A solemn moment for DBR and the Melee Community

[TheCrimsonBlur]

Yeah she is persian, so is SideFX(Boback). You are not alone

Oh its not BO-BACK its Bah-back! How have I never made that connection!

Represent, baby, represent. <3

 

[Composeur]

I can't even imagine what a mind**** it was to have to root out this intense personal betrayal. You think you know people, but really some people just defy this, and it's a struggle not to let it destroy your faith in other friends on the cusp between close and casual. I'm so proud of DBR, and especially Germ's girl, for standing their ground, putting pressure where it was due, and CALLING THE PO when it became obvious it would be necessary!

 

[the_CAM_factor]

great job handling the situation dbr, hope this doesn't damage your crew and you continue to help the community grow. you guys are living legends

 

[Vist]

Why do people relate this to plank and pound 5?

Plank hosted one of the community's biggest events ever, much like he had previously with Pound 3 / 4 etc. He had no intention of stealing money or pulling one over on anyone, and that's not what happened at all. The way the venue was paid for turned out to be extremely risky and backfired completely since it depended on the number of rooms booked etc. The turnout, while pretty good, wasn't as big as he anticipated and it meant a huge amount of money HAD to be paid to the hotel. He decided to use the prize money to help cover the costs and it still set himself back bigtime financially. Everyone seems to hate him for making that decision, but what else could he do? He paid a huge ****ing price both financially and to his reputation in the community, and I'm sure he never intended for any of that to happen.


And in regards to Genesis, DBR, and Zelgadis, it's a real shame to hear what happened. I can only imagine the toll it has taken on everyone who knew him well, especially considering how close of a group you guys had been. I don't really know any of you personally, but it seems like Zelgadis's willingness to lie and steal even over extremely close friendships point to a serious issue with drug addiction. I'm sure you guys don't want anything more to do with him, but if he was ever someone to be trusted in the past or was ever a truly a good friend, I really hope you guys can try to get him some help with treatment.

 

[tarheeljks]

He decided to use the prize money to help cover the costs and it still set himself back bigtime financially. Everyone seems to hate him for making that decision, but what else could he do? He paid a huge ****ing price both financially and to his reputation in the community, and I'm sure he never intended for any of that to happen.

well, i think many would argue that he never proved this was the full story. idk what, if anything, has changed as i stopped following the thread shortly after it became clear no one was getting paid. that said, as i recall, the posted figures did not account for a significant portion of the expenses that were covered by the venue fees and prize money, and no statements were ever made with regards to the outstanding money. if that's no longer true, or if i pulled an andy pettite and misremembered, then disregard this of course.

wrt genesis, it's great that you guys resolved the situation with minimal disruption to the tournament. respect. of all the dbr members, i probably interacted w/zelgadis the least, but assumed him to be legit by association. knowing how tightly knit the dbr crew is, it's a surprise and a shame that the money was so important to him that it was worth losing his closest friends. that someone would lie or steal to get 6k is (unfortunately) not too surprising in a vacuum; however, what i find jarring is that a member of the host crew would do so, thereby destroying the event his friends worked so hard to. i guess he found himself in dire straits if he saw this as a reasonable risk, so i can empathize somewhat. still, a grimy act all the same. kudos to dbr for handling this smoothly--after seeing the amount of coordination and preparation that went into planning an executing this tournament, i'm not shocked that you all were able to handle the situation.


on another note, i think this incident may be a data point in favor of avoiding cash prizes at large events, particularly events that span multiple days. obviously winners would prefer to receive their money on the spot; however, delayed payouts in the form of checks minimize the risk of theft (though they prob create issues for international players). anyway, just something to consider

 

[So Fatal]

well, i think many would argue that he never proved this was the full story. idk what, if anything, has changed as i stopped following the thread shortly after it became clear no one was getting paid. that said, as i recall, the posted figures did not account for a significant portion of the expenses that were covered by the venue fees and prize money, and no statements were ever made with regards to the outstanding money. if that's no longer true, or if i pulled an andy pettite and misremembered, then disregard this of course.

