1 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,400 It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to dark 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,520 Realities, where we delve into the unimaginable. 3 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:19,520 Join your host, Mark, taking you beyond the headlines to uncover 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,640 the chilling truths and hidden stories that lie beneath the 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,640 surface. From the shadows of the criminal 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,360 underworld to the mysteries that defy explanation, join us as we 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,520 explore the dark corners of reality that most fear to tread. 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,560 Prepare yourself for an eye opening journey into the 9 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:46,080 unknown. Dear listener, we would like to 10 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,960 alert you to the possibility that the content that follows 11 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,200 could be extremely upsetting and cause strong emotional 12 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,160 reactions. Please be advised that some 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,160 people may find disturbing or upsetting themes discussed as 14 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,920 they relate to the Dark Mind Detective brand. 15 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,080 We strongly advise using caution when interacting with the 16 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,640 material. If you are sensitive to violent 17 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:13,480 content, graphic content or psychological themes, it is 18 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,080 essential to put your mental and physical health first. 19 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,400 Please think about skipping or ending your interaction with the 20 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,520 content if you feel uneasy at any point. 21 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,760 Never forget that your mental health is extremely important. 22 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,360 If you need help, do not be afraid to ask friends, family or 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,560 professionals for it. Stay mindful and take care. 24 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:38,040 In the shadowy underbelly of British Columbia's drug trade, 25 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,840 there's a hidden network that operates with the efficiency of 26 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,200 a well oiled machine. It's called the Dialado Trade. 27 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,560 For years, this system has fueled the province drug 28 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,200 economy, providing a steady stream of revenue for organized 29 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,520 crime groups while eluding law enforcement. 30 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:02,120 Today, we're pulling back the curtain of this Dark World, and 31 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,920 there's no one better to guide us through it than Chris, a 32 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:11,760 former high-ranking gangster who not only managed multiple dial 33 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:16,960 Dope operations but also navigated the treacherous waters 34 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,560 of international drug trafficking. 35 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,400 Chris's journey into the criminal underworld began with 36 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,720 the Dial Dope trade, a business that's often the first step for 37 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,960 those looking to make their mark in organized crime. 38 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,320 From the streets of Vancouver to the violent territories 39 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,840 controlled by the cartels in Mexico and Colombia, Chris has 40 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,960 seen it all. His first hand experience offers 41 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,120 a rare glimpse into the mechanics of a trade that is 42 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,680 dangerous as it is lucrative. In this episode, we'll explore 43 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,320 the history of the Dialydo trade, its ties to organized 44 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,000 crime, and the brutal reality that comes with it. 45 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:06,000 But we also hear about Chris's path to redemption, his deep 46 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,240 connection to the Vancouver's Downtown East Side, and how he's 47 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:15,240 now dedicated to living a new life, free from the shadows of 48 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,600 this past. Join us as we into the world 49 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,560 that most people only read about in headlines with someone who's 50 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,920 lived it every day. Born and raised in in Vancouver, 51 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,440 you know, a middle class family. It kind of all started for me 52 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,360 with it was a desire to fit in. I mean, in high school I was 53 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,640 bullied and you know, I had this moment where I stood up to the 54 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,280 bully and then all of a sudden, you know, people would talk to 55 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,360 me. Girls were looking at me and I 56 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,640 just in my whole MO, to fit in and gain acceptance was just to 57 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:55,440 do whatever these bad guys were doing to, you know, be cool. 58 00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:00,920 So that was where it started. Out of high school I became 59 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:05,560 heavily addicted to cocaine and my MO was cocaine and money. 60 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,440 Right. My first introduction into 61 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,720 making money were, you know, through working dial a dopes in 62 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,399 their in their infancy in, in the lower Mainland where that's 63 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:20,320 where you call a number and then the number dispatches a car to a 64 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,240 customer. I worked those for a long time. 65 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,720 I, I ran those. I had a couple of my own. 66 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,680 We had a couple. You know, there's, there's a lot 67 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:33,480 of fraud going on, a lot of phone calls to Europe doing, you 68 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,040 know, lottery scams and that kind of thing, which I do know 69 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,720 still exists today. Then following that, you know, 70 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,520 I, I was living in Mexico for, for three years, yeah. 71 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,080 That was when I really got exposed to, to how this stuff 72 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,480 works. After that, I was in Columbia 73 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,400 for about a year. Then after that I, I got clean, 74 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:02,080 had a relapse and then I ended up in the Downtown Eastside and 75 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,000 through there, I've been out there on and off in the Downtown 76 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,240 East Side for about, I don't know, 6-7 years. 77 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:12,920 And I mean, I've been clean for about a year, almost a year and 78 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:14,600 a half now. So and I don't live in the 79 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,560 Downtown East Side anymore. So really, even the time I've 80 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,960 known you, you've really come a long way. 81 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,480 And yeah, you've been, you've been even just watching your 82 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:25,160 journey. It's been inspiring because I 83 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:26,960 know it's tough. It's not easy. 84 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,920 We live in a very fucking stressful society and it's easy 85 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:32,840 to go back to what's comfortable. 86 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:36,800 And sometimes what's comfortable is for someone else would be 87 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,280 like scary as fuck. But you know, you get used to 88 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,120 stuff, right? So I'm sure, you know, you're, 89 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,840 if you're struggling and you're going through shit, the, the 90 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:48,080 temptation is always there because the, when you make that 91 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:50,320 kind of money, and I've been around a lot of like drug 92 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,960 dealers that were pretty successful and people who made a 93 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,520 lot of money. That's the hardest thing that 94 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,960 they found when they left the life because we're just used to 95 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,480 like, you know, I'd go out and I'm going to go out with one 96 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,960 dude. He'd bring like $20,000 with 97 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,240 them, just that that was his spending money. 98 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,000 Go to the bar, go to the strip bar, buy rounds When you can't 99 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,720 do that. We're from for most people, like 100 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:15,560 a hard working dude, making $20,000, especially in Canada is 101 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,440 almost impossible. You might be able to make it 102 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,320 then the government comes and takes half your back down to 10. 103 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,600 You know what I mean? So really you got to make like 104 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,440 40,000 legitimately to bring home 20. 