once. He said the same thing about beer, he'll buy the 6 pack.......Once I turn 18 I asked him for the 6 pack. 37 years later he's still holding out on me. Became and inside joke between us.