Interview
Porsche/NUKEBUSTERS
I got the handle PORSCHE from the famous German sports car manufacturers because when I was younger I was always fascinated by Porsche 911's. The group name NUKEBUSTERS was thought up by the co-founder of the group, Ghost who wanted a name that was symbolic of New Zealands anti-nuclear policy.
I live in Auckland, New Zealand but was actually born in Wellington, the capital city.
I was born in 1970 and am 25 years old.
The first computer I ever had was a Commodore 64 which I got in 1984 but I was a lamer and didn't get a 1541 drive until 1985!
I formed Nukebusters in 1985 along with Ghost. Nukebusters was the first group in New Zealand and the only group from this country to ever really do anything on the world scene on the C64. In 1988 we started to concentrate on the Amiga which I now look back on as a big mistake. In 1989 we became the New Zealand division of ACU, the largest and best ever group from Australia/the southern hemisphere. In 1989 we also had a C64 division in Germany but this died after about six months due to communication problems.
The proudest moment of my career would be attending the Silents/Red Sector copy party in Copenhagen Denmark in Summer 1990. Just to meet so many great people, both those that I had traded and talked to plus lots of new people in the scene was a real highlight.
Nukebusters is only really a group that is famous in New Zealand and perhaps to a lesser extent, Australia. We were the first group to consistently trade 0 day wares in this country and were the first group from New Zealand to release international quality demos on the Amiga.
I would personally like to be remembered as the founder of the New Zealand scene, the first guy in New Zealand to actually achieve anything from the scene in a time when it was far more difficult to do anything. These days all you need ism a modem and it is easy to get 0 day wares. Back in the good old mail trading days, things were a lot different.
In June of 1990 I left New Zealand to travel around the world for six months. During this time I saw some of the USA and most of Western Europe. When I returned to New Zealand in November of 1990 I had had enough of the scene and although I wanted to stay in contact with all of the great people that I had met in my travels, I no longer wanted to be part of the scene - this trip was the turning point for me.
My biggest regret is not leading a "normal" life like most other teenagers did. No matter what anyone says, although the scene has been very kind to me like it has been to many other people, by spending so much time in a "subculture group" you will suffer from not leading what is considered to be a "normal" upbringing. The scene has been kind to me in that I have made some good money from the skills that the scene has taught me but socially I think I missed out on a lot of opportunities.
FAVOURITES
Games - Thrust, Montezumas Revenge, Staff of Karnath, Boulder Dash I & II, Twin Kingdom Valley, Blagger, Up'N'Down, Web Dimension, Last Ninja II, Summer Games II, Guild Of Thieves, Bruce Lee, Way Of Exploding Fist, International Karate, Elektra Glide,
Demos - Escos/1001 Crew, all Mr Cursor demos,
Programmers - 1001 Crew, Mr Cursor
Crackers - Mr Z, Janitor/Triad, Snappy/Genesis Project, Weetibix, Mr Zeropage
Composers - Rob Hubbard, JCH/Vibrants, Jeroen Tel,
Best Tracks - Thrust (and most Rob Hubbard tunes), Toy Bizarre game jingles, Cybernoid theme
Best Event - Red Sector/Silents Summer Conference 1990
Drink - DB Natural which is a FINE New Zealand beer!
Today I do some Computer Support and a little Customer Services work for a medium sized New Zealand company. I am looking towards a position in middle management in the next 12 months.
In my spare time I like to spend a lot of time travelling around New Zealand in my modified Honda CRX. I love going to the cinema to see new movies and occasionally play a game on my Playstation. I enjoy spending time with friends having a few drinks or spending time at local cafes. I enjoy eating a lot of ethnic foods like Thai, Chinese, Turkish and Indian. I enjoy playing cricket for a club and am a big supporter of New Zealand sports, especially cricket and rugby.
The scene can be a lot of fun but it is important to keep things is perspective. If I was to do everything all over again then I don't know if I would have spent so much time with computers because I think that ultimately it can be to the detriment of ones social skills. The other side of this however is that you can learn a lot of skills from the computer scene that can make you rich in the real world, be it either legally or illegally. Just remember that the computer scene is just a very, very small slice of the real world and don't take it all too seriously.
I don't know what the meaning of life is but it is important to make sure that you enjoy life. I turned 25 last year and it is the first time in my life that I really thought about it - I am staring to get old, there are so many things that I want to do now and eventually I will not be able to do them! Make the most of your opportunities and do not put off doing all of the good things until tomorrow otherwise you might live to regret it!