105 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,200 So but for a dealer, Oh, what, what's 20 grand, right? 106 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:31,720 You know what I mean? So you don't get money 107 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,920 differently and and and that could fuck with your head it 108 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:36,480 right. I told I totally right. 109 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,400 So that that there's that temptation must be always there, 110 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,840 if that makes sense. Yeah, I mean, the, that blast of 111 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:47,120 cash is, is an addiction in itself. 112 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,360 And I mean, when you're, you know, you're on payday, when you 113 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,760 get that paycheck in the underworld, you know, you get 114 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:59,960 $10,000 stock of $100 bills or, you know, a $2000 stock of 20s. 115 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:03,320 And and they, they just, they just become really disposable. 116 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,520 Like that money leaves as fast as it comes, you know, whereas 117 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,240 if I make 500 bucks working minimum wage 10 years ago, I 118 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,640 might stretch that out a bit because, you know, I've put a 119 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,280 lot more heart and soul into that. 120 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,120 So you have that blast of cash is very addictive. 121 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,200 Absolutely. When you have a lot of money, 122 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:20,840 it's easy to get women, you know. 123 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,520 So, so you almost really got to change like, and just from my 124 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,280 personal experience, the shit I went through, my friends and 125 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,400 stuff like that, you got to change your life completely. 126 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:35,120 Even the people, everything, even like my friend Kevin who 127 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:41,200 did five years in in Kent when he got out of jail, like he, he 128 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,280 was on a work program. So he at least when he came out 129 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:49,080 of prison, he had about $30,000 saved up and and then he moved 130 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:53,160 right out of Vancouver because he said everywhere I look, I see 131 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,040 a mistake I made, you know what I mean? 132 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,960 So there's that constant reminder and, and that that's 133 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,040 why he had to leave. Well, then leave, but then he 134 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,440 ended up he ended up relapsing himself and dying anyway. 135 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:05,560 So that's a different story for him. 136 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,760 The temptation was was drugs, right? 137 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,880 He wasn't so much chasing the money. 138 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:17,000 He he, he would, he would chase the drugs like big time. 139 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,360 Like he would go clean for a year and then he would have like 140 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:25,280 a month where he would just go scorched earth and then clean up 141 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:26,760 again. And it was like, so it was just 142 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,000 horrific to watch, right. Yeah. 143 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,640 And dress life and all that kind of stuff. 144 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,600 So anyways, I really appreciate you. 145 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,080 I do. I mean that from the bottom of 146 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,280 my heart. And, and and I know like, 147 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,919 sometimes as shit, it's like the only way to get through it is 148 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:43,520 white knuckling it, right? You know there's no other way. 149 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:44,520 Right. Yeah, it. 150 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:49,040 Takes takes a lot, right. So let let's talk about 151 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:50,560 something here. Then you brought up a few 152 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:52,520 things. So let's talk for the audience 153 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,160 because I, I'm always was fascinated by the dial A dope 154 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,040 businesses like I you know, I've been only been around for a long 155 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,200 time when I even back when I was younger, they used to have one. 156 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,680 It wasn't drugs, it was booze. So you know, about 3:00 in the 157 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:08,840 morning, you need a bottle of something and it and they would 158 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,280 actually hand out cards that said roadside repair. 159 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,080 So so you can put it on your fridge and say it looks like, 160 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,360 you know, if you need a flat tire stuff, but they'd come to 161 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,960 your house, deliver whiskey, bought, you know, case of beer, 162 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:22,920 of course, you know, had a huge markup, right. 163 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,360 So maybe just breakdown the dial A dope business for a while 164 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,360 because I'm sure that had some adventures. 165 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:32,320 Dial A dope five dial A dope operations are always looking 166 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,680 for drivers. And I mean, that's that's a good 167 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:40,800 starting point into into the life, you know, and but most of 168 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,680 these drivers also use the drugs that they're selling. 169 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:47,360 So it's that's a little bit of a liability, but, you know, you 170 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,480 get one out of every 10 guys that's actually just there to 171 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:54,720 make the money and doesn't mind driving around meeting addicts 172 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,520 and dealing with that, that sort of dynamic. 173 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:02,240 So I mean, yeah, you, you will check in at a place where the 174 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,840 drugs are being weighed out and, you know, organized and you will 175 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,640 take like a package that's maybe worth anywhere from 500 to 176 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:14,400 $1000. You'll have your phone and then 177 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:18,080 you're in your car and the person that either owns a dial 178 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,840 it up or is working dispatch will receive phone calls from 179 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,560 addicts. And he will in turn call you, 180 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:27,000 dispatch you to a certain location. 181 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,080 So you're never actually taking calls from customers. 182 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,360 You're just taking calls from the dispatcher and you're going 183 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,360 to each location that he we need you to go to. 184 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,320 And you know, you don't want to, they don't like you carrying a 185 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,040 lot of money. So that's why they only give you 186 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:45,840 $1000 worth of shit. And then you know, you get to 187 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:50,400 500,000 bucks, you go back to the dispatch location and you 188 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,200 drop off the cash. You got more drugs and you're on 189 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:57,560 your way again, so. Have you have you been in any 190 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:00,960 like crazy situations where someone tried to rip you off or 191 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,480 maybe even like rivals trying to disrupt your crew or. 192 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:10,880 Yeah, I mean myself not not so much, but I, I was in the car 193 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:12,480 once. Like most of the time there 194 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,440 you'll be a, there'll be a driver and then someone else 195 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,760 that has the product. So the driver just drives and 196 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,240 then the guy with the product give the drugs. 197 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:26,120 But I was in the car once and the guy got in the back seat and 198 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:30,360 he took out a pipe wrench and started clubbing, clubbing and 199 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,840 the guy and my guy that had the drugs and yeah, like I just, I 200 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,480 got out of the car and tried to rip him out, but you know, he'd 201 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:41,040 grabbed his bag and, you know, he was with a buddy and they got 202 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,200 out and ran away. So yeah, it's in this guy was 203 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,440 left. I took him to the hospital so. 204 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,920 Welfare Wednesdays, right? So baby breakdown for the 205 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:52,160 audience. How busy? 206 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:56,640 A welfare Wednesday or a check day for less business? 207 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,160 Operations will usually stock up triple, quadruple the amount of 208 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:05,000 drugs on welfare Wednesday. I mean, welfare Wednesday in the 209 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,600 Downtown East Side is a massive day every month. 