WEBVTT - Ride the Snake: The Cobra Venom Con 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.320 Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:07.360 Do How is a bit Dutton a favorite person? 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:08.160 What are you doing here? 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:10.039 I got a question for you. Do you know what's ridiculous? Yes, 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:11.239 because you do? 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:11.760 I do? 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:13.480 All right, Well, you want to share with the bro, 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:13.880 all right? 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.280 So sometimes I like to list off things I like. Yeah, 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:19.320 so candles. I've talked about how much I like candles. 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:20.240 Do you like candles? 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.200 I do like sunscreen. I try and wear it, yes, 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:24.160 just burn easily. 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:26.000 Yeah, you like sunscreen. You also like sunsets. 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:30.639 I do like sunset Sunset magazine, Sunset magazine as my lifestyle. 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.040 The other thing I like tennis. Oh yeah, I haven't 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:35.680 played in some time, but I used to play a 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:38.519 lot when I was younger. I could see that I 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:43.199 was very competitive. Yes, played all the time. Prince is 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:44.880 a tennis company. They make tennis probable. 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:47.159 Oh not Prince the musician. No, that would have been 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.520 really confusing. For the one second there I was thinking. 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:52.879 I was picturing Prince like wrapping handles like welcome to 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:54.960 my shot, baby, here you go, get you got like 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:57.600 a purple tennis racketers a whole time. 0:00:57.520 --> 0:00:59.960 I actually had for a time, I had a Prince 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:01.320 racket that was purple. 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.640 There you go. You see my confusion, and so you know. 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:09.520 But so Prince makes rackets, they make they make tennis balls. 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:10.760 Tennis ball isn't familiar with them. 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.640 And then there's this other company called Vacation. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:15.720 There's a company called Vacation. 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:18.119 Yeah, and they make what they call is America's best 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:19.640 smelling sunscreen. 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:21.520 They seem like a scam. I'm just going to say, 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.240 if you're one hundred business is called Vacation, Like, what 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:24.800 are you hiding? 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:26.080 One hundreds percent? 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:26.399 All right? 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:30.280 Go on, So they make they make sunscreen, and they've 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:34.800 teamed up with Prince to tennis company, yes, yeah, to 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:36.600 sell something called ball Boy. 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:37.640 I knew it. 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:41.280 Go on, ball Boy. It's a scented candle. Oh wow, 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:42.199 called ball Boy. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:44.720 A scented candle named ball called ball by. 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:48.640 A luxury scented candle. Commemorating the historic moment when Prince 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:54.280 and Vacation employees at the seventh Annual Interoffice Tennis Championships 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.280 stumbled upon an insight that would change the trajectory of 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.279 the Vacation Sunscreen Company forever. 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:00.640 This is a crazy paragraph. 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:06.440 Yeah, go on, it's premium. Soy blend wax. It's vegan 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:10.840 and cruelty free percent cotton wick and generously tall glassware 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:12.680 as they say fancy, but do you want to hear 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:13.480 the fragrance notes. 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:14.200 I'm waiting for it. 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:21.120 Freshly uncanned tennis balls, which smell very distinct like. 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:22.960 Car smell, that is specific. 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:26.320 Crack, Oh my god, that's like one of my favorite things. 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:29.480 Vacation sunscreen, which I don't know what that smells like, 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:35.400 but who knows. Uh, Prince cotton sweat bands, Okay, I 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:36.960 would hope doesn't really smell like anything. 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:38.639 But yeah that once again, like not really as. 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:41.560 This is the one that makes me want to punch 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.880 my face, like punch at my eye sockets. Court side 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:50.239 cucumber sandwiches what like what. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:54.400 In every syllable got weirder? How was it? Courtside cucumber what? 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:56.720 I don't know why, I'm like irrationally. 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:58.639 Then get backwards it up and I was like, wait 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.040 a minute, there's such a thing as a cucumber sandwich. 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.560 Cucumber sandwich inside cucumber sandwich. How you know this is 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:11.840 some weird Yeah? Okay, so sandwiches, sweat bands, sunscreen, and 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:13.000 tennis balls. 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:15.000 That's what that's what a tennis that's what a ball 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:15.799 boy smells like. 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.280 Apparently that's that's basically what my summer is at the 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.480 age of twelve, smelled ball boys. 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:24.280 I called this, Elizabeth Dutton. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.000 That is ridiculous. 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.679 That is ridiculous. I got one for you. If you 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:32.320 got a second, please, here's it. Back down. This one 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:34.880 is you're ready. It's just a I got a it's 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:40.200 a six words okay, cobra venom as a business plan. 