AnaSCI Interview: Cylon (Suppliers Corner)

[theRenegade]

PART 1 of 2
Interview by theRenegade

I went about getting the interview from several sources i know and at first they were all quite skeptical but as I relayed to them my intentions they slowly came around. One in particular. So for the inaugural issue of the Anasci Newsletter I present to you my interview. First source up for interview...may I present Cylon.

Renegade: Hey brother... thanks for agreeing to the interview. I appreciate it. I know its never good for a source to have the spotlight on them but this is definitely gonna be must read material.

Cylon: Well I have to admit I was hesitant and first but after you explained to me what this was about I though what the hell!

Renegade: I guess the question everybody wants to know is how's business?

Cylon: Its good for the most part. Like any business even one like this you have your ups and your downs but more ups than downs. I really cant complain.

Renegade: Beats working a 9-5 right?

Cylon: Actually I work one of those.

Renegade: Most sources do. Even the really good ones still hold down the 9-5. Some don't. Some do sourcing full time.

Cylon: Sometimes it can get hard to do both because both demand alot of your time. When I first started, my name really wasn't out there and I had to take time to build my reputation online, so for me working both was easy. But as time went on and people liked my services and I got referrals and new staying online, getting gear in, keeping track of order, shipping it out, replaying to emails in a timely manner, it all takes time. There are only 24 hours in one day. Sometimes one or the other would suffer because there wasn't enough time.

Renegade: So since you're still working the 9-5 job I assume you figured out how to juggle both to make it all work?

Cylon: For the most part. I mean I still have hiccups every now and then. Especially since I had to hire shippers. It just got to a point where I couldn't do everything myself so I had to include somebody which when I first thought about it really bothered me. You hear so many times over the years about sources getting busted because somebody they know rats them out. Well.. when I first thought about hiring a shipper I though about that very fact because as you increase your circle you increase the amount of liability you have. Its always a risk. I really had to to my due diligence when I hired my shipper.

Renegade: Sounds like you really put some thought into it. Sounds like your big on safety?

Cyclon: Well you have to be. This is no kids game. The ramifications of fucking up are your do time in prison. Unless you rat to save your ass which most sources do when they face the heat. I want to do everything I can to minimize my risk and exposure. That is the part that bothered me when I hired my shipper is like I siad I increased my liability. I had to find a way to balance that out and I was lucky because I hired a guy I know and I feel like I can trust but still I try my best to keep him at a certain distance.

Renegade: Speaking of ratting...here is a heavy question. Tell me and our reader what you would do if you ever got busted? Would you sing like a canary or keep a tight lip?

Cylon: I knew this question would come. Im not gonna bullshit. It would be tough. I dont have kids or a wife but for those that do when they get busted the pressure must be so intense that its easy for them to cave. If your single and you cave your labeled a pussy and deservedly so. You cant hurt anybody but yourself fin that situation but if you take the risk when you have a family...which is stupid in of itself because you putting all of them at risk, I can understand why guys roll. The taught of the feds charging your wife with conspiracy, them taking your kid or kids and putting them into foster care.. all that shit. Its sick. It must be incredibly hard. To be honest I feel bad for guys in that situation. I still think they should keep quiet but I can understand when they don't. As for me...I hope I never have to find that out. I would like to think that I would stay quiet and I always tell myself that is what I would do. Lets hope we never get the answer to that question.

Renegade: Fair answer. Kind of evasive...but fair. You say you minimize your risk. Give me example of how you do this?