wrt genesis, it's great that you guys resolved the situation with minimal disruption to the tournament. respect. of all the dbr members, i probably interacted w/zelgadis the least, but assumed him to be legit by association. knowing how tightly knit the dbr crew is, it's a surprise and a shame that the money was so important to him that it was worth losing his closest friends. that someone would lie or steal to get 6k is (unfortunately) not too surprising in a vacuum; however, what i find jarring is that a member of the host crew would do so, thereby destroying the event his friends worked so hard to. i guess he found himself in dire straits if he saw this as a reasonable risk, so i can empathize somewhat. still, a grimy act all the same. kudos to dbr for handling this smoothly--after seeing the amount of coordination and preparation that went into planning an executing this tournament, i'm not shocked that you all were able to handle the situation.


on another note, i think this incident may be a data point in favor of avoiding cash prizes at large events, particularly events that span multiple days. obviously winners would prefer to receive their money on the spot; however, delayed payouts in the form of checks minimize the risk of theft (though they prob create issues for international players). anyway, just something to consider

yea seriously, once people demanded proof of the purchases and stuff, he bailed and never posted on swf again. Sketch for life.

 

[The King]

Still, this definitely isn't the thread to discuss plank & pound5's financial shortcomings. About the only comparisons that can be made at all between his situation and ours is that money was involved, and both situations really sucked to go through.


That aside, the amount of support we have received from you guys has just been overwhelming. While this thread was primarily made just as a warning to the community about Zelgadis's character and as a general warning about the dangers of being haphazardly overly-trustworthy... the support, commendations and consolation you have bestowed all of us in DBR and the amazingly selfless TO's which definitely proved to be the glue that held Genesis-II together has been incredible.

While I was one of the few who made it through that hotel room experience dry-eyed, reading all of these unbelievably supportive posts brought a tear to my eye. From the bottom of my heart, thank you guys; you all serve to remind me why I'll probably never be able to move on from this community, and why we worked & strived to make Genesis-II all it could be. You guys deserved it.

-King Out

 

[KirbyKaze]

King for president!

 

[Mr.Jackpot]

King for king!

 

[commonyoshi]

What's going to happen to Zelgadis and his friend? Are charges going to be made?
And is this why there was an announcement saying the bonus money would be sent to the winners by check?

Anyways, good stuff for being so cool in this situation.

 

[xXx-NoobKing-xXx]

Shined (robbed) blind.

 

[xXx-NoobKing-xXx]

To be serious for a moment. I can give some pretty good insight on this. Many people in the smash community are aware that i have been struggling with addiciton and alcaholism for several years now. I know there was a time where if was given the opportunity i very well may have taken the money myself and lied through my teeth about it. When you get deep into an addiction (for example cocaine), nothing matters except getting your next fix. I have lied, cheated, and stolen to get money for booze and drugs before. I've met alot of people from all different backrounds. People you would never suspect would even have addiction issues. And we all have one thing in common. Once we get that first drink or drug in us, there's no way we can be sure of what might happen. I have lost a few friends to the "disease" of addiction and i know first hand the thoughts and feelings involved with it. It changes people. You lose interest in hobbies, friends, family, and life and the drug becomes the center of your miniature existence that manifests itself the more you use (drugs).

What im trying to say is, i understand what must have been going through trebors mind. You feel so wrong and guilty and shameful but you do it anyways. (now referring to the theft).

I don't know what trebor was using. But for him to have done this, i suspect that he is battling an addiction with a hard drug like cocaine or heroin.

I was going to make it to genesis this year but my passport didnt come in time. I've got almost 4 months clean now after attending a 3 month treatment program and today, i'm content with who i am and these days i dont lie or steal anymore. Anyways, my heart goes out to trebor and i really feel for him. However, just as i have had to face the harsh consequences for what i've done in my life, so must he..

