The Newest Cryonics Con Artist - EUCRIO's David Styles

There'a a new kid on the cryonics block..."Church of Satan" member, and "Temple of Vampire" member, David Styles. Oh, and he's not just a kid being brainwashed by those organizations; according to his MySpace page, he holds the position of "Warlock" in the Church of Satan, and the grade of "Adept" in the Temple of Vampires, (I'm told that is the highest possible rank). http://www.myspaceprofiles.org/profiles/109225812.html (Scroll down to the bottom of the linked page, to see some interesting photos of Styles.)

Do I really think David Styles is a devil-worshipper, or that he believes he's an immortal vampire? No...I think he's an attention-seeking scam artist, plain and simple.The only "scary" aspect of this news is the fact that he has been able to garner the support of people like Saul Kent, Catherine Baldwin, Ben Best, and other prominent members of cryonics organizations, who attended the launch of Style's European cryonics organization, "EUCRIO." According to a fairly reliable source, Kent and Best knew of Styles' cult-connections (pyramid schemes), prior to attending Style's launch of EUCRIO. (Is it just me, or do the "leaders" of cryonics activities seem to have more of an affinity for con artists and "yes men," than they do for reputable scientists and medical professionals?)

"!Jill" exposes Styles, here: http://www.cryonicsfactsheet.co.uk/ !Jill links Styles to the Cryonics Institute, but neglects to note Styles' obvious connections to the Life Extension Foundation (LEF)-funded company, Suspended Animation of Boynton Beach Florida, or Styles' alleged connections to Alcor and KrioRus, for which he claims to be offering transport services.

It's interesting that one of the photos posted on !Jill's site is of David Styles hanging out with Anton LeVay's son. It's interesting because Edgar Swank, of the American Cryonics Society (ACS), was also a member of the Church of Satan, and brags on his website, about hanging out with Anton LeVay. Best calls Style's new organization "Suspended Animation Inc.-like," and I have to agree with that...it appears to be a total sham. Styles claims to have medical professionals on his standby teams but, just like Suspended Animation, there's no real evidence of who his team members are, much less any evidence of them having medical qualifications. Where did Styles get that shiny new ambulance? Did Saul and Bill/LEF pay for that? Maybe, it was compensation for the publicity he got, for their "Teens and Twenties" meeting, by way of his much-discussed romps in the hot tub.

Do the people running cryonics organizations really want to put forth a scientific effort to cryopreserve someone in a viable condition, or are they just running a scam? They don't appear to be very successful, at running either of those things.

ARE ALCOR, CRYONICS INSTITUTE, KRIORUS AND THE LEF-FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS GOING TO ENDORSE, OR BE ASSOCIATED WITH, THIS PERSON WHO IS OBVIOUSLY JUST ANOTHER GREEDY OPPORTUNIST WITH NO MEDICAL EXPERIENCE, OR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND, AND A LONG HISTORY OF BEING ASSOCIATED WITH WELL-KNOWN CULTS AND SCAMS????? Any organization NOT wanting to be associated with this con man should probably speak out, now.

Is it not logical that the people most likely to promote such a glaringly-obvious scam artist, are other scam artists??

Is anyone in a position of power, in any European country, paying attention to this mess???

EUCRIO, Cryonics UK and Ben Best

Ben Best writes:
"David Styles announce the beginning of Eucrio, an organization intended to give Suspended Animation, Inc -like standby/stabilization services to all the countries in the European Union, plus Norway..."

That should scare the hell out of cryonicists across the pond! Suspended Animation has an established history of sending laymen to attempt to perform, (and miserably botch!) advanced medical procedures.
http://cryomedical.blogspot.com/2010/09/partial-review-of-suspended-animations.html
http://cryomedical.blogspot.com/2010/09/catherine-baldwin-just-another.html

"...David has a lot of energy, intelligence, and determination, so if anyone can make this project work, he is one of the few..."
http://www.depressedmetabolism.com/2010/10/11/october-2010-cryonics-symposium-in-germany/

Ben Best has also been a staunch advocate of Suspended Animation, even when others at Cryonics Institute felt he was grossly misrepresenting SA's capabilities, on CI's website.
Styles claims to have medical professionals, ready to perform cryonics procedures, all across Europe, but I've seen NO evidence of that. He certainly is living up to Ben's description as being "Suspended Animation, Inc-like"!
http://cryomedical.blogspot.com/2010/10/impersonating-physician.html
Cryonics Quackery
http://cryomedical.blogspot.com/2010/09/cryonics-quackery-vs-valid-speculation.html

In response to Styles announcement of EUCRIO, one cryonics enthusiast writes:
"Dear David,
I have always been interested in cryonics, so when I read that a new cryonics service provider had been born in Europe I greeted the news with enthusiasm. Then I went to your website and read this:

EUCRIO charges a membership fee of €35/month, and then an extra fee per service, which each will run into the tens of thousands of euros.