Cylon: Well...Im not gonna sit here and just spill th ebeans about everything I do. I didn't agree to that. But what I will tell you is that for one..I dont sell local. I sell online and thats it. I always think its a mistake to do both. I know guys get really greedy and try to get money from both ends but in the end that just ends up really fucking you hard. To be hoenst I think selling local is probably one of the dumbest ideas you can do now. Your just asking to get busted becuase when you sell local you have to do the transactions face to face. The small amount of security you get from doing it online is that your real name is still anonymous. When you do it locally people know who you are which makes it easier to ID you and bust you. So for me I made it a ruke to never do both and never associate with somebody I know who knows me around what I do that does that locally. Also I take commom sense measures that you would think most sources would do but dont. I dont do any business on home computers. I have a seperate ipad that I do all my stuff from. I like the iPad becuase its light, sleek and I can dump it or hide it in case something were to go down. Much easier than a laptop. I use a proxy VPN and ISP provider so my ISP addy never comes from where I actualy live. I have all the latest harddrive wiping software , although I doubt that shit really works. Only taking your hard drive out and throwing it in a lake or the ocena will ever really get rod of the evidence. I never keep anything around me. Ever.

Renegade: That has to be rule number 1 but every source I see busted always has shit at thier homes. These UG labs have all thier chemicals, pill presses , etc all lying around the house like its pfizer or some shit.

Cylon: Exactly. And thats why they get hit hard. What evidence do they really have on you if they can never catch you with anything. Granted if its a fed case then they can charge you with conspriacy on just the word of a rat or some BS, but thats the feds and they dont come after you unless thier case is iron clad so in that case your fucked anyway. But getting back to these other guys that get busted...I just shake my head that they have thier entire stash just hidden under the bed like the cops wont search there or something. Its ridiculous.

Renegade: Seems that stems from complacency.

Cylon: Thats the biggest thing that happens to soruces when they have been doing it for a while. The begin to think they cant be touched or they are so good that they will never get hit, so they begin to get careless. They talk, or they leave stuff at thier homes or drive with stuff in thier cars and speed. All these really dumb things. They dont keep thier eye on the prize. And in the end its thier carelessness that ends up doing them in. How many times have you seen a source busted for driving with a suspended license or a license plate that is overdue and they get busted with shit in thier car with that. When I see that I think about how big of a dumbass they are and that they deserve that shit.

Renegade: What about when it comes to actually getitng payment for gear or sending it out?

Cylon: Well this is the part where Im not going to divulge alot of my information becuase I ship all over the world. I dont want to give away my secrets but I will say that as far as accepoting money, some of th emethids I use are your standrd green dot, western union or money gram. I never do cash in the mail. Too risky for me although when I first started I did and it was okay., alot easier than going to 5 million western unions to collect payments but then again you run the risk of somebody having your info and then they get busted and tie it back to you.

Renegade: Cash in the mail used to be like the standard way to go for most sources.

Cylon: It really was for a while. When I first started years back that was how all domestic sources accepted payment. Only time you did western union was when you wer sending money overseas or you were a source overseas. Now with the boards being so open and the feds and police all over you have to insulate yourself as best as possible. Even now western union and money gram are not fool proof but they are still one of the best options we have. The patriot act really took away alot of avenues sources had to collect money. I dont think there is one fool proof way to collect money., Even if you involve others to get money for you, by involving others you run the risk of them getting busted, Hence increasing you liability.

Renegade: You really have to know who you are dealing with then?

Cylon: You really do. I see so many new sources pop up everyday and they open shop like its walmart. Throwing sales, having super low prices, and doing all kinds of silly shit just to get customers. They are all liabilities to me. I know these boards use them and their fee;s to make money but it really puts the community as a whole at risk. I remember back when, it was impossible to get a source online unless you knew somebody and had been around for years. Now you can get whatever you want at the click of a button adn there are no security checks. Sometimes I think to myself the feds either dont care now or are building another operation raw deal because shit is so wide open.

Renegade: operation raw deal was some fucked up shit. some 52 labs got busted. I remember all the panic it created. Now with all the open sourcing its like everybody forgot.

