Given the landscape of the sport globally exists by concealing the reality of how business administration is handled, as we continue to grow and expand the reach of the sport, gain new athletes and form businesses, it is necessary to ensure that we comply with society and it's requirements in order to facilitate the sport in a fair manner, and neutralize conflicts of interest and areas for cheating as best we can - with education, awareness and integrity.
Hello my name is David Milner and I prefer diplomatic discussions and negotiations to resolve our issues and so conduct investigative journalism in an effort to do my part in combatting bad acting, while contributing to the development of the sport in a way that facilitates self improvement and right action.
Cooperation can only be achieved if we have individuals who are responsible for the development of the sport, our leadership & business owners be willing to look at the reality of the situation and rather than concealment, instead recognize the state the sport is in and work with all parties to clarify and remedy the growing problems that are proliferating as a result of negligence, poor management and/or intentional corruption.
For those who have kept up with the history that I have been compiling over the last year, I've witnessed how a structure of the sport began to develop in 2010, which grew and has continued to expand for the last 16 years, resulting in the development of an international entity that support several seemingly separate competitions that are connected by athletes that have been expanding their reach and encouraging businesses to develop and partner with them informally - the formation of the original Tricking Tour which centered around Team Invincible, had a re-invigoration effort by many of the original founding event organizers and communities in 2018, but instead was being developed to support the careers of Kojos Trick Lab & it's affiliates - athletes who were treated as special guests along these tours were considered "Pro" Trickers within the culture of our sport at the time, and some might still consider entering into this system as a form of milestone in the industry.
There isn't any issue with developing the sport and forming business relationships & sharing resources, working together to make this thing happen, the issue has to do with how it is being done, and if it meets business related rules, regulations and legal requirements that exist in our ever interconnecting countries where Tricking is being developed.
As a Canadian Tricker who is from the world of tricking, I was brought up as a teenager and began to witness these events take place, sometimes closely and other times simply by keeping up with social media. At the time I did not have the required education to comprehend the situation and it's development and so could not red flag the development with concern - at the time I was largely a participant focusing on the physical performance of Tricking and making samplers, and it wasn't until around 2014 that I became a business owner in the form of hosting the Toronto Gathering.
By 2018, the Tricking Tour had begun to establish itself formally into Canada with it's roots dating back to 2010, through a proxy company called Toronto Tricking, owned by the former members of my team which used to be called Team Impulse would partly conceal it. Kojos Trick Lab affiliates began to use developing communities, such as our own, as a place where resources could be extracted using their affiliates and Kojos Trick Lab event organizers, who would resource share and send athletes along these connected communities formed "roads" which became a widespread concept not just here in Canada into the USA, but began to affect Europe - by 2022, with the development brought on by the next generation that built upon this touring system, again, through proxy companies such as "Kerbit Collective Cult", the US Tour had evolved into the US Tricking League, and began to root itself into Japan, and is now reaching South Korea and other parts of Asia, and is still developing to this day - though through immense omission of what is really happening, and who is responsible.
There isn't anything inherently wrong with developing a business, but the primary area that I have been covering is Sports Corruption. This understanding became apparent to me as Tricking Battle Events became a more prominent and an accessible concept in the sport, and that many developing communities began to convert their local gatherings into events that supported competitions. As events grew one sided, and that large friendship groups would prioritize sharing opportunities amongst themselves, rather than having a merit based system, with judging being largely subjective, and advertising not even closely indicating the reality of the situation corruption became far easier to detect with a background and education in seeing how things develop over time. There are teams, there are teams that wish to represent their countries, and there are factions and competitive rivalries, and all this is being commercialized - but that the business is being built on a faulty foundation - the cracks of which are being covered up, and the prospect of even addressing these issues are being met with resistance.
Mismanagement evolves into Organized Crime when the manner in which business is conducted goes from accidental mistakes, that can be rectified, to intentionally concealing, denying, and obstructing those mistakes, and threatening anyone who dare speak out against wrongdoing taking place in the administration of the sport.
This isn't an issue that only takes place in one country, just about every country in the world has laws that are similar in wording that specifically state what is unlawful business conduct - and the manner in which businesses are run in Tricking doesn't even cover the tax implications and international nature of these business transactions that require accurate book keeping and reporting requirements.
As a competitive athlete, I set off to various competitions administered by different organizations over my career and learned more about the world each time. I understand the desire to win, and to want to rule the world as any other boy or girl might who is focused on self improvement and the aspiration to be #1 in some way - but the manner by which we achieve our goals is important.
Our sport already has an infrastructure, and the business relationships and ever expanding control over communities, such as by organizations like Kojos Trick Lab, the apparency of which is largely omitted from contests, already exists and simply needs to be converted into a position of clarity and acceptance of responsibility.