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:05.280 This is Ridiculous Crime, A podcast about absurd and outrageous capers, 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.280 heists and cons. It's always ninety nine percent murder free 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:14.560 and one ridiculous. You damn right, Okay, ridiculous Elizabeth Saren 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.279 got a question for you. Sure you know I'm definitely 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:18.120 afraid of snakes. 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:19.920 I do you've told me about that? 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.120 Yes? If I ever tell you about the time I 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:25.440 walked out into the sky to get away from a snake. Okay, 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:27.800 So I have I have his buddy, Jeff. Let's just 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:29.640 take me a second and trust me. This is connected 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.440 Today's crime very intimately. But I have this buddy Jeff. 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.159 He's a bass player and you know how they are, right, 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.039 He's a he's a total bass player. By that I 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:39.599 mean mostly chill, very solid guy, right, but also totally 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.000 weird sense of humor. True, so base player. 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:42.240 Yeah. 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.280 Yeah. Anyway, so one time I'm visiting him. This was 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:46.200 in LA and it was like he lived about a 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.839 block above Sunset Boulevard. So we're hanging out and he's like, hey, 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:50.160 you want to go up to on the roof to 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:53.240 uh enjoy the night air. And we go up there. 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.000 We're enjoying the night air, and uh, you have to 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:57.400 keep in mind to get to his roof, you take 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.000 a stairway. You don't go like, what are the fires 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.679 apes like on the East coast. It's just a stairway 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:03.560 built into the building, right, So then you go up 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:06.280 and on. Once you're on the roof, you can continue 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:08.719 going up because there is a ramp that goes up 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:10.640 on top of the stairway that got you there. 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:11.240 So there is a. 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:12.200 Roof on a roof. 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:17.160 So you guys were like Willie Nelson and Jimmy Carter's son, Yes. 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:19.640 Up on the roof having a moment, white house style 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.279 and we're on a roof on a roof, Okay, So 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:23.720 we go up there and to get this better view 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:25.880 of the city and Willie Nelson our way around, right, 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:27.920 And as soon as I'm up there, I see this 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.080 big dark shadow and I'm like, what the hell? And 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:32.080 it's nighttimes, I can't exactly see what it is, but 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.480 what I'm looking at is a coiled up snake. So 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.200 I it is a thick, long daddy of a snake. Elizabeth, Right, 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.039 So I freak out, and me being me, what do 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:41.720 I do? I take action? So I'm like, I gotta 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:43.360 get out of here. I gotta held away from the snake. 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.320 So I just step out into the sky. That was 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:48.360 my idea. I'm like, well, I'm out of here. So 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.520 there was no possible there was no more roof, right, 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.560 So no, I didn't jump. I just stepped out. I 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:56.560 just walked off the roof like I'm out of here. 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.880 We're like three floors up at this point, right, So 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:04.080 I'm like a cartoon coyote, right, I'm wily coyote standing 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:06.279 in the sky for a moment like looking at my 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:08.400 buddy like you're gonna do something about that snake. And 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:10.680 then all of a sudden, gravity catches up and I 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.760 start to fall all right, and boom, I hit real hard. 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.400 My buddy He's like, my prank is backfired, and he's 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:18.240 like totally upside He runs down. He thinks he may 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:20.680 have killed me. Right, you know, I'm a stunt man. 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:22.320 So I corrected him mid air, and I kind of 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.400 like like I flying squirreled out of the fall. I hit, 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:28.080 I rolled. It didn't kill me, right, but I was 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.480 like still so afraid of the snake and adrenalized. I 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:33.440 didn't care. And then I realized at no point, like 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.320 between me seeing the shadow and me hitting the ground, 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:37.800 did it ever occur to me that it may be 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.560 a rubber snake, that it may be a prank. I 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:42.960 was still going, like, why did you get a live snake? 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:46.680 I'm still thinking it's a snake because that's how absolutely 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:50.320 afraid of the snake. That's exactly the question. There's not 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.960 gonna be a snake on a roof in Lahit a giant, 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:55.919 long daddy snake. I mean, it just looks like a 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:59.239 well fed boa instricter. Oh okay, turns as you said, 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:01.440 this huge rubber and he thought I'm gonna play a 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:03.000 prank on there, and he didn't know that I would 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:06.440 walk out into the sky. Yeah, so this is what 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:08.239 I want to talk to you about today. Snakes. 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:09.040 That's amazing. 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:09.720 I've done that. 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:12.240 I've been the one pulling the prank. You pulled the prank, yeah, 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:13.360 and I felt really really bad. 