Where’s Hendrik?

[Stephen M]

Maybe be went out for milk and got lost.

[b willi jones]

i think he is too busy out climbing pebbles with all that new gear you guys helped him buy

[Nick Gatel]

I bought my BPL membership before the promise of UL A to Z, so I have no complaint.

I didn't donate to the Kickstarter project, so I have no complaint.

There are more pressing issues in the world, such as what pencil to take on the JMT, so I have no complaint.

Time for everyone to take a break and do some serious hiking this summer. When your summer hiking is over, you won't need UL A to Z, and you won't have any complaint — unless you gave Hendrik money. But one may want to consider…

"A fool and his money is soon parted"

– Thomas Tusser

[Ken Thompson]

I supported two projects on Kickstarter. The Backcountry Boiler and ULAZ. Never again.

I'm complaining.

I got an MLife subscription early in their availability. I've complained about that fiasco too.

I've learned a lesson. Fortunately it did not cost me as much as some.

I do feel somewhat foolish.

Hopefully someone can benefit from my errors in judgment.

[dan mchale]

Is Kickstarter kind of like buying a raffle ticket? Is it the new raffle ticket?

[Jerry Adams]

If you give money to ULAZ or whatever, best to just write it off immediately in your head. Maybe something will come of it, maybe not. Hendrick seems like a nice guy, maybe over his head or some life event happened, or maybe he's just a scamster, doesn't really matter.

That's a pretty cheap lesson if you now think you wouldn't do that again.

You're probably just venting and not worrying about it, but if you're anguishing over it, you're just compounding the problem, but you're doing that to yourself, don't blame it on Hendrick.

If it is a scamster, or the guy that ripped off Nick, those people are miserable people because they're always worrying about getting caught. And their world view is that people are always ripping each other off so they're always worried someone will rip them off.

Be happy. Go for a hike. Listen to the wind and the birds…

[Nick Gatel]

"Is Kickstarter kind of like buying a raffle ticket? Is it the new raffle ticket?"

Don't you have a chance in getting something from a raffle ticket?

Dan, you are too old fashioned. You want to make money the old fashioned way — you want to earn it. Shame on you.

[Ken Thompson]

Hey Jerry,
It's just sad that it looks like project is, well I won't say dead, let's say just floating in the water. No propulsion. It was a good idea at the time. I do see now that there is another series produced that is similar in scope. Pay to watch content, pass.

It's a beautiful day here. Birds and all. I'm trapped at the house working on the honey-do list and like to watch some informative or entertaining stuff on the tube while taking a work break, waiting for laundry, etc..

[Jerry Adams]

"I do see now that there is another series produced that is similar in scope. Pay to watch content, pass."

Ahhh – lesson learned : )

[Jerry Adams]

Another business model would be to allow people to see the content, maybe just part of it, then ask for donation

[Martin Rye]

I find the idea that Hendrik is a nice guy unproven. What is proven is that he has attacked people online without reason, called Americans stupid and number 1 in starting wars and stupidity. Nice guys don't do that.

Point is, he asked for $10,000 and used a contact in the USA as he could not use Kickstarter in Finland, as it's not allowed under Finnish law.

He promised a time line to complete, then said his time was being paid and he would deliver.

It's now over 16 months behind, has about the same in missing episodes and no open accountable explanation.

If he had applied in the UK for a grant, the award body would ask for the funds back as he failed in his goal. He also would suffer a loss of reputation.

If he had a contract he would suffer damages and again, loss of reputation. Yet he takes the money, fails to deliver, and some dismiss this after he states he was being paid for his time to film. He budgeted in the time and asked to be paid.

For me that's not acceptable, nor something to dismiss and move on from. He has damaged the trust of the online backpacking community that showed him trust and believed him.

Ryan Jordan, when challenged, I have found, gives an account and answers the questions put to him on twitter – for example – every time. He leads by example and Hendrik should do the same. My respect for Ryan has grown from seeing his openness, grace and willingness to answer the hard questions on his Kickstarter appeal.

Hendrik should do a public update.

Should open up the accounts on what has been spent on filming so far and on what items were needed for it.

Should explain the claim it would be better than YouTube when it is clearly not (out of focus, poor editing and filming)

Should explain why he has failed to get it made in the time frame, with plausible and believable reasons, after he had costed out the making of the A-Z. After all he has been making gear videos before this and editing them etc.

[Martin Rye]

Just a little update for you all here.

