Cut Paul "@OceanMarketting @OceanStratagy" Christoforo a Break—He Might Just Have Roid Rage [Updated]

It’s been a heck of a day for Paul Christoforo, whose flippant email to a customer asking about his Avenger controller order has made Christoforo a walking memetic punchline. But maybe we should cut Christoforo a break for his overly aggressive emails: he could just be feeling the effects of roid rage.

https://kotaku.com/controller-company-berates-customer-then-penny-arcade-5871235

We asked for official comment from “Brandon Leidel, Director of Marketing” using an email address with which we’ve previously corresponded in the past. ([email protected]).

Hey guys,

Is Ocean Marketing a third-party agency for you guys or in-house?

Thanks!

Joel Johnson

Editorial Director, Kotaku

We got a quick reply from Brandon.

Hey Joel,

3rd party agency we were using to help us through the Holidays . I think things are a bit blown out of proportion on this today.

Brandon Leidel,

Director of Marketing

[email protected]

Strangely, though, the email came from “[email protected]”. A cursory Googling of that email reveals that it’s one of the addresses used by Mr. Christoforo. It’s even listed as a contact address in one of his “@oceanstratagy” tweets from last year. (If it is Mr. Christoforo posting his email address, he also enjoys collecting tropical fish.)

That same Hotmail address is also used as a contact address in a post on Steroid.com, a internet message board for people who used anabolic steroids. Under the alias “TheAngryPimp”, someone who lists “[email protected]” as their contact address asks:

Guys whats up we have been here already im comming off a 16 week Test cycle its been almost 3 weeks my levels are almost back to normal i can post actual labs if you like im taking tamox 20mgs a day but my energy levels are shot im tired no motivation to go to the gym the past week whats the deal what do i need to do slap myself in trhe face and push or get some clen, winny or something else help and advice would be awsome i need my energy levels back and i need to get my ass in the gym asap, please get back to me anyone if you have advice im on msn [email protected] or post your advice here please. Thanks alot

“Tamox” is a common shorthand for Tamoxifen, an estrogen receptor antagonist used as “post-cycle recovery” compound for those coming off of a round of anabolic steroids. While we cannot confirm that “TheAngryPimp” is Mr. Christoforo, looking at other posts by the user yields a wealth of salient advice, including this especially trenchant gem given by “TheAngryPimp” to a forum newbie: “Your a real tough guy huh , relax with the roid rage lol,”.

Note: Earlier today, Christoforo ditched the “@oceanmarketting” Twitter account and started “@oceanstratagy” instead, leaving the former Twitter account available for the taking; it is now being promoted by a new person as a parody account that promotes indie video games.

Update: Brandon Leidel writes:

Hi Joel,

I have been following this story since this morning when someone notified me about what was going on. I did not write that response to you.

Yes, in the past I received email at [email protected] but even then we were an outsourced marketing agency for N-Control. I no longer receive email at that address because we fired N-Control as a client about 8 months ago due to constant shipping delays (which we had to deal with) and their association with Paul Cristoforo who is a street thug masquerading as a self proclaimed “Marketing Professional”. This guy is a complete fool and somehow strong armed his way into working with the company so we walked away. I am not surprised in the slightest bit by what’s going on right now. In fact, we told the owners of the company on many occasions that this would eventually happen.