Just curious. Did he give himself the name "IronCowboy" or was it bestowed upon him by Finman?

AFAIK, it is self-bestowed and there has been nary a mention of Finman involvement:)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Seems like his team as started something new today it being IC's 25th Day. I assume that they will get to his nickname

From his FB page:

"Today you will be graced with 25 fun facts about James. First off: James sat on a Ferris wheel for 10 days straight, with only 2 x 10 minute breaks a day, one in the AM and one in PM. He won $10k and came to the states to visit a friend, and he ended up staying forever."

JERRY: Is this the suicide talk or the nickname talk?
GEORGE: The nickname. George. What is that? It's nothing. It's got no snap, no zip. I need a nickname that makes people light up.
JERRY: You mean like...Liza!
GEORGE: But I was thinking...T-bone.
JERRY: But there's no "t" in your name. What about G-bone?
GEORGE: There's no G-bone.
JERRY: There's a g-spot.
GEORGE: That's a myth.
George takes a bite of his sandwich and gets a piece stuck to his chin.
JERRY: T-bone, the ladies are gonna love ya.

But I did hear that his coach was going to drop him mid-season. WTF ???

It's not a "big X," it's two flags (Canada and the U.S.). And it appears that the flagpoles go behind the M-Dot.

How about the "fired by my coach" thread?

Even finman never tried an elliptical on an IM run. If Finman was smart, he would have just worn a set of neoprene jammer shorts and he's have been much faster anyway. At least IC is not claiming that his elliptical was a dead fish (or whatever excuse finman used about his fins).

And here's a better picture of the tattoo that his team posted today:

That f&@king slog of a miasma of a swamp of a thread got 0/10 from me. If surfinglamb had ever posted a vineman RR I'd up it to 0.875/10.

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_____________________________________
What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

chrisinma wrote:

...I support Jamie Oliver. I went to donate and discovered that the link was not a charitable org link, but his website. That is wrong. Maybe it is not your profession, but it is mine. So I know the rules and follow them. I expect others to do the same especially when it comes to kids. So you can be amazed by his accomplishment and endeavor, but I can also be disgusted by the fact he is using that to raise funds that may never make it to the intended organization. That is stealing and a crime. If you can't see that, sorry for you. We all have our causes and hot buttons, I own this one.

I left the other positive affirmation thread after I realized the fundraising was a scam as it stands today. ....

So you accuse him of dishonesty ("stealing money," which is defamation by the way, if untrue), but then say the funds "may" never make it to the intended organization. Sounds like you've tried, convicted and sentenced him with no evidence.

Is it illegal to raise funds via squarespace.com and then pass the funds on to a charity, with their knowledge and consent?

What makes you so convinced that this guy is doing something dishonest in raising funds for the Jamie Oliver Foundation? You have leveled some pretty serious accusations at him publicly. I hope you follow through with your research and are prepared to apologize if you find his fundraising efforts are legitimate. Assuming they are, if I were the IC and cared enough I might even sue you for defamation, but I doubt he cares what you think.

I struggle to understand that people can be banned from this site for unfounded accusations of PED use, but apparently accusing someone of running a very public scam, without evidence, is fine.

I think you are misunderstanding what he is saying. Squarespace isn't the issue. There are serious tax implications if you "bring in money" and then pass onto a 501c3 foundation. ONLY if he has a foundation set up and all of those donations are being made to a 501c3 foundation can he "pass through". It's all very transparent then. The issue is that there doesn't seem to be a 501c3 ( could be wrong) attached to this so it makes it look suspect when someone says " hey donate money to my cause and then I am going to pass it on to another" it makes ZERO sense. This guy is the chief financial officer essentially for a 501c3 so I am fairly certain he understands what the rules are. The other issue is that other than the weird button on the IC page about Jamie Oliver's foundation there is very little mention about it so it makes it suspect as to where the money is going truly or how much. If the money isn't going to a true 501c3 before it's passed on then he can do whatever he wants with the money ( albeit he owes big taxes on it) before passing on the some. It's the way he has his system set up that makes it suspect.

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Kirk Noyes

Downtubes are for Dinosaurs

I don't even care anymore.

I don't care if he makes it
I don't care where the money is going.

I just don't care, and it's sad.

Why, because he put in 6 hours on an elliptical machine instead of a treadmill?

I think the guy's a narcissist who is doing this as a personal accomplishment and using the goodwill of a cause as a means to fund it, which rubs me wrong, but that is separate and independent of the impressiveness of what he is managing. Every waking minute for 2 months the guy is exercising. That's mind-boggling.

