Hello ClasherzIII, first of all, thank you for allowing The Buzz to interview you for behind the name. Hope we didn't catch you in the middle of anything important. Tell the readers a little about yourself if you could. Hey there! No problem at all, thanks for asking me! I'm not sure if you want a mix of BL & RL facts, but I guess I'll start with the basics. I'm Ollie, I'm 22 and from London. In the real world I work at a bank. Surprisingly, I can't seem to persuade many players on here to let me look after their money, as people do in real life, total shocker there! I first got into Bootleggers about 6 or 7 years ago, but dropped off it after a while. I recently returned around August this year, and have been hooked on the repetitive clicking ever since!
Hi Ollie, nice to meet you mate. So, you work in a bank aye? How you finding it? Been there long? What's the best and worst parts of your job? And you mate! I do indeed! I'm really enjoying it...more so than I ever would've expected. I'd actually just finished studying Psychology before starting this job, so it was definitely a bit of a change! I'd say the best part about the job is the fact that you get to meet and talk to new people on a daily basis. It's pretty rewarding sit down with them, find out about their situation, and then be able to help them through what is an important aspect of their life! The worst part of the job would have to be dealing with the odd customers here and there who are just beyond helping...the 'customer is always right' types. It's part of the job though, so you put up with it. I'm sure a lot of other people can relate to that one!
OK, let's say I approach you, how would you deal with this situation. Mr ClasherzIII, I need financial help, I have a big gambling problem, I have had to sell my wife, my kids, my cat, not my TV or phone though, I need them to play the TV game shows. Now, I would like a loan if possible. Doubt I can pay you back, but I need the cash, and remember, the customer is always right. So, how fast can you loan me the cash? I really should have put a disclaimer in there somewhere...In that case, all I could suggest would be that you try and haggle the very best price you can possibly get for your wife! As a responsible lender, we aren't able to provide loans for gambling purposes
Looks like i'm going to have to find some other way to make money. How about a job? Always wanted to work in the bank. Get myself a nice job behind the counters, work my way to manager, learn the ropes, and then at closing time, empty the hell out of the vault. Moving on though, ClasherzIII, where did that name come from? Yeah, sorry about that! Well when I first returned to BL earlier this year, I ended up using a crappy name made up of my initials and some numbers...mainly because I didn't expect to be sticking around. However, once I realised that I was staying, I decided that I'd have to pick a proper name again. 'Clash' is a name that I've used online for many other games in the past, so that was my first choice, but unfortunately that name was already taken! So 'Clasherz' seemed to be the next best choice!
That makes more sense. And I'm guessing the III is the amount of times you use the name. Any hobbies? Yeah, this'll be the third time I'm using this name. I think I'll stick with it for now! In terms of hobbies, there is the obvious one that most people would say: drinking. I'm also a big music lover; I used to be really into rock & metal (and still am) but I'm also really into dance/house music now too. Last year I found myself in Ibiza, which is by far the best place I've been to in terms of getting in on the house scene! I'm also a qualified scuba diver, so I guess it's safe to say that diving is a huge hobby of mine too.
Scuba Diving? Cool. I would love to do that. What's the best place you've been scuba diving? Ever had any scary experiences you could share? Yeah it's great fun, and a really surreal experience too. The best place I've dived so far would probably have to be Croatia...as that is where I finished off my training, and where I've done most of my dives so far. I've only been qualified for a year and a half, so I still need to make it to all the awesome places like the Red Sea, the Great Barrier Reef, the Bahamas etc! In terms of scary experiences; I went down to almost 50 meters with one of the Divemasters in Croatia, which is 10 meters further than the max depth recreational divers should be diving. Your air supply practically just disappears at that depth, so it was slightly nerve-racking! I really want to go open water shark diving though, so that would probably top the list in the future...
I may have to give it a try some time. OK, next part of this interview may get a little weird, sorry in advance. Seeing as your in to scuba diving, if you could be a sea creature, what would you be and why? I'd definitely recommend it! Haha that's fine, weird and wonderful works for me. If I could be a sea creature, I guess I'd have to go with 'Tiger Shark'. The reasons being: sharks aren't all bloodthirsty killers...they actually tend to be very curious creatures; but at the same time they are the apex predators of the ocean, and they can be deadly when they need to be. I think that's a pretty cool contrast!