Really? Have you done your maths/market research correctly? Let me help you out:

assuming an average remaining lifespan of 50 years (I am 32), my membership expenses will come up to 21,000 euros PLUS "an extra fee per service, which each will run into the tens of thousands of euros". So, say, 30-40000 euros to have someone chop my head off, wrap it in dry ice, and post it to the US, where the storage facility will charge me an additional 80000 dollars to perfuse and store my head. Oh wait, since I won't have been paying my Alcor membership religiously for the previous 50 years (because I was paying EUCRIO's), that's another 25000 dollars 'last minute' fee. Thus, the total price for my suspension will be: 80000 + 25000 + 55000 USD (=40000 euros) = 160000 USD!
You've gotta be kidding.

1) your service is MUCH MORE expensive than Alcor's, which charges 25000 USD for its international stand by/recovery option. Why would anyone choose you, then? If I am run over by a bus, do you really think that my chances of being resucitated will be much higer after my brain has been at room temperature for, say, 5 hours (time that it will take you to fly to where I am in Europe) than 12 hours (time that it will take Alcor to fly to where I am in Europe)?

2) while Alcor have been seen to do what they promise and haggle corpses with hospitals in a few occasions, where's the guarantee that you won't just pack up and disappear? The fact that you mention having at your disposal doctors, technicians, and specialists of all sorts without identifying anyone able to vouch for you, as well as your complete lack of investment in infrastructures (at least Alcor have spent some money on its facilities and equipment) smacks of SCAM SCAM SCAM.

Seriously, do you think people are idiots? Who is your target audience, rational individuals who see potential in the progress of scientific knowledge or impressionalble cult followers?

And even the latter can probably do simple arithmetics and figure out quickly that you are unbelievably expensive (way more than any other provider on the market) and have no credentials whatsoever. You are doing the cryonics movement a disservice and I sincerely hope that you will be exposed soon.
http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?12,64749,page=50 (Emphasis added.)

Recent cryonics activities do appear more "cult-like" and "scam-like," than ever before. I hate to say this, but Ben Best seems to be somewhere near the center of some very questionable marketing efforts.

Cryonics Isn't Vegas

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens at cryonics meetups eventually gets plastered on the Internet.

The people at Cryonics Factsheet hired a ringer, (from Craigslist, no less!), to attend David Styles' launch of EUCRIO. http://www.cryonicsfactsheet.co.uk/

No mention of any real medical professionals, or scientists, being a part of EUCRIO, in spite of Styles' claim to have such professionals available.

There was mention of a documentary being filmed, so no wonder Kent and Baldwin traveled to the other side of the pond. Kent is said to have asked a question about how much experience Styles' teams had, (the answer was none). I doubt Kent will ever get it through his head that it doesn't matter how much experience one has, if one is doing everything all wrong. If he was trying to get a comparison to the US organizations, he should have asked, "How many femoral cannulations and perfusion procedures have you botched?"

History keeps repeating itself, in cryonics, because no one will admit they don't know what they are doing. Their "surgeons" are most often laymen; and a large portion of their 40 years of "research" has been the construction of equipment for procedures they don't know how to perform! (Never mind that conventional medical equipment for most of the procedures they want to perform is readily available, FDA-approved, and significantly less expensive than the price they pay for endless DIY projects from their "garage engineers.")

Apparently, they are as bad at marketing, as they are at performing medical procedures. The UK mole claims there were about 20 people present for Styles' performance, 75% of them already signed up for cryonics. FORTY years and they are 1,990 strong! I'm being generous...I'm including all Alcors members and Cryonics Institute members, including those already in the Dewars and cryostats, even the CI members who are not funded. If we count only the number of living persons who have arranged payment for cryopreservation, the number is a mere 1,352. That's pretty shabby, for 40 years of effort. (Assuming Alcor is not counting the 98 people in the Dewars in their figure for members. If they are, subtract 98, from 1,352.)

People think I am an "enemy of cryonics." My answer to that is, Alcor is not "cryonics," Suspended Animation is not "cryonics," Critical Care Research is not "cryonics," EUCRIO is not "cryonics," Kent and Faloon are not "cryonics." Cryonics is an idea, while these organizations are a mockery of medical science, engaging in attempts to capitalize on the fear of death, in my opinion.

Two questions:
1. Is it appropriate, (and legal), for Alcor to refer to people in the Dewars as "patients"? Who are the physicians taking care of these "patients"??? http://www.alcor.org/AboutAlcor/membershipstats.html

2. Why is it legal for Styles and his friends to label their vehicle as an "ambulance," in the UK? If it isn't manned by bona fide medical professionals, providing emergency medical services, shouldn't that be some sort of fraud?? http://www.cryonicsfactsheet.co.uk/ (Dear Queen Elizabeth...Who's minding your kingdom, when it comes to QUACKERY???)