210 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:11,840 Like, it's so busy. Overdose after overdose after 211 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:15,200 overdose. But yeah, welfare Wednesday is a 212 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,760 big day for for the drug industry for sure. 213 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,840 And then it's OK. So you did the Dialado business 214 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,840 and then I guess you did well. So you got kind of like in in 215 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,160 your organization with it. How does that promotion work is 216 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,480 because you just put in the work you're you're you're reliable. 217 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:32,400 Yeah, it's. It's all, it's all about 218 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,920 reliability. If you're reliable and you're 219 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,920 bringing back, you know, you're bringing back envelopes of cash 220 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,600 and you know, you're not using all the drugs all the time, you 221 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,360 know, you're not getting pulled over and screwing up that, that 222 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,600 just, you'll move up pretty quickly, you know, and then 223 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,120 they'll, they'll push you usually in a dispatch position. 224 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,840 And I mean, it can end there. But if the organization is 225 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,560 involved in higher level stuff or other activities, they'll 226 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,280 usually offer you some sort of other position. 227 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,400 As long as you're reliable, like you said, reliability is 228 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:04,640 everything. That's the key. 229 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:06,600 Yeah. What? 230 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,400 Have you ever seen the consequences of someone not 231 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:10,800 being reliable like you? What? 232 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,800 What are the consequence for someone fucking up? 233 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,800 Maybe go into like a minor fuck up and then a major fuck up? 234 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,560 The consequence? Yeah, I mean, a minor fuck up is 235 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:24,560 usually just coming short on one of the packages you owe for, and 236 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,520 that'll just be added to a debt in the start. 237 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,480 But once that debt accumulates, you know, you you're short 200 238 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,840 bucks 5 or 10 times, all of a sudden it's 1000. 239 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:37,960 Or. A and you know there's there 240 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,840 will be consequences for that like you, you might take a 241 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,000 beating or something like that. So nothing too crazy, but I 242 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,960 mean, when you start sort of like leaving with packages and 243 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:53,400 then you use the whole package, which happens quite often, you 244 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:55,960 you'll probably take a beating and they just won't deal with 245 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:57,680 you anymore like it's. Just be out. 246 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,520 Yeah, and there's always someone to replace you. 247 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,200 So I mean the the consequences aren't super heavy on that 248 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,120 because it's pretty expected that a lot of these drivers are 249 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,800 going to be addicts themselves. So it's actually quite common 250 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:14,480 for for people not coming back with $0.00 or short or whatever, 251 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,040 so. Dealing with addicts itself must 252 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,080 for the faint of heart too. Like I remember I had a friend 253 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,800 back in the day who was a pretty big coke dealer and, and the, 254 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,720 and the, The thing is that he was the most unlikely guy that 255 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,200 you would ever think that he was. 256 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,640 He came from like a upper middle class Jewish family, very 257 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,120 buttoned down, very clean cut. But this guy, you know, not, not 258 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,280 to go into the stereotype, but he was obsessed with money and 259 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,040 he tried a bunch of businesses. They failed. 260 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,400 And then he said, fuck it, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm 261 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,600 going to start selling coke. And he built a business up 262 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,120 pretty fast. And he for him, he was telling 263 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,320 me, he said the turning point was for him, he had this regular 264 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:57,040 customer and he would, he would deliver to the guy every single 265 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,160 day. And, and as soon as he gave the 266 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,240 guy the flap, the guy already had a needle spoon. 267 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:08,000 Boom like just like this, like like that, that fucking shot. 268 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,480 And the guy couldn't even wait like fucking 30 seconds for him 269 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,800 just to leave it. He was, it was like, it was that 270 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,160 immediate. And then he realized like, wow, 271 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,760 what the like the what you're dealing with, right? 272 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,440 So the nature of addiction is kind of what I'm getting at, 273 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,480 right. So it's kind of like, is it hard 274 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,880 to be in that life to and not get addicted because you're 275 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,800 always having to block that shit out. 276 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,720 You're seeing violence, you're seeing like and, and then quite 277 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,320 frankly, dealing with addicts and the depth of their addiction 278 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,680 is, is it's not fun. No, it's, it's, it's it's 279 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:46,000 traumatizing on its own scale. I mean, it, it's really for like 280 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,520 when we're talking about dialogue, you know, you're, 281 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,840 you're driving around, you're just dealing with people that 282 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,760 are experiencing high levels of unmanageability in their lives. 283 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:56,400 So they're completely scattered. They're disorganized. 284 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,520 They're, you know, and they'll come with the money ready. 285 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,720 But yeah, often they'll want to use in your car or, you know, 286 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,520 there's a problem. They'll be short themselves. 287 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,760 And, you know, you've already driven across town and, you 288 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,040 know, and you see people getting worse, worse. 289 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,560 You see people starting on as a cocaine customer and then, you 290 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,520 know, moving to a side customer or a fentanyl customer, you 291 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:20,600 know, and yeah, you see the progression happen for sure. 292 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,400 But there's, there's a lot of chaos and a lot of unreliability 293 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,760 with customers. Like you never know what's going 294 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:28,360 to happen. So that's always in the back of 295 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:30,160 your mind. And you know, when you're just 296 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,400 doing that long enough, you know, the, the question about, 297 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:37,080 you know, people becoming addicted, like it's, it's almost 298 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:41,240 like I like 9 out of 10 people are addicts who because you have 299 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,640 to be using to, to just, just to just deal with that. 300 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,680 And even the monotony of it all too, like driving around in 301 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,040 traffic and, you know, just the same thing over and over again. 302 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,800 It's pretty hard to do without some sort of substance in the. 303 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:56,960 Where's the day going, right? You know what I mean? 304 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,280 You make the day go by a little quicker, David. 305 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,440 Same thing too David, he did traffic in at a high level, but 306 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:07,119 he also he was doing hit so he he had to use to get over the 307 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:08,800 head. So I'd I'd ask him point blank. 308 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,760 OK, you did a hit. How do you decompress it? 309 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:18,000 Oh, escorts 8 ball hotel. He'd have to get blasted to put 310 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,760 it out of his mind what he did right. 