Cylon: Not only forgot but don't care. Only thing driving most of these guys today is the dollar. They will risk life and liberty for it because in this game there is alot of money to be made. Powders are cheap, supplies are cheap and profits are big and when there is money to be made people will be there to make it. I'm sure the feds monitor how open the boards are now and probably shake their head at how stupid some of these guys are. I will tell you though, that its my belief that the internet is more open now than it was prior to operation raw deal. I mean you had steroid super board, OLM, and several others that were open source boards and SSB is what got the ball rolling but many of the sources that are around now were not there then, so they really have no idea how that impacted the community. They don't have that level of fear in them. Im sure the sources that did survive that are gone, back under new names with tight security or dead. See I think all these new cats are young kids. Because they don't have alot of common sense. USA domestic sources having websites that you can use a credit card on. Hell even international sites that accept paypal and credit cards. PAYPAL for gear. You might as well write them a receipt.

Renegade: I laugh at that all the time. Guys have gotten so careless now that its come to them accepting credit cards.

Cylon: I guess they don't remember redi cat like we do. The USA ATF and DEA went to thailand to get this motherfucker. They actually went to another country to get him. So if they did that for him what do you think thy will do to you if they want you bad enough. Credit cards just make it easier to come get you. Its ridiculous.

Renegade: So I know you have been around for a bit. How did you get started?

Cylon: Well like most guys, I started using. I was broke and couldnt always afford my own cycles so when I could afford stuff I would get extra to sell to get mine for free. When I really got serious about doing this is probably when I was at my lowest point financially. I was working 2 jobs and could barely make ends meet, plus bodybuilding. I woke up one day with no electricity because I didn't have enough money to pay the bill and I had to borrow money from a buddy. It was humiliating. I remember looking myself in the mirror telling myself I was busting my ass and not even making it. I was trying to do it the right way and had absolutely zero to show for it, There had to be a better way. One thing led to another and I borrowed some money again from a buddy and found a good source online back in the day who I wont mention here. He really hooked me up. I remember I had 2k and I bought a shit load of pakistani sust amps, norma hella decas, galenka enanthate amps, naposim dbol zambon winny amps, some clen , T3, HCG, etc. I made a nice little chunk from that. And just reinvested it into more with the profits I made. Rest is history.

Renegade: Sounds like you were really motivated?

Cylon: Well I was motivated to get out of the shithole situation I was in. Some guys are already in good positions and do it because they are greedy or for whatever other reason. I didn't it to begin with because I couldn't make ends meet. I guess my situation was a little different.

Renegade: How were you able to differentiate yourself from your competition. There are a bazillion sources online now?

Cylon: I just tried to offer the best service I could at the best price. I knew because I had human grade stuff and not UG that it would be a good selling point and it was. I mean its not like Im going door to door selling vacuums. Steroids basically sell themselves because you have a select group actively looking to get them. Bodybuilders are cheap asses so usually whoever have the best prices and services usually does well. Its not rocket science. Its drug dealing.

Renegade: So you consider yourself a drug dealer?

Cylon: Well technically I guess I am but then again so is walgreens right? Only difference is they are legal and I'm not. But if your asking me , do I put myself in the same category as the gold tooth , saggy pants crack dealer on the corner, the answer to that would be no. I do not. But I'm sure there are plenty of people including Law Enforcement that would disagree with me. I feel like what I do is help guys reach their goals. Steroids are actually a medicine. They do heal people with certain ailments where crack, meth, LSD etc do not do any of those. They only hurt not help so no I do not consider myself in the same category as ziggy the crack dealer down on the corner.

Renegade: How much do you pull in a month now?

Cylon: Wow..that was blunt?

Renegade: People want to know! Its a fair question. You always hear sources talking about how they have 100 emails to answer every day, 300 boxes to ship etc. They sound like they are swimming in money.