(Of interest is that my blog has had an explosion of visits from Europe.)

"EUCRIO" - More Cryonics Quackery???

David Styles wants to be the Euro-Kent. His website is very professional in appearance, I'll give him that. All the more reason for the watchdogs of cryonics quackery in the UK to take urgent and immediate action to bring a halt to this foolishness, ASAP.

"Q5. What professionally trained staff will be provided?
A. EUCRIO employs a wide variety of professionals: including physicians, perfusionists, emergency medical technicians, engineers and scientists, throughout the European Union. EUCRIO has staff members ready to intervene across the European Union and all are ready to respond to clients at all time (24 hours a day, 7 days per week)." http://www.eucrio.eu/en/faq

I, for one, do not believe "EUCRIO" has these medical professionals at their disposal. EUCRIO NEEDS TO PROVIDE PROOF OF THESE PROFESSIONALS, OR REMOVE THAT INFORMATION FROM THEIR SITE, IMMEDIATELY.

I question the intelligence of anyone who thinks these people can transport a brain from the UK to Arizona, or Michigan, in a viable state.
http://cryomedical.blogspot.com/2010/09/cryonics-quackery-vs-valid-speculation.html

Cryonics Quackery vs. Valid Speculation

There's a very well-written definition of QUACKERY, by Stephen Barrett, MD. It suits cryonics, perfectly, especially with this statement: "Most people think of quackery as promoted by charlatans who deliberately exploit their victims. Actually, most promoters are unwitting victims who share misinformation and personal experiences with others." http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quackdef.html

Alcor, and other companies engaging in cryonics activities, seem to think they can get away with anything, as long as they call it "speculation," or insert some sort of disclaimer in the small print of their advertisements and contracts. Let's compare true medical speculation to quackery:

Hypothetical Situation A: A reputable group of scientific researchers determine that Drug X, delivered at 40 degrees C, (normal human body temp is approximately 37C), for a period of 60 minutes, kills HIV in human tissue in vitro, and in animal testing. They speculate this technique will cure HIV, in human patients. With the proper regulatory approvals, they enlist qualified vascular surgeons and perfusionists, to deliver Drug X to willing test subjects. The drug may, or may not, work, in a living person, but the researchers believe it will. That's SPECULATIVE, but genuine, RESEARCH.

Hypothetical Situation B: A group of scientific researchers believes delivering Drug Z to people, at the time of their legal death, while lowering their temperature to that of liquid nitrogen vapor, will preserve the brains of these people in a condition that may be viable in the future. Instead of enlisting qualified vascular surgeons and perfusionists, to perform the procedures, they allow unskilled laymen to deliver their medications and solutions. That's QUACKERY.

Even if the medical scientists in Hypothetical Situation A had come up with a valid treatment, but enlisted layman to deliver their treatment, that would be QUACKERY and, most likely, every single one of their test subjects would have died during the treatment. Vascular cannulations and perfusion are NOT tasks for golf pros, or metal fabricators, or store clerks, or shoe salesmen...they are tasks for skilled professionals. If they are performed incorrectly, the result is DEATH.

Catherine Baldwin, Manager of Suspended Animation, in Boynton Beach, Florida, dared to refer to herself as the "backup surgeon," in the Curtis Henderson case, (CI-95) but judging by her own reports and other witnesses, Ms. Baldwin and her Suspended Animation team members, kept Mr. Henderson at relatively warm temperatures, for many hours, while she sliced away on him, unable to find his femoral vessels, (some of the largest vessels in the human body). That's QUACKERY.

I happen to think cryonics is some combination of Dr. Barrett's definition of "quackery," coupled with a lot of intentional deceit, on the part of a handful of people who are making a lot of money, working for certain cryonics organizations.

Cryonics Event in UK a "No Brainer"

"Richiekgb" recently wrote about an upcoming UK event sponsored by Suspended Animation, (SA), of Boynton Beach, Florida. I've yet to find the original link, and the only conference I see being promoted on SA's home page, is the one they held in May 2007. I hope some sensible UK agency steps in, to prevent their citizens from being taken advantage of by these people, who are not qualified to perform the procedures they are selling, at ridiculously high prices, (SA charges $60,000.00 for their services in the US). These people are not capable of performing simple tasks, much less preserving a brain in a condition good enough to be viable in the future. Add in the transport from the UK to a cryonics storage facility in Arizona, or Michigan, and you've got yourself a "no-brainer," (literally).

