Note: The particularly important details and music artist names are in bold text. Licensed music track names are in italics.
The year is 1973, five years after the events of the Mafia III, and 22 years since Vito Scaletta’s seen or heard from his old friend Joe Barbaro. The canon ending of Mafia III with this Mafia IV story is Vito taking over the city after Lincoln skipped town, however Cassandra and Burke are left alive and loyal to both Vito and Lincoln still. Burke was able to survive his liver cancer by getting a black market liver transplant in Mexico, like he did in his ending, except with Vito running the city. On Vito and Lincoln’s behalf, Burke and Cassandra agree to stay behind in New Bordeaux and keep the city locked down, incase Leo Galante and the Commission try anything.
The beginning cutscene is Vito answering his telephone after getting up in the morning in his new penthouse, on the top floor of the New Bordeaux casino he finished that was once Sal Marcano's, and grabbing a cup of coffee. It's Alma with some urgent news. Lincoln Clay came down to the cigar warehouse to visit her after 5 years of silence, and he has big news.
Joe is alive in Empire Bay and has been this entire time. However, as punishment for his actions, he's become Leo Galante's personal driver against his will and is forbidden from contacting Vito ever again, or else him and Vito will be killed. Alma then tells Vito to meet Lincoln at the airport to learn more, as he's already there awaiting Vito's arrival. When they're away from anyone who could listen in on their conversation, Lincoln tells Vito he has a friend named John Donovan he's going to introduce him to, hiding in the outskirts of Empire Bay, ready to help Vito and Lincoln with their new mission
Vito gets dressed in one of his signature trench coats with a suit and tie, ready to rain down hell on the Vinci crime family and their allies, and finally be reunited with his lifelong friend he previously thought was dead, Joe Barbaro.
Here is my idea for the kill list, all related to the Commission in Empire Bay and their allies.

• Leo Galante - Top target on the list, Vinci family consigliere who's in with the Commission and the man you thought put Joe in the ground for the past 22 years. Bury this wrinkly old cocksucker.
• Johnny Galante - Vinci family capo and younger relative of Leo's mentioned in Cassandra's ending, possibly Leo's cousin even. John Donovan knows that the two are close, and that Johnny's a valuable asset to Leo's organization. Kill him both to hurt Leo's earn and influence, and to hit him straight in the heart by taking away his family and everyone he loves
• Michele Galante Jr. - Another Vinci family capo, and Leo Galante’s youngest brother. Killing Leo’s little brother will both take away one of his most reliable allies, and leave him stricken with grief and enraged, and more prone to making mistakes.
• Nunzio Galante - Leo’s seasoned older brother by 3 years, and yet another Vinci family capo. He knows enough about smuggling that he worked out an ingenious plan for smuggling military grade weapons into the city. He pays off corrupt officials at Empire Bay International Airport, to allow guns to be loaded inside the walls and floors of planes, unknown to everyone onboard save for the palms the Galantes and Frank Vinci have greased to cooperate and keep quiet. The time has come to put this crafty old bastard in the ground.
• Don Frank Vinci - Frank Vinci is the boss of the Vinci crime family, the family Leo's been a consigliere of for decades, and a lifelong friend of his. Kill Frank, and Leo loses more ground than he could ever imagine, and will be forced to deal with both the loss of his boss, and the loss of his lifelong childhood friend.
• Don Ennio Salieri - Longtime close friend of both Frank Vinci and Leo Galante, Don of the Salieri crime family, and a third party Frank and Leo call in to crush Vito's uprising, when it becomes too big of an issue for Vinci alone to handle. Salieri was eventually able to grease enough palms while behind bars to have his life sentence overturned, and he got released from prison on good behavior in 1953, after he served 15 years of his sentence. He’s since relocated to his main operations to Empire Bay, having already had connections and men present there while he was in prison, backed by the Commission and the Vinci crime family. He's seasoned, but he’s nothing Mr. Scaletta can't handle. Give this tired old fuck the gangland ending he's had coming.
• Isaac - Isaac is the personal assistant to an influential loan shark named Bruno Levine, who handles the money of the Commission, including the Vinci crime family and the Salieri crime family. He does anything from serve his boss coffee, to count incoming and outgoing money for Bruno. Because of his duties, he's aware of Bruno's location at all times. You’ll need to get to Isaac to get information on his boss out of him, and dispose of him afterwards if you want to get to Bruno.
• Bruno Levine - Bruno is a Jewish-American loan shark who kicks up all of his earn to both Frank Vinci and Ennio Salieri, and the Commission in Empire Bay. Killing him kills a lot of earn for the Commission, and they loses a valuable asset. In addition to getting rid of him being practical, to add insult to injury, he gave your father that loan. It's about time to put this asshole out of business.
• Mr. Chu & Mr. Chu Jr. - This old man has been leading the Empire Bay Triads with an iron fist since before you were even born. The bastard has a son too, who eventually went on to become his underboss. The Empire Bay Triads became a close ally of the Vinci crime family, the Salieri crime family, and the Commission shortly after Vito killed Don Carlo Falcone in 1951, forming a lucrative partnership with the Commission. Mr. Chu and his eldest son are valuable assets for Leo Galante who give him extra reach. Melt their iron fists and show these two pricks just who they fucked with.
• Eddie Scarpa - This cocksucker used to be Carlo Falcone's underboss for as long as you could remember. After you whacked Falcone in the fall of 1951, he decided to throw in with Vinci to save his own skin. He took over the smuggling and dock union extortion that fat fuck Derek Pappalardo used to run. You know all too well how to deal with this sorry fuckin' rat.