Cylon: Lemme tell you something...all that is bullshit.I read those comments too. Being a source I know what is really going on. Even the best sources are answering 100 emails a day. You know how hard that would be to do that everyday and get anything done. You would get up at 9am and be at your computer until 2pm or even later just answering emails. When would you get anything done? Alot of times sources say that to stall for time for whatever reason, or try to make themselves look bigger than they really are. If you have 20 emails a day to answer your doing good. I would guess some guys have 30 in one day and make 15 the next and it varies but no source had 100 emails a day every day. It are bullshitting if you do. And I will tell you the reason they don't. Competition. There are too many sources out there now trying to get a price of the pie to have that many people ordering everyday. Now as far as how much I make, on a good month 50k. I have done 65k before in one month but I had some big customers ordering alot from me. But I generally do between 10-15k a month. To be honest I used to really push it but now I'm more content to just go easy with it and be safer. I have seen to many guys get busted because they were trying to be the scarface of the steroid world. Nobody gives two shits about you in jail.

Renegade: Funny.. I think the same thing. I have to laugh and guys who bump sources as the best ever. Every source is the best ever until he gets busted or scams and then he's a real piece of shit.

Cylon: well that's human nature. as a drug dealer your every bodies buddy until they don't need you anymore or something goes wrong and then your asshole numero uno. YO have to realize that going in that while your around with your service you can expect to be "the man"! Once your time is over nobody will even remember who you are.

Renegade: So what are your goals? DO you want to be the next scarface of the steroid world?

Cylon: No. I will leave that bravado to the dumbass young kids. I would prefer to not even been seen on the boards, I do okay now with where I'm at. DO I want to make a million at this? It would be nice. But that would require alot of risk and that right now isnt something Im prepared to do. I'm content with the amount I make now with the people I have. I live good. I don't worry about electricity anymore and I put money away under my mattress for a rainy day. I dont have any specific set goals nor do I have a time fram. I go by my gut and when it tells me its time Its time. Just like this interview. Its getting to be that time.

Renegade: Yeah I guess I have taken enough of your time for today. I appreciate you answering my questions for part one of this interview. I look forward to part 2.

Cylon: Anytime brother. I actually enjoyed talking with you. I hope I answered the questions in a way that your readers will like.

Renegade. For sure.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview next issue!

 

[theRenegade]

PART 2 of 2
Interview by theRenegade

Renegade: Thanks for coming back to do the second round of this interview. I know you don't have a lot of time on your hands to do shit like this but let me tell you. The readers of the anasci newsletter will really enjoy this.

Cylon: So will the feds if they read it. You know they are on every board out there.

Renegade: Yeah I can't even lie or spin that. Every time you hear of a source busted or some steroid related crime and the punk who gets hit snitches, you know they tell them about the forums.

Cylon: It’s nothing new. They have known about the forums since the internet was turned on. If you’re a source coming into the game now you have to realize that the feds are patrolling the boards like the coast guard patrols the harbors.

Renegade: So since you know the feds are out there, making up screen names, calling everybody "bro", posting away trying to get inside tips, what do you do to make sure you're not one of the unlucky saps that get hit?

Cylon: Well to be honest it isn’t as easy as it used to be to spot them. See back in the day the feds really didn’t have the man power to waste fighting the war and roids. They might have assigned 2 or 3 people in the entire DEA taskforce to surf the web. They really didn’t have the resources to waste on shit like that but ever since 2005 when President Bush mentioned steroids in his state of the union address, everything has gone to hell. Feds back in the day were lazy and to an extent most still are. They don’t want to spend 1000 hours on the boards trying to make inroads. They don’t have that kind of time unless they are going after something big. So back in the day you could tell by the way they would post what was going on. Now because of the resources they have when it comes to time and money they can do anything they want and agents have become more sophisticated. They don’t stick out like sore thumbs as much anymore.

Renegade: So be that as it may what do you do to stay safe and not get hit?

Cylon: Well for one thing I don’t take on new clients. It’s only referrals and knows vets. If you can’t have a certain number of people from around the boards verify you then I won’t even waste my time talking to you. It’s just not worth that kind of risk to me. No references equals no service. Also I don’t respond to emails from unsecured places like AOL, Gmail, etc.

