Interview
Handle: Action Man
How did you come up with your alias ?
Dunno, it kind of just happened. I started getting known about before I found anything better so I was kinda stuck with it! There's a kid's toy over here in the UK called Action Man, he's a soldier like GI Joe and I used to have one when I was little. He was cool, he had a switch at the back of his head to move his eyes with but disturbingly enough, he had no genitalia... which is particularly ironic cos I've got a huuuuge... err... yes, well, sorry, got a bit carried away there... what was I talking about? oh yeah and his arch enemy was the evil Doctor X... or something...
City / Country:
Aberdeen , in sunny Scotland (but I'm English by birth)
Born year:
1971
What was your first computer, and when did you get it?
A Sinclair ZX81 in 1981 funnily enough...
How did you get into the scene and what groups have you been a member of ?
Phew! You got a spare week?
I originally got into the scene by contacting Slipstream in '87-'88. I worked in a Software shop and offered to mail them games to crack so I joined and became good friends with NOMAD and Infiltrator.
Not long after, Scott of Oracle offered me a modem if I joined so who could resist? After that, Scott, Mr.E and me left Oracle to form Genesis with NOMAD and Infiltrator who had joined Scoopex. We eventually ended up co-operating with Angels and DefJam but that didn't last long, the group got too full of lamers so we split and formed Crystal. I stayed with them for a while and for the first time we were really World Class but I had a falling out with IBM over a friend called Zelnik so NOMAD, Infiltrator, Zelnik and I left to join Quartex. There we got to know a few cool guys like The Surge, TIC and others so we decided to take them with us and form Nemesis, the first group I had a controlling interest in. By this time we had built up a pretty big worldwide network of highly skilled people and really began to compete with the big boys for #1 status. After that was Ministry but it was all downhill after that...
What was the proudest moment in your career ?
Surprising the world by releasing a Readysoft title (Dragon's Lair II I think) days before anyone else as Nemesis' first ever release. We were so quick I never saw another version, everyone else gave up! That was the start of an excellent group...
Also I remember once talking to Strider, leader of Fairlight when we were both on different nodes of the Skid Row Whq. I remember thinking that was pretty cool, someone like Strider wanting to talk to ME and then to top it all he asked if I wanted to join Fairlight! That was a pretty flattering moment, even though it was probably just so I would get NOMAD to come as well. but the best bit was politely turning him down! Maybe I should be typing this under the question about regrets... Then again, maybe not!
For what specific reason(s) do you think that you are remembered ?
I suppose as Supplier and UK Leader of Nemesis/Ministry... that's if anyone remembers me at all, I always tried to keep a relatively low profile!
What would you like to be remembered for ?
Hopefully for being a nice guy who never forgot he was only in it for the buzz, but I doubt I will be!
What made you stop the scene activity ? (and do you remember when?)
I remember it well. It was in '92, the day my phoneline went digital. No way was I going to risk getting traced! The fun had gone as well. The scene had got far too crowded, far too competitive and far too scary. At our peak, Nemesis was turning over $2500 every month with paying Boards in Italy, Kuwait and all over the globe just to keep the group running! The UK Division even had a BBs in Jersey called Offshore (run by a cool guy called Tex Axile) for tax reasons! I sat back one day and thought about it and realised we were running what was basically an international crime ring. Scary stuff when you think about it...
Thinking back on the good old days, is there anything you regret?
Probably the biggest thing I regret is that one of my best mates on the Scene, Splatt! never worked with me as part of the same team although we were both in Ministry for five minutes just before I gave up, but that doesn't count! Having thought about it, that's maybe why we've stayed good pals...
Splitting with Scott and especially Mr.E when IBM kicked Zelnik out of Crystal was regrettable but had to be done. IBM had forced me to make a decision whether I would follow Zelnik (which I wasn't going to do, sorry Henk!) so I told him my loyalties were with NOMAD but Zelnik convinced him to leave as well so I went... I don't think Scott ever forgave me for that and I know I was bad-mouthed by IBM because of it but that was his own fault for forcing me to make a decision... Ah well, such is life, if I hadn't left Crystal I would never have helped form Nemesis.
What was your favorite
GAME(S)
Another World, Sensible Soccer, Cadaver, Speedball II, Turrican II, and loads more!
DEMO(S)
Ice by the Silents, and loads of others I can't remember the names of!
PROGRAMMER(S) (OR PROGRAMMING TEAM(S))
Kefrens, Silents, Scoopex, Melon Design to name but a few
CRACKER(S) (OR CRACKING GROUP(S))
NOMAD, Phil Douglas, The Surge, Mr.E, Gaston... all a pleasure to work with (apart from Gaston, but only 'cos we never worked together!)
OVERALL GROUPS :
It's gotta be the all powerful NEMESIS!
COMPOSER(S)
Audio Monster, Chris Huelsbeck, Tim "my hero" Follin, Mantronix, Dr. Awesome, Mahoney & Kaktus
BEST COMPOSED TRACK(S)
Difficult but I'd say Audio Monster for the stuff from ICE (I think it was him...have to rake my A500 out!)
BEST GRAPHICS
My mate Scorch but he was too lazy! Reward was cool as well...
EVENT(S) (E.G. COPYPARTY)
Difficult but I'd say Audio Monster for the stuff from ICE (I think it was him...have to rake my A500 out!)
MEMORY(S)
The CES (or PCW) shows down in London. I'll never forget meeting the boss of Ocean and talking to him about how terrible piracy was with an Action Man / Nemesis T-shirt on under my jumper! That and the fun we used to have stealing previews of all the games and uploading them from a Hotel with an A500 wired up to the phone with crocodile clips! Oracle rocked at those shows...
Visiting Reeet Mon in Chicago (Sysop of Centrum) with Splatt! two years running: Still the best 2 holidays I've ever had!
DRINK ?
Jack Daniels & Lemonade or Straight Tequila (if I'm feeling angry!)
What are you doing nowadays ?
I work for BP Oil & Gas as a Systems Engineer supporting 350 people on six Oil Rigs Offshore and in the Aberdeen HQ Onshore singlehandedly (well, almost!)
What are you doing on your spare time?
Sleeping mostly! I have a car which I'm modifying and sometimes take to our local racetrack to have a burn and I'm about to buy a Flat so doing that up will take quite a bit of time... Oh yeah and I support Chelsea Football Club.
Is there anything you'd like to say to the public (read: admires)
I'd like to say "Email me!" to everyone who remembers me and "Bah! who the hell are you anyway, looser!" to anyone else that has the cheek not to know who I am/was!
Oh yeah, and "England for the cup in '98"
What is the meaning of life?
If I told you I'd have to kill you!