Phantom Gym was a small community of people interested in physical fitness with a section dedicated to anabolic steroids. Phantom Gym did not specifically designate users who sold anabolic steroids as a “source”, like iSteroids did. Users were free to make a text-based post in a source section to attract potential clients. I had a list with contact information and ordering instructions saved onto my computer from my attempt to list on iSteroids, so I posted that list in the source section of Phantom Gym.
Black market anabolic steroid users are very particular about the sources and the products that they use. Years of fraud and fake products have disenchanted the demographic into believing that any unproven source was certain to be a scam. There existed an infectious anxiety in the underground black market, and people would inexorably respond to this anxiety with anger and intolerance to any new source that claimed to have legitimate products to sell. This was no different for me. Immediately upon posting as a source, I was inundated with harborings of distrust, suspicion, and skepticism.
One Phantom Gym member demurred, “(sigh)… Here we go again. Do you have any lab work or any proof that your gear is legitimate?” Black Market users referred to the anabolic steroids that they used as “gear”. Another posted, “You are another one of these trolls here to scam us. Can we stop these scammers from posting?”
Another posted, “You are another one of these trolls here to scam us. Can we stop these scammers from posting?”
This reaction wasn’t unique to Phantom Gym. Although most people on these forums expressed antipathy and animus, a few more prudently and productively requested information that would lead to verification and trust. One such person posted, “Do you have anyone who can vouch that they have received products from you and that they are legitimate? If not, I will take some free samples and post a review.”
Now we were getting somewhere productive. Serendipitously, two of the three brand ambassadors from iSteroids, to whom I sent samples for review, were also members of Phantom Gym. Therefore, they would review on iSteroids and Phantom Gym. In response to sending more free samples to a Phantom Gym member, I wrote, “I understand the virulence associated with new potential sources, and the specter of being the victim of fraud. I have sent samples to a few members of this community who will review the products once they are received and tested. I understand how important peer reviews are in establishing trust. Therefore, in addition to the samples I have already sent, I will send one more free sample to a member of this community’s choosing. Because I am not aware of whose assertions you will trust the most, I would like you, as a community, to pick one member for me to send samples for a review. Let me know when you pick the ambassador.” Not only was this a good way to choose the best person for which to send samples, but it also was a good use of crowd sourcing, allowing the audience to participate in the development of the business, making them feel like a part of a growing brand. This new concept of incorporating customers into the decision-making process of a business is a powerful tool, and can make customers feel like they part of something bigger than themselves, which serves to develop deep seeded loyalty. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this type of implementation would turn out to be an advanced branding strategy.
“If you are a legitimate source, then you should have a huge supply of steroids.”
Another person posted, “If you are a legitimate source, then you should have a huge supply of steroids. Send a pic of your entire inventory. I would only consider you a legit source if you had at least twenty-five vials.” This made sense. I just happened to have recently received a large order in preparation for this very launch. This guy wanted to see twenty-five vials? I would show him fifty.
I stacked fifty vials up on my desk in my office. It was a massive tower-o-roids. I was proud of this monumental display of power before me. I took a pic and uploaded it to the site. I thought this was such a good idea, that I also posted this pic onto iSteroids.
I had decided not to use the website that was being hosted by my computer to become an approved source on iSteroids. I would wait until a secure hosting site could be procured. I knew I wasn’t allowed to promote myself as a source on iSteroids until I became an approved source, but a few pictures to start the marketing and branding process wouldn’t hurt. Relatively quickly, the pic of the tower-o-roids began inviting comments. None of the comments were negative, of course, I wasn’t promoting as a source, it was just a pic of a massive quantity of steroids. People don’t present enmity to harmless pictures. Some of the comments indicated approval of British Dragon products. A discussion broke out about the history of British Dragon and how the old company no longer exists, but the new company using the British Dragon name has quality products.
A discussion broke out about the history of British Dragon and how the old company no longer exists, but the new company using the British Dragon name has quality products.
Despite my intentional and knowing actions to refrain from promoting myself as a source, I still received a Private Message (PM) from a Moderator. The message stated, “This is starting to look like a promotional post. You have to be an approved source before you can promote on iSteroids.” This was a different Moderator than the one I spoke with last time. He obviously didn’t know that I understood the rules, and I was actively intending to follow them. My reply message indicated that I had spoken with the Administrator, I was in the process of becoming an approved source, and that I had would not promote myself until I was permitted.
Another person commenting on the post indicated that I could have downloaded that picture from the internet. He wanted me to post the same picture with a copy of the current day’s newspaper to prove it was a recent picture. Damn, now I had to go buy a newspaper and restack my tower-o-roids…
I woke up late, which was normal, because I stayed up late. I could never drift into slumber until two or three in the morning. I didn’t have to work until 3:00pm. I worked the 3pm – 11pm shift in the Emergency Room at one of the local hospitals. I generally woke up at around 11am, got ready, went to the gym in my scrubs, took a shower, and went directly to work. I was about to prepare for the day, but first, I would check on my newly forming business. I was looking to see if there was anything that needed comment, or clarification, so I could continue building a name for myself. I went to Phantom Gym, and there were no new comments or reactions. Phantom Gym was much smaller than iSteroids, and it usually took a few days for people to comment on any posts; whereas, iSteroids had such massive traffic, that comments and discussion on posts occurred very quickly and continuously. I hopped on over to iSteroids, to read any further comments on the one picture I had posted. When I entered the section where people upload, and comment on, pictures of “gear”, or anabolic steroids; I saw a new picture of my products, posted by someone else, with the caption “Received my order from BDSupplements in two days! Looks great!” – for thousands upon thousands of people to see.
Next >>: Episode 07 (Before the Storm)
Memoirs of a Steroid Kingpin (Table of Contents)
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Ryan’s Root’s real-life autobiographical story is a must-read account of his rise and fall as one of the largest anabolic steroid dealers on the Internet.
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