This letter is a public apology.
When I started Sneaky Pete Mafia I had a vision and dream to bring pool and billiards together. Social media has made that easy as the Groups were somewhat of a new thing. I started a community and I pushed it to grow as fast and as large as Possible.
I had an idea to bring the limited knowledge that I had at the time and help grow the community. It took off fast and really was a great thing as we had a lot of content coming in mainly from me but we grew. There were times that it grew too fast and we had some bad apples in the orchard. With that I learned about what it means to lead a community.
As time went on I Made connections and wanted to do more and came up with the idea of doing a magazine. So it was born the Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine! We had a lot of articles and a lot of reviews about products. This was a great thing and I took on too much at one time.
This is where things get a little grey in my past. In the beginning there was only a Magazine and no blog. I personally took in some products and wrote reviews on them. I then tried to sell them as this is one of the ways that we make money. The owners of the products found out and were very upset with me that I was taking their products and doing nothing in return. This was not the case” The magazine was simply running a little late and off schedule. It was hard for me to prove that what I was saying was fact.
Over time we developed an active blog and have had great success with it. The blog allows us to do reviews and actively publish our opinions in real time. As our journey continues it has had a bad reputation, that being said I know I am the route of this. I took things without doing “My Part”. In part this is true and I’m deeply sorry for these actions. It is my direct intent to really make good by all those that I have wronged in the past. This is imperative to our growth as a company but also me as a businessman and self profound leader.
Say from there, your efforts to correct any wrongdoings will show in time and hard work. I do not expect support, but I hope to earn it from those whose trust was broken by misunderstanding the course of my history. Moving forward I will do what I start and out say I will do. Products come and go and I also have a staff that helps do these reviews. That’s where I am at. This apology is intended to explain why it is that there is a negative air about me that you may have heard. I simply want to do the best in the industry and try and become a more down to earth company and not only to promote myself but those I work with.
This company is going to be around for a while and was started out of complete personal hardship of myself and my family. The mistakes that I have made in the past have come to me in the time that it was important for me to learn the lesson from it. I have learned from my mistakes and wish to move forward into the future with a clean slate. For my company to be what I set it out to be I feel that I owe you all a heartfelt apology and sincere promise that when I set out or say that I will do something for the magazine that it will get done. We all work like intricate pieces of a huge clock and we all have a part to play.
I know that the public knows my name and in most circles is not spoken in a civil tongue. I just want it to be clear that I am aware of this and make moves on a daily basis that I am accountable for. The mistakes that I have made really do impact my life and more so the business that I do. My actions have affected me and my company’s ability to do business. Looking at it this hurts my family. I can no longer have that.
There was some concern a long time ago about the Name Mafia, and in all honest for changed the name from Sneaky Pete Mafia to SPM Magazine. We will stay true to our roots but at the same time be willing to change and grow into the future as a business with many moving parts. We want to be a place where you are comfortable having your kids and loved ones featured on the cover. SPM means family and as a family we have strong roots in the community.
To those who resist the honest truth, those of us who want cynicism to control your trust in others, I feel for you. I wish that you would know how awesome a world it would be if we supported one another and forgave or educated each other to improve. I have an American dream, and I believe I have not been vicious making mistakes. That’s a learning process I had to go through. I implore forgiveness because I am human and flawed. I am man enough to admit it.
I openly welcome you to get to know me personally. Yes there are a lot of rumors out there and some may be true, but I say get to know me as a person and not just what you hear. I have an open door policy and want to help all those I come in contact with. I can prove to you that I am more then my reputation. That we as a community need to come together and grow for the greater good.
I want to be more than my reputation precedes me to be.
I want to personally thank all of the people that I work with. There is a huge community of writers, editors, Graphic designers, Web Designers, Administrators and me. We all play a part in this company and it takes a full team to make sure that this all works successfully..
The mission has changed from what we started out as. Our mission is to bring you the customers and consumers of this industry a relatable company. We want to bring exposure to those in the industry at all skill levels and levels of passion for the sport. We aspire to bring you real and relatable facts on the merchandise that we come across. We will respect all of the people in the industry as a whole and at all levels. We want to bring the people, players and places together under one umbrella. We will support the youth as we believe that they are the future of our industry and feel that they need just as much exposure as the pros do. Sneaky Pete Mafia wants to be a successful role in the future of billiards. We will keep an open mind to all that we come across not having tunnel vision to what doors may open for us. We are the future and want to lead this industry into the future one small success at a time. This is my past present and future. I have a family that I love very much. This is my legacy and I want to pass it down to my children and theirs to come.
Garret Troop CEO of Sneaky Pete Mafia
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