Bear Graves

Ron ‘Bear’ Graves was born in Landstuhl, West Germany (back when there was a West Germany) to parents who were serving in the US Army as psychiatric social workers. Shortly after returning stateside, Bear’s father joined the BIA as a social worker, which resulted in the family living on tribal land in Alaska and Arizona for the next ten years. It was in the former that Bear acquired his nickname; a village shaman told his father, through a translator, that his son’s totem was the bear, something that he had never encountered in a ‘gussak’ (a derisive term for the non-indigenous). The nickname stuck. After his honorable discharge from the US Army, Bear attended Arizona State for his undergraduate in business. It wasn’t until 1998 that Bear (in his words) “On a lark” entered a private medical college, graduating with a 3.96 GPA in 2002.

While Bear’s overly-gregarious nature made him a natural in sales, his passions for writing and pipes combined, which led to his eventual hire as a principle copywriter for Smokingpipes.com in 4/2005. Bear remained with SPC until 4/2010, after which he spent the next 41 months freelance writing for other sites and Pipes & Tobacco Magazine. Bear’s return to Smokingpipes.com found him with different responsibilities in the company; as a Media & Content Specialist. Bear’s interests include photography, technical scuba diving, spending as much time on his Harley as possible, and (of course) Viking hats.