311 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:23,079 A funny story of a dealer I once knew. 312 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,160 He was pretty successful downtown Vancouver and he had a 313 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,440 regular guy was, you know, and they get you said first he was 314 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,480 all, you know, pretty, he had a shit together, had a good job. 315 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,200 You know what I mean was we'd show up, give him the money, go 316 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,000 away. Not no problems whatsoever. 317 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,160 And then slowly over time getting worse, lost his job. 318 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,320 And then he said he got a call from him like at 4:00 in the 319 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:49,600 morning, frantic, right? The guy comes by, has no money, 320 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:52,840 but has like some leather jacket that looked like it was from the 321 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,280 70s. It's a leather jackets vintage. 322 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,200 It's worth a lot because I don't want this fucking brown leather 323 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,680 jacket. You know, we had four lording, 324 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,600 arguing with the guy for over a Coke deal for a leather jacket 325 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,560 that you don't want. Right. 326 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,080 So, you know, there, I guess there's some, you know, in 327 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,440 gallows humor. There's some funny moments, but 328 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,480 it's pretty pathetic at the same time, too. 329 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,800 Like you're, you know, you're so wired and like, Oh my God, what 330 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,920 can I trade? Oh, my God, that leather jacket. 331 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:22,560 Yeah. I mean. 332 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,480 You get addicted enough and you you run out of money. 333 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,800 And then just slowly things in your house start going missing. 334 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:33,520 And I mean you, you, you try to start trading goods or services 335 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:34,640 for drugs. Yeah. 336 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:38,800 So let's maybe segue then into what I wanted to ask you about 337 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,320 because you spent some time in the Downtown Eastside. 338 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,680 And then we don't, we talk a lot with me and you. 339 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,520 We went back and forth quite a few. 340 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,320 We've had quite a few conversations, you know, over 341 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,760 the year and stuff and I think quite a few of them we're about 342 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,240 the Downtown Eastside. And you know, I'm fascinated. 343 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,600 Like I've, I've been around the Downtown Eastside for about 30 344 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:02,320 years, work in close proximity, live downtown, had friends that 345 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,200 ended up there. And I've seen it like it's 346 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,920 always was rough. I personally think it's the 347 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,040 roughest it's ever been. Now, you know, David talked 348 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,360 about, he ran around Blood Alley, one of those SRO's, 349 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:20,040 incredible money, incredible. 20,000 a day was a slow day for 350 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,640 the building. Yeah, 100K on a welfare 351 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,120 Wednesday was was, you know, welfare Wednesday. 352 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,080 You make 100K, Yeah, in a day, right. 353 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:30,840 So it's a massive drug economy, first of all. 354 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,560 But there also must be like so many sharks and say, you know, 355 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,480 maybe breakdown this the kind of the environment for the 356 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,760 listeners. Well, I mean, it's, it's an 357 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:46,000 extremely vibrant place, but it's also very, very volatile. 358 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,120 And I mean, if you're going in there with any sort of trying to 359 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,680 run any sort of CODA ethics, you're going to be sadly 360 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:54,800 mistaken. Because I mean, with the sharks 361 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,400 and the sharks that are on drugs and you know, the Sentinel and 362 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,200 crystal meth epidemic and the potency that is just driving 363 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,640 more and more shitty behavior and, and, and just, and just 364 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,480 weasel type shit. It's just not a safe place at 365 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,120 all. You know, I, I'm a guy like, you 366 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:16,400 know, I was raised with pretty like pretty good family and 367 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,280 like, I'm just, I'm not a sociopath. 368 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,320 But I mean, I'm convinced that 95% of those guys. 369 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,200 Down there are all sociopaths because nobody seems to give a 370 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,280 fuck about anything but themselves. 371 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,000 Your life is worth pretty much nothing. 372 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,520 Like if, if there's an opportunity for them to, you 373 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,440 know, somehow be involved in taking your life for some sort 374 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,040 of personal gain, like that'll happen. 375 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,520 Like, no question. Just like that, you know you can 376 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,360 become the center of something pretty quickly. 377 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,760 If you don't just have money for drugs, you will start doing 378 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,360 other things for drugs and that's when the problems start. 379 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,840 Right. Yeah, that totally makes sense 380 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,560 because the nature of addiction, like we just broke down. 381 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,440 It's like you gotta feed the hunger. 382 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,160 Yeah. And, and no money, you're 383 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,480 hungry, then you got to do other stuff, right? 384 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:06,200 With with the women, that tends to be prostitution with dudes, 385 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:10,160 it's stealing, shoplifting girls to shoplifting stuff, right. 386 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:14,280 Conversations that we've had too was about human trafficking, 387 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,720 which I truly believe it's on the rise. 388 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:20,120 And, and there's such a transient population there 389 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:23,520 because it's like people rolling into town coming across Canada. 390 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,080 And what's important for the audience when they, when they 391 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,360 see Hastings Street, they think, oh, people from Vancouver, 392 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,280 majority of those people are not from the city. 393 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,680 Like I when in my research, and this is off the top of my head, 394 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:41,800 it's estimated that only about 15% of the population there are 395 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,800 like, you know, Vancouver, Metro Vancouver based most of them 396 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,760 come across Canada, but one way bus tickets up north from BC 397 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,360 running away from stuff, right. It's a it's a good place to hide 398 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:55,200 out, you know, if you want to be an Incognito for sure. 399 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,680 Vulnerable people on the run unaccounted for, especially 400 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,680 women. They can go missing. 401 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:03,800 No one will even know. You know one of the series I've 402 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,680 been writing for the last year, the Picton stuff, the missing 403 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:11,160 women of the Downtown Eastside. There's, there's more cases than 404 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,320 you can count, you know, and, and the other, the other aspect 405 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:19,080 too is I talked to a lot of parents who've had kids that 406 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,800 have, you know, their sons or daughters having overdoses or 407 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:28,360 dying under very mysterious circumstances and then just gets 408 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:31,360 written off fentanyl overdose, nothing to see here, right. 409 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:36,480 So if I wanted to kill someone, the easiest way I can think of 410 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:40,000 in this environment, inject someone with fentanyl, throw a 411 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,760 baggie in their pocket. Oh, good luck. 412 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:43,480 They're doing fentanyl. They must have died. 413 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,400 Must have did too much. Yeah. 414 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,520 In case. Closed Scary shit, eh? 415 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,320 Yeah, well, it's, I mean it is terrifying. 416 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:56,560 The like an addicts worst nightmare. 