I'm thinking Vito and Joe work with Lincoln Clay and John Donovan to split up Empire Bay and distribute territory to three other factions not unlike what Lincoln did with New Bordeaux. This time though, this is a much larger city in a much, much different part of the United States. The empire building mechanics would be a lot smoother, more robust, and streamlined compared to Mafia III. They would work similarly a more modernized version of how the hit city sandbox game Scarface: The World Is Yours handled it's empire building and management mechanics, minus the whole switching to other characters lower on the ladder to do your bidding. This would be ideal for a story rich organized crime game in my opinion. Here are my ideas for those factions, all close allies of the up and coming Scaletta crime family.
The Cuban mob led by Alma Diaz. Vito goes way back with Alma, and she does not hesitate to answer him and Lincoln's calls to save Joe's life and royally fuck both Leo Galante and the Vinci family.
Conti crime family, led by Enzo Conti. This Conti crime family formed sometime in late 1968, months after Lincoln helped Enzo flee New Bordeaux and drop off of Sal Marcano's radar. It turns out he fled north to Empire Bay and finally formed his own family, having more than enough years of experience in the underworld to handle the job. Lincoln's tight with him and manages to recruit him to Vito and Joe's cause.
The Yakuza, based out of Empire Bay's Japantown. Longtime sworn enemies of the Empire Bay Triads, with bad blood going back decades. They would greatly enjoy seeing Mr. Chu and his son's heads mounted on pikes, along with whacking everyone who's ever supported their organization. You don't know them well, and they're known to be very unpredictable and ruthless. Use these traits to your advantage when taking on the Commission of Empire Bay and their friends.
I should mention as expected, this entire 1973 section where you play as Vito is much shorter than Mafia III. Vito's takeover is shown much more quickly over time than Lincoln's, and there's time skips during it, to keep it short and sweet, and to show onscreen only what's important. There is also no option for your underbosses to betray you, as to reduce confusion and keep the story consistently the same each playthrough, like the first two Mafia games.
However, unlike Mafia III, after all of these tasks are completed and every single assassination target on Vito’s kill list is dealt with, the game does not end. In fact, it's not even anywhere near close to being over yet. Vito's 1973 section was merely the beginning act. It was really a lead up to an entirely new Mafia story, centering around a newcomer to the American mob. Fast forward two years following Vito’s rampage that led to him taking over Empire Bay and the Commission, in the year 1975 him and Joe now rule Empire Bay, with Vito as the Don of the Scaletta Crime Family, and Joe working as his loyal underboss. You play the rest of the game as a young up and coming soldato named Louis in his 20’s, who’s a rising star in Vito’s organization. Do right by Mr. Scaletta and Mr. Barbaro, understand kid?
My basic idea for the character and his backstory is that he's a young Italian-Canadian mobster from Toronto, Ontario, or whatever Mafia's equivalent of it could be called. Let's call him Louis DeSimone. His family hails from Tuscany in Italy and moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1939, shortly after World War II broke out in Europe. Louis DeSimone was born in July 1952 in Toronto, and was raised in Toronto's Little Italy. Being northern Italian and hailing from Tuscany, Louis has blond hair and green eyes, making him visually very distinct from past series protagonists, who were all dark haired brunets with brown eyes. Louis fled south to Empire Bay when the feds started cracking down on his old family and put his boss in prison, and he ended up finding a new home with the Scaletta crime family. The first few missions playing as Louis DeSimone involve shooting your away out of an arrest by a Toronto Police Service SWAT team in Toronto in December 1974, seeing the rest of the members of your old crime family either get arrested or shot in front of you as you make your escape. You spend the next two missions fleeing Ontario through Quebec and upstate New York, before finally arriving in Empire Bay in early 1975, late January to be exact. Winter is in full force with snow everywhere, Louis' arrival to Empire Bay for the first time in his life mirroring Vito's return to Empire Bay in 1945 30 years earlier, except under far different much more dire circumstances. Louis' older brother and his father, both capos in his old crime family in Toronto, are shown to be arrested by the TPS SWAT team in his first mission, the same one that attempted to gun him down when he resisted arrested. Louis knows someone had to have ratted out his old crime family, and he wants to find out who someday. The thing is though, he doesn't just want to kill them. He wants to get out of them why they did it before he kills them. More than anything else, he just wants to find out why his crime family was betrayed and served up to the feds on a silver platter, having most of his biological family sent to prison in the process. He’s out to uncover the mystery of why his family fell apart, and he’s more than willing to help people like Don Vito Scaletta and his underboss Joe Barbaro to eventually get the answers he seeks. In the end, he’s not even after revenge primarily, more than that, he wants answers and information regarding the fare of his old crime family, and wants to know why his family fell apart. I came up with the idea for this character because I figured that playing as a fugitive from the law made sense for the mob life, and I'm surprised we haven't had a fugitive protagonist in the Mafia series yet.
In the 1975 chapters while playing as Louis, the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon’s resignation, and the official end to the Vietnam War are all discussed on the in-game radio during news segments. In the last 1979 chapter, the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan War is also the subject of a news segment on the radio.
The story eventually transitions into the 1980's as years pass, with the scenery, cars, and music changing accordingly, and historical events of the time discussed in the game. In the 1989 section of the game, the murder of the infamous former Sinclair Parish Sheriff Walter “Slim” Beaumont is mentioned on the in-game radio, as just over 21 years ago Slim and his corruption ring were the top headline of national news. the time the game ends, it's 1992, and significant historical events from the past few years at the time that are covered on the radio in-game include anything from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, to the 1992 L.A. riots. The rise of the internet and home computers are briefly touched upon during news segments on the in-game radio during the early 1990's section of the story, but not greatly delved into given their relative infancy in that time period. During this entire 1975-1992 stretch of the story, Vito is no longer playable, and Don Scaletta takes a backseat in the story as a main supporting character, similar to Don Salieri throughout Mafia: Definitive Edition. You now play as the Italian-Canadian Scaletta family soldato Louis DeSimone, who is later promoted to being a capo in 1985. At the end of the game in 1992, Louis is promoted to Consigliere of the Scaletta crime family, and it’s revealed in the epilogue that he became the don of the family in 2006 at the age of 54, and his now released from prison older brother serving as his underboss, and and Enzo Conti’s grandson Giovanni Conti serving as consigliere, taking over from Louis’ previous position which before that belonged to his father and Enzo’s only son, Lorenzo Conti from 1973-1992. It is worth noting that unlike Don Salieri, Don Scaletta has much more integrity, and has more genuine loyalty for his men and his associates. If you've beaten Mafia 1 or Mafia: Definitive Edition, you'll know this is something Salieri lacked in the end. Over time, Louis also goes from having a strictly business relationship with Vito and Joe, to bonding with them and becoming a genuinely close friend and trusted member of the family, seeing Vito as something of a second father, and coming to see Joe as the fun uncle he never had. Another major character development theme is Louis DeSimone adapting and assimilating into Italian-American culture in his new home in the Northeastern US, it seeming like something new mixed with the familiar Italian-Canadian culture he was raised in back in Ontario just north of the border.
The game will include a number of hit music from the 70’s that played on the radio back then, such as Bobby Womack’s Across 110th Street and Tony Christie’s (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, The Grateful Dead's Casey Jones and at least a few songs by the then new American rock band Cheap Trick, as well as popular songs from the 1960’s people still listened to at the time, such as Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs’ Wooly Bully, King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man, Zager and Evans' In the Year 2525, The Zombies' Time of the Season, and Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. When you progress through the game, especially after you switch to playing as Louis DeAngelo for the rest of the story, years change, and the music changes. Different songs start playing on the radio, such as Sylvester's You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), Randy Crawford's Street Life, and The Village People's Y.M.C.A., Cheryl Lynn's Got to Be Real, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, and the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive start playing in the 1979 portion of the game. After you've completed the 1975 section of the game, Foghat's Slow Ride starts playing on the radio. Starting in the 1977 section of the game, Cheap Trick's I Want You to Want Me and Heart's Barracuda start playing on the radio. In the 1980's portion of the game, Thomas Dolby's songs Hyperactive! and She Blinded Me with Science, in addition to Night Ranger's Sister Christian also start playing on the radio. If Hangar 13 can afford the licenses, I also think a few Michael Jackson and Madonna songs should definitely be on the radio during the 1980's portion of the story, given the immense popularity and regular radio airtime those two had in that decade. If this ended up being possible, I imagine that Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Bad, and Billie Jean being on the radio in the 80's sections would be a must, Smooth Criminal especially because of how well it suits the series. Madonna's Lucky Star, Burning Up, Like a Virgin, and Borderline would also be perfect for the 80's portion of the game to me. Also mentioned by NPCs and civilians in the game are topical events of the time period, such as the release of the groundbreaking 1973 horror film The Exorcist at the end of Vito's playable portion of the game.
Other music of the 1980's segment when playing as Louis DeAngelo for the remainder of the game includes hits of the era such as Joe Jackson's Steppin' Out, The Buggles' Video Killed The Radio Star, Corey Hart's Sunglasses at Night, Laura Branigan's Self Control and Gloria, The Weather Girls' It's Raining Men, A-ha’s Take On Me, Men at Work's Down Under, Kim Wilde's Kids in America, The Gap Band's You Dropped a Bomb on Me, Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon, Michael Sembello’s Maniac, Twisted Sister's I Wanna Rock and We're Not Gonna Take It, Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive and Bad Medicine, Soft Cell’s Tainted Love, Robert Palmer’s Simply Irresistible, Rick Astley’s Together Forever, Whenever You Need Somebody, and Never Gonna Give You Up, Cutting Crew’s [I Just] Died In Your Arms, Loverboy's Working for the Weekend, Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) and That's the Way (I Like It), Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Now, Daryl Hall & John Oates' Maneater, Aneka's Japanese Boy, Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood, Girls, Girls, Girls and Kickstart My Heart, Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire, Huey Lewis And The News' Hip To Be Square, Bill Medley's (I've Had) The Time of My Life, The Police's Every Breath You Take, Whodini's Magic's Wand, Guns ‘N Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City, Tears For Fears' Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me, Regina's Baby Love, Nena's 99 Red Balloons, Earth, Wind, and Fire's Let's Groove and September, Billy Idol's Eyes Without a Face and White Wedding, Rick James’ Give It To Me Baby, Olivia Newton-John’s Physical, The S.O.S. Band’s Take Your Time (Do It Right), Kenny Loggins’ Highway to the Danger Zone, Wham!’s Everything She Wants, George Michael's Careless Whisper, Toto's Hold the Line and Africa, Blondie's Heart of Glass and Atomic, and Mai Tai's History.
**Note that not every single year and moment of the 17 year 1975-1992 section playing as Louis DeAngelo is playable or chronicled. My idea is it would be handled similarly to how the time skips in Mafia 1/Mafia: Definitive Edition were handled. Time skips of two or more years, or in this case, even longer such as 4 years sometimes, the game skipping from 1979 to 1983. This is to keep the game and story length ideal, and not risk it getting boring or repetitive, or going on for too long. Repetition was a big problem in Mafia III even if I still thought it was a superb game, so I think it'd be best to learn from that for the next big entry. The games story will skip ahead and show onscreen only what's significant, similar to the first Mafia game and it's remake, as well as certain aspects of Mafia II. Louis starts his section as a 22 year old fugitive soldato who got picked up by another crew south of the Canadian border, and in the epilogue of the game in 1992, is promoted to the consigliere of the Scaletta crime family at the age of 40, being set to take over the family once Vito and Joe become too old to run the day to day on a regular basis. Louis DeSimone is promoted to don of the Scaletta crime family following Vito and Joe being officially retired as of 2006. They’re both still involved and paid huge amounts of money by Louis out of respect, but keep a much lower profile by then since they have handpicked successors and aren’t worried about where the business is going.
The years chronicled in the main gameplay segments are as follows:
1973
1975
1977
1979
1983
1985
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
Much more of the rural areas and countryside outside of Empire Bay are included than what was available in Mafia II. The way rural environments are handled for this hypothetical Mafia IV is akin to how Mafia: Definitive Edition and Mafia III handled their rural environments outside the main cities, except much larger in scale, given the increased power of the current new consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X. This region is based off of upstate New York and the surrounding areas across multiple states in the Northeastern US, and includes forests, fields, mountains, rivers, lakes, beaches, and small towns. Also included are other cities and towns, based off of other large cities in New York like Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester, where other story missions, business activities, and side missions take place, along with smaller notable places like Ithaca, Binghamton, and Utica. The entire states of New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio are also included, including places based off of all of their major cities and most of their notable towns in between. Large portions of Pennsylvania are included as well, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. All of the province of Nova Scotia including the city of Halifax, and Large portions of the eastern half of the Canadian province of Ontario are included as well, including cities based off of Toronto, Ottawa, and Niagara Falls. There's even a small portion of Quebec included, including Montreal and the surrounding countryside of the province outside that city, including a few small towns in southern Quebec. The player must pass a quick border patrol check when crossing the US-Canada border in a car or other ground vehicle.
Wildlife is present in the game, mostly to add to the background, scenery, and immersion in rural environments on the map. These are all animals native to the Northeastern US, ranging from white tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, Canada lynxes, rabbits, hares, groundhogs, gophers, beavers, raccoons, opossums, bats, chipmunks, red and gray squirrels, mice, and rats to more formidable and potentially dangerous animals that may sometimes attack the player, such as grey wolves, black bears, mountain lions, and moose. These last four animals are known to spawn in the mountainous regions, especially in New York, Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Ontario, including the rural regions based off of the Catskills and the Adirondack mountains. Dogs are present in the cities, towns, and settlements where humans live and keep them as pets, being walked and sometimes found in people's yards. Some are used as guard dogs by enemies and are aggressive towards the player on sight. Domestic cats are also present in the background of residential areas, and both Louis and Vito own them as pets throughout the game in their safe houses, as well as other onscreen characters we see the homes of throughout the game.
Aircraft make their first usable appearance in the Mafia series too, from airplanes to helicopters. Vito cannot use planes or helicopters in his playable 1973 portion of the game, as he does not know how to pilot, being a paratrooper in World War II who never actually flew any of the planes himself. Aircraft are unlocked to use when Louis DeSimone gets his pilot’s certificate offscreen in 1977, and at the end of a chapter set that year, Louis has to fly Vito in a helicopter to a penthouse in Downtown Empire Bay acting as a family safe house, equipped with a helipad. Louis frequently serves as a personal driver and pilot for both Vito and Joe afterwards, having done a lot in his time serving the family to earn their trust and respect.
Melee weapons also make a return from Mafia: Definitive Edition, with even more variety this time. In their respective sections of the game, Vito and Louis may use anything from baseball bats, pipes, shovels, brass knuckles, golf clubs, police batons, switchblades, kitchen knives, bowie knives, ice picks, 2x4s, claw hammers, crowbars, tire irons, chain links, machetes, meat cleavers, pickaxes, hatchets, sledgehammers, to fire axes. This amount of melee weapons is so no matter what environment the player finds themselves in during a mission or any other game activity, there is usually a weapon of some sort nearby. If the player has obtained piano wire, you may also strangle an enemy to death with it from behind as a stealth kill, this being a classic assassination method infamous for being used by the Italian Mafia. Rope can also be found and used for similar strangulation stealth kills, appearing in the gameplay environments where piano wire can’t be found. There is a wide variety of new guns and explosives to use in this concept for Mafia IV, going with the new weapons of the time the game takes place that criminals quickly got their hands on. This includes the SPAS-12 combat shotgun, the Beretta 92 pistol, the AK-74 assault rifle, the mini uzi, the MAC-10 submachine gun, both suppressed and unsuppressed variants, the Beretta 92 pistol, the Taurus raging bull revolver, Glock handguns, the TEC-9 machine pistol, illegally modified to be full auto, the Ruger Mini-14 full auto variant, and even Vietnam war era flamethrowers, which I think is only natural given that as of Mafia III, we already have RPGs and grenade launchers. Late in the game from the 1989 section and onwards, the Benelli M3 combat shotgun becomes available. The Milkor MGL grenade launcher becomes available beginning in the 1983 portion of the game. Attached grenade launchers are also available for the AK-47, AK-74, and M16 assault rifles. More advanced rocket launchers of the 1970’s and 1980’s are naturally included as well.
Free ride makes a return in Mafia IV, with the player having the options to change the weather, time period, and an option to play as Louis, Vito, Joe, Lincoln, or John Donovan. Naturally, a multitude of new free ride missions are available as well.
I previously posted a much earlier and less detailed draft of this on the old Mafia3 subreddit 3 years ago back in 2017 as an idea for a hypothetical Mafia 3 expansion where you play as Vito, but have since updated and revamped it to a possible Mafia IV plot, and fixed any plot holes I noticed and made it much more fleshed out and in depth, and focus on more than just Vito in the end. You may view my original here if you so desire, to compare. https://www.reddit.com/Mafia3/comments/6sldhp/spoiler_mafia_iii_vito_dlc_basic_plot_idea/
Feel free to give me constructive criticism on this, as I encourage this discourse and believe it is integral to growing and improving, to build upon or improve these ideas I've come up with, or say whether or not you think something like this should happen in the future. Thank you for reading!

