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March
2000 Surfing
the Boards It's been a tough month for me personally bros. I've managed to persevere and come out for the better. With the help of Jason and Flex I put together my ultimate cycle. Well I didn't follow Flex's rules to the letter, and started before one key item arrived. It was really late, later than I anticipated, throwing the whole plan out of whack. That caused me a lot of stress along with everything else in my life temporarily going out of sync and you can imagine... juice and stress isn't a good combo. However, along with learning from my mistakes a few good things have occurred. Probably the most important is I stopped fooling myself about GHB/GBL. I'm not going to preach, but I knew as I started my cycle, that it was affecting my training. Quitting it was harder than I thought it would be. I'm not going into details here, but there are a lot of threads currently posted about G addiction and withdrawal. Getting off of G has improved my training, clarity of thought, and life in general. Jason mentioned to me that there may be a future article written by someone who was on it for years. If this topic hits close to home, maybe do a little self-examination, read the threads, and watch for that article. This month's profile is the Underground Supplements Board. It has been my most difficult profile so far. My original interview canceled on me at the last minute, for personal reasons, I hope he's OK. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the UG lately with four monitors having their accounts terminated or leaving on their own. At times I felt as if I were writing for Hardcopy instead of AE. Controversy or not, I think I put together a fair profile and I tried to give the parties involved a chance to speak their minds. Shining
some Light on the Underground BW: How long have you been involved with BB and how active are you now in the sport? CE: I have been involved in body building for 7 years now, I don't compete, I enjoy the sport and am trying to get as big as I can, hehe. I am really dedicated to lifting four to five times a week, I sponsor body building competitions locally through my vitamin store. BW: When did you create the UG board, and what prompted you to do so? CE: I created the board over three years ago, back then there was only Anabolex and the Elite Fitness board. I saw a need to start another board that had more order to it, a board that would be monitored to keep control of the discussions, try to keep the source posts off the board and focus more on training, and supplement use to help newbies and the experienced exchange information and in the long run educate the members in all aspects of body building including drug use. The more a person can learn about body building drug use, steroids, the more chances that person will administer them in a safe way so he doesn't harm him self and give a bad name to BB drugs and the BB sport as a whole. BW: Your board seems to be the most popular, what do you attribute that to? CE: Well for one we try to stand on information content and quality, second the monitors have been around since the beginning of the boards creation. They are all well known. Hmm, I don't really know why the board is so popular. BW: Who are the current monitors? CE: 1.
Bjorn Schlotsky (monitor2) - oenophile@undergroundsupplements.com BW: How do you pick monitors? CE: Basically the original monitors were thermo, prince derush, bjorn, and tazzy... all the monitors are picked because of their popularity on the board and their knowledge. BW: It seems there has been a lot of controversy around the UG and it's monitors, most recently Warpig. Warpig recently circulated a private e-mail accusing you almost Mafioso type tactics. How do you explain this? CE: Well I can tell you this it would take to long to address all the accusations he pointed towards me. Ninety percent of them were not true. He is a shit disturber, all the monitors wanted me to delete his account! I use to have him as a monitor until he got too troublesome. What set him off was the fact that I called him a shit disturber, and then I don't know if you remember TIM (Cruizin) well he made some pretty bad accusations towards me, which were not true, I personally think that warpig has some emotional problems, mood swings, who knows what it is, maybe he lets the juice, if he cycles, to get to his mood too much, roid rage, but I don't believe in roid rage... BW: I asked Warpig if he wanted to respond "on the record." WP: Oh Really well then he is still lying in his teeth with the exception of thermo, fucker #1, and EQ, fucker #2, who are his partners in all the scams and sources being used and abused. All the monitors are my friends e-mail Raver, Bytor, Bjorn, Willi who resigned, Champy and a list of others I have these guys phone numbers, I speak to them, and I know them. See who is the shit stirrer, it's CE. I was going to let it go, but if he wants to talk shit behind my back, when guys on four other boards will stand up for me, then he is fucking himself. You tell me what other board monitor