Haha, you'd be surprised. I was hiking in this 1000-acre preserve the other day when I ran into a middle-aged man who wanted to know about ego-style/T3 setup. He saw I had my day bag, noted that I was pretty well-equipped for just being out there and asked me if I was doing the full 8 miles (not a lot of people do because of the heat and several-mile stretches of soft sand, so you don't see too many people carrying things like food and water. There's a 3-mile loop and a 5-mile loop... ...most of the people I see out there do the 3.) I told him that I was indeed. He said that it was pretty impressive for a smoker to be taking on both loops in a single trip. He said that he used to be able to go on hikes like that but hasn't in years because of his smoking. I think he must have seen me vaping from a distance and thought I was smoking. I explained to him that I wasn't smoking and that it was an electronic cigarette. That was when his head exploded. He summoned me over to the shade and asked me to explain. I had brought some juice along with a spare setup, so I gave him the whole spiel while I showed him how it worked. As I was filling up the T3, he noted that it was a lot simpler than he though it was. I let him take a couple of puffs. He seemed pretty surprised at how good it was, though he wasn't into the button. "Believe me, you get used to it." I assured him with a smile. He asked me where I could get something like that and how much it would cost. That was perhaps when he was totally sold. I gave him a couple of business cards and sent him on his way. For all that I know, he's lurking here as I type this!
I also had "the talk" with the owner of a local liquor store when I was looking for everclear. When I told her what I was using it for, she was like, "Okay, wait, tell me more..." So I broke out my setup, gave a demonstration and ran her through the basics. She asked me a few questions about how it was working for me, how long I had been using it, if I had smoked since switching, if I was really feeling any better, etc.. After chatting for about 5 minutes, she explained to me that she and her daughter were trying to quit but had little success sticking with the blu kit. She thought my ego-style setup looked like something you use for other substances, but was curious. I explained to her that there were other options out there that are worlds better/cheaper, to which she responded "Clearly!" I gave her a smokeless image business card with a 15% discount code as well as the addys for MBV and ECF written on the back and encouraged her to look into it. I went back there a few weeks later actually buying alcohol for drinking and she showed me her pink volt cigalike. "Why didn't you tell me about the COLORS?!" was the first thing she said to me. She quite emphatically went on and on about how well it was working, how cheap it was, etc. Last I heard, she was looking into stocking them in her store! Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Moral of the story: ALWAYS carry business cards and never assume that there aren't people who are legitimately interested in vaping not vaping. You'll never have the opportunity to see otherwise if you only stealth!
I am home for the summer in Central Wisconsin and more people around here need to catch on. Where I work, I see so many people walking around the parking lot with stinkies.