417 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,280 A fentanyl addicts worst nightmare is is getting what's 418 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,200 called hot capped where they get injected with battery acid. 419 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,600 There's a misconception where hot cap just means somebody 420 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,320 overdoses you with fentanyl. I mean that that would be an 421 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,480 easy way to kill someone, but for for whatever reason like it, 422 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,040 it doesn't happen that way that often like this. 423 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,760 Hot capping happens a lot in these shelters. 424 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,560 Actual fucking battery acid. Actual battery acid. 425 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:27,880 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I even heard a story about, you 426 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,520 know, this, this crew that was making videos of, of, of 427 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,600 injecting people with battery acid, filming it while it was 428 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,760 online when the person, you know, started convulsing and 429 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,680 and, and slowly dying there. So yeah. 430 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,760 Yeah, that would not be a good way to go. 431 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,560 You told me a crazy story and you, you that just, you know, 432 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,560 for your own personal safety, maybe just kind of censor it 433 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,120 down so it doesn't mean identify. 434 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,120 But you told me a story that I was shocked I didn't make the 435 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,520 news about a decapitation and Oppenheimer Park. 436 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:04,760 Yeah, so there there was a dispute over over drug supply 437 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:10,200 and somebody was was doing it in a dishonest way and their crew 438 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,160 found out that they were kind of looking to another crew at the 439 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:18,840 same time and and his his head got displayed on a hockey stick, 440 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,640 you know, Oppenheimer Park. Yeah, he does not just sound 441 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,040 like gallows humor, but how Canadian. 442 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,040 What a hockey stand. You know, if it was Mexico, it'd 443 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,920 be like hanging from a bridge with some, you know, morbid sign 444 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,880 and scary writing. But Canada, you know, a hockey, 445 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,880 you know, again, a poor bastard, you know, extremely traumatic 446 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,160 for everyone that saw that. But wow. 447 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,520 So OK, here's a question right from seeing that, and this is 448 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,400 just, you know, your speculation. 449 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:52,400 Why do you think that the media itself really tries to keep a 450 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,720 lid of how fucking horrible it is down there? 451 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,000 Because again, anyone I talk to, any of the shit I've seen and 452 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:00,880 people I've talked to, I've talked to people that talked 453 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,960 about people being thrown out windows, chicks being thrown out 454 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,880 windows or head shape or because they owe a crack dealer like 455 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:11,560 $10. Beatings, fingers cut off with 456 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,360 like cigar choppers, you know, the chop the end of your cigar, 457 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:17,160 right? So horrific. 458 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:21,400 And I feel that the media, the mainstream media does a terrible 459 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,560 job of actually breaking down because I think if the average 460 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:28,400 person really understood how it really works on that, they'd be 461 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,000 horrified that that this is a neighborhood in their city. 462 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,520 It's strange. It's absolutely strange. 463 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,360 I mean, I, I've kind of wondered that myself because I mean, you 464 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,760 hear horrific story after horrific story that doesn't 465 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,040 actually make it into the paper or the news. 466 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,280 And you know, what's motive for keeping it out? 467 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:51,760 Is it to keep the, the, the glow of our city in a more positive 468 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,800 way or, or what is it? Because I mean, we're not 469 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,840 hearing about, you know, the women being thrown out of the 470 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:01,280 third story or fucking, you know, just the the sexual 471 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,640 assaults taking place in these Sr. 472 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,720 OS and the filming of those. And there's just there's none of 473 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,440 that in the paper ever. It's yeah. 474 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,680 So it's surprising they keep kind of a lid on it. 475 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,760 And maybe it's to maybe it's to show that harm reduction that 476 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,560 that whole that whole policy is working or right, doing the 477 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,360 right things to make the Downtown Eastside a better place 478 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,640 and reduce the overdose rate, which we all know is not 479 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:25,520 reducing. But I think it's just to keep it 480 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:27,360 shining in a more positive light. 481 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:27,960 They don't. It's. 482 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,360 Like, you know, again, everyone's a human being, 483 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,000 absolutely. And everyone deserves respect. 484 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,960 They deserve a chance and they also deserve, you know, I've had 485 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,840 you know, I've, I, I'm, and there's a lot of phases of my 486 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:40,920 life where I'm not that person anymore. 487 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,040 I had the opportunity to change right. 488 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,480 So I I believe that for other people as well. 489 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:51,800 However, silence pretending that the problem is not there going 490 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,480 into the hardcore stuff of the human trafficking. 491 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,840 When I was researching the Picton stuff about the missing 492 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:03,280 women, there was these crews of of organized crime crews like 493 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,320 that would make extremely violent pornography. 494 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,560 And then it was it was a rumor that then after these women were 495 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,400 used in these movies, they'd be sold to truck drivers. 496 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,800 And then who knows where they're ended up with, right? 497 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,200 So there's an economy and this is what I'm getting here. 498 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,560 There's an economy of exploitation, right? 499 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,240 There's a exploitation of addicts exploit to human 500 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:29,200 exploitation of like you're saying, like making movies. 501 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,720 Injecting someone in battery acid I'm sure ends up on dark 502 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,880 web for psychopaths, you know, eat their grilled cheese 503 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,520 sandwich in their bathrobe and have a giggle, right? 504 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:42,080 You know what I mean? It's like by the media not 505 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,280 exposing this, they're catering to the worst in our society, in 506 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:46,720 my opinion. You know what I mean? 507 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,160 I talked to a journalist, he was a pretty good journalist and 508 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,960 he's living in he's a Canadian duty, but he's, he's living in 509 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,960 Mexico right now. His whole philosophy and he's 510 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,200 written some pretty good pieces on the down to see especially 511 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:05,160 the regarding the missing women. So what his his view of it is, 512 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,680 it's so they can sell real estate in Vancouver because that 513 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,840 was the big thing and who buys the expense of real estate is 514 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:13,840 people overseas. So they're not going to want to 515 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:18,120 hear about decapitations and women being thrown out of 516 00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:20,840 windows and stuffed movies being made right. 517 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,560 That's, that doesn't sound good in your real estate portfolio, 518 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,520 right. No, he believes it's tied to 519 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,920 keeping that offshore money coming in to buy up real estate. 