ePlaya

Gypsy Flower Power camp 2014 was one of the worst moop offenders up to that time. It failed disastrously at infrastructure promised to people who consequently were ill prepared to manage their own burns. Allegations of fraud were leveled, but I cannot speak to these. Anyway, the main organizer, Johnny Nutter is trying to come back to burning man 2023, and his camp group page has already near 200 followers. His approach of “we all lead, we all build it”, is pure ideology and little nuts and bolts practicality. If you are looking for a camp, I’d say this is one to strongly avoid. Be wary of any promises made and come prepared to be self reliant in all cases.

I have copied a post from the burning man veterans and virgins Facebook page with a link to a 2014 article.

“WARNING Jonathan Nutter aka Johnny Moonshine is a KNOWN Fb scammer and has defrauded hundreds of burners over the years! Do a Google search for “Gypsy Flower Power camp” He preys mostly on international attendees promising tickets, tents, sleeping bags and bikes. Don’t be a VICTIM.”

https://burners.me/2014/09/19/what-a-me ... y-for-brc/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1173209 ... tid=DcJ9fc

From the Burning Man Journal 9/2014 by The Hun: Campers at Gypsy Flower Power International (a theme camp at 4:20 & Haifa) seem to have found themselves in an extraordinarily moopy situation, when their planned infrastructure apparently failed. As a result, the camp abandoned a 4-foot-high “mountain” of trash; a broken shade structure; a rolled-up tent; a dirty mattress; burn barrels full of ash; lumber; big oil and greywater stains; jugs of mystery fluids; and an array of smaller items.

It may be the worst impact we’ve ever seen a camp leave on the playa.”
https://journal.burningman.org/2014/09/ ... ever-seen/


And Danger Ranger wrote on his fb page Sept. 2014: “Gypsy Flower Power was another failed camp this year. It was doomed from the start because it was a scam operated by Jonathan Nutter (jonnymoonshine12 on FB), a serial ripoff artist with a history of doing this at multiple events. This year, he bilked a bunch of first-time europeans by charging them for tickets, food and accommodations, which he never
delivered. He also had no plan for (or intention to) clean-up after the event.”

From Boing Boing.net Cory Doctorow nine years ago: “The filthiest camp? Gypsy Flower Power camp — over 200 people, many of them first timers from overseas, who were apparently scammed by a serial ripoff artist called "Jonny Moonshine" with a history of doing this at multiple events, including other Burning Mans and a Rainbow Gathering in Hawai'i. The comments are full of furious people who gave Moonshine money on the understanding that he'd arrange tickets, food, water, and other necessities, and who had to beg at other camps to keep from starving.”

He’s backkkkkkkkk

I'm usually not an advocate of violence, but perhaps in this case, if he does show up, a little "corrective peer counseling" may be in order to get the message across?

It appears that the response to alert people has been pretty widespread within burner forums. He's changed his identity and camp identity on fb. It may be a protracted game of whack a mole, but I think his prospects for succeeding as a camp organizer are narrowed. I hope he is prevented from scamming folks. Nutter by name, nutter by nature.

I remember the stories of stranded people crashing in other camps that year, but really every year there are unprepared individuals wandering, seeking alternatives to bad situations, looking for food and a place to crash (people who entrusted their care to total strangers.) There are many types to be wary of. A large camp with no structure in place for leadership and planning (we have no leaders, we all build this) is a huge red flag. He lead his camp description by saying it would have a hostel for people who needed tents and bedding. Yikes. It is best to know who you are dealing with; do some research; ask around for feedback before you commit, especially if your food, water, and shelter depend on it.

As disgusting as this scumbag may be, I find myself torn on finding sympathy for the victims …

Commodification of the whole damn thing is the root cause.

If y’all fe’rners don’t go booking your Disney adventure but do what the rest of us do …

… then again, I am a big-time FKO.

From a certain point of view, this fuckhead is culture jamming the whole shebang and turning a profit.

Fucked up and entertaining at the same time.

Token wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:33 pm

As disgusting as this scumbag may be, I find myself torn on finding sympathy for the victims …

Commodification of the whole damn thing is the root cause.

I agree pretty much. The concept of someone making a burn happen for somebody else, and being paid to handle it, whether it’s for cost or profit, is the problem. If a person can’t bring their own stuff, how can we expect their trash to be removed? If people are willing to trust total strangers to provide for them at an event that says pretty damn clearly that isn’t supposed to be happening… how can we say they were victimized? If suckers believe that nothing bad happens because unicorns and rainbows are the brand, then reality is going to do a pile driver on the unsuspecting. A little bit of “fuck yer burn” can go a long way. Heads up, buttercups.

Just saw this post. How the f does he get placement? Or has he been pulled?

The greater the distance between a virgin burner and in-person, face-to-face, trusted veterans, the greater the chance of mishap.

This is the same nonsense that brought us the Fyre festival. Unfortunately because of the relative anonymity of BRC, it falls to the community to try to prevent it.

It falls into "sort of prepare" on the Internet, bring a credit card, and the playa will provide festival mentality.

Sadly we may be rushing into worse weather each year, which makes survival tougher.

Token wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:33 pm

As disgusting as this scumbag may be, I find myself torn on finding sympathy for the victims …

Commodification of the whole damn thing is the root cause.

If y’all fe’rners don’t go booking your Disney adventure but do what the rest of us do …

… then again, I am a big-time FKO.

From a certain point of view, this fuckhead is culture jamming the whole shebang and turning a profit.

Fucked up and entertaining at the same time.

+1000