-noobking

 

[SmashMac]

Shined (robbed) blind.

Oh man. I was gonna say, I knew he was suspicious since Shined Blind (Not really. I actually loved the combo vid. at the time when I first saw it.)

In all seriousness, sorry guys that you had to deal with a betrayal.

 

[Germs Lady]

Damn, respect for DBR and I hope you guys can get through this with minimal pain. But I will not be able to watch shined blind or zelgadis's evolution the same way ever again. Hell I may not even watch them again. Zelgadis's video was a huge breakthrough in fox combo videos. Its just so shocking to hear this, Its shocking for me who has never met zelgadis. I cant imagine how you guys in dbr feel, Once again Im sorry for you guys and I hope you can get through this and be done with it. I would hate to go through that.

We got sick and upset literally four seconds into watching past videos. Something we can't describe. Very sad sad time. Let it be known that his family was contacted by Germ and myself and it has been made clear that he needs help (he's on oxy pills and weed, so nothing crazy serious as mentioned above). Rehab was recommended. Where it goes from there is out of our hands. His family member deeply apologized to us and the community and is humiliated for his (Zelgadis/Trebor's) actions. Apparently he told her the same lies and she's nothing short of baffled. Thank you to all for your support during this rough time.

~Zohreh aka GERMs LaDY [ http://www.facebook.com/zohreh.green ]

 

[Walt]

Trebor told Pammy the same lies?

 

[Germs Lady]

Trebor told Pammy the same lies?

Yep - Pammy and I spoke an almost 45 minutes the next day.....it was a very upsetting moment and emotional. She couldn't believe the lies either.

 

[Superspright]

no one's 'on' weed. lol. Shows how much you understand drug addiction. He is on OC's though. That was obvious by reading the stories. I'd say he likes roxies too, and anything else heroin like. Maybe he'll evolve into one of those upper downer types who are speedballing--but the result is the same: you get a thief. people can't support addictions like that, and will do completely insane, and inane things to get that money. I've been robbed before by drug addicts like that.

 

[Allin]

We got sick and upset literally four seconds into watching past videos. Something we can't describe. Very sad sad time. Let it be known that his family was contacted by Germ and myself and it has been made clear that he needs help (he's on oxy pills and weed, so nothing crazy serious as mentioned above). Rehab was recommended. Where it goes from there is out of our hands. His family member deeply apologized to us and the community and is humiliated for his (Zelgadis/Trebor's) actions. Apparently he told her the same lies and she's nothing short of baffled. Thank you to all for your support during this rough time.

~Zohreh aka GERMs LaDY [ http://www.facebook.com/zohreh.green ]

Rehab would be the best thing for him, I truthful hope he seeks out help/rehab. Loosing his closest friends could send him into an even worse downward spiral if he doesn't. Depression+Drugs do not mix well. I know what he did to you was horrible, but drugs just do things to people, I honestly feel bad for everyone involved including Zeldagis.

 

[ZodiakLucien]

Immense respect for handling it the way you handled it. Also having the intent to pay out of pocket to make sure the event wouldn't get damage because of it. I am also sorry it had to be from someone so close.

 

[unknown522]

Man, I'm never gonna look at shined blind the same.....

but yeah, in all seriousness that sucks. It's good that you guys were able to pull through.

 

[Mike G]

Much respect for letting us in the community know about this and you you all handled the situation, even for someone like me that's been inactive for a good while and mostly looks from the outside, I really appreciate it.

All my memories of Zelgadis as well as DBR have been really positive so even now it's hard for me to fully understand why this even had to happen. I really hope he seeks the unnecessary help for himself because I really don't want to see him hit rock bottom (or anyone else in this community for that matter).

As someone that has been through a similar situation, I know it's hard but I know your crew will get through this.

