Tell me more about Andreus

[bankside]

Wow, I had no idea that existed. Thank you so much for that. It's like getting a message from a long dead friend.

I'm glad to have brought it your way. It was only today that I read this:The Digital Ripples of an Analogue Life.

 

[ozguy]

Yes it's still there.

http://andreusthanos.blogspot.com/

thanks again to Bankside for the link.

Is that a picture of Andreus on his blog? If it is ... wow! Always wondered what he looked like.

 

[BostonPirate]

I wasn't aware of any mental issues with Mitri, either - and YES I DO remember him posting *before* Andreus died. I remember a post where he was very worried about Andreus and, in his broken English, he said that "I am very scare."

I also remember being very surprised that, even with Mitri's mediocre command of English, he seemed to get his ideas across very effectively (or at least in a way that resonated strongly with me). Perhaps more so than some people with post-graduate degrees in English...usually broken English is an impediment to effectively getting ideas across.

I think I may have exchanged PM's once or twice at most with Andreus, and I saw him as a very strongly opinioned guy who didn't pull punches, and I had plenty of respect for him. BP, you are so fortunate and richer for having had the opportunity to meet him...even more than once. (Were you here with a prior username at the time? I don't remember you being here more than three years, perhaps four - which is still after the fact.)

He was a student of mine, and later a colleague. Eventually we became friends when he told me of his HIV status. We were not best friends but we were close. I came here two years ago because he placed JUB on a log as an online resource for support for HIV poz people who are housebound.

I have mobility issues. We can leave it at that.

I was not here when he was here. Wish I was, though, by the sound of it.

He and his brother also rented an apartment from me but...

Anyway, they both were very good with communication, I think because they grew up in a bilingual home. Mitri had urge and impulse control issues.

 

[BostonPirate]

I'm glad to have brought it your way. It was only today that I read this:The Digital Ripples of an Analogue Life.

It's the strangest thing. I guess if you are active on the internet, you never really die. Never thought of it that way.

Is that a picture of Andreus on his blog? If it is ... wow! Always wondered what he looked like.

No

I would post pictures of him, but he was very particular about that for religious reasons. how about the ones he used as his avatar and signature... I have managed to locate those and he used them himself.

He was fond of being nude, and you only had to see him naked once to never forget it...lol

Wait, I think I can find a few relic pictures here at JUB....

 

[BostonPirate]

Andreus is one of the first members I clashed with when I came to JUB (5 years ago, almost 6 now), and though our relationship never ended in friendship like the other poster whom I threw purses with constantly (Jasun), we did finally come to a mutual understanding. Dreu did not get why I was allowed to be here and was one of the more vocal JUBbers who claimed gay porn was not for women, and I was not welcome here. We came to verbal blows early and often until we finally figured out we were never going to see eye to eye but there was nothing wrong with that. He eventually softened his anti-female stance (when it came to JUB, I do not know how he felt outside of here), and we were able to coexist without the tension after a while. We were never each other's favorite people, and for a long time I was still one of the ones who felt his "death" and Mitri's sudden rise at JUB were a rouse.

When I first saw this thread I cringed, got angry, and thought about reporting it because the name Andreus still polarizes people here, but now that I have been able to read BostonPirate's accounts of Dreu and Mitri I am kind of glad it exists. I always knew there was a beautifully tortured soul under his harsh words, I only wish he would have shown it more before his death and not just in the few weeks leading up to it.

I got the mean part of him aimed at me for being Catholic, a group he held in particular contempt. If he took aim at you and you stood your ground, he respected that. And I feel you. He was very good at figuring out what a person's weakness was and hammering it... To the point of antagonism.

If you stood toe to toe with him and came away with his respect then you are a formidable mind. I noticed IRL that he always went after people that he liked or considered an intellectual challenge the most. Another odd character trait of his.

Thanks, I have been hesitant to share anything about him here, because there is so much that I think is misunderstood about him from the bits and pieces I've read. He made fun of people that he thought were fawning, yet was quick to do anything for attention especially when it came to his looks. I think it had something to do with the fact that he really didn't like himself.

 

[herry1]

My memory of him is joining in with silly threads.

 

[justaguy]

My memory of him is joining in with silly threads.

Good reply. Me too

 

[BostonPirate]

Are you saying you knew Andreus and actually met him in person? In the flesh?

Yes, of course. He was not a shy man. He was not unknown in Boston in the gay community. A few people from Boston may have seen him as well without knowing it. One other thing he liked to hide was that when he would fall on financial hard times, he would dance at gay bars. I think Paradise in Cambridge was his favorite place to separate men from their money. It's a gay strip club near MIT.

 

[bankside]

If you didn't post here until after he had withdrawn, you might not have seen that he wasn't shy here either. I don't recall him mentioning dancing, but certainly prostitution on occasion. Perhaps he used his discretion in sharing that information IRL, but he could be perfectly frank about it here.