There may be registration and reporting requirements, but I do not believe it is required to set up a charitable foundation to raise funds via a crowdfunding type site and then pass those funds on to a 501c3 (he has said publicly 100% of funds will go to the JOFF). He is based in Utah so presumably Utah law will apply to his online fund collections. He also does not say on his donations page that donations are tax deductible. They may still be (if he is passing 100% to the JOFF, a 501c3), but he does not claim they are.

The point is, without any evidence that he has not followed any legal obligations in setting up his donations page, he is being accused of dishonesty.

Some information here:
http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/...ndraising-platforms/

I'm with you. The treadmill is secondary - but you words absolutely capture how I feel about this entire thing.

A few years ago, you biked the entire Tour de France route unsupported. he's doing almost a Tour de France stage per day of biking alone and layering 2.4 miles of swimming and 26.2 miles of walk-shuffle-jog coverage of the marathon distance. It's beyond mind boggling and few on this website can really relate to the day over day effort. You can, a few who have done ultraman/triple decas/RAAM can. The rest of us, really can't even come close to fathoming what this guy is pulling off.

As for the narcissist part, I would submit that the large majority of those doing endurance sport "for a cause" are only padding their narcissism with the excuse of charity. Call it guilt for self indulgence, call it "well if I do something for myself, there has to be someone else who benefits from the selfishness so maybe I can benefit others than myself"....but most are doing it for their own indulgence in the sport first and helping a charity second. I don't see IC being that much different, he's just doing it in an extreme way. There are some who get involved in sport as a means to raise money for a charity, but the bulk were planning to do sport first for themselves and the charity came later. Almost NO ONE I know spends every second talking about their charities and how they will use sport to benefit the charities...they talk about their power files, splits, next race, P3, Firecrest Wheels, training plan, injuries, etc etc long before the charity thing comes up. So I give IC a pass on that, provided that he's actually forwarding the top line revenue to the charities he claims they are going to.

....also I am of the opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing sport for the reason of sport only. If we want to call that narcissistic / selfish, that is cool. When I coach kids in youth sport, I am getting them hooked on sport for exercise, for competition, for self improvement, for emotional and physical enhancement, and that's generally the way sport has always been. There is no place in youth development where the coaches say, "OK kids, the reason you are in this is to make the world a better place and benefit a charity". The "benefit a charity" is largely a 1.5 decade old thing that got injected into endurance sports. The big 4 team sports in North America, FIFA Football, Formula 1, Pro Tennis....all of this is going on exclusively for sport/competition/narcisssism and I'm cool with that. That is fundamentally what sport is about...humans pushing their limits either against competition or their own performance envelope (in the case of Iron Cowboy)....no shame in that. If he benefits a charity on top of the self indulgence then all good provided that he is clear in his message.....does the top line revenue go to the charity or does the bottom line, post Iron Cowboy expenses go to the charity. I think he should just come out and say it is bottom line and its all transparent and acceptable.

I don't see how he gets out of bed in the morning. Or the back of the van. Or wherever he is sleeping. Getting started has got to be the hardest part of his day.

Maybe this is the case, but it's not obvious to me, but I'd like to see the funding for this effort clearly separated from the fundraising for the charity. This is no cheap endeavor he's undertaking and it's not clear whether he is paying for it, sponsors are paying for it, or all the donations are paying for it with anything left over finding it's way to the charity.

First, I agree with what you said above about sport/charity and narcissism. I'm not quite sure why this guy has stirred up so much vitriol, or even distaste, from some STers, but maybe I shouldn't be. It certainly seems like all the personal accounts from those who have met him have been positive.

As for your quote above, it seems you have decided that you know for sure that he is using the fund-raising money coming in via the donations page on his website, to pay his expenses. What is your basis for that belief?

I recall reading elsewhere, though I'm not going to trawl through pages of comments to find it, that he or someone from his team said all the funding for the journey was coming from his sponsors, and 100% of the money being donated would go to the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation. Obviously we don't have evidence either way, and likely never will, but why are you so sure that he's using the donations to fund the journey?

I honed in on wording on his facebook or website (can't remember where), that said, "all proceeds" go to xyz. It specifically said "proceeds" and not "all contributions". I assumed, perhaps incorrectly that proceeds denote post operational expenses which is he weasel wording that most organizations tend to use to confuse people about how altuistic things are.

Now I could be totally wrong. Perhaps all donations go straight to charity and all expenses are covered by sponsors only. Clarity on this would go a long way. In fact, if he said that I would actually donate. I would be cool with giving my money for his expenses while he raised hype for getting kids active. He's doing the work, why not get some reward? Why does the charity have to get 100%????

I agree that more clarity would be ideal, especially on his website. I would also prefer the donations to go directly to the JOFF with an receipt that could be used to claim a tax break (in the US) for donating to a 501c3.