Understanding where we are with the sport and comparing it with where we need to be, international relationships, resource sharing, business activity, athlete allegiances, rules & guidelines, reporting mechanisms, instead of concealing how this activity is done, and who is responsible, and how decisions are made, it should be far more transparent, inclusive and discoverable - this isn't an opinion by the way, this is a societal requirement of which laws have built and been around for centuries specifically to maintain order, keeping people on the right side of society where safety and fair competition can exist, without factions or rebel groups forming that commit acts that are harmful, deceitful and anti-social in nature. We don't all have to like each other, or even accept each other's philosophies, but so long as we share the planet together, there are neutral, non-negotiable requirements that we all have to society. It isn't a sports regulation vulnerability - if you exist in a country as a citizen, you have legal obligations, and to intentionally avoid these could mean that your freedoms in society can be limited or completely stripped away. So long as we share the planet and exist in the same space, there is an expectation of conduct that keeps life pleasant, safe, cooperative and well maintained consistently - this is under threat if athletes do not have proper governance.
Here in Canada, we require business entities that accurately reflect the structure of it's employees and the activities it facilitates, commonly a National Sports Organization is developed to handle National Level Competition & Team Selection to officially represent Canada.
The organizations that are responsible for the development of the sport do exist, even if they haven't established themselves legally, and the structure and hierarchy of these organizations is known as well, even if employees are not officially registered or contracts, or sponsorships are formed. Even if those responsible attempt to delegate responsibility and layer the situation with proxy entities. There isn't any reason not to follow the rules of society, because those rules exist for very logical and fair minded reasons - the only advantage to ignoring them is to develop an unfair advantage, which we all have an obligation to recognize and fix - especially in Sports with contests.
There are already systems in place that allow for people to come forward and simply report their business activities and be granted relief for their past activities if they are willing to work with the authorities and regulators, showing mitigation and a willingness to fix issues rather than contribute to the perpetuation and concealment of them, and individuals who are responsible for guiding and influencing athletes to commit acts that go against the rules of society are likely to face harsher penalties as organized and group coordinated wrong doing is typically a more dangerous threat to society. It's ultimately your decision if you want to do the right thing, or continue to cover up the problems that are evidenced to exist and continue to amplify as time goes on - simply painting a hull will not fix a sinking ship - we have to isolate and patch the holes, and scoop out the water that has built up.
Every business owner has an obligation in society, and coming from an early version of the sport, I have sympathy for how teenagers and young adults building something new could make mistakes and be unaware of the legal realities of the world. However, we are now old enough, educated and experienced and thus, in a position of increased responsibility, and we have to exercise responsibility with good faith.
At this time, I have already received retaliation and attempts to intimidate me into silence. There are criminal actions that have been done against me, by groups that support the concealment and fortify the ownership of events in Canada on behalf of foreign entities whose presence isn't even made visible here officially. Collectivist supporting groups who are continuing to develop the sport in this way. I am not afraid of these individuals, and I am ultra confident in the position I've taken, and I believe it is in all our best interests to consider the reality, to understand the situations we are in, and to do our duty to society and to the truth of the sport, by working towards a positive end goal, which sees the sport legitimately recognized and where athletes and business owners work in concert to ensure safety and integrity, at all levels - beginner contests, athletes with talent being scouted properly and sent through pipelines up towards professional leagues, where athlete conduct and financial management is done durably and with proper etiquette and where forms of cheating are caught, prevented and discouraged. It is genuinely mafia-like in how these groups are affecting legitimate businesses and affecting fair competitive practices in our society.
Also, communication to the individuals who are responsible for facilitating international business activity that supports the underground touring and recruiting systems have relinquished their position here in Canada, and relegated themselves and their activities completely from the public domain. The Kerbit Collective Cult no longer promotes themselves and have been cleaning their image and indications of their past activities, while maintaining their business on a more private and discrete level. At the very least, it's a step in the right direction not to obviously funnel people into a situation that is improperly managed, and using anonymity as a cover while extorting everyone who is part of the group into silence. I cannot control what others do, but I can attempt to mitigate by educating, discouraging and raising awareness about what is happening and why it is wrong.
If this situation continues to build, and if witnesses and participants are continued to be extorted into silence, these are aggravating factors that will only make things worse in the long term, by every country's system of control over it's population and agencies responsible for enforcement, and so I would encourage everyone to swallow their pride, and do the right thing.
The first step is by learning to speak the truth and give proper credit where it's due, but also proper blame and not to shift these things because our ego or image wants to maintain some semblance of perfection, but acceptance of reality for what it is, and instead of fighting it, respecting those results - so long as things are done in good faith.
Athletes require a code of conduct in their day to day routine but also that athletes that represent legitimate organizations cannot be in environments or participate in conduct that would violate those codes of conduct - we need athletes to honour their obligations to being professionals if they want to be paid as professional athletes. It sets a really bad example if athletes who regularly engage and promote unlawful behaviour are being championed by social media, especially if that social media is sponsored by league owners or tricking brands.
Often, such as in the case in Japan, these are legal and contractual requirements, and athletes could lose a lot of opportunities if they breach and violate the terms with civil or criminal penalties as a consequence. Shouldn't we be doing what we can to keep athletes on good behaviour?
- Champion David
Canada
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