If you could be a Microsoft Office product, which 1 and why? Oh god, erm. I'm going to go with Microsoft PowerPoint...because I love to showcase my bits and pieces...? I may have to change that one.
Let's just hope you don't start doing your 'PowerPoint presentation' during this interview, we want to keep our readers haha. Oh, the question everyone gets asked, if you could be a fruit, what would you be? I'll try my best. I can't make any promises though. Hmmm that's a good question. Can I tell you which fruit I wouldn't want to be instead...?
Yeah sure. The fruit I wouldn't want to be, would most definitely have to be: a Mango. The reason being: a certain Penance crew mate often gets called 'gay fruit' because he chose to call himself Mango. I'd hate to share the same fate
So it would be a shame to start calling you Mango during the last couple of questions then Mango? So, Mango, What songs best describes your work ethic? I like this question! I'm going to go with Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji - Pressure (Alesso Remix) because I like to keep myself busy, and I work better under pressure. I will also go with David Guetta - Play Hard because as much as I believe in working hard, I do also like to get my drink on and wind down.
Anyway, tell the readers about your Bootleggers career. What's your biggest achievement? It sounds a bit generic, but I'd say my two biggest achievements so far would probably have to be ranking to Respectable Don and working my way up into the Top 10 Busters list (which is surprising to me, as I never really took much of a liking to busting before...at all).
Busting seems to have caught a lot of people's attention this round. What do u like about busting? Yeah it seems so. I'm not really sure what it is to be honest...like I said, I never used to be a fan! For some reason it just feels really satisfying to attempt a bust, and then see the green message pop up saying that you've busted someone out successfully; and it's even better when you get a decent streak going. I also think it's the sense of progression; you get to watch as your busting improves, and if you keep an eye on the Top 10, it gives you a goal to set your sights on and achieve. I guess that bust party winnings aren't bad either...busters get to do what they would usually be doing anyway, but they get a bit of cash out of it too. Unless they're hosting of course.
What's your biggest regret on Bootleggers? Damn, biggest regret...I'm not sure! Maybe giving away too many free pictures being a picture maker and giving away too many free pictures to your friends starts to get expensive! But 1) I love picture making too much, and 2) I feel bad charging friends/crewmates for my services; so now I've made a compromise, and I just charge them a lot less than what I'd usually charge
If you could see 1 change in Bootleggers what would it be? I'd love to see more crew functionality added. Being in a crew at the moment is great for meeting and getting to know people, so the social side of things is covered; but for people who want more from their Bootleggers gaming experience, I think there should be something more. Since crews are such an important part of the game, I think it's great place to expand on. Hopefully with the rumoured crew update, this will come sooner rather than later!
As Riserva has handed in his green coat last week, what are your thoughts on this? I think that at the end of the day, Bootleggers is just a game. If things come up in the real world, which mean that you aren't able to dedicate as much time to the game anymore, then those things should take priority. The important thing is that Riserva was (eventually!) up front about it, and made the decision to stand down himself, rather than just disappearing without a word. I do think that they should've let there be a race to shoot him though. That would've been fun to watch...
And finally, I forgot to mention, but as you agreed to this interview, I take it you read the small print when I handed you the consent form, but The Buzz team are coming round for dinner, as to the agreement in the small print. Now, we can be a little fussy, free food or not, but what would you prepare for us? iDaltonnn being the editor of The Buzz and GrandTheftShy being the head writer, you may want to go that extra mile for them, but then again seeing as I'm asking you the question, maybe you want to ensure I write something nice. Oh, Mika and Aldarion will also be letting Sky out of his closet, apparently he needs feeding every once in a while, but don't worry, nothing too fancy for him. That must have been some very small 'small print' as I seem to have missed it! I must warn you that I'm not the world's best chef. That said, I did spend my years in uni accommodation with one particular housemate who was amazing in the kitchen, and she taught me to cook a mean Butter Chicken curry. So that would probably be my secret dish of choice. Fussy or not, you guys will have to live with it, as it's either that, or food poisoning...and I suppose Sky can have whatever's left over if that's the case
Well, It seems like ClasherzIII The Banker enjoys working under pressure, as well as giving 'PowerPoint presentations' whenever he can. Lets just hope that he doesn't attempt to 'open the office application' whilst scuba diving in the risky waters, who knows what could happen. Those poor poor fish. Anyway, whilst we go and enjoy our meal cooked by our lovely host, from everyone sat around the table, thanks for reading!