right so today I went to the mall for the first time since last february and I noticed a tiny little display for a skincare brand called lionesse. it was kind of in one of those enclaves built into the wall with glass in front if that makes sense? anyway I had never heard of the brand and the packaging looked expensive (note: not necessarily nice), so I looked it up.
they CLAIM that their skincare is infused with gems, but like. gems aren’t gonna do anything for your skin? in addition to skincare, they also sell hot hair tools and products.
I’m suspicious for a few reasons, which I’ll list below.
1) the prices are INSANE
they’re legitimately more expensive than la mer or la prairie, but with none of the name recognition. they sell something described as a ‘jade eye wand’ that reminds me of a microcurrent device for $1,750. ALMOST HALF MY TUITION THIS TERM. by comparison, nuface sells a microcurrent device for fine lines all over the face for $150. and I’ve actually heard of nuface.
what’s even worse is what they call their ‘new age syringe’. it’s nearly $1k on their site, but at least one reviewer said she purchased it for under $200. in this mercari listing you can see the nozzle is bare plastic— not very luxe in my book. why couldn’t they add some kind of massage component like many eye serums have? in addition, they have a $3K magnetic mask and a matching moisturizer for $1.5K.
I can totally understand some beauty products being expensive for legit reasons. that limited edition hachiko brush from beautylish isn’t something I’d ever buy, but I see $80 in handpainted japanese craftsmanship as understandable. for the price of one full regime from Lionesse, however, you could have many, many appointments with a cosmetic dermatologist or a plastic surgeon. which leads to...
2) many of their products are supposedly anti aging
we know that anti aging skincare is marked up even higher than regular skincare. someone in their 40s will have more disposable income for wrinkles than a teenager with hormonal acne— and wrinkles don’t go away on their own, as far as I know. there might be some truth to the fact that active ingredients for anti aging are more fragile and harder to formulate than other issues, but I still think the skincare industry takes advantage of womens’ insecurity over being older than 25 and therefore supposedly disposable to society. people are perfectly ready to drop big chunks of change on something that might make them look younger. lionesse is taking advantage of the fact that people are used to spending big bucks on anti aging to make their own even more expensive.
every single one of the most expensive products (even though it’s all expensive, with some weirdly cheap products like a $20 body creme) claims to ‘lift’ or take care of your fine lines and wrinkles. one $1.5K serum promises to make your wrinkles disappear overnight. to me, no single cream is worth that much. just... see a plastic surgeon for non-invasive options. there’s still a huge around plastic surgery, despite the fact that many, many people have done it. I think there should be an even bigger stigma around selling less than an ounce of product for that much money. at least plastic surgeons are licensed.
3) the locations in at least 2 reviews the customers say they bought eye serum from a casino in las vegas (one mentioned the luxor). at least 2 reviewers mentioned purchasing it at malls, one of which was in new mexico. many of the packaging has instructions in french and english, which makes me think that they’re also selling in quebec (I live in maine so it’s literally right there). many, many of the reviews specifically mention salespeople, and impulse buys at vacation spots like new orleans, hawaii and (vivaaaaa) las vegas.
4) the reviews most products have no reviews. for the products that do have reviews, almost all of them are 5 stars with some 4 star reviews sprinkled in. the reviews seem different enough that different people must have written them. I actually do think 4/5 star reviews are real— due to the 1 2 star review I found. in this one review from january of this year, the reviewer says 3 important things. one, she bought it in hawaii. two, the salesman was pushy even though it was way too expensive. three, she doesn’t understand how the product is any better than olay or l’oreal.
that review was also from january 2020, and the most recent one I found. the fact that there’s been NO new reviews on the site between then and now makes a lot of sense because people aren’t going on vacations right now where people typically like to go on vacation— or the places where lionesse stations itself. if most of their sales are in person, offline, they may have straight up not noticed the negative review.
the positive reviews actually mirror the 2 star one perfectly. many of them mention salespeople (‘thanks to the nice young lady’ or ‘shout out to XX at XX mall’ etc), which to me shows that their marketing strategy relies heavily on in person salespeople.
I have a lot of respect for salespeople because they usually know a lot more about the product than I do, and understand why you might go shopping elsewhere. I’ve even had salespeople at sephora whisper to me about a cheaper alternative I can find at ulta (lmao).
however, I really think it’s a bad sign when a product can’t move itself without someone to speak for it. I can read about the moisturizing factors in a face cream, decide it sounds legit and purchase it. lionesse products can’t speak for themselves at that price point because there’s nothing about them that’s actually worth $400-1,500.
SO, WHAT’S GOING ON? initially I thought lionesse might be an MLM, but I don’t actually think that’s true considering an MLM requires the downline to contact people they know in person. there’s 3 possibilities.
1) lionesse is a legit business with a smart business strategy (I think selling to tourists is actually a really smart idea... if you’re not a scammer) that makes superior products, whose worst crime is marking up their products astronomically (name a beauty brand that doesn’t). 2) lionesse manufactures average skincare, marks it up super high and has unaware salespeople who believe the product is genuinely worth that much money sell it. 3a) lionesse is repackaging cheaper skincare (like l’oreal) in nice looking packaging behind the scenes and having their aware or unaware salespeople shill it 3b) the salespeople themselves are 100% complicit and more than salespeople. they themselves repackage regularly priced skincare and mark it up. in either scenario, whenever they’re found out to be scammers they shut that location down. that’s why all their locations are temporary-ish— like mall kiosks and casino booths (?? no idea but let’s assume they’re renting).
what are your thoughts? I remember reading about a similar scam where a mall salesperson gave a sample of a much more luxe product, but the actual product was much cheaper. I couldn’t find the post but a lot of commenters were PISSED after someone posted their haul on the main SCA sub. the important thing to mention is that I don’t think anyone who buys lionesse is necessarily stupid— we can all easily get sucked in, especially when we’re away from home in an unfamiliar environment. I saw a lot of people calling the woman who posted that stupid, or a sucker, which is really mean in my eyes. she already dumped $2.5K on a scam, do you really need to shit on her too?
I personally think the truth is somewhere between 2 and 3– they’re buying a cheap base, mixing a miniscule amount of diamond/turd powder in, and spending slightly more on packaging. I do think that the salespeople may be aware on some level that this is almost certainly a scam, but my best guess is they range from ‘naive’ to ‘super jaded but wants the money’.
do you have experience with this brand or similar ones? do you have a location near you? what’s your friendly local mall skincare scam?