intercepts his monitors e-mails other than CE? Why, because he is a sneaky fuck. He better rethink his thoughts, before I tell everything I know. (edited) Side note: I wasn't trying to salt the wounds, but I really couldn't ignore the situation. I've been watching the UG board for a while, and Warpig was the third monitor to "go away" under with bad feelings. The first I saw was Martian, who became a source, creating a conflict of interest. Then Tim, under similar circumstances. BW: I know Martian and Tim left under bad circumstances. Is there a rule against monitors "sourcing" and do you think posts or threads were manipulated? CE: I did not know they were sources at the time I made them monitors. Then they became sources, for example Martian. I didn't do anything to remove their status, I just kind of got lazy and left things be. Same with Tim, he was overseas, and so I needed a person in a different time zone. From taking to him, I found out he sold and was setting up to sell. I didn't take his access from him either, so needless to say it was part my fault. I should of canned there accounts when I found out, but didn't. I figured no harm done... when it comes to manipulating posts, I don't know anything about that, it might of happened, who knows. Raver Interview BW: How did you become a UG monitor, how long had you been on the board before, and how long have you been doing it now? Raver: I made monitor in October 1999. CE e-mailed me after consulting with the current monitors of the time, Bytor, Bjorn, Thermo, Willi. I'd been on the board for 2 years prior to that. I've been a monitor now for 5 months. BW: What kinds of threads get you excited? What do you like to see? Raver: I love to see threads that concern training, optimum supplementation dosages, and the various results that different types of supplements can provide. There are so many new members of the board at any given time that these types of questions are very important, and sadly, they tend to be ignored by board vets who have answered the same question umpteen million times. I don't think that's a symptom of the UG, per se...take a look at Anabolex, Varix, Anonymous Bodybuilding, and Renegade, all of which I belong to, and note the number of complaints re. 'Newbie questions'. BW: What kinds of posts or threads do you delete? Raver: I tend to delete threads that identify sources. Posts that cause a shitstorm usually by people like: Principal Skinner, DaveP, Gonnabe, and CapAppa. Another example is posts that ask for non-bodybuilding related items, like valium, Xanax, and Ecstasy. I also don't like posts that fire broadsides at homosexuals, defame women in general, and loosely, depending on my discretion and the input of my fellow monitors, detract from the purpose of the board. BW: What is the purpose of the UG board? Raver: I'm sure CE and I have two completely different versions of the UG's purpose, but for me it's fairly simple. The board exists to allow people to discuss the subjects involved in 'enhanced' bodybuilding, to share information in an attempt to allow for safe use of 'supplements', and as a meeting place for like-minded people. When I think about some of the off the wall threads that have gone up in the last couple of years, it's a relief to realize that most folks are interested in more than just lifting and eating, and it's nice to be able to find people who enjoy the same things we do. BW: I saw a thread you started about the recent controversy. To my knowledge three monitors quit or were fired for being sources or creating problems: Martian, Tim, and Warpig. It's just too much for me to ignore, what's your take on this? Raver: Warpiggy - he's a good guy. Piglet has never been a source, Warpig2000 notwithstanding, and his tenure as a monitor was never known among the board members, vets, or monitors, excepting the few who caught on. I think Warpig's termination as a monitor was due to a personality conflict with CE, not because he was a source. Martian wasn't fired, he resigned on his own due to his perception of conflict of interest, which I think was the right thing to do. Tim I never really knew very well, but when his connection with ****** came to light, CE did the right thing and lost him. As I've said before, I'm disgusted with the idea of a source being a monitor on a board where monitors validate sources... and I'll state it for the record now. BW: I'm glad to hear you see the conflict of interest in being a monitor and a source. It reminds me of the scammers who create alias to be their "references." What is the approval process for sources? Raver: Exactly! Haldun, Scott, and Warpig2000 all providing references for each other. Imagine a monitor who's a source at the same time...who would he recommend? Pretty obvious. I've had numerous conversations with Bytor, Thermo and Bjorn regarding this subject, and I think we're unanimous in our disgust for the practice. I won't point fingers here, but another prominent board is engaging in exactly that practice, and the evidence is there if you read carefully. BW: Hmmmmmm, what about source approval? Raver: That always seems to be