TL;DR This guy decided to help himself to my $2,000.00 custom modded all-terrain electric skateboard.

Here’s what happened:

In early December, I found myself amidst a temporary housing crisis and desperately needed to find a sublet for my two cats and I for the month. I was as given this guy’s contact info and was urged to get ahold of him quickly, because he was offering to sublet his place; to make a long story short, here’s what ended up happening:

I showed up late that night to check out his place and was unable to really get a good look at it, due to the house being filled with smoke (he was skillet frying steaks and had the front door wide open to vent the smoke out). Regardless of that, here’s the agreement that we reached that night: He agreed to immaculately clean his place (before letting me move in and he apologized for the mess and mostly blamed his dog for all of it).

During our conversation the topic of electric skateboarding was brought up and he expressed interest in getting involved in the sport. I then showed him a very special board, which I paid $1,400.00 for originally and then put approximately another $600.00 into upgrading the VESC, BMS, battery pack, waterproofed it & aesthetically, I added micro-led under-lighting, hex-Grip tape, & even bought a fast charger for it, etc. Basically, I made this board into a super unique and powerful off-roading beast. Anyway, so he expressed interest in buying the board from me and due to the nature of my living situation crisis, I offered to sell it to him for $1,500.00 all-in. He said that he would need to take it out and get a feel for riding it before he could give me a definitive answer, so he suggested that he could hold the board as my ‘deposit’ and then at the end of the month when he returned to town, he would either buy it from me for $1,500.00, or return it to me in the same condition it was in when I let him take it with him.

So, come the following day, I brought over my two cats and what was going to be the first load of my stuff. I was shocked when I entered the place for the first time, because it was painfully obvious that not only had he not cleaned whatsoever, but apparently he thought it was perfectly sufficient to simply coat his entire place with Febreeze and call it a day; I immediately had a violent allergic reaction to what I assume to be the ungodly amount of Febreeze and it was very clear at that point that his place was simply not going to work out. After suffering through one sleepless night, I decided that my only option was to book a hotel and message Sam to explain this to him.

So, I wrote Sam a sincere message, explaining why the sublet was not going to work out and I then sent him a cash app payment for three days ($800 divided by 30 times three, so $80.00 is what I sent). I then further told him that if he was still interested in buying the board, that I’d still honor the agreement to let him hold onto it for the whole month of December. He responded positively and said that it was no big deal, as he was on the lease and had to pay the rent regardless. He further explained that it wasn’t really inconveniencing him anyway, because he didn’t have any other parties interested in subletting from him. He thanked me for letting him hold onto the board and that was that.

Sometime around mid-January, I reached out and asked him if we could make arrangements to meet to discuss the board (if he was still interested in buying it), or so that I could get it back from him. He immediately blew up at me and claimed that ‘my cats pissed all over his house and ruined the blinds in his kitchen and that if I want my board back, that I would need to replace the blinds.

*Note- my cats were in his place for 6-hours in total and I was with them the whole time; they are litterbox trained and never once did they piss anywhere but where they were supposed to. As for the blinds being “destroyed”, this is patently false and much more likely that his large hyperactive dog was the culprit of this (and I remember noticing that the blinds were bent, upon moving in). Regardless of that reality, I didn’t want to argue with this guy, so I bought two brand new sets of blinds (way nicer than the garbage that was in his place to begin with) and once I had the blinds I sent him another message telling him this and asking when he would be available to make the swap. He replied by saying “if you don’t shut your fucking mouth I’m gonna drive back to Asheville, just to Beat the shit out of you”. 😐

So, I sent him the following reply:

“As per our agreement, the skateboard was to serve as a temporary security deposit, with the understanding that you would either pay me $1,500.00 to purchase it outright, or that it would be returned upon your return at the end of December. I have upheld my end of the agreement, including compensating you several times beyond the actual time spent at your house (as a gesture of goodwill & despite the fact that you didn’t uphold your end of the agreement, which was for you to completely clean your place before my move-in).

Regarding your concerns about damages, I am committed to resolving this matter fairly. I do not believe that my cats had any role in the damage to your kitchen blinds, however, I went ahead and bought two new replacement blinds regardless. Your claim regarding urine damage caused by my cats is completely false as I was with them the entire time (6-hours) and beyond that, they are litter box trained and have never engaged in that type of behavior. To reiterate, I was with them throughout the duration of my stay at your place and at no point did either of the cats “urinate” anywhere beyond their normal litter box.

Holding my skateboard beyond the agreed terms without proper justification and threatening physical violence is concerning and may compel me to seek legal advice on the matter. I believe this situation can be resolved amicably and without further dispute. I request the return of my skateboard by Monday, February 11th, 2024, after which I will consider further actions to recover my property as advised by legal counsel.

Please understand that this message is sent in a spirit of resolution. I respect your rights and expect mine to be respected in return. Let us resolve this matter in a manner that is fair and legal.

I look forward to your prompt response and the return of my property.”

Anyway, he blocked me immediately after receiving that and I’ve not heard a word from him since. I did contact the police & I’m in the process of pressing charges with the county court. Word on the street is that he sold it for drugs. I’m not really posting this seeking legal advice (or life advice haha), but just in case anyone happens to see this board at a pawn shop or something. I put a lot of time and energy into customizing it and it’s a shame that people like this guy seem to just get away with this.

Last thing to note, our entire sublet agreement was verbal and was never in writing (I know, foolish me)