With the remaster of Burnout Paradise release soon and worked on by Criterion and Stellar Entertainment (see Paul Ross for details on that company) I thought it might be fun to make a thread and track down the devs. If you want some additional reading about Burnout, Three Fields released a history about how it started in January.
For a quick summary, Criterion was originally a 3d graphics rendering technology company owned by Canon. It was spun out and became the “modern” Criterion Games in 1999/2000. In 2004 it was purchased by EA.
Most info/quotes are from company websites and LinkedIn. Now, this thread is long enough already, so let’s get started (this thread is long enough that I’ll have to go into the comments to finish the thread.
Fiona Sperry worked as EA Criterion Studio GM. Sperry helped form the modern Criterion Games and previously worked at McGraw-Hill. In 2014 she left and co-founded Three Fields Entertainment.
Alex Ward worked as creative director. Ward helped form the modern Criterion Games and previously worked at Acclaim. He continued to work at Criterion until 2014 (including a unreleased game codenamed “Adventure”) when he co-founded Three Fields Entertainment.
Peter Hawley worked as executive producer. Hawley previously worked at companies including Lionhead (where he was one of the first employees) and Sony. He joined Criterion in late 2005 and in 2009 became vice president of product development at EA. In 2010 he joined Crowdstar before co-founding Red Robot Labs in 2011, where he worked at CPO and later CEO until 2014. He next joined Zynga before coming CEO of Telltale Games in September 2017.
Craig Sullivan worked as lead designer. Sullivan joined Criterion in 1997 and was the first game designer for the studio. He previously worked at Millenium Interactive as a designetester. In 2009 he became creative director at the company before joining Ghost Games in 2013. Sullivan left Ghost Games at the end of 2016, and in May 2017 joined Amazon.
Jon Lawrence worked as senior development director. Lawrence joined EA in 1998 and worked on series including Harry Potter, F1 and Black. In 2012 Lawrence left to work at Sky before returning to EA shortly in 2013. Later that year Lawrence joined Microsoft as development director, and worked on Warface. In 2015 he joined Natural Motion before joining Digit Game Studios in 2017 as director of production.
Steve Uphill worked as art director. Uphill previously worked at Kuju Entertainment before joining Criterion in 2002. In 2008 Uphill left Criterion and joined Black Rock Studio to work as art director on Split/Second. In 2011 he co-founded ShortRound Games where he worked as art director. In 2016 Uphill returned to Criterion and is currently studio art director.
Stephen Root worked as audio director. Root worked at Acclaim for five years as head of audio before joining Criterion in 2000. In 2008 Root left Criterion and joined Codemasters, where he is currently VP of development creative services.
Olly Read worked as a technical director. Read joined Criterion in 1999 and worked at the company until 2011. In 2012 Read started work as a “game programming ninja” at Escapist Games.
Paul Ross worked as a technical director. Ross joined Criterion in 1996 and worked as CTO before leaving in 2014. He next worked at Three Fields Entertainment before leaving in 2016. Ross next founded Stellar Entertainment in 2016, which is making Burnout Paradise Remastered.
Pete Lake worked as a producer. Lake worked as an artist for early Criterion games before starting production on Paradise. In 2010 Lake worked as a producer for Harry Potter and The Sims. In 2013 he returned to Criterion.
San Shepherd worked as a producer. Shepherd previously worked at EA and Pyro Studios before rejoining EA in 2006. Near the end of 2008 Shepherd left and in 2009 joined Zero Point Software as a board member. At the same time, Shepherd co-founded Escapist Games and became director for European Construction Company. Since 1990 Shepherd has also been director of Citilet Booking, and in 1997 founded The Copenhagen Post, where he worked as CEO for five years. He also produced weekly music shows for Danish TV in the 90s.
Matt Webster worked as a producer. Webster joined EA in 1990 and worked on games including Syndicate, Theme Park and Populous II. He also created the initial concept for the first Fifa game and associate produced the game. After EA purchased Criterion Webster joined the company as producer. In 2013 he became GM of Criterion.
Hamish Young worked as a producer. Young joined Criterion in 1999 and had worked as a technical director and a lead programmer on previous Burnout games. Young continued to work at Criterion until 2013, when he joined Avalanche Studios (for quick reference this is the Just Cause studio, not the Disney Infinity one) where he works as a designer.
Steve Cuss worked as a development manager. Cuss worked at IBM and Intelligent Games before joining EA in 2003. Since 2005 Cuss has worked as a producer for Criterion.
Helen King worked as a development manager. King joined Criterion in 2006 but left in 2009 and joined Codemasters, where they worked on Bodycount. After leaving in 2011 King joined Deepmind in 2012, which was later bought by Google.
Radek Majder worked as a development manager. Majder previously worked at companies like Plastic Wax, Forte Studios and Perception before joining EA in 2006. Majder worked as development director at EA until 2013. In 2014 they joined BBC where they worked until 2017. They are currently head of development management at Mclaren Applied Technology.
Alan McDairmant worked as a development manager. McDairmant previously worked at Inner Workings, Data Design & Artwork, Red Lemon Studios and Visual Science before joining Criterion in 2005. McDairmant continues to work at EA/Criterion and most recently has worked as a director of product development/studio leadership on games such as Battlefront 2, Battlefield 1 and Need for Speed.
Dan McDonald worked as a development manager. McDonald previously worked in QA on series like Burnout, Harry Potter and Populous. McDonald did interviews for Burnout Crash and seemingly left Criterion afterwards. He was credited as a production manager for Until Dawn in 2015.
Sheri Patterson worked as a development manager. Patterson previously worked at Pixar (on the Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Boundin’), Blue Sky and Charlex before joining Criterion in 2006. In 2008 she left and worked as a producer for various companies including DreamWorks and Disney (on Frozen). Patterson also worked with companies including Apple, Google and Land Rover.
Cath Schell worked as production coordinator. Schell first appeared in Criterion credits in 2002, and is still with the company. She posts a lot of mushrooms.
Charnjit Bansi worked as a designer. Bansi previously worked at Codemasters before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2009 Bansi joined Bizarre Creations as a/the game director (Activision doesn’t tend to give detailed credits so I can’t tell if Bansi was the only person with the role). After consulting for a month in 2011 at Neversoft Bansi joined Sledgehammer Games as a/the development director.
Richard Bunn worked as a designer. Bunn previously worked in QA at Sony and as a level designer at Argonaut before joining Criterion in 2004. Bunn worked on the design of the “open-world traffic system, vehicle A.I. behaviours and the Crash Mode gameplay,” for the game. After leaving Criterion in 2007 Bunn rejoined Sony where he worked for three years on the original version of Until Dawn and the canceled Eight Days. After leaving in 2011, Bunn has worked at Mindshapes, Nice Touch and most recently Aceviral.
Matt Follett worked as a designer. Follett joined EA in 1999 working in QA and design. He joined Criterion in 2008 after working on previous Burnout games, and worked on algorithms and scripting for Paradise along with the PC version. Follett later became a lead at Criterion before leaving in 2014. Since then he has worked for Boss Alien.
Paul Glancey worked as a designer. Glancey previously worked as an editor for games magazines in the late 80s/early 90s before joining Eidos in 1998. He joined EA in 2000 before leaving in 2008. He next worked as design director on Split/Second before joining Ubisoft in 2010. In 2012 Glancey returned to Criterion.
Tommy Hudson worked as a designer. Hudson joined Criterion in 2005 and worked at the company until the end of 2010. Hudson next joined DICE where they worked on Battlefield. In 2013 Hudson joined Remedy and worked on Quantum Break. They are currently lead designer on a new game at Remedy.
Oliver Reid-Smith worked as a designer. Reid-Smith joined Criterion in 2004 before leaving in 2010. They worked as a lead designer on Split/Second before becoming a freelance consultant in 2012. Reid-Smith has worked on games including The Room, Disney Infinity and Blackwood Crossing.
Steve Watt worked as a designer. Watt joined EA in 2004 and worked as lead online designer. In 2008 Watt left and joined Codemasters where they worked as lead designer. After the closure of the Guildford studio in 2011, Watt did some freelance in 2012. Later that year, Watt joined Microsoft.
Ben Earnshaw worked as a level designer. Earnshaw worked on AI and planned race routes for the game, before leaving at the end of 2007. He next joined Dark Energy Digital as a designer on Hydrophobia. In 2010 Earnshaw left the gaming industry and joined his family’s woodworking company.
Mata Haggis worked as a level designer. Haggis previously worked at Channel 4 and MTV before joining Criterion for 2007. Haggis worked on building the world and make it seem believable. In 2008 he joined Rebellion where he worked as a designer on Alien vs Predator and PDC World Championship Darts Pro Tour. After leaving Rebellion in 2010 Haggis lectured at NHTV for five years before becoming a professor. From 2013 to 2016 he worked with Sassybot freelance, and since 2000 has worked as a game designer with Matazone.
Dave Sage worked as a level designer. Sage joined Criterion in 2007 after short work lecturing. In 2008 Sage left and joined Codemasters, where he worked until 2011. Since then Sage has worked for various groups teaching, and currently is general manager of a cafe/bicycling company.
Jason RM Smith worked as associate CG supervisor. Smith joined EA in 1998 and worked at Bullfrog and EA UK before joining Criterion. At the end of 2007 Smith left and joined Lucasarts where he worked on The Force Unleashed, 1313 and other games. When Lucasarts closed Smith co-founded Soma Play where he worked until 2017. He currently is a creative consultant.
Richard Franke worked as a lead artist. Franke worked as an artist for Scavenger and Mucky Foot before joining EA in 2002. At the end of year Franke joined Criterion, where he worked until 2012. After leaving Franke founded Magic Notion where he has made games and worked as a contract artist for Media Molecule.
Mark Hamilton worked as a lead artist. In 2008 Hamilton left Criterion and co-founded Fireproof Games.
John Lewis worked as a lead artist. Lewis worked as an artist at ICE, DA Group and Bits Studios before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2012 Lewis left and joined Codemasters. Lewis is currently art director at the studio.
James Lipscomb worked as a lead artist. Lipscomb worked at Line One, Red Hot Chilli and Orange Crush before joining EA in 2002. In 2009 Lipscomb left and joined Disney where he worked on Split/Second. At the end of 2011 Lipscomb joined Lucasarts where he worked until the company’s closure. After that he worked at Rumble, Gaia Interactive and Linekong working in UI and UX. He is currently director of UX at pocket gems.
Neil Manners worked as a lead artist. Manners seems to have joined Criterion in the mid-90s. He seems to still be at EA, last working as a senior animator on Need for Speed Payback.
Barry Meade worked as a lead artist. Meade joined the studio in 2003 after working at PCSL, Bullfrog, Scavenger, Negative Productions, Mucky Foot and Iguana. Meade worked mostly on the lighting for Paradise. In 2008 Meade left Criterion and helped found Fireproof Games, where he currently works.
Yuta Nakamura worked as a lead artist. Nakamura worked for Video Systems before joining EA in 2001. Nakamura went on to work as a art director on Need for Speed games before joining DICE in 2016.
David Rack worked as a lead artist. Rack joined Criterion in 2003 and worked at Criterion until 2008. After leaving Rack co-founded Fireproof Games, where he is currently a lead artist.
Damien Rayfield worked as a lead artist. Rayfield worked at Rebellion before joining Criterion in 2004. In 2008 Rayfield left and co-founded Fireproof Games.
Roger Schembri worked as a lead artist. Schembri worked as a graphic designer before joining Criterion in 2004. Schembri worked on UI before leaving in 2008 to work as a lead UI artist at Codemasters. At the end of 2010 Schembri left and joined Fireproof Games.
Chris Cannon worked as an artist. Cannon joined Criterion in 2005 after animating and storyboarding for various companies. In 2008 Cannon left and co-founded Fireproof Games, where he is a lead designer.
Max Cant worked as an artist. Cant joined Criterion in 2005 and worked as an environmental lead. In 2008 Cant left and joined Codemasters as an art director. After leaving Codemasters in 2011, Cant worked for six months at both Koyoki and Vatra Games. At the end of 2012 Cant joined Deepmind, which was later bought by Google.
Tony Cartwright worked as an artist. Cartwright “worked for a several game companies, some that he would prefer not to mention, working on titles that he’d also prefer not to mention.” (mostly movie tie-ins) before joining Criterion. In 2008 Cartwright left and co-founded Fireproof Games, where he is currently a lead artist.
Ingmar Clarysse worked as an artist. Clarysse worked at Larian and Argonaut before joining EA in 2004 as a VFX artist. In 2008 Clarysse left and joined Rocksteady Games, where he works as lead on VFX on the Arkham series.
Will Evans worked as an artist. Evans worked at Teletext before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2009 Evans joined Codemasters before joining Supermassive Games in 2010. After leaving in 2014 and working for 9 months at Rodeo Games, Evans co-founded Playsport Games in 2015.
Dave Flynn worked as an artist. Flynn joined the games industry in 1991 working at Storm Education Software. Flynn also worked at Oregan Software, The Automotive Association and Interactive Studios/Blitz Games (including work on Glover) as well as co-founding Paradise Games. In 2003 Flynn joined Criterion before leaving in 2008 and joining Slightly Mad Studios.
Nicole Gabriel worked as an artist. Gabriel worked as a 3D modeler for various architecture groups before joining EA in 2005. Gabriel worked on the art for Paradise City before leaving in 2009 to work as a freelance artist.
Derek Germain worked as an artist. Germain worked at Bits Studio before joining EA in 2005 as an environmental artist. In 2009 Germain left before joining Slightly Mad Studios as a snr artist. In 2011 Germain left and joined FIreproof Games, where he is a senior artist.
Jack Griffin worked as an artist. Griffin joined Criterion in 2005 before moving into management in 2012. Griffin is currently development direction at the company.
Ben Hall worked as an artist. Hall joined Criterion in 2005. On Paradise he worked on vehicles and later the environment. Hall moved into world design for later Criterion games before becoming lead. In 2013 Hall moved to Ghost Games for five months before working on Battlefield Hardline as an artist for seven months. In 2014 Hall joined Ubisoft where he worked as a level designer on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. He is currently working as world director on an unannounced game from Ubisoft Quebec.
James Hans worked as an artist. Hans ran Infinite Detail before joining Criterion in 2001. In 2011 Hans became a producer at Criterion before leaving in 2014. Since leaving, Hans has worked as an artist/producer at Natural Motion.
Scott Harber worked as an artist. Harber joined Criterion in 2003 and worked as a technical artist on Paradise. In 2013 Harber worked for a year as technical art director on an unannounced EA game before working on Battlefield Hardline. In 2014 Harber left and started Sc0tt Games which he ran for a year before joining Natural Motion as lead technical artist.
Young Jin Park worked as an artist. I’m unable to find additional information about what Park did (they are credited on Black and Burnout Dominator, but their Mobygames page is mixed with another person with the same name).
Jin Jung worked as an artist. They were last credited with Hot Pursuit, but I’m unable to find any additional information.
Quyen Lam worked as an artist. Lam worked shortly at La Paraguas and Axis Animation before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2008 Lam left and joined Ubisoft, where he worked on Driver: San Francisco. After a short three months at Slightly Mad, Lam joined Rockstar as an environmental artist in 2010.
Kwok Law worked as an artist. Law previously worked on films and television like Harry Potter before joining Criterion in 2005 as a level artist. In 2008 Law left and joined Doublesix Games, where he was a seniolead artist. In 2012 Law left and joined Born Ready before joining Digicub nine months later. In 2013 he co-founded Polynation Games until 2016, when he founded Massive Kwok.
Steve Leney worked as an artist. Leney worked at Mindscape for most of the 90s before joining EA in 1998. In 2008 Leney left and joined Relentless Software, where he worked until 2016. Since leaving Leney has worked as an artist at Make Real.
Mikael Mettania worked as an artist. Mettania worked at Atari and Eutechnyx before joining Criterion in 2005. He worked as a senior vehicle artist on Paradise and a world artist on the DLC. In 2013 Mettania moved over to Ghost Games for seven months before joining Natural Motion as art director in 2014.
Lyndon Munt worked as an artist. In college, Munt worked on Driv3r before joining Criterion in 2004. In 2010 Munt left and joined Fireproof Games, where he is currently a senior artist.
Ben Murch worked as an artist. Murch previously worked at Rebellion before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2007 Murch left and joined Codemasters as a senior artist. In 2010 Murch co-founded Rodeo Games. In 2016 he co-founded Perchang.
Adriaan Pottas worked as an artist. Pottas previously worked at Three Blind Mice and Indestructible Productions before joining EA in 2005. In 2009 Pottas left and worked for a year at Ignition London as a senior artist. Since 2010 Pottas has lectured at Southampton Solent University.
Richard Thomassen worked as an artist. Thomassen worked at Psygnosis for a year before joining Criterion in 1998. In 2013 Thomassen moved to Ghost Games before returning to Criterion the following year.
Marcus Wainwright worked as an artist. Wainwright worked for a year at Rebellion and joined Criterion in 2005. At the end of 2008 Wainwright left and soon joined Codemasters, where he worked until the start of 2012. After a year at Climax Wainwright joined Deepmind in 2013, and is currently a senior technical artist.
Chris Walley worked as an artist. Walley previously worked at Revolution Software before joining Criterion in 2001. On Paradise Walley was lead previs artist. In 2008 Walley left and became director at Escapist Games.
Sam White worked as an artist. White joined EA in 2005 and worked as a graphic designer and GUI artist. In 2009 White left and joined Supermassive Games as an interface artist. In 2015 White left and became director at Playsport Games.
Iain Angus worked as a lead programmer. Angus was an intern at APR Smartlogik before joining Criterion in 2002. In 2011 Angus left and joined VLI before joining Konami in 2013. In 2015 he joined Lionhead until its closure in 2016. He currently works as a development manager at Creative Assembly.
Chris Cummings worked as a lead programmer. Cummings previously worked at Eutechnyx before joining Criterion in 2004. In 2009 he left and joined joined Media Molecule. In 2015 Cummings spent a year at Hello Games working as a programmer on No Man’s Sky before joining Happy Robot Games and Future Tech Labs in 2016.
Alex Fry worked as a lead programmer. Fry joined Criterion after college and worked on rendering. Sometime in the last few years Fry moved over to EA Guildford and currently works on rendering for Frostbite. If you want to learn more, Fry did an interview with EA
Andy Hubbard worked as a lead programmer. Hubbard joined Criterion in 2004 working on physics. In 2008 Hubbard joined Black Rock Studios to work on Split/Second before becoming director of ShortRound in 2011.
Mark Huntley worked as a lead programmer. Huntley worked at Bullfrog from 1993 to 2000 before joining EA. After some Harry Potter games Huntley worked on Paradise. At the end of 2010 he left EA and in 2011 joined Codemasters as a lead programmetechnical director on for online. In 2013 he moved to Lionhead where he worked until the company’s closure. Since then he has worked as a technical program manager at Highlight - See Clearly.
Steve Lucas worked as a lead programmer. Lucas worked at IBM for around a year before joining Criterion in 1998. In 2013 Lucas moved to Canada and became a technical director at EA.
Toby Nelson worked as a lead programmer. I’m unable to find out much info about Nelson. Their first game as part of Criterion was AirBlade and they directed Burnout Crash.
Tad Swift worked as a lead programmer. Swift worked for about a decade in programming/consultation before studying games programming in 2003 and 2004. Swift joined Criterion in 2005 as a junior programmer before becoming lead VFX programmer for Black and Paradise. Swift next went into core engine technologies before leaving in 2013 to join Lionhead. Swift worked as a lead programmer for Fable Legends before joining the Microsoft Advanced Technology Group as a senior software engineer.
Rajan Tande worked as a lead programmer. Tande joined EA in 1996 and in 1999 became a lead programmer. After two years as technical director for Harry Potter, Tande joined the Burnout team in 2006. After Paradise, Tande moved over to EA Bright Light where he worked until its closure in late 2011. He next moved to Maxis Emeryville in California where he worked until its closure in 2015. Since then, he has been CTO at Magic Fuel Games.
John Twigg worked as a lead programmer. Twigg previously worked at EA Black Box before joining Criterion in 2006. Twigg led the design of the audio software for Paradise before leaving in 2008 to joining BNP Paribas. In 2010 he co-founded Crankcase Audio and has worked for a year or so at companies including United Front Games, Snowball (which he co-founded) and Credit Karma.
David Addis worked as a programmer. Addis worked at Codemasters for a year before joining EA in 2005. On Paradise Addis worked on the HUD and refactoring the system. In 2008 he left and joined Lionhead where he worked until 2012. Since 2013 he has worked as lead UI programmer at Natural Motion. Since 2010 he has also run ESP Games.
Mark Baker worked as a programmer. Baker worked at Sony, Metrowerks, Mucky Foot and Climax before joining Criterion in 2005. Baker worked on tools and workflow for Paradise before leaving in 2008 and joining NCSoft for five months. Later in 2008 he joined Black Rock Studio and worked as a lead programmer on Split/Second. In 2011 Baker joined Mind Candy before returning to EA in 2015 as a technical director for development release engineering.
Peter Bliss worked as a programmer. I’m unable to find much information about Bliss but they seem to still be at Criterion.
Garry Casey worked as a programmer. Casey joined Criterion in 2006. At some point Casey moved over to Ghost Games and last worked as online lead on Need for Speed Payback.
Rob Cowsill worked as a programmer. I’m unable to find much information about Cowsill but it seems like they joined Rebellion in 2009 any maybe currently works at Force Field.
Ken Cropper worked as a programmer. Cropper is still at Criterion, and is currently director of engineering.
Antony Crowther worked as a programmer. Crowther joined the games industry in 1983 and worked at Aligata Software, Mirror Soft, Mindscape, Gremlin Interactive, Infogrames and Genepool before joining EA in 2004. In 2006 Crowther moved to Criterion for a year before returning to EA. Since 2011 Crowther has worked as a technical consultant at Sumo Digital.
Graham Daniell worked as a programmer. I was unable to find much information about Daniell but they seem to be at Rocksteady.
Robert Dodd worked as a programmer. Dodd previously worked at Codemasters before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2008 Dodd joined Supermassive before becoming technical director at Fireproof Games in 2011.
Jon Evripiotis worked as a programmer. Evripiotis worked at Travellers Tales before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2008 he joined Bloomberg as a software engineer.
Martiño Figueroa worked as a programmer. Figueroa joined Criterion in 2005 and worked as an AI and gameplay programmer for Paradise. In 2011 Figueroa left and worked at The Foundry for 10 months before co-founding and becoming director of JFDP Labs in 2012. Since 2015 Figueroa has been director of Madruga Works which released Planetbase.
Rich Geldard worked as a programmer. Geldard joined Criterion in in 2005 and is still with the company as technical director.
Joseph Goodwin worked as a programmer. Goodwin joined Criterion in 2006 and worked on tools, UI and localization for Paradise. Goodwin is still at Criterion as a software engineer.
André Jacobs worked as a programmer. Jacobs previously worked at Fifth Dimensional Technologies, Adreniware, I-Imagine and Climax before joining Criterion in 2006. Jacobs worked on the traffic system for Paradise which was later used in Criterion Need for Speed games. In 2008 he joined Lionhead before joining Bloomberg in 2010. In 2012 Jacobs became lead programmer at Medopad before leaving in 2015 and working a year at ICSA. Since 2010 he has also run Voxel Beast.
Matthew Jones worked as a programmer. Jones previously worked at Terabyte and Infogrames/Atari before joining Criterion in 2006. In 2013 Jones left Criterion and worked JFDP Labs on contract while being self employed. In 2015 he joined Microsoft as a senior software engineer in rendering.
Ian Lambert worked as a programmer. Lambert is still part of Criterion and works on UI and UX.
Ling Lo worked as a programmer. Lo worked out Logica, Coment, Argonaut and Symbian before joining EA in 2005. Lo worked on tools and build for Paradise before moving to Vancouver in 2008 to work with EA Black Box. In 2012 Lo moved to Burnaby and has worked as lead online engineer for the Garden Warfare series.
Phil Maguire worked as a programmer. Maguire joined Criterion in 2005 and worked on Freeburn Challenges, Mugshots and Road Rules for Paradise. After working on autolog and multiplayer for Need for Speed games Maguire because technical director of Criterion in 2013. In 2014 he left and help found Three Fields Entertainment.
Alex Mole worked as a programmer. Mole joined Criterion in 2005 and was lead online programmer for autolog. Mole is currently technical director of Criterion. In 2016 Mole gave a talk at GDC.
Robert Perren worked as a programmer. Perren joined Criterion in 2005 before becoming lead tools and workflow programmer in 2012 at Criterion/Ghost Games. In 2014 he left EA and became technical manager at Falmouth University.
Davide Pirola worked as a programmer. Pirola previously worked at companies including Psygnosis, Steel Monkeys and Kuju Entertainment before joining Criterion in 2005. As part of Criterion, Pirola was the self-described “lowest ranked programmer ever.” Here is Pirola’s description of working at Criterion unedited: “My main duty was playing foosball at their mega bar and basically trying to do as little as possible! I mostly succeeded for almost 5 years, my contribution to their games was very minimal, in fact the worst part of every game they made was probably my code, specially crafted in such a way that was a mess to understand and run, credits go where credits due people… I once tried to write some proper code, I remember, it was a Thursday morning, but then I've changed my mind.” Pirola left in 2010 and is currently “Le Grande Fromage” at JFDP labs.
Gavin Rouse worked as a programmer. Rouse joined Criterion in 2002 and seems to now be at Ghost Games as a senior software engineer.
Andrei Shires worked as a programmer. Shires is still at Criterion and seems to work on front end and UI.
Dave Smeathers worked as a programmer. Smeathers joined Criterion in 2006 after being “forced into making video games to pay off his online poker debts.” On Paradise Smeathers worked on coding physics and coding crashes. Smeathers later became physics lead on Need for Speed Most Wanted before leaving Criterion in 2013 to join Fireproof Games.
James Smith worked as a programmer. Smith worked at Mentor Graphics before joining Criterion in 2003 as an audio programmer. Smith became lead audio programmer before leaving Criterion in 2007 and moving to Canada to work at Black Box. In 2012 he left and joined The Coalition, where he is lead audio programmer.
David Steptoe worked as a programmer. Steptoe joined Criterion in 2002 and later became lead audio programmer. In 2013 he left and joined Escapist Games, before leaving at the end of the year. In 2014 he joined Lionhead where he worked until its closure. Steptoe currently runs Audio Software Development, which he formed in 2016.
Alex Thomson worked as a programmer. Thomson previously worked at Rebellion, Elixir and Kuju before joining Criterion in 2006 as a senior software engineer. He has worked as a technical director and lead software engineer in his time at Criterion.
Alex Veal worked as a programmer. Veal joined Criterion in 2006 as an online software engineer. In 2014 he left Criterion and helped start Three Fields Entertainment
James Warren worked as a programmer. Warren joined Criterion in 2005 as an audio programmer. He currently seems to be at Ghost Games and is audio lead.
Tom Williamson worked as a programmer. Williamson previously worked at The Marketing Bureau before joining Criterion in 1999 as a software engineer. In 2011 he left Criterion and the following year became director at JFDP Labs, where he worked until 2017. In 2012 he also started a company called Threeshinyapples Limited.
Ben Woodhouse worked as a programmer. Woodhouse joined Criterion in 2005 as a graphics programmer. On the Paradise engine, Woodhouse worked on “lighting, shadows, occlusion culling, frustum culling, scene management, and various low-level CPU/SPU jobs used in the rendering pipeline.” At the end of 2009 he left Criterion and joined Lionhead as lead engine programmer. After the closure of Lionhead, he joined Epic where he is currently lead console programmer.
Chris Hegstrom worked as audio lead. Hegstrom previously worked at Stormfront Studios and Lucasarts before joining Criterion in 2005. At the end of 2007 Hegstrom left and joined Sony where he worked on God of War. In 2010 he joined Microsoft as audio director before leaving in 2015 and starting Symmetry Audio. In 2016 he joined Technicolor before joining Amazon in September 2017.
Steve Emney worked as an audio designer. Emney was previously self employed before joining Criterion in 2004. He became audio director at Criterion before joining Disney to work on Split/Second in 2009. After the closure of Black Rock Emney became director of TRC Family Entertainment in 2012 where he worked until 2014. Since 2014 he has worked for eMotion in Sound and since 2015 has worked for The Trailerfarm.
Lewis James worked as an audio designer. James joined Criterion in 2005. In 2008 he moved to EA Montreal until 2011, when he moved to Guerrilla Games. At the end of 2013 he left and became director of Improbable until 2015, when he joined La Indiana Sound.
Zsolt Marx worked as an audio designer. Marx previously worked at Rockstar Vienna before joining Criterion in 2005. In 2008 he started to work on other EA games before leaving the company in 2010 after working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since 2012 he has worked as a producer and lead programmer at Noizoo Games.
Thomas Belmont worked as an additional producer. Belmont previously worked at Ubisoft (first in QA and later as a designer and producer) and Eliad Technologies before joining Criterion in 2006. In 2011 he moved to Vancouver to work on other EA games before leaving in 2014 and becoming a producer for online technologies at Ubisoft.
Nick Channon worked as an additional producer. Channon joined EA in 1996 in Vancouver before moving to the UK in 2000 and joining Criterion in 2006. In 2008 he moved back to Vancouver and is currently senior director of business development at EA.
Neil Kaminski worked as an additional producer. Kaminski previously worked at companies including Bullfrog, Pure and Argonaut before joining Criterion in 2005 as a lead artist. In 2006 he became a producer before leaving in 2008 to become studio art manager at Codemasters in 2008. In 2011 he left and joined Escapist Games before joining Pixel Heroes in 2013. After leaving in 2016, he joined CCP in 2017.
Emily Newton Dunn worked as an additional producer. Dunn previously worked in PR for various companies before joining Criterion in 2005 as a producer. In 2007 Dunn moved to EA and became a game designer before becoming lead game designer at Playfish in 2011. In 2013 she left and after being after a few companies for a few months Dunn joined Another Place in 2014. In 2017 she left and after seven months at Playdiation joined Media Molecule in January 2018 as a consultant system designer.
Anja Haman worked on additional support. Haman previously worked at Radical before joining EA in 2005. In 2007 she left before joining Black Box in 2009-2011. From 2012-2015 Haman worked at Work at Play and has been part of Microsoft since the end of 2017. Since 2000 she has worked as president of Haman Consulting.
Maëlenn Lumineau worked on additional support. Lumineau worked as a translator before joining EA in 2000. In 2007 she joined Criterion as as operations manager before leaving in 2013 and joining Ubisoft as a producer.
Adrian Selby worked on additional support. Selby joined Criterion in 2002 as a producer before leaving in 2009 and becoming a producer at Disney. After 2011 Selby worked at some non-video game companies like BP before joining Boss Alien in 2015.
Harvey Wheaton worked on additional support. Wheaton previously worked at companies including JPMorgan Chase before joining EA in 2003. In 2007 and 2008 he was COO/director of product development at Criterion before joining Supermassive in 2008 as their studio director. At the end of 2013 he left and, after working as a consultant for over a year, joined Codeclan in 2015. In 2017 he became executive producer at Natural Motion.
Graeme Williams worked on additional support. Williams worked at Virtuality, Psygnosis and Rebellion before joining Criterion in 2002 as head of product management. In 2004 he became development director before leaving in 2008. After five months at Supermassive Williams joined VIrtual Toys where he worked until 2011. He next joined Digital Chocolate before joining Ubisoft in 2013. From 2014-2016 he worked at Guerrilla before taking a break and joining Virtually Live in 2017.
Paul Dibden worked as an additional artist. Dibden joined EA in 2005 as a graduate artist before eventually becoming a development director. In 2013 he left and co-founded Milkcap before joining Splash Damage in 2015 as a producer.
John Humphries worked as an additional artist. Humphries previously worked at Bubball before joining EA in 2005. In 2008 Humphries left and joined Realtime Worlds as a lead environmental artist. In 2010 he founded Onyx Digital.
Vincent Jenkins worked as an additional artist. Jenkins joined EA in 2006 as a concept artist before joining Codemasters in 2008, where he worked until 2011. Jenkins has mostly worked as an artist for films, including Rogue One, Game of Thrones and Casino Royale. He last worked on concept art for Solo.
Rasmus Jorgensen worked as an additional artist. Jorgensen joined EA in 2000 as a concept artist before leaving in 2007 to join Codemasters. In 2010 Jorgensen left and spent about a year at Leading Light, Double Negative and Ghost A/S before joining IO in 2014.
Jason Lord worked as an additional artist. Lord joined EA in 1993 and worked as a video director until 2012. In 2012 Lord started Liquid Crimson, which has worked with companies including Square Enix, Supermassive, Hello Games, Microsoft, IGN and Capcom.
Osman Nazlivatan worked as an additional artist. Nazlivatan previously worked freelance and at Argonaut before joining EA in 2004 as a technical artist. In 2007 Nazlivatan left, and after months freelance at Big Head, joined Hotch Potch as lead artist/director. In 2011 Nazlivatan left and after under a year at both Natural Motion and Sony joined King in 2014. In 2016 Nazlivatan left King but I’m unable to find what they’ve done after. Edit: Nazlivatan is still at King
Justin Rae worked as an additional artist. Rae joined EA in 1996 and was lead artist on F.A. Premier Manager games. In 2008 Rae left and became director of art at Supermassive before starting his own company, Studio 96, in 2016.
Peter Reeve worked as an additional artist. Reeve previously worked at a few different companies before joining EA in 2004 as a video editor. In 2008 Reeve joined Black Rock before freelance in 2009 and working with companies including EA and Crytek. He currently works at RMV Productions.
Dean Stolpmann worked as an additional artist. Stolpmann worked as an artist at companies including Frontier and Sony before joining Criterion/EA in 2005. In 2007 Stolpmann joined Outso and Codemasters before joining Supermassive as art director in 2010. Stolpmann joined Gameloft shortly after before becoming head 3D tutor at South Seas Film & TV school in 2013.
Avril Lavigne sang the song “Girlfriend” which was featured in the game. The song released in 2007 and the music video has been viewed over 400 million times. Lavigne also recorded the chorus of the song in 8 different languages.The song also got another version with Lil Mama.

