Nanuq Posted May 27, 2021 Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 KB POWERMAX!!! RWG Crew 19,109 posts Joined 13-March 06 Gender:Male Location:Downunder waayy downunder Posted 06 July 2008 - 11:40 PM Today it is my very real pleasure to be interviewing one of our tireless Co-Admin's, a man who has been around the boards for longer than I, a trusted colleague and good friend. It is Two Tone who has in fact stepped up to the plate and offered his services when our Admin needed to take a break for business reasons so we all owe him a debt of gratitude for keeping us running smoothly during this time. It is also Two Tone that watches over us, trying his best to keep scammers at bay, a large part of this is his initiative of duplicate accounts list. Ken : Hello Two Tone and thank you for taking the time to speak with me today Two Tone: My pleasure Ken. And my apologies for taking so long with getting this interview back to you Ken: Ok first question Two Tone, is this in fact a reference to your Gen submariner and if so would you like to give us a little history (and pic's) on this watch. Two Tone: I only own one piece that was purchased "new" - retail, and it's this one. My wife bought the Sub for me while in Cabo in '05 for a wedding anniversary gift. 18 years' I bought her a Therapy Appointment http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/6307/rolexzv1jpgttfe3.jpg K: We all have a story relating to how we came to this hobby, what's the Two Tone story? TT: I've been a Watch fanatic for as long as I can remember. Don't know what it is, must be something in our DNA. I can remember as a kid, probably around 7 or 8 owning my first Seiko on a FAT leather strap with rivets. My uncle bought it for me. I wish today 40 some odd years later that I still had it. .. Anyway, back to the question - In '05 I was attempting to purchase a Gen SS Daytona. And as we know today they're impossible to find. And if you do find one, plan on getting gouged 'Bad' In searching on the Net I came across bestswiss.com. After studying their site I was quite impressed with their [listed] offerings, and thought I might give them a try. I called the "800" number and spoke to the "Owner" Well long story short, I came within a millisecond of purchasing a $1800.00 Swiss Triple Grade A, Grand Who-Ha, Just like the Genuine, etc 'Daytona' In my hesitation I did a little "replica" research and found RWG1 and the rest is history K: One thing I have always admired about you is that you will always speak your mind, this is a trait that I share and as such the general members would not be aware of the tussles we have had from time to time behind closed doors. Despite this we have always been able to remain good friends, respect most likely being the key here, however this is not always the case with the membership, many see a challenge of a viewpoint as an attack and so it is harder for an Admin member to maintain a lot of good friendships. Amongst the friends you have made and some that you have lost who are those that come most to mind and are there any that you have lost that brings you regrets? TT: My signature says it all "Where People gather, Life Happens". I started participating in Forums [Boards] back in 92. CompuServe first, then AOL later I learned quickly that the same people issues we deal with in real life exist in forum life. In fact, they're even more magnified. Navigating personalities and conflict is just the way life is Some peeps you like, some you don't I found that RWG is no different. We come together in common ground Watches... But then life happens - relationships form, and other interest emerge So our time here becomes much more than just Watches As you know, I've had the opportunity of meeting some of our Forum Members in person Just a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of having dinner with deltatahoe while in San Francisco. Drinks with Ubi & Rocket at the top of a skyscraper over looking the Rockies while in Denver, Goose & Cran with Omni on a warm Maui day, broke bread twice with Nanuq in the great State of Alaska, and just recently had the pleasure of meeting up with Piazzanooo, POTR, Pizza-Man, and roflwaffle in Seattle And I have a list that I plan on meeting in the future as well - Yes, that list includes you, Offshore & Cornerstone in the late fall/early winter if the good doc gives me permission As far as the regrets part of your question goes - the answer is yes... I hate it when things come to a point where we can't sort out our differences... Hate it in real life - hate it in forum life And I'll leave it at that K: The duplicate accounts list I mentioned earlier, this was both started and maintained by you. Would you care to explain to our members exactly why we have this ruling and give a couple of examples of how many times some banned members have tried to get back in with another account? TT: Well, one of our duties is to try and protect the community from being scammed And I found it frustrating early on that there wasn't a clear record keeping of who's who and what's what So the list was born... We not only keep track of scammers & potential scammers, but we also keep track of spammers, trouble makkers, etc... Offshore then perpetuated it by starting a joint forum cooperation forum where we keep each admin teams from the different Boards updated It's one of those tireless, thankless jobs that goes-on behind the scenes But someone has to do it K: Please tell us about TT's current collection, your favorite piece and what (if any) are on your horizon. TT: Like many others, there is an ebb & flow to my collection I have pieces that will never be let go, then others that I know are just on loan Currently I have my TT Sub, SS Sub, Yacht Master [on loan to a friend for a wedding], Breitling Hercules, Sector ADV 2500 in my Gen's - And a Old Case 188, FA Jones [decorated], Yacht Master, SS Sub, Navitimer, UPO 45, Chopard Gran Turismo XL, Cartier TT Santos 100 with real gold bezel, and By-Tor's GMT [which is for sale BTW] in the Rep's I've tried many pieces over the years - Bought some with the intentions of getting them modded and then never did. Learned over time that I don't want to mess with them, Just want it to arrive in good working order and then put it on and enjoy I've had 3 Daytona's and sold them all Had a wonderful Ubi Modded 1680 that's now resting well on the east coast A 196 7753 Old Case that made it safely to UK And too many others to even count I'd imagine that a year from now the Watch Box will have a different personality - But for me, it's about the moment My "Wish List" doesn't include any Rep's right now - but then again, I'm not sure it has in the last couple of years - I'm probably more impulse than anything else The Gen "Wish List" however continues to grow I