Renegade: That should be common knowledge but you would be surprised at how many guys don’t practice what they preach.

Cylon: I see it firsthand all the time in my area, You don’t have to explain it to me. I already know. References are the big thing. I hear people on the forums say to use Google or Hotmail for the business because their excuse for using Gmail is that there are so many users how will they ever know who is doing what because there is too much mail. I say that’s bullshit. These major companies have certifiable geniuses working for them. They can create a filter to find results in emails in half a second. If the email isn’t secure or encrypted I won’t even answer it. I would use PGP but many end users don’t know how to use PGP so it ends up being too much of a hassle. Hell even PGP has a backdoor now so nothing is truly safe. Using common sense is still the best defense.

Renegade: I guess we can thank the rat bastard Jose Canseco got the ball rolling on all of this for us?

Cylon: Well he brought it to the forefront and since he was an athlete it gave the politicians a spring board to make themselves look good be hitting up all the poor bodybuilders. They became easy targets. But Canseco just kind of let the cat out of the bag so to speak. Same with Ken Caminiti back in 2003. That just brought it out into the mainstream but even then it was just a passing thing. Shit didn't start to get really serious until Bush said something about it. That got the ball rolling.

Renegade: It rolled pretty far too. Operation Gear Grinder in Mexico and Operation Raw Deal. Those two blew the doors right open in our community.

Cylon: Gear Grinder wasn’t much, I know people get all riled up and sentimental about Mexico being dead and all the old vet companies are gone etc. etc. Really that was a blessing in disguise for the UGL guys here in the USA. The day I heard that I thought to myself a lot of domestic UGL's just got a whole lot richer. I mean look at it from this perspective. Before 2005 you had euro sources selling human grade shit, Domestic guys selling mex gear the mulled back across the border and a few sprinkled UGL's like IP and old Bruce Kneller a.k.a Red Star of China, GAC etc. Those were your choices. So operation gear grinder comes in and takes out one third of the competition and that left a lot of guys scrambling to find new income. Where do they turn?

Renegade: China?

Cylon: Exactly. China had just started getting to be known for powders. Major USA domestic UGL's were just getting rolling because at that point the main home brewers only made tren from the old finaplix pellets. That was it. Home brewing was really out there and considered dangerous by a lot of people. But when you main source goes down...i.e.: Mexico. What option do you have left? UGL went from being fringe to being main stream.

Renegade: And I guess really that made it much easier for the feds right?

Cylon: Well initially no because the change wasn’t rapid. It was gradual. What made it easier was how open shit got back then and even today. Boards posing sources out into the open like its Wal-Mart. The whole careless attitude. If you look back on it, the community got so complacent that they might as well have then a glove and slapped the feds across the face with it.

Renegade: Hasn’t changed much now. I still see that going on.

Cylon: Because people A) never learn or B) repeat others mistakes. What was that old saying “those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it??”

Renegade: Pretty much sums up todays community?

Cylon: In a nutshell.

Renegade: You think there will ever be a raw deal 2?

Cylon: If you keep up with all the rumors and paranoid people the answer would be yes, but to be honest if there was it would have happened by now. The community is more wide open than ever now. I think to be honest one Obama got elected he didn’t put as much emphasis on it as Bush did.

Renegade: I would have said just the opposite because the man who single handedly made the law worse for us is currently the Vice President of the United States. Joe Biden.

Cylon: Don’t even get me started on him. Please. Looking at time and his ass is disheartening enough.

Renegade: I can see you have no love for him wanting to protect our kids.

Cylon: Zero love for Biden. Used to be back in the day you would get caught will a pallet full of dbol and get a slap on the wrist. Now you are caught with one small tab and all of a sudden you're in jail for 5 years. Insane what the penalties have become for this stuff. You would think it was as bad as crack.