Hey Ultra Nauts! I've been wondering why we haven't received an Ultra Music Festival here in our beautiful country, Canada.
A population of now almost 40 million people, mainly all located on the East Coast who are each and every day hungry for endless of entertainment. Especially in locations like Toronto and Montreal. The two major cities in Canada. We are a country built by migration and share the same culture as the United States of America.
Ultra has established all around the world with "ULTRA WORLDWIDE", especially in countries like Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Korea, Taiwan, and many other areas. So why not Canada?
Here is why I believe ULTRA CANADA would work. In Canada, our dollar is cheaper meaning many Americans will attend this festival with a cheaper cost which would allow easily for the tickets to be sold. Marijuana is legal while in some States in the US like Florida it is not, the drinking age here is 18 while in the US it's 21. Having these advantages would allow hundreds up to thousands of Americans to consider partying here in our Country with a festival as huge as Ultra being played. Especially Americans up in the North.
Furthermore, our cities in Canada are all close to one another, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Trois Riviere, and Toronto, except Vancouver of course. These Canadian cities are also close to the Northern cities in the US like Boston, New York, Washington DC, Detroit, Cleaveland, Pittsburg, Toronto ( Ohio ) and that is without including the Towns and Villages in our Country and in the Northern side of the States.
​
To continue, because Canada is a country built by immigrants, I can easily picture people like in Europe to come and attend the Festival like the one in Miami, since people from Europe have family here and I am confident they would love to party with their loved ones in a beautiful festival like Ultra. The Euro is strong and their trip to here will be even cheaper than visiting the United States, so sales of tickets should sell out even quicker than the festival in Florida.
​
My recommended location for ULTRA CANADA would be either Toronto or Montreal, especially Montreal on the Formula 1 Race Track which is located on an Island connected to a 6 Flags Amusement Park, a major Casino, and Two Museums. Now hear me out! This isn't Virginia Key! The island is accessed to a Metro system that is connected directly to Montreal and Longueuil. It is also connected to the Major bridge "The Jacque Cartier bridge", another small bridge and of course a dock for boats. The venue is capable of holding up to 60 000 people which is more than Bayfront Park and just 20 000 less than the major festival located in Belgium which I will not speak of. There are of course many other possible venues but this one is my favorite. We can consider Montreal as the Northen little brother of Miami. The city is known for partying and clubbing all night. Its located directly near the water like Toronto and its always ready for new and exciting ideas.
As for dates, I was thinking the month of June where the weather gets pretty warm here and beautiful. It's also the month where 1000s of Americans come and visit for our shows and of course the Formula 1 race. Ultra can establish on the venue either before or right after the major Formula 1 race.
​
To conclude from all of this, I and plenty of Canadians are still shocked that Ultra hasn't established here yet, consider the profit it can make. We can only pray and hope.
​
THANK YOU for taking the time and reading my first ever Reddit post. Much love and respect to you all!
​
- A fellow Canadian who is a massive fan of Ultra <3

