Scott B

Somebody go belly up?

99fever27

It's a sick feeling to see a boat company go thru this. It's more sickening to see fellow boat enthusiasts throw stones while its happening. Like FPB or not, I don't see the good in kicking a company while it's down. Seems petty.

dcb

Most likely, the people that are "giddy" to see a business fail, have never owned a small business. There has been a lot of criticism about how Mr. Fountain ran his business, spent money etc, but I doubt he foresaw the problem with our economy that we presently face. I hate to see any business fail, as everyone loses.

AB From Windsor

I agree.

ZP'd

Mr. Reggie sets himself up for the kicking, he has no-one to blame but himself.
I'd hate to see the line go away but could care less about a man who's ego alone would try to stiff a charity poker run and use it as a marketing tool. Good riddance Reggie!

Roger

ZP"d, you need to learn the facts before posting. RPA was paid per Mark the president.

skaterdave

everyone loses???

do you hang out with NYC's mayor Bloomberg? reggie is a small business owner?? of course there are people laughing about this and "giddy". why ??

first off he's a multi million aire that won't loose a nite's rest while his attorney's are busy screwing all the employees that are scratching their heads and wondering if their going to have a job next week? he's been using investor's and other's money thru accusitions and paper deals to squeeze every possible dime of profit for his businesses with out putting any of his $$$$ at risk. a lesson he learned from wall str and seemed to be a quick student of.

i wonder how many of the businesses that have declared bankruptcy would still be around today if there owners or CEO's had to put up a large share of money for collateral on the loans that were being handed out?

please don't compare reggie to actual small businesses that have been shut down with out declaring bankruptcy by the current economy and because of no fault of there own.

PatriYacht

No matter what one may think of Reggie or of Fountains, it is a sad event for the boating industry, no one is immune and the economy seemed to turn on a dime. I live in Metro Detroit and things went south here in a hurry, no one had a chance to sell their home, RV, boat or really change their fixed monthly expenses. For years we thought our lakefront home was our biggest asset, now it is our biggest liability. No matter how much I dislike someone or a company I could never take glee if they went under, a good many of us are just several paychecks away from that possibility ourselves.
I wish Fountain and Reggie good luck in their efforts to rebound.

Ms PatriYacht

seafordguy

Not to nit-pick but ZP'd said "tried" - which certainly seems the case. No reason to rehash though, there was an entire thread dedicated to it which ultimately was the reason he paid.

ThirdBird

Of course he's a millionaire, so what. He built the company and made money (he had money before FPB). And, he's not "screwing his employees". Employee means just that, employee. Not owner, not business partner, just employee. When a business goes south, so do the employees. If employees don't like that deal, they can have a go at their own business.

As for "using investor's and other's money thru accusitions and paper deals to squeeze every possible dime of profit for his businesses with out putting any of his $$$$ at risk.", well, that's the way it's done man. It's business and it's ruthless. It's capitalism, it's self-preservation, it's how money is made.

It's good to discuss this stuff but, for some reason I can't grasp, a lot of you guys want to throw Reggie and others under the train. You guys remind of punks who kick the tough guy after someone else besides you knocked him down.

I think it's a bad thing for the industry that FPB is in trouble. They make some of the fastest, coolest hardware on water. I'll miss FPB if it goes away for good.