Renegade: Well that’s how the politicians portray it. They are fighting for the kids.

Cylon: Kids my ass. If they were so worried about kids why haven’t any real athletes faced any jail time like Joe Schmuck does.

Renegade: I can hear the frustration in your voice.

Cylon: Makes me mad just thinking about it. Huge double standard.

Renegade: Yeah but when was the last time you really saw Joe user get hit hard?

Cylon: All the time. Getting back to the feds, they are some sneaky motherfuckers which is one reason I try to do everything I can to keep my distance from them. They will do anything to really bust you. I don’t have to rehash all the horror stories but if you have been around for any decent length of time you will have heard or seen a lot of underhanded shit they do. I got no respect for that to be honest.

Renegade: What you mean like throwing a conspiracy charge on your wife or threaten to put your kids in foster care. Shit like that?

Cylon: Exactly. I have heard it all. I think about that all the time too. Because as a source your time is not infinite. Every source has a shelf life. Even though you see some of the European sources around for 10+ years they too have a time frame. The longer you stay in the game the more risk you take. Eventually everybody pays the piper when participating in this kind of endeavor.

Renegade: Well some of these older guys like Russian bodybuilder, IP, ganabol, ALIN, marrsell, etc. that have been around for years, and are still going strong. They always seem to know how to keep themselves out of trouble.

Cylon: They do. all the guys you just named have been around for a very long time and have very good operations running. They wouldn’t still be here if they didn’t, but let me tell you, someday even for them their time will run out. They will slip up or somebody they know and think they can trust will get in trouble. And then the roof will come crashing in. I hope not but it’s just the way it is. Unless you retire you have only one other option. Busted. It will happen. Just wait.

Renegade: They must also have money stashed away to so when they do step away its all good for them.

Cylon: they better. They would be smart if they did. But you never know. I know I will. Easy come easy go when you make the kind of money a good source can make. Most guys would probably blow it on cars, rims, boats etc. but I prefer to save my money. I try not to live above my means and draw attention to myself. The farther in the shadows I stay the better I like it.

Renegade: Well it’s got to be hard to put away any really decent money these days will all the sources out there to choose from. So much competition. Everybody trying to get the lowest price with best T/A. It’s not like a guy can make a shit ton in a short period of time.

Cylon: Well there is tons of competition. That’s both good and bad. Good because new guys usually have no clue on what to do. They run their business poorly because they are usually a dumbass kid or shortsighted meathead who only look at one thing. Money. They come in offer all kinds of sales, free product to get guys to try their brand and for a few minutes they do what they are supposed to and then slowly the shipping is late, emails go unanswered, orders get fucked up. People complain, sources come up with excuses, gets in over his head and bails. I've seen it 100 times before.

Renegade: So what’s the good in that? All I see is bad. People getting fucked out of their money.

Cylon: It is bad for them but it’s good for us sources because it makes those who left to find better deals come back and realize it’s better to stick with a proven provider. Look I get it. Everybody wants to make all the money they can and sourcing sounds like an easy way to make a ton of cash in a short period of time. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Renegade: How so?

Cylon: Well if you want to survive in this game you have to treat it like a business. A real business. Now I don’t mean go out and get a credit card processer and start taking credit. I have seen sources do that and laugh. People have gotten that comfortable or they think they are that untouchable and that they resort to credit cards. That’s okay because guys like them are ALWAYS the first to go. And when they do its good for us because the people that left us come pouring back in.

Renegade: Are you mad that everyday 10 new sources pop up. It must make it difficult on your business?

Cylon: Well it can if you are an intermediate source but the really popular sources don’t have any issues because they have a built in customer base which is loyal and won’t leave unless something drastic happens. So when the newbie source is popped all the customers go into a frenzy looking for help and the normal balance is restored.

Renegade: But don’t you feel that with all these new sources popping up every day that it gets to be too crowded. I mean there is only so much business to go around.

