I worked almost three years for Palmetto Marketing now Sunshine Subscriptions. Why did they change their name you ask? Only because if you were to research the name Palmetto Marketing, Inc you would be shocked on what you would find with terrible crimes you couldn't imagine. This industry is run by bosses that you would find on a Mafioso movie. Vinnie Pitts, the president of the NFSA, is to be the watchdog of wrongdoings on these crews, owns Sunshine Subscriptions. Why in the hell would he exploit his own business??? It was a sweat shop on the streets for youth that was rejected by society, that grew up either poor, around drug abuse, sex abuse, physical abuse, or were just trapped in their two bit towns and needed to escape. We were easy to brainwash and manipulate because they praised us for our successes which we all thought were amazing. To go out and sell 15-20 subscriptions in a long, long day we looked forward to collecting our $40, rather than $20 if you sucked.
The managers were good, real good. Robert Cecil, who ran Vinnie's main crew, resembled Pierce Bronson and could motivate a sloth to run a marathon. They worked us like cattle and we relished the PMA because back home we were nothing, losers, gangsters, druggies, whatever. This crew gave us life. The only problem is the same backgrounds us "kids" grew up with, most of the population of our prison system has, as well. So the characters throughout these companies are not for the faint of heart. And when you mix hard drugs with misfits, well... you search for yourself and find out what these crews are all about.
Sure we thought we were making a lot of dough, I remember telling cops I made twice as much as they did because they would ask "Why are you guys doing this, this ain't a job, it's slavery". Oh, how we would laugh in their faces. We really believed that we were the SHIT. We had a sort of freedom, sex, drugs, friendship, drama, and if you were good, like me, you were set on a pedestal. Which gave us more reason to stay. The truth is we made nothing, had nothing to show for our hours of relentles spiels knocking on Jones' doors until 9 pm sometimes.
I never got caught up in the Meth, the Coke, the Crack, thank god. You see back then Meth was really only available on the West Coast, in abundance that is. I would say 90% of the crew I was on, partied with meth. It started as drug that gave you a rush, a high that lasted all day and would make you sell like superman. But when we left Arizona, Nevada, Meth was really hard to find throughout the South and Mid-west which is ironic, because it's is the worst drug this area has ever seen to date now. The "kids", I say kids because we called ourselves that at doors but we were adults, grown, just trapped in a life where our youth was given another chance maybe. They found to get their high the old-fashioned way, reluctantly, crack-cocaine. Crack was cheap enough to afford and the party on the West Coast burned their noses to sensitivity that was painful. Here we are, a bunch of strung out looking misfits selling on your door step. You wonder why the crimes started hitting after I left. I left at the height of this epidemic and now I read the stories of murder, rape, theivery, etc. What do you expect from this atomosphere?
In hindsight, I may sound hypocritical to some of the former agents and current agents reading this blog. I loved it when I was there. To them, this telling of interpersonal feelings of regret and the negative aspect of the experience I had, I must sound nuts. I did get a few things out of it though. When I was on the crew, I learned how to sell an unwanted product to a perfect stranger multiple times per day. I learned that noone can ever be trusted, NOONE. When I came home I was no longer shy and reserved but very keen to the under world and very outgoing to all. I now sell, not magazines, but medical equipment. I own a home, two cars, have two kids and make six figures. I left the crew less than 10 years ago. I can now tell those cops...."that isn't bad for a high school drop out, huh". More importantly, if you are on a mag crew now, your services are needed. Take your talent that you have learned, (you have talked to so many people!) and go into the real world and utilize those skills and make a life for yourself. The crew is not life, you are brainwashed right now. I know I was for the longest time. Don't be scared to leave, just do it and find someone in this world who may love you to take you in tempoarily and go to fucking work. You can accomplish anything, believe me. Just go out and do it. FUCK the crew.
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