Brian Levine: A Host Who Has Worked Every Link of the Industry

Brian Levine is a figure who has worked both the commercial and publishing sides of the American pipe and tobacco industry, best known in the community as the host of the weekly The Pipes Magazine Radio Show. Having worked nearly every link in the chain — from a shop counter to importer representation, from trade-association management to magazine publishing — makes him one of the few people who know the industry end to end.

Roles in the Industry

Levine's first job was managing the humidor at the Las Vegas and Beverly Hills branches of Dunhill stores. He then worked at Hollco Rohr, a distributor that brought a broad range of brands to America, including GBD, Comoy's, Jobey, Castello, and Peterson. This was followed by roughly six years as sales director at Peter Stokkebye International, named for the Danish tobacco man.

His next stop was sales and marketing director at the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (today's PCA), the trade association for retailers. From 2009 to 2010 he served as general manager of Smokingpipes.com in South Carolina; he left this role when his family, unwilling to relocate, forced him to commute from Charlotte, North Carolina. He then took on American distribution for Brigham pipes and accessories, a role that eventually merged with a vice presidency of sales at the Sutliff tobacco company.

His last commercial role was at SpecComm International, publisher of Pipes and tobaccos magazine. The company's assets changed hands in early 2019; the magazine, which had begun publishing in winter 1996, closed with its spring 2019 issue. Levine only lasted about six months in this role. Records show he works today as an independent travel consultant.

The Pipes Magazine Radio Show

His true recognition in the community comes from the radio program that, according to records, began with an offer from pipesmagazine.com owner Kevin Godbee in the summer of 2012. The program went on air in September 2012 and has kept its weekly schedule ever since. The hour-long episodes feature interviews mostly with pipemakers, blenders, collectors, and dealers, interspersed with discussions of blends and smoking. According to the publisher's own account, the episode count had passed seven hundred by mid-2026. The program is considered one of the most extensive archives recording the community's oral history.

Honor and Trade Show Organizing

He received the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club's annual Doctor of Pipes honor in 2015, alongside Dennis Congos. The honor is part of the club tradition that takes shape each May around the Chicago show.

Since 2022 he has, together with Dave Peterson, organized the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. Its predecessor was the West Coast Pipe Show, started by Marty Pulvers and Steve O'Neill in November 2009. The first major gathering under the new name was held at the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas in October 2022; records indicate the event's hotel contract had been signed that same spring.