Home Forums Skybox Sports Bar Shoot The Breeze History of Freaks Forum & More.

Hi all,

I got started in the sports forums around 1994. At the time I was wagering at sportsbook.com and they had a link that said sports forum. I clicked on it and it went to a site called bettorsworld. I joined that forum and had some generic name they assigned and started posting.

People were amazed at my ability to predict outcomes and to dissect a game from top to bottom. They started telling me I was a "freak" and from there the moniker FREAK was born.

I entered a contest at a forum Sting started up and I won a whacky basketball line contest for $2500 at three different sportsbooks. I liked Sting but his site was shit and in typical fashion I said I could do better.

I started off on a free site and reached capacity really quick and had to go to a bigger free forum site. Blew that place up as well and finally got my own site hence FREAKS Forum. I wasn't sure what else to call it and someone said your FREAK just call it your name and forum since you own it and that's what it is. The rest is history on the name.

In the early days, the forum was hopping mad, sportsbooks were freely sponsoring contests to attract new clients and people loved the site as I was giving away more money than anyone. I gave away over $100,000 worth of sportsbetting accounts the first two years alone.

While that was great, people stopped posting and only participated in the contests. That was one of the biggest things to hurt the forum. Not to mention that the people weren't posting up any funds at the sportsbooks and finally the sportsbooks got tired of wasting their money on free loaders.

Once the contests waned away so did the majority of the people on the site. In the poker world they are known as free roll whores, in the sportsbook world they are pretty much the same.

Some of you have been with me the whole way, Stewman21 comes to mind, he has likely been with me the longest. Over the years I have helped many people with a variety of sportsbook issues and personal issues.

I have said for many years now the forum doesn't make a dime and it's true. It's only an expense for me now and when you have been unemployed for almost 2 years any extra expense is tough to take.

I only show banners for a few sportsbooks in hopes that people sign up and play there. 5 dimes and wagerweb. Both have been great to the forum in the past and it's my way of saying thanks not to mention they are both great sportsbooks.

The climate in the US has changed dramatically, many books are closing to the US. The Greek is done with the USA and will be moving accounts to Heritage. Bet Jamaica another Greek backed sportsbook closing and moving accounts to The Greek. VIP, Nine and BetGameDay closing forever. Pokerstars closed to the US, Full Tilt closed period right now, Neteller long gone to the USA. I can go on and on.

10 years ago heck even 5 years ago things were totally different. When 9/11 took place and UIGEA came into play in 2006 it started to be game over.

Not sure where we go from here. In 2010 almost a year to date, I was sued for copyright infringement for posting a story which had a link back to the LVRJ, I had to settle out of court and that changed my life all the more for the negative.

I have a strong passion to this day for the forum but with little interaction and posts by the members it brings me down more than anything. In the time I have been doing this, I've watched my oldest grow up and graduate from high school, I've watched my youngest get ready to hit junior high this year. I fucked up in life by putting the forum ahead of my family.

I look at where things are today in the forum and wish I did it all differently. But I can't do that now and move forward.

Who knows what happens as we move into the latter part of 2011 and into the future. For those that have been with me a long time, THANK YOU! For those that haven't but contribute and post, THANK YOU!

I hope we have a great football season ahead at least in the NCAA and we rock n roll the site as it should.

Thanks everyone for reading and God Bless.

Thanks again everyone,

FREAK

I honestly don't remember how I first found the forum, but must have been searching for something sports related. I probably started out as a free contest whore to be honest! I did play free contests to win sport book money. I did post up at lest one sports book as well and in later years tried a poker room but am still working on my first million :)

However, I love hockey and wanted to help contribute to the forum so posted a lot on hockey for a couple seasons and will try and contribute this season as well. Otherwise, my interest in sports has waned and I no longer wager on them nor really follow them (more because the pro sports athlete has changed as well and most annoy me) but also fans, media, everything has just made it too much business and BS.

Hard to fault a man for following his passion. Lol, I am sure you don't remember Freak but in an early contest, I was not happy with a decision that was made (the details i have long forgotten) but in the end, I had respected the decision in how he had explained it. I know for a fact Freak has helped others with sport book disputes in the past and is always there for his members. He is top notch in that way. Sounds like you struggled with priorities in the past and I know I can relate as well as I put work first too often but like you say, you can't change the past.

I have never met Freak but just from observing him on the forum over the years and in a few emails we have exchanged, he is someone I respect. You have taken your beatings from either people on the forum in the past, as well as the legal system by the sounds of it, as well as being treated harshly by his previous employer. I think you should hold your head high. All the best to you Freak and I believe good things happen to good people so your day will come when things work out the right way for you.

FREAk is tha MAN...glad to be a part of this forum that he created. Thanks for sharing the history. I will be apart of this till the day that I'm gone!!!