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:15.160 But did you almost kill your friend too? I did. 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:18.560 It was my neighbor and he was deathly afraid of snakes, 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.720 I mean like terrified, yes, yes, and I was, you know, 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:24.000 every year I went crazy at Halloween and I had 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.280 like all like over the top decorations, and in some 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:29.720 of my like looking for stuff for the decorations, I 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.120 found one of those little snake toys, like the toy 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:34.560 you put in water and it expands. 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:35.320 Oh yeah, totally. 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:37.520 So I got a big stock pot and I put 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:39.600 the snake in there and I filled it with water 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:41.760 and I let it expand over like two days. It 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:45.520 was enormous. And then I, you know, he came over, 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:47.200 because all the neighbors would come over and we'd sit 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.440 out and like hand out candy and have you know, 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.200 dinner and stuff whatever snacks. So I bring out this 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.520 big pot and I was like, you know, I made 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:58.960 you this like specialty, this chicken bog specialty. I'm like here, look, 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:01.080 I said it, Dan, you gonna love this, he opens 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:03.560 it up and sees it and screamed at such a 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:07.160 high pitch he could, and then he just split. He 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.920 just ran like, didn't look at traffic, just ran right 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:11.440 out into the road, across the street to his house. 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:13.520 Yes, is what we do. Abady ran through a door 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:13.920 if he could. 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.760 I felt so bad. It was so cruel, and I 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:18.680 was mad at myself for doing something like that. 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:24.160 But okay, well I accept your The thing about it 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.000 is is like with snakes, is that those of us 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:30.480 who are irrationally afraid, is that there's nothing like I 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:33.200 cannot describe it. It's one of the few moments I 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.040 just lose everything, like I'm not thinking I am. It's 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.199 like I am reduced. I'm pulled all the way back 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:40.320 through time and all of a sudden, I'm a caveman 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:42.520 looking for a stick. That's all My thoughts are. Fine, 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.440 stick hit snake. Yeah, it is really embarrassing anyway, Snake crimes, 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:47.880 cobra venom. That's what I wanted to talk to you 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:48.400 about today. 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:49.280 This is brave of you. 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:50.840 Thank you. Ever been to a reptile show? 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:52.720 Yes? Do you know that I've been to like a 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:54.559 reptile enclosure in a zoo typeing. 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:58.560 Like a like a repticon reptile show like traveling rate. Okay, 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.319 of course, do you know that I once to my 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.000 irrational snake phobia and I went to the world's largest 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.800 reptile show. What yeah, ye, with no therapy plan, no 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:08.640 one there to hold my hand. I just went in, 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:11.280 no gun, nothing for what. 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:15.840 Like I swaze your anxiety. I'm still irrationally free to snakes. 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.160 No, I was. It was for a story for journalism. Hey, 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:20.360 you go down there, and I did it all right, 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:21.640 So how do you think it went? 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:22.960 Not good? 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:24.880 Yeah, about as well as you can imagine. No, Personally, 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.160 I considered it a wild success because one, I did 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:29.640 not kill any children or any family members or any 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:31.680 of the snake owners on my way fleeing the buildings. 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:32.679 And he didn't jump off a root. 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:34.840 No, I didn't jump off any buildings, and I didn't 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:36.880 flip any tables. I didn't stomp any snakes. It was 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:39.480 a total success. Right. So the reason that the really 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:41.600 bring up reptile shows is is that that's a great 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:46.360 place to do some crimes, right, and like, no, honestly, like, okay, here, 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:47.840 I'll put it this way. When I went to the 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:49.840 reptile Show. Right, I got to meet and interview a 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:53.320 bunch of like snake and lizard people. Okay, I don't 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:56.439 mean like like David, like steak and lizard people. Right. 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:58.640 Do you need to talk about the. 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:00.960 Shape changing alien people? They came up to be Elizabeth 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:02.720 and they told me their plans were all domination? 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:03.760 Is this going to get anti? 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.080 Can we talk to about this? No? So not not 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:09.320 those lizard people. I just mean like people who like 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:12.679 lizards and stuff. So reptiles show people, right, So let 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:14.440 me tell you they are a unique bunch, like a 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.280 legit unique bunch. And I liked them. I liked these 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:19.880 We have total opposite views on a lot of things 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.400 like snakes, but I totally loved them. Yes, I was like, 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:25.680 these people are cool. My point is that reptile shows 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:27.000 they draw a certain type. 