Recreational cannabis is not legal yet, but many Canadians are taking advantage of it to make a fortune. At least 77 of them have accumulated millions of dollars in just a few months thanks to their investments in the industry, according to data compiled by our Investigation Bureau.
"I knew the pot was a good investment, but no one in the community thought it would pay so much," says Chuck Rifici, head of the Cannabis Wheaton investment fund and former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party of Canada. (PLC).
At 43, the one who is described as the "pot godfather" in Canada sits on a personal fortune that he himself estimates to "more than 100 million", including $ 47.7 million in potato producer shares , according to public financial documents.
He owns a Ferrari 458 red and a Tesla S.
It all started with a first investment of $ 70 in shares in his company Tweed, a pot producer (now Canopy Growth). "I thought I was rich when I made my first $ 500,000," jokes the Ottawa businessman.
Mr. Rifici said today that he continues to work only "for pleasure". "It's a lot less stressful."
Big risks
On the other side of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Sébastien St-Louis, 34, has a fortune of $ 15.4 million. His company founded in 2013, Hydropothecary, is valued at $ 660 million on the stock market.
The path to get there was not easy. "I almost went broke at least four times. My credit card was used up to $ 30,000.
Stories like that of Rifici and Saint-Louis, who have become millionaires before even a single gram of recreational pot is sold legally, are in the dozens of industries.
Establishing the list of Millionaire Canadians in the pot helps to make the following observations:
The vast majority, 58% (45 out of 77), are from Ontario. Only 4 come from Quebec (5%). Out of 77 millionaires, there are only three women. Wealth is extremely concentrated Speculative bubble ?
The stock market value of pot companies exploded last year as a result of Trudeau government announcements on the upcoming legalization in 2018.
New Brunswicker Denis Arsenault bought a medical cannabis producer in 2014 for $ 1.7 million. Its acquisition, the company Organigram, is worth half a billion dollars today. "It was like going to the casino when I invested in it, at first," he laughs.
Although Canadians are still divided over the legalization of cannabis and the banks are very reluctant to invest in this industry, investors are now jostling to the gates to the point where there is fear of a speculative bubble.
According to several experts, the current frenzy is similar to the tech bubble in the late 1990s, because they are extremely volatile.
"There are companies that are not in cannabis, just saying that they are interested in the industry and boom, their shares are tripling," says portfolio management analyst Ken Lester, president of Lester Asset Management.

• With the collaboration of Marie-Christine Trottier and Andrea Valeria

They roll on gold thanks to their investments in the pot
THE GODFATHER OF THE POT
PHOTO ANNABELLE BLAIS Chuck Rifici has inherited the nickname "godfather" of the pot industry. And for good reason, this 43-year-old Franco-Ontarian estimates his fortune to more than $ 100 million (including at least $ 47.7 million in shares of pot producers, according to public financial documents).
He has two characteristics common to many millionaires in this industry: he is an entrepreneur and he has political connections, particularly with the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC).
In 2013, Mr. Rifici co-founded Tweed, now Canopy Growth, Canada's largest pot company.
Since 2017, he has been CEO of Cannabis Wheaton, an investment firm in pot companies, including producers or manufacturers of accessories. Wheaton has about fifteen partnerships, a huge spider web.
Two ex of the PLC
In parallel, the businessman was also CFO of the PLC from 2011 to 2016.
"Being treasurer of the PLC, it gives credibility when you meet investors for pot," he says. Wheaton's vice president of external affairs, Sarah Bain, was also vice president of communications for the LPC from 2010 to 2013.
Mr. Rifici even believes that the controversy provoked by this situation has helped him to talk about his businesses. "All press is good press," he says.
But this has exacerbated tensions between him and his partner Bruce Linton and Rifici left Tweed in 2014 (see other text).
He is now investing mainly in accessories such as vape. "I believe the future of this industry will be in these value-added products," he says. It's important to have a distribution and production network, but in a Starbuck coffee, it's not the coffee bean that pays the most, "he says.
THE SOCIALIST IN JAGUAR
PIERRE-PAUL POULIN PICTURES Wearing a three-piece suit and cell phone in hand, Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth, is the image of the successful businessman.
"Because I sell cannabis, people always expect to see a guy in a faded T-shirt," he jokes.
Mr. Linton now heads one of the largest cannabis producers in Canada. He first founded Tweed in 2013 (then joined Canopy Growth) with Chuck Rifici, former CFO of the Liberal Party of Canada.
When asked why there are so many Liberals in the industry, he replies, "I do not know why there are a lot of Liberals in the industry. I'm not. You know what I am? I am a socialist who likes to ride in Jaguar. "
And he has the means to pay for luxury cars. On paper, Mr. Linton's fortune is valued at more than $ 67 million.
Potty drink
In five years, Canopy Growth has acquired 13 cannabis production sites in eight Canadian provinces, including two in Quebec. The company has also developed partnerships to export or cultivate with Australia, Brazil, Germany, Jamaica, Denmark and Chile.
Bruce Linton does not want to stop there. He has a clear vision for the future: to sell a cannabis drink. Canopy has signed an agreement this fall with Constellation, which sells Corona beers.
Linton is already following in the footsteps of Seagram distiller Bronfman family, who made a fortune with alcohol at the end of the prohibition.
"I want to provide a bottle-like format with 12-13% that produces effects after 7 minutes," he says. This is the socially accepted way to be impaired. "
NOT YET MILLIONAIRES, BUT ALMOST
MARTIN ALARIE PHOTO Quebecker Philippe Depault is not yet a millionaire of the pot, but he is about to succeed.
The 26-year-old entrepreneur (left) and his partner Alexandre Lalancette, 23 years old (right) have just sold their cannabis accessories business, Maïtri, for $ 550,000 in addition to an amount of up to 1.2 M $ to be paid to the performance.
Pretty surprising when we know that Maïtri made his first sale in July 2017 only.
Mr. Depault was a cyclist with the Canadian team dreaming of the Olympics until fibromyalgia changed his life in 2013.
No medicine was able to relieve him, except cannabis. He then gave himself the mission to fight against the stigmatization of consumers.
Soon more Quebeckers?
The chemical engineering student started by blogging in the summer of 2016. Then in March 2017, he joined Mr. Lalancette to create neatly designed cannabis accessories with Quebec materials.
"Cannabis is still associated with stoners ," he says. But around me, almost everyone uses cannabis, either once a day or once a year. They are engineers, doctors, lawyers. It was to this clientele that he wanted to address himself. An investor has injected from $ 30,000 to $ 100,000, says Mr. Depault. And in July, the company was about to open a round of financing when Hiku, which owns the DOJA pot producer, made an offer to buy. The agreement was concluded in February.
Mr. Depault hopes to see more Quebeckers in the industry. "We start to feel the wave. "
A QUEBECER WHO SEES BIG
PHOTO ANNABELLE BLAIS When Sébastien St-Louis was younger, his idol was not a hockey player, but Alain Bouchard, the founder of Couche-Tard.
"It's the biggest company in terms of sales in Canada and it [Mr. Bouchard] started with only one store in Quebec. I recognize myself a lot in this story, "he says.
The 34-year-old is describing himself as an entrepreneur who seized the business opportunity of medical cannabis in 2013.
His firm, Hydropothecary, based in Gatineau, is the first licensed pot producer in Quebec. Recently, the company won an agreement to supply 22,000 kg to the Quebec Cannabis Company, the SAQ subsidiary that will market the substance.
With a market capitalization of $ 660,000 million for Hydropothecary, Sébastien St-Louis is sitting on a fortune of more than $ 15.4 million.
But this son of teacher parents has not changed his lifestyle so much, except that he travels more.
"I drove in Grand Am for 12 years. I changed to a 2012 Acura, he says. A Ferrari is not my style. "
Thanks to the family
It must be said that the path of the producer was fraught with difficulties and that the bankruptcy was avoided more than once.
At 16, he already had his own 3D simulation company and he was investing in real estate. With a master's degree in finance from the Université du Québec à Montréal, he later worked at the Business Development Bank of Canada.
In June 2013, at age 29, his friend Maxime Cyr, who worked for Health Canada, told him that the federal government would allow private producers to sell medical cannabis. Sébastien St-Louis had never seen a pot plant before, but he smelled the potential.
He embarked on the project his brother-in-law Adam Miron, a political enthusiast who became involved with the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009.
Unable to get finance from the banks, the two men appealed to friends and family for a first round of private funding in 2013. "With $ 10,000, we could put $ 1.5 million," he said. His parents even mortgaged their home to invest $ 100,000.
"If it did not work, I went bankrupt and lost my house, but there was no longer a couch of friends I could have slept on because I would have lost money to all those I knew, "he says.
Light appeared at the end of the tunnel when Health Canada authorized the company to sell medical pot in 2015.
Big names on the board
In 2016, he approached large families in Quebec looking for partners. Vincent Chiara, a Montreal businessman close to the Saputo family, has agreed to invest several millions in the adventure. He currently sits on the Board and his fortune in the company is valued at $ 25.5 million.
Sébastien St-Louis is also very proud to say that Nathalie Bourque, who serves on Couche-Tard's Board of Directors, has joined Hydropothecary's board since the fall. The convenience store chain has already announced that it wants to sell marijuana.
The boss of Hydropothecary believes that in the near future, there will remain only two or three companies that will be multinational cannabis. "I intend to be a leader from our platform in Quebec," he says.
MUSIC AND POT FOR THE TRAGICALLY HIP
PHOTO COURTESY DAVID BASTEDO Music and cannabis have always been closely linked. Newstrike understands it. For almost a year now, the company that markets Up Cannabis, a pot producer in Ontario, has developed a partnership with The Tragically Hip.
The Canadian rock band is a shareholder in the company and is involved in important marketing decisions.
Their managers, Bernie Breen and Patrick Sambrook, also sit on the company's advisory board. Up Cannabis can, for example, use the band's songs to promote its products or to name its pot varieties.
It is worth $ 20.9 million
"We've approached them because they can help us create a brand and they represent Canada," says Jay Wilgar, CEO of Newstrike.
The latter made a fortune with a wind energy start-up he founded in the early 2000s and sold it to the French multinational GDF Suez in 2010.
In 2013, he launched into cannabis by investing 1.5 million with a partner. Mr. Wilgar is worth about $ 20.9 million today. The Hips' fortune in the business is at least $ 2.2 million
"We did not expect such a large and fast growth in the last year, it's amazing," he says.
The strategy of Up Cannabis is to address Mr. Mrs. Everybody, like the Hips. The company will focus on the recreational and has no medical patient.
MORE PROFITABLE THAN CUCUMBERS
PHOTO COURTESY APHRIA For John Cervini, growing cannabis was a natural extension of his vegetable growing career in Ontario.
"I am the fourth generation of farmers. For 23 years, I ran the family business with my brother, "he says. The company was growing well, but John preferred to leave because the two brothers had different visions.
His friend Cole Cacciavillani, an industrial engineer in agriculture, told him about cannabis in August 2013. The company, Aphria, is one of six producers who signed an agreement to supply Quebec with cannabis through the subsidiary of the SAQ.
"As a farmer, we knew we had a good base for marijuana," says Cervini. It is our specialty to grow plants, we have experience in logistics and large-scale supply, "he says.
He seems to have won his bet. The best-performing stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2017 was Aphria, which rose 271%. The fortune of the two founders today stands at more than $ 200 million.
Thanks to Google translation http://www.journaldequebec.com/2018/03/03/au-moins-77-canadiens-millionnaires-grace-au-cannabis