Full page is here https://holvi.com/shop/hikinginfinland/product/57f15e0374e386097baf703f107c09dd/ so 31st August is the plan.

[Bob Bankhead]

Interesting. Wonder if we'll ever see it here on BPL. To date, only 8 episodes (A,B,C,E,F,G,H, and K) have been posted to BPL, and as stated earlier, there isn't even a link to the series anymore. Here is the BPL series URL – it is still active but the link no longer displayed on the site.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ULAZ.html

26 minus 8 leaves 16 episodes, and he expects to finish by the end of next month?

Maybe that's only for his subscribers (see Hiking in Finland link in the previous post).

I suspect we at BPL are totally out of luck. Well, at least we can't blame Ryan for this one.

[Ken Thompson]

That makes me wonder…

[Martin Rye]

It's of note that this thread http://www.ultraleicht-trekking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1119&start=10 (in German) mentioned the comments I have left here. I have been informed that Hendrik took exception and some comments have been edited by the forum moderators.

Some people have commented I had no right to question. Well free speech, and a backer allows me They also try to deflect attention away from the points raised here. Classic diversion tactics to avoid scrutiny of the issue in question. So Hendrik again has more questions to answer: like did he try to have a forum post stopped as it linked to this thread here.?

[Ken Thompson]

Keep up the good fight Martin. That total BS. My, how my opinion of Hendrik sure is deteriorating.

More reading…

http://alansloman.blogspot.com/2012/03/hendrik-morkels-theoretical-backpacking.html

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=67789

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=70423&disable_pagination=1

http://hashendrikfinishedatozyet.com/

[Danny Milks]

To be honest, I didn't even know that the series continued after the first video "A". Of course I knew that was the intention, but I never saw it advertised on BPL for subsequent articles so I figured it was another BPL thing that got started but never finished. And that's partially true – only 1/3 of the videos have been published to date. I do find it odd that the videos that have been published aren't easily found, as if BPL doesn't want to advertise the fact that these are long over due.

However, I see the responsibility for this squarely on Hendrik's shoulders, as BPL just helped him finance and publicize his efforts. If Hendrik has taken advantage of Ryan (and by relation, us MLifers) and Kickstarter supporters, Hendrik should be held responsible.

[Nick Gatel]

Well,

Almost 90% of Kickstarter projects do not meet the promised delivery date.

I figured this out the first time I saw the Kickstarter site.

Hendrik is just a little later than most.

Edited to fix typo.

[Martin Rye]

There is being late and then in Hendrik's case come the 31st of July he would have had the money 2 years.

It's beyond a joke, or acceptable.

As a backer of this I apologise to the Members of BPL that you got your hopes up and have had delivered so little. Even worse there is 10 episodes made and you have no access now to them and only had eight. Yet Hendrik says nothing in support of the members here and we can all work out our own conclusions to that.

Meanwhile he is out and about tweeting photos of new expensive kit and telling the world all about it. He ignores the questions here, gets the ones on the German forum censured and on Twitter refused to answer questions.

Says it all.

[Stephen M]

My mother would call him a petulant child with his carry on.

[Martin Rye]

More open asking for funds from a man who fails to deliver on funding commitments:

farhttps://holvi.com/shop/hikinginfinland/

This link is beyond belief as Hendrik comments on another Kickstarter project where again they take the money and then don't deliver.

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/Money-For-Nothing.html?page=all

[spelt with a t]

"PBS director of content development Matt Graham, who signed on with Badenoch for the Web series that never materialized, doesn’t regret his decision. “He has a great personality,” says Graham…Graham harbors no ill will over the outcome, and he continues to scout through Kickstarter. But he plans to vet candidates more closely."

Great personality? Did the man even look at Badenoch's websites? He is a narcissistic evo-psych paleo-nut with a "vision." Charlatan is too kind a word.

Hendrik should give the money back. He has proven himself a fraud and an embarrassment. Or would-be embarrassment, had he any shame. Buy me a coffee? Buy me a lunch? Buy me a plane ticket so I can hike for free? Seriously?

[Ken Thompson]

"My mother would call him a petulant child with his carry on."

My mother would call him a thief and a liar. Then she would spank him with a wooden mixing spoon. Or possibly an open handed slap in the face. This is a serious enough offense on her scale for that. Intermixed with guilt for good measure.

Ah the good ole days.

[Stephen M]

I was not even talking about his project, more so the way behaves online at times.

Yep, the good old wooden spoon :-)

[Ken Thompson]

Well there you have it then. It's settled. He's a douchebag.

[Author]

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