 

[BostonPirate]

I came to JUB open, honest and without an ounce of knowledge of how to behave on a public forum. I never hid anything about me, and Dreu knew immediately where to hit me to keep me coming back for more sparring. Thinking about it now, he is the reason I had some of the best, worst and more heartbreaking experiences in my online world, and one of the reasons I became so close to the other female member who I met here - after we teamed up and agreed that wherever we could have each other's backs, we'd be there. That usually meant some silly thread where Dreu was laying in wait for one of us to open our silly mouths. Which we did. Often.

At the time it was hard to go through. Now that I understand the workings of being on a forum, I am able to laugh and point fingers at myself. There are many things I have learned over time, but Dreu's initiation will always be the one I remember most. Was I not the stubborn, argumentative, never tell me I can't, bitch I am, he would have been the reason for a short JUB shelf life. His words only made me want to come at him stronger and harder. Which is odd seeing as I am on about my 5th or 6th reincarnation here. It was always other meaningless nonsense that made me run away.

I am glad that you decided to come talk about him here. Gives some understanding to those of us who experienced a negative side.

Thanks.

I have a feeling that I am busting some bubbles for the people that liked him though.

 

[JayHawk]

What a fitting tribute to a man who impacted so many that he still has the power to reach from the grave and impact others.... that is true immortality....

 

[BostonPirate]

If you didn't post here until after he had withdrawn, you might not have seen that he wasn't shy here either. I don't recall him mentioning dancing, but certainly prostitution on occasion. Perhaps he used his discretion in sharing that information IRL, but he could be perfectly frank about it here.

Interesting. I think perhaps I have as much to learn about him from you guys then.

 

[ozguy]

.... I think I can find a few relic pictures here at JUB....

Oh yes, I remember those ... just don't recall ever seeing a face pic of him on here.

Andreus was a fascinating, opinionated and somewhat enigmatic presence on J U B, but no more so than many other Jubbers who've come and gone over the years. It's interesting that his 'presence' is still felt here several years after his death, while other long-gone Jubbers, equally as fascinating and influential, appear to have faded from our memories altogether. Perhaps the fact that Andreus was the epitome of a Greek God in looks, and died so young and in such sad circumstances has a bit to do with his memory living on.

 

[justaguy]

He faked his own death and carried on posting as his younger brother. But he gave himself away.

Just out of interest. How do you think he gave himself away? Because there were some of us that, at the time, were sceptical, wrongly it seems, about his story, if I remember rightly.
I remember he said he caught HIV from a bullet wound he got in Iraq, I think.

 

[BostonPirate]

What a fitting tribute to a man who impacted so many that he still has the power to reach from the grave and impact others.... that is true immortality....

You are one of the four names he left as contacts. He trusted you immensely. But I already told you that. At first I couldn't figure out why, and it stumped me. Frankly I was jealous. I was one of his closer friends, and I know he would not have recommended me.

Now that I've been around and read your posts a while, it's clear that you and he are alike in more than one or two ways. Only you would know though.

 

[BostonPirate]

Just out of interest. How do you think he gave himself away? Because there were some of us that, at the time, were sceptical, wrongly it seems, about his story, if I remember rightly.

You've only been here as long as me, and he passed away long before that.

Edit: I see you added an edit let me just say this....

His little outing there was not as innocent as he let on. That's all I have to say about that mess.

He wanted to believe that it wasn't because of something that he did, but anyone that is HIV poz will tell you, there's no real way of knowing the method of transmission of HIV.

 

[justaguy]

You've only been here as long as me, and he passed away long before that.

Edit: I see you added an edit let me just say this....

His little outing there was not as innocent as he let on. That's all I have to say about that mess.

He wanted to believe that it wasn't because of something that he did, but anyone that is HIV poz will tell you, there's no real way of knowing the method of transmission of HIV.

I've actually been here since about 2005, and posted with Andreus quite a bit as I was a prolific poster around that time. I self deleted and re-emerged.

 

[Telstra]

what amazes ME is that people say things like this that are not true even when they are easily proven about these guys. Whatever it is that he WAS to this place I was not here for, but it's odd that he still makes people froth at the mouth.

Yes it's still there.

http://andreusthanos.blogspot.com/

thanks again to Bankside for the link.

oh i thought it wasn't it because of .au
So he was an Australian ?

 

[BostonPirate]

Oh yes, I remember those ... just don't recall ever seeing a face pic of him on here.

Andreus was a fascinating, opinionated and somewhat enigmatic presence on J U B, but no more so than many other Jubbers who've come and gone over the years. It's interesting that his 'presence' is still felt here several years after his death, while other long-gone Jubbers, equally as fascinating and influential, appear to have faded from our memories altogether. Perhaps the fact that Andreus was the epitome of a Greek God in looks, and died so young and in such sad circumstances has a bit to do with his memory living on.

I have pictures of his face, but he was not fond of being photographed. It has something to do with the religion thing.

I've actually been here since about 2005, and posted with Andreus quite a bit as I was a prolific poster around that time. I self deleted and re-emerged.

Ahh that would explain it.

 

[BostonPirate]

oh i thought it wasn't it because of .au
So he was an Australian ?

what .au? He was never in that part of the world that I know of.