I opened my Telegram and seen I had far more messages than typical. I knew one thing was askew. The headers of the messages had been all very comparable, “John McAfee just called you an idiot on Twitter.” Here we go I muttered below my breath as I additional investigated what all the hype was about. I wandered over to John’s Twitter account and positive sufficient, John had tweeted that he was abandoning the Ghost mission and that Josh Case is an fool. Let’s again up…
I first met John McAfee at his dwelling in Tennessee in the early days of 2018. I had emailed his supervisor Jimmy attempting to arrange a gathering and an interview with John, and I used to be type of shocked once they agreed and set a date. I instantly jumped into full analysis mode and started a deep dive into John McAfee’s historical past. I had been following him for years, however his story was much more fascinating than I had thought.
After McAfee Associates, the firm behind McAfee Antivirus, John went on to start out a pharmaceutical firm, opened a yoga/meditation retreat, tried his hand at actual property, and even ran for the President Of The United States, twice. Some additionally speculate he developed new leisure medication, tried to overthrow the Belizean authorities, murdered his neighbor, and loads of different issues, however these accusations had been by no means backed up with any proof and had been at all times chalked up as hypothesis.
A few hours from John’s city and I had nonetheless but to obtain the handle of the place I used to be going. They had informed me they wouldn’t ship me the handle till the day of the assembly, for safety functions, however I used to be beginning to get slightly fearful. I despatched Jimmy a textual content attempting to get the information I wanted, however he had but to learn my previous few texts, so I didn’t anticipate a fast reply from this one both. I used to be listening to an interview with John on Youtube when Jimmy texted me again, and the handle flashed throughout the high of my display screen. As I punched it into my GPS my thoughts was racing with ideas about how the evening would go.
As I approached his home, a very nice two-story dwelling tucked away in a small city, the butterflies began kicking in. I used to be staying the evening at John McAfee’s home, recent off the bull market of 2017, earlier than anybody even realized 2018 was going to be a bear market. I knew this was going to be an evening to recollect… And it positive was.
I lugged my stuff to the door, rang the buzzer, and waited for somebody to reply. I questioned to myself if John was going to reply? Or one among his safety. The door creaks slowly open, and two very giant guys, private safety for John McAfee reply the door and ask who I’m. I inform them, and so they see me into the visitor lounge. I can hear John in the room subsequent to me whining and eating legal professionals and politicians and it’s not lengthy till the company depart, and the solely individuals left in the home are people who dwell there. John has his spouse Janice after all, a number of live-in bodyguards, his supervisor Jimmy, and a few others. Friends, merchants, and many others.
It’s not lengthy till we’re all ingesting whisky, philosophizing the which means of life, and being schooled by John on the historical past and usefulness of suspenders. “Suspenders lost their popularity after WWI, but they are coming back,” John shouted with pleasure. “All great men know that you can’t think while wearing a belt, it cuts off your circulation.” John rapidly left the room and got here again with a pair of suspenders to offer to me. “Here, this will change your life,” John proclaimed. I’m not a suspenders type of man, however I at all times surprise if John was proper. Had I adopted the suspenders when he informed me too, and elevated my blood circulation, who is aware of what sort of man I could possibly be at present. A friendship was born that day, and John and I started talking extra continuously.
I’ve at all times been an concept man, and like brainstorming ideas and concepts with like-minded individuals. John McAfee was the identical. We started speaking virtually each day and located ourselves brainstorming every kind of various ideas wherein blockchain and cryptocurrency may remedy real-world issues in a significant manner. We got here up with new concepts virtually each day, and at instances these calls felt extra like an train in developing with concepts than really attempting to construct any of them. It was simply enjoyable speaking about methods this know-how can and can change the world. One concept we talked about for a couple of days, that John was at all times very serious about pursuing, was an app we had been calling “History Day One” on our calls.
The idea was this. Imagine if we had verifiable data of random occasions in historical past. For occasion, if 500 individuals had been so as to add a tiny word to a blockchain ledger that mentioned one thing like “On October 2019 at 5:00 p.m., John McAfee gave a speech at Barcelona Blockchain Week”, and so they embedded an image, video, or geolocation tag, displaying when and the place the occasion occurred, it could give us an excellent reviewable historical past of occasions all throughout the world. Users may retain their pseudo-anonymity by doing this with cryptocurrency addresses, however the sheer quantity of quantity of entries per occasion would lend credence to its authenticity.
After speaking practically each day for months, hastily there was a break in communication.
In January 2019, after receiving inside information that he can be indicted by a grand jury in TN, McAfee took to the sea on a Yacht, fleeing the U.S. for good, and arrange store on a small island in the Bahamas. Once he was all arrange, he invited me down to go to, and I obliged.
My first hour in the Bahamas wasn’t an excellent one. We introduced an excessive amount of digital camera tools, the customs official mentioned, and so they needed to deport us for not making use of for a license to movie commercially. We had two cameras, and a drone. We ended up making a take care of them, the place they may maintain a few of our tools at the customs workplace till the finish of our journey, and in return, they don’t deport us. We had different buddies displaying up later with tools too, so we figured we’d be nice. Surprisingly they agreed to this.