In June 2009, Suspended Animation traveled from Boynton Beach, Florida, to Albany, New York, to provide services for Mr. Curtis Henderson, an historical figure, in cryonics. Though SA had been in business for seven years, and had spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $7M (seven million) dollars, preparing to perform their procedures, they couldn't even get their equipment on the plane, without screwing up. From their case report for CI-95 (Curtis Henderson):

"Arrangements for airline cargo movement of the kits were made the evening before deployment. When the team arrived at the air cargo office at 5am, the agent would not accept the kits because they did not have SA’s federal shipper number, account number and had no air bill for the kit, with these numbers included. Attempting to check the kits as luggage, Continental Airlines would not accept two of the Pelican cases containing the ATP and the MHP2 perfusate because they exceeded maximum allowable weight limits. Two team members stayed behind to make shipping arrangements for the remaining kits, while three team members flew on to Albany. Two team members were delayed by 4 hours and critical kits were delayed by 12 hours." (Emphasis added.)
http://suspendedinc.com/cases/Stabilization%20and%20Transport%20Case%20Report%20CI95.pdf

In their report, SA printed a "corrective action" that included making sure none of the kits exceeded the maximum weight for the major airlines. Guess what? I did that task, when I was working at SA, in 2006. The information was distributed to all the staff members, and some of the kits were modified, as a result. What happened between 2006 and 2009? I believe most of SA's staff members are the same, with the exception of Catherine Baldwin, so why did not one of my former co-workers bother to keep that very important information updated? (Rhetorical question...when I was at SA, some staff members were not really doing anything, on an almost-daily basis.)

TO CRYONICISTS IN THE UK: Suspended Animation cannot get their luggage on a plane, even when they have overnight to prepare, much less transport your brain to the US, in a viable condition. SA will no longer name their staff members, or patient care providers, because most of the people known to have performed their procedures have little-to-no medical, or scientific, training. If you believe in the kind of technology that will be needed to repair the damage they will inflict upon your brain, and the normal degradation your brain will undergo, (warm ischemia before they get to you, temperature variances while your brain travels on a commercial airliner to the US, etc.), then you believe in repairs so advanced you don't need SA's services. If you believe future nanotech will be able to repair that degree of damage, leave your life insurance and your estate to your loved ones, and have your head and/or body sealed in some sort of container. Your chances of future nanobots being able to put you back together again, will probably be the same as they will be, if you are transported to the US to be cryogenically preserved, but at a much lower cost. If there was a probability less than zero, that is what I would assign to the odds of a person from the UK being transported to the US, being "resurrected," after receiving services from US cryonics companies, such as Suspended Animation. (Intentionally using a word with religious/cultish connotations.)

While the US cryo-companies are in the UK, they are going to try to sign you up for a life insurance policy, with their companies as the beneficiaries. They may even try to get you to fork over an irrevocable trust, or to remember them in your will. If you are smart, you will take whatever you might have spent on such an insurance policy and spend it on a good health club, nutritional food, (not supplements, which are mostly unproven), and living the one life you can be sure of, to its fullest. Maybe, one of these days, reputable scientists and medical professionals will explore the possibilities of cryonics, but for now, cryonics looks more like a scam, than anything else.

Here is the information Richiekgb/!Jill posted on the AntiCult site:
http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?12,64749,91653

"Cryonics UK European Exposition
with Saul Kent + Catherine Baldwin
Thursday, September 23, 2010 • 12:00pm - 6:00pm, Sheffield • function room at the Sheffield Park Hotel

Cryonics UK exposition / European workshop with some very noteworthy guests from America who wish to meet as many cryonicists (especially Europeans) as possible at this event.

Catherine Baldwin (General Manager, Suspended Animation, Inc.) and Saul Kent (CEO, Suspended Animation, Inc.; Director, Alcor; Co-Founder, Cryonics Society of New York; Co-Founder, Life Extension Foundation; Co-Founder and Director, 21st Century Medicine; Co-Founder and Director, BioMarker Pharmaceuticals; Co-Founder, Timeship Project) will be in attendance, and are looking forward to meeting as many European cryonicists as possible while here.

On this day, we will mostly not be at our usual location, our HQ, but nearby in a hired function room at the Sheffield Park Hotel, a pleasant four star venue around the corner from our HQ. The day will however also include a brief tour of our HQ.

The purpose of the event is severalfold; to allow European cryonicists to meet and ask questions of Saul and Catherine, and also to allow Saul and Catherine to get to know a little better what we do over here and how we do it.

To this end, there will be open discussion time, some short structured presentations (Cryonics UK training, Cryonics in Europe, etc), a tour of our clinic and ambulance, and some social element too.

Attendance is free of charge, as the costs of the event (venue and catering) will be paid by kind sponsorship from Suspended Animation Inc."