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:27.400 Right. 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.160 I noticed there was like an identifiable crowd when I 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:30.440 was there. 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:31.720 They're all cold. 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:36.000 Now, you know, like, I think this is true for 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:39.320 most cons and conventioneers. You know, like if you go 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:41.600 to a comic book con, you could see comic book people. 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:41.760 Right. 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.240 You go to a y literature you see ye literacy people. 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:46.240 These were the snake and lizard people. Now, I don't 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.640 mean though they look alike or they act alike. There's 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:52.440 nothing like physically immediate. It's more like they have the 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:53.439 shared appreciation. 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:53.760 Right. 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.679 They all love snakes or reptiles or whatever that they love, right, 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.640 and you can detect this vibe. It's a vibe, it's 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.040 a right, and that's what makes them snake people. You 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:04.200 did what I'm saying, I'm right there, Okay, So now 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:06.240 I can report when you're at a reptile show, you 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.480 can also clearly spot amongst these snake people the ones 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.800 who've gone over. Do you know what I mean by that? 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:14.480 So gone over is like if you were at a 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:16.199 gun show, you'd meet the people'd be like, hey, I 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.040 can show you a three D printed ghost gun. Right, 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.040 you want a bazooka that fell off a military to. 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.720 Every every group of special interest has the ones who've 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:25.079 gone over. 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:27.559 Yeah, exactly right. So at the reptile the shows, they 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:29.720 have these folks, right, and they'll sell you an a legal, like, 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:32.719 not just unegal and traceable ghost gun. They'll sell you 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:35.400 an illegal African puff adder, right. So they're like, hey, 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.440 you want to go with the world's most venomous snake, 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.520 I get you one for a thousand bucks or whatever. Right, 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:43.480 so they're willing to sell you basically nature sniper rifle, right, 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:45.760 and I'm like, that's that's cool or whatever. And also 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:47.839 I found that there were like these ball pythons with 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:50.080 like a pattern on the snake skin that looks like 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:51.360 a smiley face emoji. 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:52.240 Right. 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:58.720 Yeah, so into this mix enter my boy David Snedden. Snedden, Sneddin, 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:04.560 s n E D D net make right, Yeah, exactly netting. 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.720 So it was Independence Day week and twenty twenty fourth 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:10.200 of July, right, yeah, America and in the. 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.719 Twenty twenty so we were still kind of locked down. 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:16.560 Yes exactly, but Repticon rolled on, like mask up and 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:19.360 get some snake action. Right. So he was in South 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:23.319 Carolina for Repticon Eliza. But they told you Repticon is 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:25.240 one of the biggest reptile trade shows in the world. 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:26.880 Not as big as the one I went to in Soco, 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.120 which is the biggest one in the world. Yeah, but 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.160 this is a huge one. It's like it would take 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:35.080 up a convention center. It's like Sunday Sunday Sunday Reptic 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:38.320 on at the Jacksonville State fairgrounds, bigger kids, fun for 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.760 the whole family, all the snakes. You can shake a 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.840 stick at reptac on. It's that kind of vibe. Right. 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.840 So you get there and Snedden. So where in South Carolina? 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.480 I don't know what city, I you know, I assume 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:51.680 one of the big ones like Charleston. 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:54.880 I don't know, so I'm guessing probably somewhere around Colombia. 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:57.320 It could be Columbia. Yeah, that probably makes sense anyway. 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:59.560 So he's there pushing product, some of it legal, some 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.560 of it illegal. And in this case the illegal stuff 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:06.120 was Mohabbi Sidewinders, right, which is a rattlesnake. 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:07.800 And it's a motorcycle gang. 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.400 You guys are tough. I've seen you guys like beefing 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:12.959 with the East Bay Dragons and yeah, let me tell 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:15.560 you those are some cool. Like is that all chrome 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:16.360 you have on your screen? 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:20.040 It's completely made of that's amazing part of it. 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:22.000 So this said, he gets to talk him with a 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.800 few interested customers and they take his phone number, and 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:26.160 they want to set up, like, you know, a shady 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:28.680 deal later because they want to be outside the prying 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:32.080 eyes of the snake traders and lizard dealers. At Repticon, right, 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:33.560 just like something out of Star Wars. 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:36.480 Wait, so the Mohabbi sidewinders? Are those illegal? 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:38.800 They're poisonous. It's a rattlesnake. 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:44.760 You can't buy a rattle you can, they won't just sell, you. 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.439 Know, there's a couple of reasons. One there's the Lacy 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.920 Act that says like, oh, this isn't endangered animal, you 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:50.400 can't buy it. And then two it's it's venomous and poisonous. 