We rented a automobile from the solely place that had one on the 900-person island and proceeded to drive on the left facet of the street until we bought to the Exuma Yacht Club, the place John McAfee was docked.
John was an area movie star there and it solely took a couple of moments for somebody to level us to the place John was docked. Intimidating bodyguards and much more intimidating canines greeted us and we walked as much as Johns Yacht. With barely as a lot as a good day, John was off to the races speaking about politics, cryptocurrency, freedom, his prices that had been but to be introduced, and naturally his Yacht. Built for a drug lord with lower-level bunkers, a number of bedrooms and decks, and bells and whistles that solely a real man of the waters would perceive. John was that and extra.
Our time in the Bahamas solely lasted a couple of days, however John informed tales that encompassed his total lifetime. From his early days with computer systems, to the founding of McAfee Antivirus, to what he needed his legacy to be, John spoke like his life was nonetheless utterly forward of him. He had been jailed in 9 international locations, sued by a whole bunch of individuals and firms, bribed law enforcement officials and governments round the world, and lived to inform all the tales. John knew prices had been coming down the line for him and in gentle of this, you’ll assume John would decelerate a bit, however his foot was on the gasoline as typical. Sometimes regardless of how laborious you attempt, you simply can’t change who you’re.
The very last thing I heard them speaking about as we had been leaving, was the logistics of their SUV being flown in by helicopter. Within weeks of our departure, John can be arrested in the Dominican Republic for “traveling on a yacht carrying high-caliber weapons, ammunition, and military-style gear.” Add one other nation to the checklist that John has been arrested in. That makes ten….thus far.
Surprisingly and but unsurprisingly, John was launched and it was again to enterprise as typical, though this time John bought much more secretive. We continued to speak, however he would by no means disclose his location and was typically simply extra cautious with issues. He was transferring fairly often and was extra involved than typical about being monitored. He craved privateness and freedom and naturally, our conversations lead again to cryptocurrency.
Ghost by McAfee is a proof-of-stake privateness coin that was launched in the summer season of 2020. John was bored with what the business was promoting, and actually needed to place out one thing reflecting his beliefs and values. An actual thriving ecosystem of privacy-related merchandise, a non-public secure coin, and a legacy bearing his title.
Fast ahead a couple of months, and I open my Telegram to see I’ve far more messages than typical. John McAfee simply referred to as me an fool on Twitter. Wtf…
For the last few days, John had expressed his concern about the fee of growth that was taking place with Ghost. The mission was just a few months previous, and ran on a shoestring price range, however John needed it to be able to take on the world now and was not happy that it wasn’t. John has been recognized to be very erratic and alter his thoughts on a dime and it appeared like this might be a kind of instances. Sometimes when John has the gasoline, and has the matches, he can’t assist however to place them to make use of, and John announced he was leaving the Ghost mission…nevertheless it wouldn’t be lengthy till he was again.
The neighborhood round Ghost is one among the strongest in the business and John acknowledged that, and introduced he was coming again and can proceed to assist Ghost.
Soon after the announcement of John’s return to Ghost, a good greater occasion occurred. John was arrested in Spain on U.S. charges of tax evasion, cash laundering, and extra. Sadly that makes 11 international locations John has been arrested in, and the place John nonetheless stays at present. Although John has been locked in a jail cell in Spain for nearly six months, he has continued to assist Ghost by way of tweets from jail, and commonly will get and transmits messages about the growth of the mission from his spouse Janice.
Ghost by McAfee just lately introduced a partnership with Poltergeistexchange.com for a sidechain named Ghoul on the Ghost blockchain that can permit personal cross-chain atomic swaps, a non-public secure coin, personal Ethereum transactions, and extra coming this yr. John may be very happy that growth is transferring ahead with the imaginative and prescient he believes in, no matter his private state of affairs.
Lots of people wish to see John McAfee spend the remainder of his days in a jail cell. I’m not a kind of individuals. They see John’s loud and sometimes brash character on the web and instantly take a love or hate place with him. John McAfee may be very polarizing and has most likely made loads of errors, however I do know John McAfee, and he is an effective man. I hope to see the day John and I can meet once more…
Like this story? I’m releasing a e book titled “Ghosted,” with never-before-told tales from my instances with John McAfee by means of the rise and fall of his time in cryptocurrency. From being robbed by the Italian Mafia in Italy in 2018, to being threatened by massive cryptocurrency gamers in 2020, “Ghosted” will take you for an up-close and private look at the legend that’s John McAfee all through his rise and fall in cryptocurrency. For extra information please be part of the “Ghosted” Telegram group. You also can try an unique assortment of never-before-seen footage of John McAfee on the run as NFTs on Rarible.
What do you consider Josh Case’s inside look at John McAfee’s life on the run? Let us know what you consider this story in the feedback part under.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Josh Case, creator,
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