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"You're seventeen, I'm not letting you in here."
"Really, I'm not here to drink, I'm here for an interview." I flashed the large bouncer a Koffing Pokemon card. "I was told to meet here."
"Sorry, kid, no dice. I'll have to ask you to leave—"
Suddenly a tall, handsome man who could only be described as the law-student version of James Bond appeared from behind the bouncer.
"He's with me," he said. His voice flowed more seductively than Edward's.
"Sorry, Mr. Lutalo." The bouncer quickly turned and let me in.
I walked in, sat down at the bar with a glass of hot chocolate in hand, and started interviewing DoomMullet.
Jimbo: Okay, first off, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself?
DM: Sure thing. My name is Adam, better known as DoomMullet or DM (or Lutalo, if you count that failed experiment). I'm a 26-year-old law student at the University of Buffalo, living in the Buffalo, NY area.
Jimbo: On the note of Buffalo, I wanted to make a quick note — our normal interviewer Sarenji has been consumed by freshmen year at RIT, where I've been told you went.
How'd you like it there? Any words of wisdom for our fallen interviewer?
DM: Hmm, I suppose I have plenty, but unfortunately they wouldn't do him any good, he's already there!
In the distance, I can hear Sarenji groan as he finishes yet another Multimedia Project.
But seriously, it's a wonderful school and the name on the diploma carries a lot of weight. Sarenji's a real bright kid, so I'm sure he'll do very well. He just shouldn't expect much female interaction. At all.
Jimbo: He'll appreciate that! Anyway, how'd you come to Smogon? You've been here a while!
DM: Yeah, it's been... 5 years or so? Wow. I honestly just kinda fell into it. It's a VERY long story that I wrote in my 4k thread (in Greatest Hits), but long story short:
I was on a message board for a webcomic when some guy posted about another message board that needed members. It turned out to be the Uber boards, where I met Jumpman and some other notable Pokemon old schoolers.
From there, I ended up at Azure Heights and met more people, and then finally the spring after Smogon opened, I heard about it from Dweedle and joined up. The rest, as they say, is history.
Jimbo: Well I can probably speak for everyone when we say we're glad to have you! Now Smogon is, at heart, a competitive Pokemon site. Have you ever played, or wanted to play, Pokemon?
DM: That's the funny part about me being in this community... I never played Pokemon, and yet became a big part of Smogon. Back in the summer of 2006 everyone kept hassling me about not playing, so I finally broke down and got a GameBoy emulator and a FireRed ROM.
I didn't get very far and eventually lost interest. I think not playing the game as a younger child probably had something to do with that: it just didn't hold the allure it does for everyone else.
But I did briefly get involved on NetBattle and had some fun with those randbats. My record was 7-42, so... yeah, I'm pretty bad.
Jimbo: Yeah, randbats are probably the best thing about Pokemon... Back to what you said before about being here a while, do you have any specific fond memories or anecdotes about "old Smogon" that you'd like to share?
DM: Oh man, how much time do you have? The first thing that always comes to mind when I think about my early Smogon days is the summer of 2006. I didn't have a job and would stay up on IRC until 4:30am every night.
And then in August was JAA. Smogoners kept winning all the stops and getting trips to NYC, so Articuno64, Fish, and I went out there and met up with Jumpman16 and had the time of our lives for 5 days, meeting TONS of people.
That was the first Smocon, a tradition which we continued the next year in Toronto and then in Las Vegas in 2008. Unfortunately Arti and I had no money this summer so we were unable to put together a trip, but other people have been getting together, so I just hope that trend continues.
Jimbo: That does sound like a lot of fun. Maybe soon I'll be able to get to a Smocon myself!
Now we have a question from tennisace, who couldn't be here, "how bout dem bills"?
DM: Ugh.
DM's face transforms into a frown, his eyebrows furrow, but of course he is still impossibly beautiful. I scribble down, Note to self: punch tennisace.
Don't even get me started about that Pats game, I've seen that garbage ever since Jauron became coach. The whole "let them walk down the field while holding a late lead" thing is going to lead to me killing myself or others.
Trent Edwards, aka Captain Checkdown, can't throw more than ten yards down the field. Evans and TO are being wasted in this godforsaken offense.
The defense is so much better than the stats line says, it's just hard to give up less than 400 yards when you're on the field for 40 minutes!
Jimbo: Heh sounds like you're a big sports fan. Are there any other sports/sports teams you really like.... or don't like?
Just then a young british boy, woodenman, wandered into the bar, looked at DM in awe, and ran off.
DM: I'm huge into the Buffalo Sabres as well. I was raised a Buffalo fan and I'll be diehard about the Bills and Sabres for the rest of my life. I do NOT like the Cowboys and Pats, because the teams always beat mine and their fans are arrogants a-holes.
Jimbo: Do you like to play any sports in addition to watching them?
DM: I played lacrosse and football in high school, lots of roller hockey with my buddies, and also grew up playing in the town soccer league for 8 years. I really miss organized sports, because I love to get competitive and I feel like, looking back, I had a lot of untapped potential I never capitalized on.
Jimbo: Sounds like fun (and you can always take up a sport later in life to blow off steam!!)
Now moving in a different direction... Anyone that pays attention to your posts, especially in Internet Renaissance, could see that you're very interested in music.
What facets of music interest you? (Writing, singing, playing instruments, listening, etc)
DM: I was raised in a very musical family. My two uncles and various cousins play guitar, one even in a band that was big in Buffalo back in the 90s. I picked up guitar myself and have been playing for about 10 years, and in the past few years I've been writing my own songs and recording them.
I just love the way music can be used to express emotions. That's why I listen to the music that I do: I feel that if the music doesn't move me internally, what's the point in listening to it? That's also why I avoid like the plague all the trite garbage on the radio and TV.
Jimbo: Yea I can definitely see what you're saying. Do you plan to make any money off of your musical abilities?
DM: Not really. I've never written anything with anyone else in mind. If other people enjoy my music, I'm happy, but in the end I'm just doing it because I enjoy it.
Jimbo: Sounds reasonable enough! Now you said you were a law student. What specifically do you want to do after law school?
DM: I worked at a firm in Rochester for the past two and a half years before starting law school. I would love to go back and work there; I've really put down roots in Rochester, I love the city and I really liked the people in that office. It's also a very large firm, and I'd be making some pretty sweet cash!
Jimbo: Well that's always important.
Now the last question, most likely the most important. I know you said you don't play Pokemon, but you must have a favorite. What is it?
DM: Hahaha, well, that's an easy question to answer. GOLBAT.
Somewhere deep in a cave, RB Golbat snickers.
Jimbo: Haha alright.
Well thank you for making time to get interviewed! You've been great.
As I leave the the bar, I think to myself. "How am I going to format this interview.... Maybe I can have it based in a bar. Yea, that's funny. Man, I miss Sarenji..."
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