croatianRespectfully bows
and TTT this
and TTT this
"http://www.myspace.com/91050368'
Can someone post this pic http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=91050368&albumID=62441&imageID=6847445.......Clown looks like a O.G. wanna be...lol
"Or at least using the same IP so whoever he is he knows Joe"
Your right about me knowing Joe. I'm good friends with Joe and I live next door in a townhouse. Joe did post on page 2 we are neighbors. He has a Linksys wireless router.
John Halverson - TTT- if you're going to promote, pay what you promise!
Good to hear from you UncleGrappler...And thanks for the respect from you guys that posted kind words....
MrDrummonds, I certainly do remember when it was just Monte and I doing shows in Iowa....For the longest time we were the only promoters that had a license to do pro shows in Iowa....Obviously as this sport grows, it grows for the good and the bad! Hopefully all of what is being talked about in this thread can get resolved and get resolved quickly....I know a lot of people are running low on patience...
hey everyone. this is chris from blueblood.. im here to tell everyone the truth of whats goin on, so all these one sided stories can be laid to rest..
yes i do owe a few more people money, and yes they're were a few checks that got returned, I wont denie that.. but what all you guys dont know (or just dont want to point out about me and my company) is ive thrown 6 shows in my life -- 4 succuessful - 1 broke even - and 1 flopped.. off that one show, i owed over $3500 to people.. now let me remind you,, this is not the first and only time a promoter threw a show that bombed and had to pay people money they owed.. out of that 3500, ive already paid 2000 of it...
its not like im hiding under a rock and its not like im goin around saying im not goin pay these people... infact whats cute is the people i owe the money to is not on here talkin cause i talk to them daily and have been making payments to them and will continue to until its paid..
Fact: ive had over 150 fighters fight on my shows.. ive had 6 different employees help me with my shows..
and have used the same radio station, the same cage guy, and the same dr on all my shows.. and everyone of them got paid or got what they were promised, besides on that 1 show.. and i am making up for it.. and i have it all on record.. 1 fighter - radio station - paid the cage guy today - & past sponsor and there were a few more people but they also have got paid since this whole mess...
now ive talked to a few people who have posted on this personally today already, i think and hope there is a better understanding of my side.. i know its not right to owe money, but when a show fails unexpectly, the only thing a guy can do is pay what he owes and move on to the next show..
so i am sorry to disappoint the few on here that really do hate on me and dont want me to succeed.. but im just not the crook, snake, rip off person that u want me to be.. its not my style.. and when everyone gets finished being paid then hopefully it will put this silly thread to rest.. if not then i guess no matter what you do u cant please everyone and as long as i pay everyone who is owed then i frankly dont give a shit what my hating public thinks...
for every 1 guy who says something negative about me, there is 50 either fighters/sponsors/employees that will back me up.. ive never ripped anyone off on purpose nor have i ever sorted someone money on purpose.. do i feel bad about the stituation,, yes!! but the only thing i or anyone else in my postion can do, is learn from it and move on.. might sound cliche, but its the truth..
ps. the rumor of me owing spencer fisher and monte cox.. right!! you guys def need to do some more research on that one before you start saying things you have no idea about..
if u would like to address any of these matters more personally or would like to talk more in depth about a certain detail. please feel free to contact me on my email at lanista@bluebloodmma.com
tks
-chris
Good to see you on here Chris and good luck getting things all cleared up.
"now ive talked to a few people who have posted on this personally today already, i think and hope there is a better understanding of my side."
As one of the guys that Chris is referring to, I can say that I did talk to him on the phone this evening, and got his side of the story. As a matter of fact, I am the one that encouraged him to post his side of the story on here. I think he seems like a nice enough guy in person, but as I told him on the phone, I feel that his business practices are hurting everyone in the local MMA market. However, like he says, he has admitted his wrongdoings, and is trying to make things right. I spoke with him about the specific problems that I had with him, and he understood where I was coming from. We didn't necessarily agree with each other on all aspects of our conversation. With that said, I wish him luck, and hope that he can get everything smoothed out ASAP! :)
"I think he seems like a nice enough guy in person"
It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation but only a few seconds to ruin it.
