Dave Zeplowitz
Dave began his broadcasting career while a high-school sophomore as an intern at WKBW-TV in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. In 1986 he graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and School of Management with a degree in broadcast management and finance.
His early radio career includes working nights at KFRU (Columbia, MO) and KELO (Sioux Falls, SD), afternoons at Cincinnati’s Q102, and mornings on Birmingham’s I-95, Charlotte’s KISS 102, and Q98 and WFNC-AM in Fayetteville, NC.
In 1989 Dave bought WPAS AM-1400 in Zephyrhills and, three years later, was awarded a construction permit to build an FM station licensed to Dade City. The station went on the air in 1993 with an adult contemporary music format on 96.1 MHz as B-96 FM WBSB.
He sold both radio properties in 1995, then created a radio show (“Smoke This!”) that he hosted (as Cigar Dave) that celebrated the cigar lifestyle. Although it originally began on WSUN, the show later originated from the studios of WFLA each Saturday afternoon and was fed to over 90 other stations and the internet. In 2000 he created and hosted a golf-related show (“Fore Play!”) that aired on over 50 Fox Sports Radio stations.
After 25 years on the air, Dave ended his weekly syndicated radio show in June 2020 and transitioned into a daily on-demand podcast distribution.
(For more about “Smoke This!” see the bio for Cigar Dave in Who’s Who.)
Station History
1989 - 1995 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (Management)
1995 - 2020 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (On Air Personality)
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