a touchy issue, doesn't it? Board members want sources screened and approved by the monitors or board owners, but then they grumble to each other that the monitors are using the situation to their own advantage. Without going into too much detail, the process is simple: A source contacts a monitor, provides a list of products, and a proposed price list. Comparing the proposed prices to the current average market rate of the products, a price is negotiated, and a sample order put in sometimes by the monitor, sometimes by a friend looking for some of the items. The first order is usually fronted to whoever orders it, so that there's no risk of the monitor or board member being scammed, but is paid for when the products arrive. The source is then referred to a group of 10-20 people who will make orders. If all orders are received in a timely manner, then the source is approved, and is referred to everyone else. If there are problems, they aren't. BW: How should the newbies approach a monitor with source questions? Do you give them e-mail addys, or do they need to develop a name for themselves first? Raver: No, no... never just give out e-mail addresses. If you're a newbie to the boards, the first and foremost priority you should have is to familiarize yourself with the subject matter at hand. Ask questions, postulate theories, get shot down, learn, learn, learn, and then, when someone can recognize your handle, a good 4-8 month period, e-mail a monitor and ask for a source. No monitor that I know of will just hand out sources, but there are ways to get trusted board members in touch with trusted sources. There are always exceptions to rules, and this case is no exception... there are members who disappear and reappear under different handles, newbies to the board who obviously have their shit together when it comes to the sauce, and those few and far between newbies who just seem to hit it off with a monitor or the board owner and are provided a source damn near immediately. BW: What would you recommend someone new to the UG do, to meet like minded people and develop connections? Raver: I think the UG is a different board from many others, it changes frequently with CE's participation. Sometimes he'll ignore the board for 6-8 months, relying on the monitors to keep order, and other times he'll be on top of every post. The environment changes a lot, and in order to meet people who share your bodybuilding goals, you need to pay attention to the frequency of posts by a given handle, the quality of those posts, and the reaction of other board vets to those posts. Board vets are always easy to recognize, they are almost, I say almost, there are always Gonnabe's, Principal Skinner's, and Dave P's who will malign and spew garbage regardless of a board member's standing, then there are the ones who will consistently answer repetitive questions, consistently answer e-mails, and consistently provide solid advice according to their own experience. BW: I've learned a lot from the UG newsletter, how often does that come out? Raver: Heh Heh, God I wish I knew! It seems that the newsletter is Tazzy's baby, he collects articles and reviews them, deciding which ones will be included. I agree it's a great resource. BW: I noticed you now have encrypted posting at the UG, what is the purpose of that and how is it used? Raver: Encrypted posts are created with a passphrase. Any other board member who has the passphrase can view the post. It's a neat way of providing information to one's circle, without worrying about e-mail or other board members reading it. CE has done some really fine programming for the UG in the last 4 weeks or so, I'm glad to see his interest has revived. BW: Is there anything else in the works for the UG? Raver: Well, as you've no doubt heard, there may be a radical change in the board monitorship in the near future. One or two stalwart monitors who've been through pretty much everything a board member can be through, are likely to leave the UG, but reappear rapidly somewhere else. For myself, I can tell you that I'll be at the UG until CE decides otherwise, I've made too many good friends there to abandon the place because of political or personality differences. In closing, I'd like to mention that the UG recently lost a fantastic monitor, and a very good friend of mine who's living abroad - Willi, Ich denke an dier! I don't think it will be a change for the worse, but I am sad to see a generation of good members leave the board. Let's hope that the new generation will be as interesting as the old, and by all means, C_Horse, Shadowcaster, Arrow, Green River Killer, Warpiglet and Roper, stop by every now and then and say hello. BW: This piece started with a dark overtone, due to all the controversy, but I must say you've managed to brighten up the Underground for me Raver. Thanks for your time. Raver: You're very welcome, I've enjoyed it. Copyright 2000 Jason Meuller and Anabolic Extreme. This material may not be copied, reproduced, or transmitted without the express written permission of the copyright owners. |
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