won't buy New - So it's all about the right place at the right time IWC Big Pilot - after handling delta's the week before last, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon, PAM 007, , UPO 45 both in SS and Gold And finally, the new 1950 8 Days Chrono GMT in Rose Gold! Only 250 pieces made - So I may be waiting a while on this one K: You have seen many changes in your time on the boards (and had an Administrative hand in some), what do you see as the most positive changes and what do you see (or would like to see) for us in the future. TT: Well the most recent change that I'm excited about is the Auction option for the membership It doesn't really offer an advantage to someone who's selling your everyday rep But for those "special" pieces that folks want to part with, it's a BIG PLUS Pricing has always been a real issue when you're selling a nice piece Ask too much and it doesn't sell, ask to little and it's gone in an instant with you kicking yourself in the butt for setting the price to low So the auction is a win win for the seller and the Forum - with 10% of the proceeds going to support the Board, and the seller maximizing the pieces worth I'm also a big fan of the Platinum Membership that T has put together For quite sometime over the last year there's been a lot a heavy issues that seemed to of drag the whole Forum down. But not so much anymore! Most of the drama has subsided and there's a real spirit of community as of late We have new folks joing the forum everyday. And we have over 1100 members logon each and everyday, and the Forum is busier than it's ever been, it's great And finally, I'm really blessed at the level of community, cooperation, and friendship that we have with the other Forum Admin's - It's been a long time coming K: I used to dabble in a bit of poetry before I got married (oh where did those romantic thoughts go) and I must admit I was quite taken by your 'Clock of Life' , is this your own work and if so is there more where that came from? TT: It's not Ken I don't remember where I came across it. But it fits perfectly for me for two reasons: The 1st and most obvious is because we're a Watch Forum The 2nd because it's really a true saying for me, Back in '02, at 40 years old, I had a Heart attack, and my life changed forever. That little saying represents how I live my life now Take nothing for granted - For in the blink of an eye... K: Ok let's go for the 5 minutes of fame.... K: Age? TT: Old enough to know how and to young to refuse 46 K: Job? TT: Director for a Fortune 700 Company I've been in Sales my whole life with the exception of 3 years in the Armed Forces K: Meat, fish or tofu? TT: Surf & Turf all the way to the grave baby K: Favorite book? TT: The Good Word! Second - Stephen King's The Stand K: Favorite movie? TT: Ebb & Flow to this as well - but off the top of my head right now - Boondock Saints K: If your house was on fire (and family was safe) what is the one thing you would try to save? TT: If my family and dog were safe, I wouldn't risk it It's all just temporary anyways And replaceable But if I had a gun to my head - My Watches http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://image.rwg.cc/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif K: Three people past or present that you would like to share dinner with? TT: Billy Graham, Ronald Reagan, Billy Crystal Religion, Politics, and Humor - Sums up life http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://image.rwg.cc/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif K: Ok that's all we have time for on those as I have another little game especially for you. Those that still visit the old board or remember from before we moved will know you had an uncanny ability to always be able to pluck a pic of the net that perfectly fitted any word or description. What I am about to do is give you some words and I want you to add a pic for each... K: Extraordinary.. TT: Well, I have a few pictures for this category http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://image.rwg.cc/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif � http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7862/5393erjpgtt1op8.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9564/ggg712xojpgtt2tt7.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/1194/binhot3aijpgtt3nc1.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/6088/ggg103xojpgtt4ab3.jpg K: Politics.. TT: Ha� http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7416/billclinton5fbjpgtt5ln1.jpg K: Summer.. TT: Now that's an easy one � Me in Mexico� http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/8708/caboblog030ul4jpgtt6pg9.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/1158/caboblog039ad7jpgtt7lr7.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/644/caboblog043lh6jpgtt8eg5.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/5838/caboblog037ps8jpgtt9io9.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/8035/caboblog034pk0jpgtt10bd4.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/1742/caboblog033xl7jpgtt11yx3.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/3308/caboblog032hg5jpgtt12pk3.jpg K: Danger.. TT: Flat Line� http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/9265/flatline11aee5bqp7jpgttmu0.jpg K: Haven TT: See "Summer" Above� K: Two Tone I thank you for your time today and of course for your dedication and hard work on our board. I and the other two Australia mods look forward to your tour downunder later this year when we can finally have a face to face meet........... Asshats to you buddy. TT: Back at ya Ken Thanks for the invite I'll close with some words I wrote to the community back at Christmas '06: Quote I seem to always find myself in deep reflection at this time of the year... Maybe because of the giving spirit of the Season... Or the upcoming New year, and the impending resolutions that always precede it... Whatever the case, I can't reflect without pondering this little community that I spend so much time in... What started out as educational research on a Rep Daytona has turned into so much more... I'm simply amazed at what RWG is [to me]... So much more than Watches... The relationships here are awesome... And I truly count it a privilege to be a part of this li'l place... So, from my home to each of yours... I sincerely wish you each a Joyous and Happy Holiday! Live Well - Laugh Often - Love Much Two Tone Warm Regards friends It's truly a pleasure serving each of you! Mike And Ken, a final picture just for you... http://web.archive.org/web/20120530185020im_/http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/3034/shooter3lk5ca4jpgtt15nl5.jpg Thanks buddy Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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