Cylon: I think about that sometimes and it’s true. It does seem that when you see all these new guys pop in daily the amount of money available to make decreases. But I guess that is the natural order of business right? Only the strong survive. Everything changes, even the steroid game. And the good sources, the ones that stay around a while adapt with the change. It used to be back in the day that if you sourced you were guaranteed to make good money if you always had product in and shipped out in a decent amount of time. That doesn’t necessarily hold true today.

Renegade: Customers are exactly loyal anymore either. They are looking for the best deal and will leave long time sources to find it.

Cylon: true. But that is human nature. You always want the best deal. I mean if your source was selling a bottle of test for $40 and you found it for $25 from somebody else wouldn’t you take that deal too.

Renegade: Yeah but with the price battles of all the UGL’s now in order to get business it must drive profits really down. I see guys giving away free stuff plus $200 on your next order…stuff like that. You really have to do the same stuff to keep your customers otherwise they will leave for better deals like this. If you always see guys doing this how do these guys make any money? What’s the point?

Cylon: I can’t really argue with that to be honest with you. That’s why I’m private and have my built in customer base who really don’t go anyplace else but when I see this type of business behavior from other sources, mostly newer ones trying to get their foot in the door, I do often ask myself why they are doing this for so little reward. This is no game. The consequences of you getting caught are real. You will do time. So why take the same amount of risk for diminished returns. Do these guys not have any other real jobs but this? It just reeks of desperation to me and when you have a desperate source you have a careless one, and that can lead to all kinds of trouble down the road.

Renegade: So you would never do sales or free giveaways?

Cylon: My prices are so good I don’t have to and my customers are happy with that. They know with me they will always get what they pay for in a timely businesslike fashion. And like I said my prices are so good because I buy in such volume and sell in such volume that I don’t have the give free deals because what my guys pay for is basically a deal unto itself.

Renegade: Wow... sounds like I need to get on your customer list.

Cylon: You need to but you can’t. I’m not taking any new customers. My circle is tight and where I need it to be. You won’t see me being so careless out in the open. My customers enjoy that type of security. They also know that I don’t deal local. As I said last time, I don’t mix the two because you’re asking for trouble if you do.

Renegade: So how do you see the game today?

Cylon: It has drastically changed from even a few years ago. You don’t have the security of knowing who people really are anymore. The forums have really blown up all over the internet. Forums owners take sources on without doing any real background checks because they want that sponsorship money. And I get that. That is really the other side of the coin. For some like us sources, the more there are the better it can be because it takes the heat off us older timers who are more secure and in the shadows., We let the young silly ones who offer credit card processing and PayPal payment take the heat. The feds know they are easy pickings and are sitting back collecting info on these guys and neglecting the harder sources to bust like myself. Feds don’t really want to work. They want easy shit so they can look good to the general public but they have no real interest in tracking down leads and trying to bust people that would take a lot of resources so for some sources its good in that way. It’s also good as I said for forum owners because they can make a lot of money if they have a popular forum that has a lot of members. They can charge out the ass for a banner. So they make almost as good money as the sources do a month on just sponsorship fees. The bad side is that so many careless sources and so many of them just in general bring so much heat to us. We have already seen the game changed twice because of the open carelessness of sources. The game is always evolving. If you are to be successful you just really have to be one step ahead.

Renegade: Speaking of the forums owners with a bazillion ads on their sites. What do you think of that...as a source?

Cylon: Well its two fold. It’s good in one way because it helps to advertise your business if you choose to be out in the open like that. I have seen new guys within that last 3-4 years really blow up because of the banners and then they go private. They took a risk and it paid off for them. For that I can’t really blame the results. It leads to the feds really knowing who you are and being able to email you and possibly get a leg up on identifying you but these guys played their cards right and it seemed to really work out for them. So in that regard it was good for them. I guess it’s good for the forum owners because like I said they can make a lot of money but here is the thing. With as far as the feds will sometimes reach to bust people, I’m not quite sure how some of these boards are still up. Even though they are in other countries servers, I have seen the feds go to other countries to bust guys so their sites being in other countries really isn’t much of a defense. They can’t put up all the disclaimers they want but I have seen the feds brush that aside to bust guys, so to me it’s only a matter of time before some really big board gets busted and the owner gets charged with facilitating steroid sales.