CBC Goes Full Retard Publishing Stories About "Racism" and "Race"
Nov 2, 2018
Hate messages show up on University of Manitoba campus
http://archive.is/xx6d3
5 reasons why everyone should be talking about The Hate U Give
http://archive.fo/NzpPl
'It's draining': Winnipeg man hopes for more awareness after racist run-in
http://archive.fo/9ti3U
Nov 3, 2018
Why a Toronto-area school board can't force out a trustee accused of racism and xenophobia
http://archive.is/RE60G
Nov 4, 2018
How right-wing populism is returning to its fascist roots
http://archive.is/sJOb0
Nov 5, 2018
Drake blocked from Vancouver's Parq Casino, claims it was 'profiling'
http://archive.is/AWLmu
Nov 6, 2018
Parents renew calls for controversial York school board trustee-elect to resign
http://archive.fo/NR8TH
Nov 7, 2018
'We shouldn't be forced to move to certain areas of the classroom': U of M Indigenous students
http://archive.is/8rbAn
Nov 8, 2018
​Q&A: Lori Wilkinson explains why 'It's OK to be white' posters are not OK
http://archive.is/i6iJL
Nov 9, 2018
'The entire company is toxic': Allegations of abuse, harassment at Stella's chain surface on social media
http://archive.is/InSeY
Nov 10, 2018
'Really toxic': Abuse allegations continue to dog Winnipeg restaurant chain Stella's Cafe
http://archive.is/Vvgv0
Nov 13, 2018
Meet Raven Wilkinson, the black ballerina who blazed a trail long before shoes came in brown and bronze
http://archive.is/IO46X
Nov 14, 2018
Grieving Inuit families blame racism of health-care workers for deaths of loved ones
http://archive.is/XD7tA
Nov 15, 2018
Federal government issues permanent postal ban on hate speech publication
http://archive.is/GS5Wg
Pat Lorje resigns from Montgomery community association board, citing 'racist attitudes'
http://archive.is/1MZ3g
Toronto anti-carding activist stopped by police in Vancouver
http://archive.fo/6cQec
Nov 17, 2018
Multiculturalism 'makes our province a better place,' says Sask. award recipient
http://archive.is/aQsB3
Nov 19, 2018
University of New Brunswick nursing school should have mandatory course in Indigenous health, says instructor
http://archive.is/BGHiP
Nov 20, 2018
'It is our story': Why a contest inspired by Viola Desmond was cut short
http://archive.fo/L5xWF
Nov 21, 2018
Kelowna Sikh leader urges people to speak up about racism after gurdwara hit by graffiti
http://archive.is/rNC6J
Police officer denied promotion because of race, hearing told
http://archive.is/IZknG
Nov 22, 2018
TRC heard concerns about coerced sterilization of Indigenous women, says Murray Sinclair
http://archive.is/BfuqQ
Nov 23, 2018
Quebecers among Canadians most likely to believe racism is decreasing
http://archive.is/SAx0b
Alberta government 'censored' Indigenous book, undermining reconciliation in schools, author says
http://archive.fo/1AZjr
Nov 26, 2018
Nearly two-thirds of Quebecers support public-sector ban on religious symbols, poll finds
http://archive.fo/d6VrL
Nov 29, 2018
Hate crimes surge in southwestern Ontario, Statistics Canada says
http://archive.is/crN4B
Nov 30, 2018
Peewee hockey game in Neepawa turns ugly as fans hurl racist taunts at First Nations team
http://archive.is/G0lo9
Edmonton hotel accused of racial discrimination against 4 young men
http://archive.is/KA8ln
Windsor health centre provides 'culturally safe' space for Indigenous people
http://archive.is/LeTFN
Dec 01, 2018
'We have let you down': Stella's owners post video, take out full-page apology ad after harassment complaints
http://archive.is/CjUUD

Been playing for like a decade, never thought to look on Reddit for a community tho! So hey everyone lol
Was at my local casino (Lac Leamy, in Gatineau, Quebec; near Ottawa).
Sometimes when a table is cold I play DP (ya ya I’m a bad guy I know). Generally 1unit comeout and if it loses before a point gets made I double it. The following happened two times in a row:
1st roll: 7 (so now 2u DP bet) 2nd roll: 10 (max odds 5x, and I play 1.5u on hard 10 to hedge). 3rd roll: 6-4.
Within 2 minutes I’m down 29 units lol. Quickest trip I’ve ever made to the casino lol.

3: Showboat Casino Hotel first opens in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
5: The FOX network expands its programming into prime time with the premieres of the sitcom "Married... with Children" and the sketch comedy series "The Tracey Ullman Show".
9: U.S. President Ronald Reagan describes bugging of the US embassy in Moscow as "outrageous." A journalist asks him about the U.S. bugging of the Soviet embassy in Washington. Reagan replies that further discussion "wouldn't be useful."
13: The governments of the Portuguese Republic and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau will be returned to China in 1999.
17: On the eve of April 17, 1987 Osama bin Laden leads his assault in the Soviet-Afghan War with a force of 120 fighters to attack the Afghan government outpost near Khost. It is his first company sized attack in the Soviet-Afghan War that he had planned for months in advanced.
19: The Simpsons cartoon first appears as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on the FOX Network.
21: In Colombo, Sri Lanka, The Central Bus Station Bombing kills 113 civilians.
27: The United States Department of Justice declares incumbent Austrian president Kurt Waldheim an "undesirable alien".
30: Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the Provincial Premiers agree on principle to the Meech Lake Accord which would bring Quebec into the constitution.

CBC Goes Full Retard Publishing Stories About "Racism" and "Race"
Nov 2, 2018
Hate messages show up on University of Manitoba campus
http://archive.is/xx6d3
5 reasons why everyone should be talking about The Hate U Give
http://archive.fo/NzpPl
'It's draining': Winnipeg man hopes for more awareness after racist run-in
http://archive.fo/9ti3U
Nov 3, 2018
Why a Toronto-area school board can't force out a trustee accused of racism and xenophobia
http://archive.is/RE60G
Nov 4, 2018
How right-wing populism is returning to its fascist roots
http://archive.is/sJOb0
Nov 5, 2018
Drake blocked from Vancouver's Parq Casino, claims it was 'profiling'
http://archive.is/AWLmu
Nov 6, 2018
Parents renew calls for controversial York school board trustee-elect to resign
http://archive.fo/NR8TH
Nov 7, 2018
'We shouldn't be forced to move to certain areas of the classroom': U of M Indigenous students
http://archive.is/8rbAn
Nov 8, 2018
​Q&A: Lori Wilkinson explains why 'It's OK to be white' posters are not OK
http://archive.is/i6iJL
Nov 9, 2018
'The entire company is toxic': Allegations of abuse, harassment at Stella's chain surface on social media
http://archive.is/InSeY
Nov 10, 2018
'Really toxic': Abuse allegations continue to dog Winnipeg restaurant chain Stella's Cafe
http://archive.is/Vvgv0
Nov 13, 2018
Meet Raven Wilkinson, the black ballerina who blazed a trail long before shoes came in brown and bronze
http://archive.is/IO46X
Nov 14, 2018
Grieving Inuit families blame racism of health-care workers for deaths of loved ones
http://archive.is/XD7tA
Nov 15, 2018
Federal government issues permanent postal ban on hate speech publication
http://archive.is/GS5Wg
Pat Lorje resigns from Montgomery community association board, citing 'racist attitudes'
http://archive.is/1MZ3g
Toronto anti-carding activist stopped by police in Vancouver
http://archive.fo/6cQec
Nov 17, 2018
Multiculturalism 'makes our province a better place,' says Sask. award recipient http://archive.is/aQsB3
Nov 19, 2018
University of New Brunswick nursing school should have mandatory course in Indigenous health, says instructor
http://archive.is/BGHiP
Nov 20, 2018
'It is our story': Why a contest inspired by Viola Desmond was cut short
http://archive.fo/L5xWF
Nov 21, 2018
Kelowna Sikh leader urges people to speak up about racism after gurdwara hit by graffiti
http://archive.is/rNC6J
Police officer denied promotion because of race, hearing told
http://archive.is/IZknG
Nov 22, 2018
TRC heard concerns about coerced sterilization of Indigenous women, says Murray Sinclair
http://archive.is/BfuqQ
Nov 23, 2018
Quebecers among Canadians most likely to believe racism is decreasing
http://archive.is/SAx0b
Alberta government 'censored' Indigenous book, undermining reconciliation in schools, author says
http://archive.fo/1AZjr
Nov 26, 2018
Nearly two-thirds of Quebecers support public-sector ban on religious symbols, poll finds
http://archive.fo/d6VrL
Nov 29, 2018
Hate crimes surge in southwestern Ontario, Statistics Canada says
http://archive.is/crN4B

Nothing beats a great fight. Not football, not soccer, not baseball. Want to put this to the test? If your neighbors were throwing down on your lawn during the Super Bowl, your living room would be empty before someone could shout out World Star.
What follows below is a comprehensive list of the greatest fights of all time. Not all fights are created equally. Some are here for different reasons. They will be labeled as such.
One thing you will learn is that great fights are always happening. If you like Rocky type of violence, you only need to tune into any card 3 hours early and watch young kids desperately try to make their names against veterans who are clinging onto their meek stance in the sport.
Let's get right into things:

The Classics

Below is a list of the generally agreed upon greatest fights. If you’re on the fence or brand new to boxing, this is the first list of fights you should look at. Below have stood the test of time. The events of the fights below leave a lasting impression. They never leave the mind. They require revisiting again and again because full appreciation of the brutality, of the artistry, of the drama cannot be drunk in just one gulp.

Marvin Hagler 60(50)-2-2 vs Tommy Hearns 40(34)-1

12 rounds WBC world middleweight title WBA world middleweight title IBF world middleweight title April 15, 1985 Cesar Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube HBO Legendary Nights

Diego Corrales 39(32)-2 vs Jose Luis Castillo 52(46)-6-1

12 rounds WBC world lightweight title WBO world lightweight title May 7, 2005 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube

Arturo Gatti 34(28)-5 vs Micky Ward 37(27)-11

10 rounds super lightweight division May 18, 2002 Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut YouTube

Alexis Arguello 72(59)-5 vs Aaron Pryor 31(29)-0

15 rounds WBA world super lightweight title November 12, 1982 Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida YouTube HBO Legendary Nights

Muhammad Ali 31(25)-0 vs Joe Frazier 26(23)-0 I

15 rounds WBC world heavyweight title WBA world heavyweight title March 8, 1971 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York YouTube

Bobby Chacon 50(42)-6-1 vs Rafael Limon 50(37)-12-2 IV

15 rounds WBC world super featherweight title December 11, 1982 Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California YouTube

Erik Morales 35(28)-0 vs Marco Antonio Barrera 49(36)-2

12 rounds WBC world super bantamweight title WBO world super bantamweight title February 19, 2000 Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube

Riddick Bowe 31(27)-0 vs Evander Holyfield 28(22)-0

12 rounds WBC world heavyweight title WBA world heavyweight title IBF world heavyweight title November 13, 1992 Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube HBO Legendary Nights

Israel Vazquez 41(30)-3 vs Rafael Marquez 36(32)-3

12 rounds WBC world super bantamweight title March 3, 2007 Home Depot Center, Carson, California YouTube

Ray Leonard 30(21)-1 vs Thomas Hearns 32(30)-0

15 rounds WBC world welterweight title WBA world welterweight title September 16, 1981 Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube HBO Legendary Nights

Salvador Sanchez 33(27)-1-1 vs Danny Lopez 42(39)-3

12 rounds WBC world featherweight title February 2, 1980 Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona YouTube

Julio Cesar Chavez 68(56)-0 vs Meldrick Taylor 24(14)-0-1

12 rounds WBC world super lightweight title IBF world super lightweight title March 17, 1990 Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube

Muhammad Ali 48(34)-2 vs Joe Frazier 32(27)-2

15 rounds WBC world heavyweight title WBA world heavyweight title October 1, 1975 Amanita Coliseum, Barangay Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines YouTube

Historical Classics

These fights are all pre-1980. Some are in black and white. None are any less brutal than the fights below or above.

