Meet Mr. Camp 666
Camp 666 founder, Joe Korbuszewski
Perhaps you are already a fan, but the gang here at Post Defiance can’t really get enough of the absurdity and satire that Camp 666 provides. If you had not realized that such a site was available for your pleasure, do not hesitate to enjoy. Right now.
“Camp666 is made up of a group of writers and photographers who are awesome. In fact, we have reached a level of awesome that would cause you to cower in fear while in our presence. If you were attempting to speak to the members of Camp666, Gandalf the Grey would slam his staff down and yell, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PASS!’ because we here at Camp666 are friends with Gandalf. He drinks beer with us and that is a fact because you read it here. We like Rainier and Craft Beer. We like Heavy Metal and Hall & Oates. We love our city.
If you’d like to be featured on Camp666- Don’t call us. We’ll call you.
If you’d like to submit work to Camp666- please send us an email with a copy of your degree in Engish/Literature, Journalism, Creative Writing, Communications or Liberal Arts. We care deeply for the quality of our work at Camp666 and so you must have at least a Masters degree to even be considered. Thank you.”
So obviously, their standards are high and regularly enforced. Recently, Camp 666 founder Joe Korbuszewski (self described as Internetter, Writer, Husband, Dad, and Belgian beer snob) shared an enlightening and provoking interview with himself where, among many other serious issues, he addresses the stiff website competition between Post Defiance and Camp 666. And then allowed Post Defiance to share it here with you. Enjoy!
Have you ever wondered who is behind Camp666? Well, today we sit down and talk with one of our founders, Joe Korbuszewski.
Joe Korbuszewski. Instagrammed Sophisticate.
Joe, tell us about your relationship with Tacoma.
Some people look at Tacoma and see a depressed, working class port city with a subpar music scene nestled in a bay with a noxious cloud lingering over it. I see a majestic, shining city perched on a hill, rising out of the bay like a magnificent kingdom… with a subpar music scene and a smelly cloud that tends to hang out over Fife more so than Tacoma. Tacoma is like your sibling; you love to give it shit but if anybody else does you roll up your sleeves and insult their mother. I’ve lived here for the last fourteen years and I love it.
Where are you from originally?
California…The San Joaquin Valley to be exact. It’s a terrible place and I’m much happier here. You know how some people are born in the wrong body? Like a little boy who just knows he’s supposed to be a girl? He wants to wear dresses and play with dolls instead of trucks and baseballs but he has no idea why.
I imagine that would be pretty rough and confusing as a kid.
Oh, it is. I spent my entire childhood utterly confused because I knew I wasn’t a Californian. I possessed this inexplicable thirst for coffee, moss, and all-wheel-drive station wagons. I just felt like an outcast, you know? It wasn’t until I moved here that it all made sense… I hella belong in the Northwest. I was a Northwesterner trapped in a Californian and now I’m out and proud of who I am.
That’s an amazing story.
Oh, I know. I’m convinced that Tacoma is far superior to any other place in our nation, especially Portland. The fact that I haven’t been anywhere else is moot. I can tell you with total confidence that everywhere else is terrible; poverty-ridden and filled with an abundance of assholes. Now some people may read that and call me a xenophobe, but the truth is, I’m not. I honestly just feel that Tacoma is the best city and that other cities aren’t as good. That used to be called patriotism.
Right. So, give us a little insight into Camp666, how did it come to be?
Back in 2012, I had an in-depth conversation with my friend Ryan Lowry over afternoon tea. We felt that Tacoma was seriously lacking in culture at all ends of the spectrum. We made it our mission to create a place that would feature the high culture and fashion of our glorious home while maintaining an unrivaled level of integrity and journalistic excellence. We wanted to bring Tacoma together and form a real sense of community.
And you didn’t feel that anything like that already existed?
Precisely, in fact we decided that it was our responsibility… our duty to inspire growth and create a positive energy in our city.
So, you had never heard of Exit 133, Feed Tacoma, Post Defiance or Camp 6?
That’s irrelevant. I mean, would you ask Versace if he had ever heard of Chanel? Would you ask the guys at 7 Seas if they had ever heard of Budweiser? The fact of the matter is that what we do is of the utmost quality and we have set the bar for excellence. We fact check everything and our writing standards are of the highest caliber. That is why we are better than everyone in the world.
Pictures of cats are of the highest caliber?
Our pictures of cats are, yes. Not a single photograph of a cat will touch our site without my personal approval, and we only put up about fifteen percent of the photos we receive. That’s how high our standards are. I spend many long nights sifting through cat pictures to ensure that only the best are used. You have no idea what it’s like to receive an e-mail from someone wondering why their cat didn’t make the cut and you have to tell them, “I’m sorry to inform you that your cat—your furry companion whom you love and adore—does not meet our standards of feline excellence.” Well I can tell you that it’s heartbreaking.
Have you ever thought about a post featuring dogs?
Don’t be ridiculous, dogs are stupid.
We haven’t heard from Gregory Red in a while…
Yes, well he’s a very busy individual. He’s constantly recording new music and writing poetry. I had coffee with him last week. He’s been in Manitoba for the last three months writing music with Juicy Garibaldi in a rural farmhouse and they’ll be recording soon. I’m trying really hard to get them to play a show here in town, but, you know how artists are.
Your site has a fashion and culture section, what do you really know about fashion?
What do I know? I know that one of us is wearing a Ben Sherman suit while sitting in an Eames chair and one of us looks like he shoplifts his shit from TJ Maxx. That’s what I know. Are those highwaters? You look like an extra from Newsies.
These are in style! They’re from H&M.
Well I don’t like it. Find a way to change yourself for me, and stop wearing scarves in the summer.