Also, sorry about missing G2. I had class and work johns but I'm serious when I say I plan to visit norcal normally after I get my culinary degree(for my extrernship) so you guys will get tired of seeing me. lol

 

[Germs Lady]

no one's 'on' weed. lol. Shows how much you understand drug addiction. He is on OC's though. That was obvious by reading the stories. I'd say he likes roxies too, and anything else heroin like. Maybe he'll evolve into one of those upper downer types who are speedballing--but the result is the same: you get a thief. people can't support addictions like that, and will do completely insane, and inane things to get that money. I've been robbed before by drug addicts like that.

I'd expect more respect from you- and that comment wasn't necessary: "Shows how much you understand drug addiction" Really dude?

I would understand more than most people and have a past as well. I've known serious addicts and dealer and that's all that needs be said. Sorry my use of language wasn't good enough for you. So allow me to correct myself, he's not "on weed," he's "smoking weed." Thanks for being a jerk though despite such an upsetting situation and trying to school me in something I know too much about to care for. Do you feel better now? And we know Trebor - he's not doing heroin....so please don't try and tell us, the closest people in his life, what he is or isn't "on" or "smoking." Either way he ****ed up big time and lost everything. Thanks for clearly being one among hundreds that doesn't seem to be as supportive towards our grief.

~Zohreh aka GERMs LaDY

 

[Sage Osaka]

Being "on" drugs is way too relative of an issue for people to be nitpicking the syntax of talking about them. Germs lady put it one way, someone else thinks its something different. She wasn't wrong, some people can be regular users and some people can be occasional users, its all very subjective. Sorry to nitpick about nitpicking but there was nothing wrong with what she said.

 

[random-ness]

Everything I wanted to say about this has been said I guess, but I still just want to tell you guys that DBR has inspired me a lot ever since I was new to smash and even though I've never met any of you, you're all important to me, in a way.
I admire you for sticking together and makin' tournaments and stuff and I'm sure you'll all push on through and I truly wish you all the best


With condolences.
//Random-Ness

 

[SmashMac]

Bob$ and Cyphus. 2 guys that if they weren't in the world I wouldn't main Doc. DBR <3.

 

[D20]

Stories like these are always troubling... but for every one person that has a negative impact on the community, there a hundred that make up for it. Perhaps I am still being a bit naive (even after some of the other fiascoes of the last year), but I can honestly say that I would not be playing this game if it was not for the people I play it with. I feel that this game has let me to some great memories and some even better friends.

Furthermore, every experience I that I have had at national tournaments has been amazing. I meet people that I chatted with online or who's play I have watched in videos... and when I finally introduce myself... I always feel as if I already knew them. Although this is another terrible incident, it will not shake my faith in the Melee community. It should not shake yours either.

See you at the next national...

~D20

 

[Rockenos]

I'm really proud of DBR for how they handled this, if the 6000 dollars hadn't been given out somehow, the Smash community would be in deep, DEEP ****, especially after Pound V. I hope this incident doesn't prevent Genesis 3, I was unable to go to Genesis 2 (My summer tourney budget wouldn't allow a cross country flight), the livestream fuelled a great party with some friends and the whole weekend was extremely hype.

tl;dr, good **** DBR.

 

[Vigilante]

I wasn't there, but I'm sure this has been hard on you all. I got this to say to Zelgadis:

You've broken the trust of people who have known you for years. You have stolen from them, almost tarnished their reputation, and yet they let you go without charges. Think about what that means. Despite all you have done, they cared enough to give you a chance to start over. Do not waste this opportunity. Lay off the drug.

 

[SolarChimecho]

I hope Trebor Scherer has realized that a lifeless paper of money is never more important than your living friends. However.....that fact that he admitted to the police instead of continuing to lie means he may(call me crazy if you want to)still not be so stuck up. He cannot cleanse the sin he has done though. Not smart of him to steal from friends or from the community/

 

[EdreesesPieces]

Holy crap I can't believe Zelgadis did that. Completely inexcusable, really really sorry to hear you have your heartbroken - Germ, Boback, and the rest of DBR =( I haven't posted on the forums for a very long time but I heard about this through the grapevine and had to read the story to believe it. Unreal =(

 

[sirlaser]

Utmost Respect + Hope for Convalescence

Many people are probably wondering:
1. Has there been any comments from Zelgadis?