Joe Louis 35(29)-1 vs Max Schmeling 52(37)-7-4 II

15 rounds World heavyweight title Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York June 22, 1938 YouTube

Carmen Basilio 51(25)-12-7 vs Sugar Ray Robinson 140(91)-5-2

15 rounds World middleweight title September 23, 1957 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York YouTube

Rocky Graziano 45(34)-7-5 vs Tony Zale 63(41)-16-2 II

15 rounds World middleweight title July 16, 1947 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois YouTube

Carmen Basilio 47(21)-11-7 vs Tony DeMarco 47(30)-6-1

15 rounds World welterweight title November 30, 1955 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts YouTube

Rocky Marciano 42(37)-0 vs Joe Walcott 51(32)-16-2

15 rounds World heavyweight title September 23, 1952 Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania YouTube

Jack Dempsey 52(42)-4-9 vs Luis Firpo 25(21)-2

15 rounds NYSAC world heavyweight title September 14, 1923 Polo Grounds, New York, New York YouTube

Joe Louis 54(46)-1 vs Billy Conn 62(13)-10-1

15 rounds World heavyweight title June 19, 1946 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York YouTube

Ray Robinson 128(84)-1-2 vs Randy Turpin 40(29)-2-1 I

15 rounds World middleweight title July 10, 1951 Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London, United Kingdom YouTube

Gene Tunney 54(44)-5-9 vs Jack Dempsey 63(47)-1-1 II

10 rounds National Boxing Association World heavyweight title September 22, 1927 Soldiers Field, Chicago, Illinois YouTube

Emile Griffith 52(18)-7 vs Nino Benevenuti 71(30)-1

15 rounds WBC world middleweight title WBA world middleweight title April 17, 1967 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York YouTube

Muhammad Ali 44(31)-2 vs George Foreman 40(37)-0

15 rounds WBC world heavyweight title WBA world heavyweight title October 30, 1974 State du 20 Mai, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo YouTube

Rocky Marciano 42(37)-0 vs Joe Walcott 51(32)-16-2

15 rounds World heavyweight title September 23, 1952 Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania YouTube

George Foreman 40(37)-1 vs Ron Lyle 31(22)-3-1

15 rounds vacant NABF heavyweight title January 24, 1976 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube

Contemporary Classics

These fights are a little more recent. Mostly post 80s, but certainly deserving of being in a separate category of classic fights.

Roberto Duran 71(56)-1 vs Ray Leonard 27(18)-0

15 rounds WBC world welterweight title June 20, 1980 Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada YouTube

Nigel Benn 39(32)-2-1 vs Gerald McClellan 31(29)-2

12 rounds WBC world super middleweight title February 25, 1995 New London Arena, Millwall, London, United Kingdom YouTube

Marvin Hagler 61(51)-2-2 vs John Mugabi 25(25)-0

12 rounds WBC world middleweight title WBA world middleweight title IBF world middleweight title March 10, 1986 Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada YouTube

Salvador Sanchez 43(31)-1-1 vs Azumah Nelson 13(10)-0

15 rounds WBC world featherweight title July 21, 1982 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York YouTube

Herol Graham 43(26)-2 vs Julian Jackson 40(38)-1

12 rounds vacant WBC world middleweight title November 24, 1990 Torrequebrada Hotel & Casino, Benalmádena, Andalucia, Spain YouTube

Hector Camacho 28(15)-0 vs Edwin Rosario 28(24)-1

12 rounds WBC world lightweight title June 13, 1986 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York YouTube

Roberto Duran 84(61)-7 vs Iran Barkley 25(16)-4

12 rounds WBC world middleweight title February 24, 1989 Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey YouTube
Note: I typically do not re-watch fights. I have a few that I do for sentimental reasons, but on the whole I don't watch fights more than once if I don't have to. I've provided some blurbs below from what I can remember of fights. As I remember more, I'll continue to add them in. Nearly all of these fights are on YouTube.

Heavyweight Brawls

Everyone loves a good heavyweight scrap, right? I can't be as detailed with the rest of the lists (you'll soon see why) so if one of these interests you, you're gonna have to do the googling yourself. Anyway, this is part of the fun of boxing anyway. Simply watching a brawl isn't always enough. There's nothing quite like watching a back and forth fight with some emotional investment or having something at stake in the fight. I recommend from here on out you research these fighters. You might spoil the result, but most of these fights stand alone. Even if you know the result they're nearly all exciting.

• Ike Ibeabuchi vs David Tua
• Lamon Brewster vs Siarhei Liakhovich
• Michael Moorer vs Bert Cooper
• Tommy Morrison vs Razor Rudduck
• Tommy Morrison vs Joe Hipp
• Ron Lyle vs Ernie Shavers
• Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko
• Derrick Jefferson vs Maurice Harris
• Jumbo Cummings vs Frank Bruno

The 80s

It's going to be rare to find any of these fights in crystal clear HD, but I don't think it's necessary. Knockouts are knockouts.

• Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez II (I can't remember where I read this, but someone said "You know a guy is guaranteed fireworks when his name is Yaqui.")
• Freddie Pendleton vs Frankie Randall
• Rocky Kelly vs Tony Brown
• Bernardo Pinango vs Frankie Duarte
• Michael Carbajal vs Will Grigsby
• Art Jimmerson vs Lenny LaPaglia (There is very little defense in this one.)
• Freddie Roach vs Tommy Cordova (Watching Freddie Roach fight will tell you all you need to know about how he trains.)
• Bobby Chacon vs Cornelius Boza Edwards
• Edwin Rosario vs Jose Luis Ramirez

The 90s

Okay, quality is steadily increasing.

• Johnny Tapia vs Paulie Ayala (A lot of sites list this among the classics list at the very top. I'm not going to go that far because I like balance.)
• Marco Antonio Barrera vs Kennedy McKinney (This is the first fight ever on HBO's Boxing After Dark. It's a highly tactical war.)
• Pernell Whitaker vs Jose Luis Ramirez (Who said defense wasn't fun?)
• Junior Jones vs Kennedy McKinney
• Israel Vazquez vs Marcos Licona
• Michael Carbajal vs Muanchai Kitikasem
• Micky Ward vs Reggie Green (If we were going to put together a list of the fighters who went the farthest on heart alone, Micky Ward would be somewhere in the top 10)
• Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelley (The Prince was a special fighter. You'll see why.)
• Marlon Starling vs Maurice Blocker (significant for Roach vs Futch)
• Arturo Gatti vs Wilson Rodriguez (Gatti is guaranteed entertainment. Here is another shining example of why you don't hook with a hooker.)
• Jorge Arce vs Michael Carbajal
• Oscar De La Hoya vs Shane Mosley (Two of the top pound-for-pound fighters get together and take turns putting a beating on the other guy. Oscar's jab was such a thing of beauty in the 90s that Mosley complains of back pain from his neck snapping back.)
• Erik Morales vs Daniel Zaragoza
• Oscar De La Hoya vs Fernando Vargas (Lots and lots of drama in this one. Wild crowd takes it over the top.)

The 00s

• Juan Manuel Marquez vs Juan Diaz I (All-out, aggressive, face-first offense walks into one of the greatest counter-punchers of all time. Guess what happens...)
• Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales I & II (Before he became Manny Pacquiao, he had to go to school somewhere.)
• Marco Antonio Rubio vs Enrique Ornelas (Traditional Mexican style war)
• Silence Mabuza vs Yonnhy Perez
• Fernando Montiel vs Luis Melendez (Montiel used to be a bad little man)
• Roman Martinez vs Daniel Jimenez
• Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkel Kessler (Fantastic fight featuring an established champion and a young up-and-comer)
• Adonis Stevenson vs Anthony Bonsante
• Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam vs Would Guarras
• Bernard Hopkins vs Felix Trinidad (You've got to read about the build-up around the fight. This was one of the first sporting events after September 11.)
• Carl Thompson vs Sebastiaan Rothmann
• Luis Concepcion vs Hernan Marquez II (This is what happens when you mix gasoline and fire)
• Giovani Segura vs Ivan Calderon I (All-out offense vs a defensive master.)
• Giovani Segura vs Hernan Marquez (All-out offense vs all-out offense)
• Giovanni Segura vs Cesar Chinchilla I (All-out offensive vs more offense)
• Rogers Mtagwa vs Artom Simony
• John Duddy vs Yori Boy Campas
• Carl Thompson vs Ezra Sellers
• Alex Stewart vs Ezra Sellers
• Micky Ward vs Emanuel Augustus (An absolute must-watch. It probably could qualify as a classic. If you're a new fan, these fighters are required watches.)
• Alex Arthur vs Michael Gomez (This is a wild fight with an even crazier crowd. The atmosphere is truly special.)
• Paul Samuels vs Cello Renda I
• Satoshi Hosono vs Hiroyuki Enoki
• Tomas Villa vs Rogers Mtgawa
• Daniel Edouard vs Willie Gibbs
• Kelly Pavlik vs Jermain Taylor (The emergence of a monster dismantles the boxer.)
• James Toney vs Vassiliy Jirov (The counter punching master revival)
• Carl Froch vs Jean Pascal (This is a brutal fight between two guys looking to make a name.)
• Felix Trinidad vs Fernando Vargas (The Puerto Rican superstar controversial stops a Mexican warrior)
• Felix Trinidad vs Ricardo Mayorga (The Puerto Rican superstar gets his chance to shut Mayorga's mouth up.)
• Antonio Margarito vs Miguel Cotto (One of the most controversial and bloody fights in recent memory.)
• Joel Casamayor vs Michael Katsidis (Katsidis knows one thing and he knows it well.)
• Graham Earl vs Michael Katsidis (This is a Katsidis fight so you know what to expect.)
• Carl Froch vs Jermain Taylor (A dramatic fight with a big finish.)

2010 to Now

• Sergio Martinez vs Paul Williams I (Two of the most avoided fighters in boxing meet since nobody else would fight them. The result is magical.)
• Tim Bradley vs Ruslan Provodnikov (A dramatic and brutal fight between two of the toughest warriors in the sport.)
• Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez IV (The conclusion to their epic series is the best installment of the series.)
• Orlando Salido vs Juan Manuel Lopez (Mexico vs Puerto Rico does it again.)
• Brandon Rios vs Mike Alvarado I (Not much technical boxing going on here. Just a classic slugfest.)
• Marcos Maidana vs Victor Ortiz (Nobody deserves to take a beating like these guys took.)
• Orlando Salido vs Terdsak Kokietgym (I lost count of the knockdowns.)
• Francisco Rodriguez Jr vs Katsunari Takayama (Takayama only knows how to fight like his life is on the line.)
• Mike Alvarado vs Breidis Prescott (A brutal fight.)
• Marcos Madiana vs Josesito Lopez (Another classic slugfest from Maidana.)
• Marco Huck vs Krzysztof Glowacki (A long reigning champion meets a young hungry lion.)
• Adrien Broner vs Marcos Maidana (Adrien Broner stands toe-to-toe with Marcos Maidana. The winner earns a shot at Floyd Mayweather.)
• Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler I & II (Two elite super middleweights have a pair of classic wars.)
• Lucas Matthysse vs John Molina (Molina tells everyone he's not afraid of Matthysse and has power of his own. Then the bell rings.)
• Erik Morales vs Marcos Maidana (A throwback performance from a legendary Mexican warrior against one of the hardest punchers in the sport.)
• Victor Ortiz vs Josesito Lopez (Ortiz brings offense. Lopez brings more.)
• Tommy Coyle vs Daniel Brizuela (A wild back and forth fight with enough knockdowns for this entire list.)
• Victor Ortiz vs Andre Berto ("Oh my god!")
• Terence Crawford vs Yuriorkis Gamboa (Two elite boxers meet for a wild back-and-forth fight.)
• Orlando Salido vs Roman Martinez I (Mexico vs Puerto Rico. Enough said.)
• Chris John vs Daud Yordan (The long reigning paper champion of Indonesia loses some years off his career.)
• Derry Mathews vs Tommy Coyle (A wild fight.)
• Omar Figueroa vs Nihito Arakawa (There is literally no defense in this fight.)
• Robert Guerrero vs Yoshihiro Kamegai (See above.)