Just who is Jim Robinson? To many, he’s “Island Jim,” a name given to him by Eddie Ortega and fitting for his love of tropical shirts and his former residence in Key West, Fla. He wasn’t always “Island Jim” though; in a former life he worked for Marriott and lived the clean-shaven, suit-and-tie world of hotels and hospitality, in particular spending weeks at a time on the road and properties around the country doing training and quality control. But he gave that life up to return to Pittsburgh, which is where “Island Jim” really came to life. He’s a retailer, known for the Leaf & Bean Strip in Pittsburgh, Pa. He’s also a brand owner, having created the Leaf by Oscar as a house cigar that has since found its way into nearly 1,000 retail shops, as well as the Island Jim No. 2. If you don’t know him personally, you might know him as one of Ortega’s Wild Bunch, having appeared on the series’ third installment, a cigar named for his often-uttered phrase, “wahoo,” which is used for everything from greetings to celebratory exclamations to a general utterance to signify a state of well-being. It’s an association to him ...
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