2. What are SilentSpectre's comments on all of this as a member of DBR?

SilentSpectre really lives up to his name.

DBR, just wanted you guys to know my friends and I really appreciate your videos; they helped us out a lot with techniques. Plus, you guys' video "Silence" got us into smash in the first place \m/

Watching Genesis 2 streams was very entertaining, never from the players' reactions would I have suspected something like this was going on. Respect++ for handling this situation so well and thank you guys very much for hosting this international tournament!

My consolations go out to those who suffered the betrayal of a rare friendship. Still, hope Zelgadis is getting help right now.

"and he beheld the ruins
of an empire torn apart
yet, no grief nor rage did bind him
just silent and bewildered
by the emptiness
he stumbled off his throne

"step by step
past all past
slowly he approached the surface
nothing left
to sacrifice
the mirrors mocked him on the way"

- The Eruption, Emperor

"May you always find your way in the dark."

 

[Jonny Westside]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn no one can be trusted these days.

 

[SpaceFalcon]

lmao zelgadis, ur pathetic

 

[Rkey]

Wow, I can't believe this person was the first melee-player I looked up to. And I can't help but think that their must be some very serious matters behind this that are yet to be uncovered, or matters that have been uncovered but are to serious to be brought up on these boards. Still though, I'm no longer as proud of the picture we took together.

The rest of DBR FOR THE F'ING WIN THOUGH! You guys are hell of awesome!!

 

[sylbot]

I feel like a complete ***** for complaining about the melee stream. I am sorry for you guys but you made an excellent example for our community. Hopefully the way you handled the situation will overshadow some of the previous downfalls of our community.

 

[xXx-NoobKing-xXx]

Roby extreme!

 

[X17the17th]

First off, allow me to express the high esteem in which I hold you. Your willingness to make up for the 6k by giving money of your own speaks volumes about your sense of responsability and your trustworthyness. To associate with people like you is one of the reasons that encouraged me to integrate the Smash commmunity.

I also wanted to let you know that I feel for you. I, too, know what it's like to experience betrayal from a very close friend - different kind of betrayal, but betrayal just the same. For quite a long time, it was all I could think about. Getting over it is also quite an ordeal...

Even still, I hope things will work out for the best since DBR has always been an inspiration.

Just my two cents.

 

[o-Serin-o]

They're civilised men not jungle savages.

Neither am I, but with me knowing a so-called friend for years and him turning around and doing this ****, I would have lost it.

Maybe it's because I have a slight anger problem, I guess.

 

[NeutralDamage]

I agree Zelgadis needs help. He must need a LOT of money if he is willing to steal from his friends. Now the question is, are we going to help the man in trouble or not? So he needs lot of money, so I suggest we make a donation thread to give him money to get him out of his debts and back on track on his life. He made a mistake, he is just a man. Let's give the man a second change and donate some money to him. I would rather help than bash him, because it seems he needs the help the most. And I'm sorry for DBR they had to go through this. - Peace

 

[Zantetsu]

I agree Zelgadis needs help. He must need a LOT of money if he is willing to steal from his friends. Now the question is, are we going to help the man in trouble or not? So he needs lot of money, so I suggest we make a donation thread to give him money to get him out of his debts and back on track on his life. He made a mistake, he is just a man. Let's give the man a second change and donate some money to him. I would rather help than bash him, because it seems he needs the help the most. And I'm sorry for DBR they had to go through this. - Peace

From the looks of this thread, I don't think anyone will donate money to him. He doesn't deserve it. I'm sure if he really needed help, he could have went to his friends, DBR, who was willing to pull 6k for the bonus money back out of their OWN POCKETS for a smash tournament, so I'm sure they would have helped him out if he really needed it.