520 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,800 That's. So that's what his opinion, my 521 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,240 opinion. I do agree with that. 522 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:36,960 But I think there's like some overlap. 523 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:42,400 I think there are people here that like fast money may not be 524 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,120 involved in drugs, may not be the person, you know, making the 525 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,920 transactions, but they're in the position where they get an 526 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:50,360 envelope, if you get what I'm saying. 527 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,320 Yeah. So hey, it works for them, 528 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:54,040 right? Yeah, absolutely. 529 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,400 Yeah. I mean, there, there's a lot of 530 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,880 irony there because I mean, the, the, the real estate boom is 531 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,200 really a large part of it is fueled by the drug economy in 532 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,280 Vancouver. Because, I mean, they, they 533 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,960 import these chemicals from China, they make these drugs, 534 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,640 then they sell all these drugs. Then they have guys to take 535 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,360 these stacks of cash to casinos and trade equations. 536 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,720 Then they launder the money by trading the chips back and they 537 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,240 take the money to these clandestine banks that are 538 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,320 linked. And then they wire all the money 539 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:22,920 back. And then in turn they use that 540 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,360 money to buy real estate in Vancouver. 541 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,600 Like that's not all of it, but. It's but it's a single, right? 542 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,240 Yeah. It's so crazy. 543 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:33,680 Well, look at the history of Vancouver. 544 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:38,200 Like start off the Groves, you know, the grow OPS, like I knew 545 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,560 guys that were just oh, fucking killing it. 546 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,600 What do they do? They buy real estate, right? 547 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,360 They launder the money. So it started really like in the 548 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:49,880 90s with the grow up, the grows. Then the BC bud was so valuable 549 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:54,000 and so high quality and and seen as a almost a status symbol like 550 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,440 in in the United States. Oh, you got BC bud. 551 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,600 Everyone love BC bud and BC bud was being traded on par with 552 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,800 cocaine. Now think about this. 553 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:07,280 You grow a fucking plant, right? You grow, you grow a plant and 554 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,400 then that plant gets, you know, harvested and then you come back 555 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,760 with cocaine. Now that's worth like five times 556 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:18,320 as much, right? That gets converted into cash 557 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,320 when you break it all down. And you know what I mean? 558 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,000 You get the idea, right? So it, it was literally, and I 559 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:26,200 think I did a in my early days, I did a podcast called the Green 560 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,440 Gold Rush. And that's really what it was. 561 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:33,840 And then I think as the grow up, things fizzled out, then it got 562 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,880 into other drugs. And then I think where we're at 563 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:41,680 now we're we're in a scary place where we're awash with drugs. 564 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,120 Absolutely. And now you have the government 565 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,480 itself and call it what it is straight up dealing. 566 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:52,720 Like to me, the the government is trying to be it's almost like 567 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,640 a competition to the drugs because people will take the 568 00:30:55,640 --> 00:31:00,920 so-called safe supply drugs and buy and sell them, putting more 569 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,520 drugs into the marketplace. Like like for a good. 570 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,040 I'll ask you a straight up question then. 571 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,840 Like most drug addicts, right? You know, they need a fix. 572 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,120 They need a fix. They do they really care? 573 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,760 Oh, this is a government pill and this is a cartel pill. 574 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:14,960 You know what? I mean when they're jonesing. 575 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,520 Not in the least. Not in the least exactly. 576 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,600 Sickness itself is is is one of the most powerful things I've 577 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,640 ever experienced. Like when I'm sick in that way, 578 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,440 there is nothing that will stop me from moving through whatever 579 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,600 is in my way. Family, friends, the law, 580 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,000 morals, nothing. Just to get away from the 581 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:37,120 sickness. Yeah. 582 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,480 What's your view if you were still like in in your, in that 583 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:45,400 life and this safe supply mandate where you're allowed to 584 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,200 have 2.5 grams, how would that affect your way of your doing 585 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:54,840 business? The way of doing business I mean 586 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,640 it wouldn't have a huge effect because when you're standing 587 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,360 there with a package you're just you're strategically placing 588 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:07,080 yourself away from police. It's it's quite rare that you 589 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:11,440 actually get stopped by a beat cop and searched and they find a 590 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,760 big package on you because every third guy standing your man in 591 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,440 Hastings has way more than the legal limit on them. 592 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,800 Right. OK, I I actually, I mean, that's 593 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,280 a good question because I've never actually, it's not even 594 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:27,120 like a disgusting, like when that legal limit came into into 595 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:30,200 play, like in the downturn, you say like nobody fucking cares. 596 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:31,920 Like they're just kidding. At any point. 597 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,720 Like it's yeah, so. Yeah, that, that's interesting 598 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,960 prescription and you're given like say 16 pills a day. 599 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,480 Yeah, majority with, in your experience in majority the 600 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,080 persons they use them themselves or they sell them or like high, 601 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,560 high what, what's, what's been your kind of common knowledge of 602 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:51,880 what happens to what majority of those pills? 603 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,920 So I mean, there's a, there's a market to, to sell those pills 604 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:57,560 that's quite prevalent down there. 605 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:01,440 And, and I mean, no, these pills are beginning this hydromorphone 606 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,520 pills are beginning being given to fentanyl addicts as a PRN 607 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,880 style prescription. So they, they go to the the the 608 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,040 pharmacy in the morning and they, they take their witness 609 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:16,040 dose of methadone and then they get a bottle of Dilaudid, which 610 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:17,840 is what the brand name of that is. 611 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,840 And they take those 16 pills. Then they go to the down, 612 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,640 they're in the Downtown East Side and they will trade all 613 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,520 those, all of those pills for, you know, a point of fentanyl or 614 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:28,320 $20. Like that's kind of the Golden 615 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:29,560 Gate. Yeah. 616 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:33,280 And then in turn, those pills, I mean, from what I understand, 617 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,680 I've, I've never been involved in the trafficking of those. 618 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,440 But from what I understand, those pills are either cooked 619 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:42,520 back into the drug supply to make it more potent, or they're 620 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:47,000 sent across country. Whereas like in PC, it's those 621 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,080 are are less than a dollar a pill. 622 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,320 Whereas if you go to Ontario, someone is probably going to pay 623 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,920 you 10 to $20 a pill. So this is sort of markup. 