Renegade: Can they do that?

Cylon: Why not? The USA seems to think it can do whatever it wants. I realize these boards put up their little legal disclaimers saying that if you are in a country where it illegal then don’t order and they are no responsible if you break their laws. I look at it like this. Making bombs or buying bomb making material isn’t illegal in the middle east but if some Pakistani or some afghan Taliban put up a website to buy bomb making materials and people from the USA were buying it but the site said if you’re from the USA don’t buy, do you really think the USA would do nothing? The site would be down in 10 minutes and the CIA would have snipers outside that dudes mud hut in an hour. Same with the steroid game. The feds are stupid anymore. The laws are different. Those little disclaimers are bullshit and the feds know it. They know guys from the USA are buying.

Renegade: So what the reason these forum owners haven’t been busted yet?

Cylon: Could be any number of reasons. Could be the feds don’t care anymore but I doubt it. Could be they haven’t busted a source from that board who has concrete info to give to them to help them out. Could be they are using the board to continually monitor sources to bust them. If the board goes away it gets harder to track then. I would guess that would be the reason. With the feds there is always a reason.

Renegade: So you would never openly advertise on a board.

Cylon: I have from time to time. When I had slots open or wanted to expand I did take risks from time to time. I won’t sit here and bullshit you about it. But I try to not do it as a habit.

Renegade: But I thought you said that was a security risk?

Cylon: This is a high risk high reward business. In every business there is risk involved. You just really have to try to minimize it as best you can.

Renegade: I know this interview is getting long and you need to go. I can see you getting antsy. I appreciate the time you have taken so I have just one more question. What’s it like in the day in the life of cylon. Tell our readers what it’s like to be a source for one day.

Cylon: Well... I get up in the morning roughly about 7am. I start work every day at 10am so I like to get my workouts done and not have to worry about them so I hit the gym about 8am and lift for an hour and a half and then head to work. I get off in the afternoon and I head home to check emails. After I have answered all the emails and private messages or threads on the forums I’m a member on, I get orders ready to give to my runners to ship out. Once all the orders are packed up I give them to my runners to send out for me. If payments are waiting I will have my runners bring me the payments when they come to pick up the orders to send out. It’s not a glamorous as you think. I don’t keep things near me except when I am packing things up. I like to do that myself to make sure it’s done correctly. I give my runners the shipping instructions and that’s really it. I try to run it like a business. For me there is no wild partying or drug use. No stripper orgies, no really crazy drug running stories like you would hear from the old guys that used to go to Mexico. I think when you mix all that rec shit in there it leads to trouble and security breaches so I stay away from it. My runners are the same. When I told you last time about expanding my circle and the liability I made sure when picking my runners that they too didn’t do stupid shit or have big mouths. As far as getting gear, I have my gear delivered to a runner. He brings it to me and I store it in a secure location. I really don’t even have it connected to me so I just order it when it’s needed, wait for it to come in, and then take inventory, update lists, mass mail customers, etc. Just business related stuff. My days are pretty blah. It may not be that way for some sources but I like the quiet life. To me quiet equals low key and out of sight.

Renegade: Damn I thought there would be some drug fueled porn star fucking stories.

Cylon: I wish but I can’t honestly say that is me.

Renegade: Hey man I really appreciate you taking the time out for this interview. The readers will enjoy it and it’s been a blast getting to sit down with you.

Cylon: Hey no problem. I’m glad I could help make your newsletter better.

 

[Anne.ST]

so great