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.959 They're like, oh, you can't buy this. But most likely right, 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:55.400 they're just like you know South Carolina, they're like, well whatever, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:56.400 you know, like like. 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.520 They will sell a five year old. 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.280 Yeah, exactly. I'll tell you all about South Carolina in 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.400 a second. But one thing I got to tell you 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.720 about the world of Big Snake. It's not big. It's 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.120 a very small world. Like these people all knew each other. 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.160 Like when I was at the trade show. These people 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:15.640 they roll into town like a circus, they carnies, They 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:18.160 put on a show, they sell some snakes and tarantulas, 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:20.080 and they pack up their tents and they move on 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.040 to the next town. Wash your rents, repeat. But they're 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:25.280 always kind of together. So they get this Carnie Vibe, right, 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:27.520 and these shows they drop big crowds, so they're always 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.680 putting on performances, right, But these are people, They're not 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.440 just like a lot of show folks. They're actually good, 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.240 decent people when you get inside inside the show. Right. 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.480 So because I was a journalist interviewing them, they kind 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:40.000 of let me behind the curtain and I got to 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:41.840 see that. Like I said, I really liked them. There 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.440 were a lot of sweethearts. Right. So these sellers, they're 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:48.080 gonna be aware of somebody like this Snedding guy. They're like, oh, 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:49.760 we don't need that. So he's got to get away 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.320 from them, because you know, you can't have that near 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:55.560 all the like bright colorful banners and booths and stalls 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.480 that say Snakes for the Memories and sliper Mania. You 0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:00.880 can't be talking like hey, you want to be little 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.840 snake kids. So he goes right, he's he contacts these 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.520 people and he's like, let me set it up for them, 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:11.560 Like how do I, you know, contact them to set 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:13.160 up these purchases that they want to know? How do 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:15.960 we get our poisonous reptiles? Or you just show up 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:17.920 to my house with a box box of snakes, and 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:20.200 he's like, well, you're in Atlanta. I'm in Las Vegas. 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:22.280 It's a whole deal. He's like, oh, you're gonna do 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:27.800 a truck right, So yes, he realizes, like, you know, 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:31.040 I'll lay out how I'm gonna do it for you. 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:32.560 So he tells him, like, you know what I like 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.600 to do is like I've got all these contacts in Egypt, China, 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:37.160 all over the place, and I get I get my 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:39.680 snakes together and then I'll send them over to a 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:41.920 person and like a crate, and I like to go 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:45.960 out to the in lax they got the delta terminal 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:47.640 for cargo ships and I put it in there and 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:49.640 I say like, oh, it's silverware, and then I go 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.600 that's why it's rattling. And then I send it in 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.760 to South Carolina. Right. So it turns out the person 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:56.440 he was talking to want to do the shady deal 0:15:56.440 --> 0:16:00.680 that he met a repticon undercover Fish and Wildlife informant. 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.840 That is amazing. That's an amazing gig. 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.120 Right, I figured you'd love that. How do you go 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:07.800 be a Fish and Wildlife undercrever agent? 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:10.320 I've been under too long man, exactly. 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:14.320 He's getting to me. Man, it's all snakes and lizards, man. Monster. 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:16.920 He goes home and he's like a kiddie pool full 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.640 of snakes and lizards. He just settles into it to 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:23.040 watch TV. They slide it all over him. He's been 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:24.240 under too long, man. 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.160 I'm gonna vomit, all right, So snedd and he tells 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.360 the undercover informant he can get his hands on a 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:33.680 red diamond rattlesnake, all right. And the guy's like, oh canny. 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.360 He's like, yeah, but that's illegal because to sell it 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.800 because it's endangered. As I told you, the lazy act, right, 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:40.440 And he's like, if we get caught, it'll be a problem. 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:42.480 So he tells the guy on tape, we get caught 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:44.400 ship in that his prison time for both of us. 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.240 So guy clearly knows what he's doing. He's not like, oh, 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.120 I bumbled into this. I didn't know you can't sell 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:52.040 a rattlesnake anyway. So David Snedden, forty four years old, 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.920 LA based truck driver operates out of Vegas. Told you 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:57.200 he's flying everything out of Lax Airport. He's got a 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:00.000 whole deal. So he tells a fish and wildlife guy, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.240 I can get you twenty five to thirty five reptiles 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:04.320 in a shipment, right, So the guy's like, all right, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.560 let's do it. So it goes down to delta. He 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.400