624 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,720 And then at the same time, they're sending these to places 625 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:03,760 where they're sedating people to work in the sex trade, including 626 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:05,160 children. And I Oh my God. 627 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,000 Yeah, I've heard this from from a doctor and a police officer 628 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,800 and that's going on. They're going to, you know, 629 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:15,199 indigenous areas of Canada and they're used being used to 630 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:20,280 sedate kids, which is just, and then also being used to sedate, 631 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,920 you know, adults too. But that's that's a big problem. 632 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:25,719 And that's why these doctors are are not really, you know, I 633 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,239 mean, they're they're making their cut off that prescription. 634 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:31,760 But a lot of these doctors have morals and will mention that 635 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,280 this is what's going on to the addict that is asking for a 636 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:37,440 prescription now. But I mean, it's not stopping an 637 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:39,920 addict who's addicted to drugs and just wants to no. 638 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,040 No, you're giving them more fuel for the fire. 639 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:43,400 That's how I look at. Or are you like, you know, 640 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,719 another metaphor? Bullets and their gun, right? 641 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,080 Simple, right? When you go to Maine and 642 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:51,600 Hastings, like, you know, just just sell the Hastings on Maine 643 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:54,960 is, you know, there's a mixture of of drugs you can buy and 644 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:58,280 sell, you know, but just right around the corner from Carnegie 645 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,640 is where all these guys stand. And then people go and sell 646 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,360 their hydromorphone to these guys. 647 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:05,920 It's like a certain part of the corner there and there's. 648 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:08,320 All they. There'll be someone, yeah. 649 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:11,360 So that's where they're going. He just said something that that 650 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,320 actually made me woah like I never even thought of that. 651 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:16,120 He said something very interesting there. 652 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:19,640 They take the hydromorphone pills and then they re cut it 653 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:21,800 because they had that makes perfect fucking sense. 654 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:24,360 I get AI have a pure hydromorphone pill. 655 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,800 I cut it for a bunch of stuff. I take that one pill now. 656 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,200 I now I have like 1/4 gram or like five points right to, you 657 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,680 know what I mean? That that totally makes sense. 658 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:38,280 So a business boom for, you know, for addicts, really, you 659 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:40,760 know, gives them it gives them the ability to, to have 660 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:42,920 something to barter with something to trade with. 661 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,960 Those pills, in my opinion, are, are, are just as equal to to 662 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:49,080 money. I'm sure you can buy and sell 663 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,360 and trade them just like currency down there. 664 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:53,200 Absolutely. Yeah, they. 665 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:55,320 Have a government stamp and dah dah dah dah. 666 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:56,800 They're almost like a Bitcoin so to. 667 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:58,960 Speak right? Absolutely. 668 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:00,040 Yeah. Wow. 669 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:03,960 Unbelievable. Well, again, every time I talk 670 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:05,960 to you, I could talk to you for like 10 hours, right? 671 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:11,480 You have to go so many, there's so many nuances and variations 672 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:16,600 and perspectives and cuz again, I've lived in Vancouver majority 673 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,120 of my life, I've lived around in different parts of the world. 674 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:24,760 So have you and I understand especially now in a lot of inner 675 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,920 cities are now having this addiction issue that we've seen 676 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,680 in the Downtown Eastside for the last 30 years, right? 677 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:34,760 The phenomena of addiction is becoming more widespread. 678 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,280 That's a whole different conversation because that's 679 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:42,080 more, I personally believe that I think that society has become 680 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:47,040 so hard and so complex and so difficult for the average 681 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,360 person. It's easy just to, oh, get 682 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,720 wasted, get drunk, get you know what I mean, escapism. 683 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,080 And the next thing you know, someone passes you a pill or you 684 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,640 get injured or something. And holy fuck, this makes this 685 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,800 makes everything kind of takes the edge off right, takes rounds 686 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,360 of corners off right. And then, you know the nature of 687 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,880 addiction, right? Vancouver to me is a very unique 688 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,720 place for for a variety of reasons, It was always promoted 689 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:16,360 as a a beautiful, safe, healthy lifestyle type of city outdoors. 690 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:20,000 You know what I mean? Lululemon, that kind of shit. 691 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,160 And then you have a neighborhood that's the polar opposite of 692 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:25,200 everything that the city promotes, right? 693 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:29,440 And, and it has never been adequately fixed, right. 694 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:35,080 I personally believe that they should bring back a Riverview 695 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:38,720 type of environment, you know, some kind of place where people 696 00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:43,880 can regain their ability to integrate with life lifestyle 697 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:45,560 skills. Because it's sure you can take 698 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,680 the attics out of that neighborhood, but you have to 699 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,560 fix what put them there in the first place in my opinion, 700 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:56,480 right? So anyways, so let's talk about 701 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,040 the human trafficking, because again, like you said, these 702 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,560 people down there, they're cutthroat, they're psychopaths. 703 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:07,120 And human trafficking is a massive, massive, massive 704 00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:11,440 industry, bigger than drugs. You, you sell one of those, you 705 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,640 get one of those hydromorphone pills, you can sell it once or 706 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:18,760 right? Yeah, a girl passed out in a 707 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:20,840 hotel room. You could send dudes in there 708 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:25,120 all day long, right? Yeah, I mean, I absolutely it's, 709 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:29,840 I mean as long as the the person exists, they can keep on being 710 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:31,440 the commodity, right. So. 711 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,720 And, and how, how widespread do you believe that from your 712 00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:39,120 experience that you, you, you think this is happening down 713 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,320 there as far as like as a, as an epidemic of, of human? 714 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:48,480 The thing is, is okay, like the, the Downtown East side itself is 715 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:53,000 absolutely like a major source point to facilitate exploitation 716 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,560 of these interprovincial corridors that exist across 717 00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:02,320 Canada because it's where addicts go to use drugs and sell 718 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:05,960 their bodies to gain drugs. So I mean, if you're an addicted 719 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,960 male or female, I mean, it's, it's, it's horrible, but it's 720 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:10,920 more prevalent than females, obviously. 721 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,360 But the majority of females are going to be involved in the sex 722 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:16,720 trade just to facilitate their drug use. 723 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,120 And if they spend long enough down there, they will often get 724 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,960 themselves in a situation where they are being trafficked 725 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,520 because there's, there. Would you want, I don't want to 726 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:29,880 call them scouts, but you know, they're, they're, they're, 727 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:32,480 they've always got their eyes open and they're looking for 728 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:36,320 people that look a certain way or people that maybe don't have 729 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,680 people that, you know, love them and are looking for them. 730 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,320 There's no, they don't have anyone. 