In the fight game, bouncing checks will kill a good reputation overnight
Again good luck.
tks joe, hopefully people can be understanding to my postion.. i know i would be pissed as well if someone owed me money, but it would piss me off a whole lot more if they were ignoring me also.. and that is something im not doing.. i am admitting the problem and i am taking care of it..
also i would like to comment to everyone on what ron said (bzljj), he is right,i have never competed in or trained in mma at all.. i owed a marketing company for 4 yrs and had a partner.. we started getting asked by local promoters to help find sponsors for there shows.. that lead into meeting alot of people in the sport and having our own ideas to put into shows.. which in long story short is how i got into throwing shows...
but one thing is this.. I RESPECT anyone who gets in that cage or who does train in this sport.. i have many of personal friends some in which ive known for 15 plus yrs.. and have been a huge fan of the sport since the first time i seen shamrock vs gracie.. infact iyfperm is the guy who got me really interested and involved with the sport back in 2000.. another thing awhile ago i let 3 fighters who have fought for me several times, write the rules to my show because i understand that it is them in there not me.. who am i to set rules when there r the ones in the cage.. so i have rules for the fighters by the fighters.. i also console with almost every fighter involved with my shows and seriously take input from them because without them we have no sport..
also to answer my old company, Whiteape mma which was a dba of my marketing firm, the reason why i disolved that business is because my partner wanted to focus on websites and corp identies and the marketing firm and i wanted to pursue throwing more shows... so hopefully that helps you on that question..
-chris
tk u bzljj - ron.. i again also tk u for the call today.. i was glad to be able to talk to u and see where u r coming from.. i did understand most of the things we dicussed and hopefully when it is all said and done u can see what i started out to do with my first 3 shows and that is have some great fights with attendances of over 1100 people..
-chris
"i know i would be pissed as well if someone owed me money, but it would piss me off a whole lot more if they were ignoring me also.. and that is something im not doing.. i am admitting the problem and i am taking care of it."
Is four months a long time to take care of past debts? Just asking. I'll let the forum define what "ignoring" means.
Writing 10,000 word responses to your reputation is fine, but actions speak louder than words. I, for one, would like to see the money I'm owed -- and so would my wife and kids.
Hopefully, the fact that this goes beyond a few people and a few events -- it's a small community and several people have come out and talked about being burned here -- will put Chris on the right track.
Someone mentioned Chad Mason on this thread. Chris, trust me, that is not a name you want to be mentioned with in the same breath. There is no lower spot on the MMA promoter ladder than Chad Mason. Please stay a few rungs above him.
ice iowa, tk u for ur honesty.. 4 months is a long time, it has actually only been 2 months since that show that bombed, but i see what ur saying and that is a long time also.. the only thing i can tell u on that is this.. i live show to show, just like alot of people live check to check.. if i had the money right now its now like i wouldnt pay these people, i do care about my reputation.. but all i can do is slowy pay this debt away for the money i gain from shows that im involved with which has only been 2 since this mess....
and yes i completely agree that actions speak louder than words, thats why i didnt say anything on here for so long and i was reading it the whole time, but ovisously words do mean something cause all that is on here is just that, "words" put here by people, some who know facts, some who hear something and want to act like they know facts, and some that r just on here for the sake of backin a friends statement... and it was a few people on here who had told me that i might want to say something and they were right, cause im not trying to make it seem like im hiding under a rock...
if u would like i can give you atleast 5 diff peoples numbers that i have taken care of in the last 2 weeks..
thats what im trying to tell u guys, is that i am paying people, my debt is getting paid and i will contnue to til its done..
i also said this earlier, im not the first promoter who had a show the bombed.. but im def not the promoter that when 1 of my shows do bomb.. that im goin change my name, or move, or lay low.. that i can promise... im not to sure who chad mason is, but i have heard names like bloodsport promotions and mike smith (cage king), and ur right i def dont want that reputation....
-chris
Chris, when you say "I live from show to show like people that live paycheck to paycheck" what you're saying is "I'm undercapitalized for the projects I'm doing, and if a show bombs, there is a 100% chance that fighters are not going to be paid." Does anyone feel like gambling by working with this kind of organization?
You're ethicly obligated to be able to pay the money you promise, even if your show doesn't do as well as you thought. If you can't keep that promise, you shouldn't make it. Otherwise, you're nothing but a scammer.
mmalanista33 - ice iowa, tk u for ur honesty.. 4 months is a long time, it has actually only been 2 months since that show that bombed, but i see what ur saying and that is a long time also.. the only thing i can tell u on that is this.. i live show to show, just like alot of people live check to check.. if i had the money right now its now like i wouldnt pay these people, i do care about my reputation.. but all i can do is slowy pay this debt away for the money i gain from shows that im involved with which has only been 2 since this mess....
if u would like i can give you atleast 5 diff peoples numbers that i have taken care of in the last 2 weeks..