I think if he wants to raise funds for his expenses then he should definitely do that separately and make clear that the funds are being used to spread the message through the 50/50/50 effort, and that those specific funds are not going to the JOFF, so the donor is aware.

But I don't see evidence that he is doing this. If I had to guess, based on his website donations page, and what he has said via social media, I would guess he is paying his way with his own money and money from his sponsors, and that the money coming in via his donations page will all go to JOFF. Yes, I would prefer it were spelled out more clearly, and I would prefer that his donations page was a direct link to giving to JOFF, but I don't see any evidence of what others have accused him of.

It may turn out that the pitchforks are warranted, but it seems a little premature given what we know now.

Hi Kay - so yes, I leveled some heavy accusations and the reply from IC on FB was they are working on it. As a non-profit CFO with 25 years of finance behind me I can assure you that not having him registered to raise funds before hand could cause some serious tax implications for IC. Basically, if he collects funds in HIS name he will get a 1099 and they are taxable. All the "donors" have no proof the donated to a 501c3 in the IRS' eyes. I have been in contact with the JOFF but no one has confirmed the relationship, which you would think could be done very simply since fundraising and development are a key area of funds for any non profit entity. JOFF in the US is small and does not have a staff in place - all communication is through the UK, but regardless, after supporting many campaigns for my organizations, it is critical to avoid an lack of clarity and transparency from where the funds come and go.

One example, a co-worked wanted to collect funds two cyclists who were hit in NOLA a few years back before the race (one was killed). He decided to set this up via our Kimbia account since he was a coach for our kids programs. When I found out I pulled the plug, refunded the donations and clarified to each person why....as a non-profit we can not collect funds and pass through to another person. People could claim a tax deductions from us, tell the IRS that we never acknowledged their gift and I have an audit issue.

The best way to support ICs effort is to donate directly to JOFF so you know 100% of the DONATION goes to a registered 501c3. Saying PROCEEDS means they can take a % or portion that you or I would never know what that is. Even if it just the credit card processing fee, but who knows.

I hope this is helpful. I would certainly and publicly apologize to IC for doubting him, but I honestly think he should have set this up properly BEFORE asking for money. If the JOFF was involved my calls and e-mails would have been immediately replied to with a BIG FAT EMPHATIC, YES SIR, he is raising money for us.

He may be a great guy, super nice, sincere and amazingly charismatic, but most scam artists (like Bernie Maddoff) have a certain power of persuasion.

I hope this helps clarify my intent. Youth running is near and dear to me. Hence, any money that may be diverted from youth fitness and health would be a shame.

I also think that California tax laws would apply, not Utah, but he also might have sales tax issues for selling merchandise.

In the end, what ever happens, happens, but I hope it all works out and I am proven wrong.

"Scam artist" is a serious accusation. It implies an intent to defraud and steal.

Someone earlier made reference to the proverbial parkinglot carwash... those cheerleaders don't know all the fundraising rules and regs, nor do they have a 501c3 designation. They just want some new uniforms for next season.

It strikes me as infinitely more likely that the IC and his gang are operating on a similar level of naivete as the cheerleaders, versus knowingly and intentionally scamming people out of money.

I will say, if I'm wrong, then this has to be the single worst scam in history, from an effort:payoff perspective. From that perspective alone, it fails the smell test rather soundly.

Cheerleaders and other HS groups may have booster clubs that they fall under, but I am sure they are not collecting a ton of cash and they are not saying we are raising money for a non-profit and stating that publicly, but I will admit, I never gave them much attention as I really enjoy washing my own car. Don't know what pompoms cost....

The truth is we may never know how much money is raised, how much is passed along and if the JOFF even cares. I have lost interest at this point, but will still wait to I get my answer from JOFF and then give you all a final readout.

I do find the whole thing a very interesting case study and from a ROI perspective it must be slim margins, I don't know how much he really can raise. I also wonder what he gets from sponsors. Does he get cash or VIK? Does AirBNB give him free room and board.

So, all I want is transparency - that is the key element that is missing. Not that much to ask for when people give money.

A lack of transparency is not sufficient to conclude this whole thing is a scam. That seems to be what's happening, though.

First and foremost, this is a self-indulgent quest to do something crazy and unheard of. The fundraising/awareness angle seems a secondary consideration (despite whatever he may claim), and -- like many other elements of the project -- a poorly conceived and executed one at that.

What doesn't make a lick of sense at all (to me at least) is this notion that IC and a few buddies sat around dreaming up a way to bilk money out of folks, and 50/50/50 is what they came up with. Yet that's what is implied by the term "scam".