731 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,480 They're accountable to their. Bridges back home. 732 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:44,840 Or burnt their bridges. Yeah. 733 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:47,240 So they they get down and out enough down there. 734 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:49,680 And then sooner or later, sometimes you know, you'll be 735 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:53,800 offered a different type of different type of deal where or 736 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:57,360 you'll be forced into it where you're being trafficked across 737 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:58,840 the province or across the country. 738 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:01,440 But often it does start in the Downtown East Side because it's 739 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,880 the biggest source of vulnerable addicts already involved in the 740 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,280 sex trade just to facilitate their own drug use. 741 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,920 So. We've talked like off air and 742 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:12,560 stuff like that, you know, to keep people safe and stuff. 743 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,560 I don't like naming organizations and stuff because 744 00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:19,960 one, they're still around and the police really have proven 745 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:23,560 they have no ability to protect one from these people if they 746 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,120 want to get you. But I've been hearing about more 747 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:31,360 like crews that are like from like back east, especially that 748 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:33,400 that's is what they specialize in. 749 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:37,320 There was some crews from Eastern Canada and and that is 750 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,480 like that is their main source of income. 751 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:42,000 It's human trafficking first, then drug 2nd. 752 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:47,280 And which is scary because what that tells me is, is that cruise 753 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:51,960 from from afar are saying, Oh, this is this is the place to go, 754 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:54,520 right? We got cover the the law 755 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:58,800 enforcement is so overwhelmed by daily St. crime and this and 756 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,720 that. This is the place, right? 757 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:05,360 Which is scary, Yeah. I mean, it's terrifying. 758 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:07,880 There's just such a high concentration of vulnerable 759 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:12,120 people and potential, you know, ways to make money through these 760 00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:14,000 people. So yeah, I mean, people are 761 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,720 going to flock because of the relaxed drug laws. 762 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:19,840 And you're right, the the police are overwhelmed, you know, 763 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,520 resources to stop it are completely overwhelmed. 764 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:26,360 And so a lot of it just just happens with with no, with no 765 00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:29,040 accountability, so. That's scary, man. 766 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,160 Well, let's leave it here. I really truly appreciate your 767 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:33,840 time. I will obviously continue the 768 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:38,280 conversation and stuff and and, you know, hope everything else 769 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,920 your day is going goes well. Enjoy the summer and. 770 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,280 Yeah, yeah. No, have a great day and we'll 771 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:46,960 keep in touch and we'll get back on. 772 00:41:52,590 --> 00:41:57,240 Welcome and thank you for tuning into this podcast wherever it's 773 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:01,920 morning, afternoon or evening, wherever you are, I appreciate 774 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:06,320 you taking the time to listen. In 2024, I took a break from 775 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:12,400 podcasting after consistently producing content since 2019. 776 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:15,200 What began as a personal challenge to overcome 777 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:19,600 procrastination quickly evolved into something more substantial. 778 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:23,160 Early on, I was recording on my iPhone 7. 779 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:28,200 While the quality wasn't the best, my focus was on learning 780 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:31,480 and improving. Over the years, I refined my 781 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,760 skills and broaden my scope. The purpose of this podcast? 782 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:42,520 This broadcast serves 3 primary purposes showcasing research. 783 00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:46,480 I'll be sharing in depth investigations that I've been 784 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:50,200 working on for years, including the mysterious disappearances of 785 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:54,800 young men across Western Canada, British Columbia, and the United 786 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:58,440 States. I'll also dive into the chilling 787 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:01,520 case of Robert Picton, which I've been researching 788 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:04,320 extensively for the past few years. 789 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:07,680 Additionally, I'll be highlighting cold cases from 790 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:12,320 British Columbia that remain puzzling and mysterious #2 791 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:15,200 personal insights. I'll take you behind the scenes, 792 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:18,760 offering insights into my creative process and challenges 793 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:20,600 I faced over the past five years. 794 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,840 The landscape of social media, and media in general, has 795 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:25,720 changed dramatically since I began. 796 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:30,120 I'll share my experiences navigating these changes and #3 797 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:33,280 discussing broader issues beyond true crime. 798 00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:36,720 I believe it's crucial to address the unprecedented social 799 00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:38,800 and political changes we're witnessing today. 800 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:42,080 We live in strange times, and it's important to have honest, 801 00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:45,760 open conversations about these issues without resorting to name 802 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:49,120 calling or rhetoric. I aim to provide a platform 803 00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:53,080 where we can discuss these topics thoughtfully and 804 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:56,400 respectfully. My reflections on social media. 805 00:43:56,640 --> 00:44:01,200 When I started, the platforms like Instagram were more focused 806 00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:03,840 on connecting people with similar interests. 807 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:07,520 However, as my follower count grew, so did the toxicity. 808 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:11,680 At one point, my platform reached nearly 50,000 followers 809 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:15,960 and then across multiple platforms, about 100,000. 810 00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:19,640 But the increase in numbers brought me more negativity. 811 00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:23,360 I found myself spending more time moderating comments than 812 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:27,000 focusing on my work. This experience has led me to 813 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:32,200 prioritize quality over quantity when it comes to my followers. 814 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:37,560 I've become more selective about where I invest my energy. 815 00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:43,080 The current challenges I have spoken with many people from 816 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:45,880 different walks of life and there's a common thread of 817 00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:49,040 stress that concerns about the state of our society. 818 00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:52,560 From job losses to the high cost of living, people are 819 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:54,600 struggling. I believe these are important 820 00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:59,600 issues to discuss as they impact all of us and looking ahead 821 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:04,080 through this series, I combine storytelling with in depth 822 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:08,880 research to explore complex issues in an accessible and 823 00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:12,040 engaging way. My goal is to make you think, to 824 00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:15,960 challenge you, and to encourage deeper conversations about the 825 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:19,520 problems we face. I believe that by getting more 826 00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:23,880 people on the same page, we can begin to address the challenges 827 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:28,880 and work together towards creating a better, safer society 828 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:31,800 for everyone. Thank you for joining me on this 829 00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:34,520 journey. Thank you so much, Mark.