-chris
The event that "bombed" was on June 27. Not two months ago, but four. It's unfortunate that dirty laundry is getting aired like this, but let's keep to the facts.
If you've paid off 5 other people before us, that's great. Were they owed money prior to us? How do you determine who you are paying and who you aren't? If you keep paying off the $400 debts you'll never get to the bigger ones that have been sitting there a while.
And, if you're using upcoming shows to pay off previous debts how do you plan to survive yourself? It's a losing formula. Gladiator Gannon is correct, it seems you don't have the funds to be a promoter at this time.
You are a talented marketer and do a great job getting sponsors. That's why we were interested in working with you. We wanted to teach you what we knew about promoting so you'd be successful. We liked you. We only wanted to work with you a couple times a year and the rest of the market was yours to do what you wanted. We weren't trying to control anything. We were being helpful.
But, unfortunately, business got in the way and now, it seems, your reputation is taking a hit from more people than just us.
Not only do you owe us money from an event, but your program/sponsorship business also made money on two of our events and we never saw the profits from those.
Trust me, we don't want you to fail. If you fail we will never see the money owed us. If you succeed, get money ahead and stay true to your word all debts will be erased. That's what we're hoping for.
all this nicey nice shit is all cute, but if your business is running so thin, you can't cover paying your vendors, fighters and advertising if you don't profit from the event, you're a shitty businessman, and shouldn't even fucking be in business.
to the guys who r saying i shouldnt be in business and that it is a gamble to work with me.. i understand exactly why u would say that, but that is ur opinion and nothing else to me, sry..
the fact is this, not that it is anyones business what im doin with my company (as long as people r being paid) but since so much has already been said why stop now huh? i do have a wealthy investor.. one who has seen the mistakes ive made, who knows the hole im currently in, and one who also has known me and my character for the last 12yrs and is fully committed to helping me have one of the best shows in the quad cities.. i have 2 more shows to do by myself before he invests the money i need to take care of EVERY exspense before one ticket is sold or one sponsor is collected.. this will give me the opportunity to cover the shows costs as well as my past debt...
gladiatorgannon. the only shows ive not done well were pro/am shows, becasue of all the overhead & due to the fact i did not handle my budget very well, wishing for the stars (which was my mistake).. never have i failed at a all ammy show, which is what my next 2 shows will be..
ice iowa.. the show i was talking about was my sept 5th show that was my worst show ever, that was 2months ago, but anyway...
I will admitt, that marketing and advertising is my strong suit, thats no secret, that is the background i came from.. throwing mma shows or events period is a whole new ball game for me... im taking the right steps i feel to not only solve my past mistakes but also to keep running my shows successfully.. which some people really enjoy my shows and some people are not a fan of them.. but i cant worry about making the whole world happy, just taking care of my business..
last but not least.. i did not get on here to respond to every comment made nor to disagree with anyones opinions.. the fact is this, i came on here to share with u my side of the story for those who were interested and after that whatevr you choose to acknowledge is up to you.. to those who have wished me well, i in return wish you the same luck with whatever you do.. im sure some of you will be hearing from me soon as i start taking care of a few more people, until then im sure i will keep reading this thread but i will not be posting anymore until after my next 2 shows which will be done by dec 1st..
tk u again,
-chris
i also forgot to post that if u do want to say something to me direct or have any other questions you can email me still at lanista@bluebloodmma.com and i will reply to any of your questions or concerns. but im just not big on dicussing business matters with the whole world just the people who it involves and ive already said more than usual, i just wanted to give my side of the story..
tks
-chris
ttt
Good evening ya'll!
I would just like to add that Chris has made good with the 3 issues that I had mentioned in my one earlier post. I also understand that he has made good with Mr. Reed for the cage rental and is re-paying the radio station what he owes them. Fighters that were owed money have been or will be taken care of as well.
If you had a check issued by him bounce and it has not yet been repaid....e-mail him and it will be taken care of promptly.
As for those who think they are owed money for other reasons....well that is another issue all together, one which I know nothing about and you'll have to figure out on your own.
So, as you guys read back through other peoples posts, remember those that say they had a check bounce from Chris. Follow up with them and you'll see that they have or will be taken care of.
I have known Chris for a long time and I can say that he is a good guy. I also give him some props for having the courage to NOT hide under a rock and man up to his shortcomings.
As Chris mentioned earlier, his strong suit is sales. Hell, my partner and I taught him all he knows!!!! However, he also mentioned that promoting events is something new to him. I hope that as he fixes these problems, some of you are willing to give him a second chance. I know I will.