Robert Jenkins King of X Ecstasy Starck Club Story

Key Information for a Podcast on Robert Jenkins, "The King of X"

Introduction:

• Setting: San Marcos River, Central Texas, an old cotton gin, and a silver Blue Bird bus.
• Introducing Robert Jenkins: 65 years old, former ecstasy manufacturer and distributor. Tattoos of goat-headed devils.

The Starck Club:

• 1980s Dallas: City of ego, money, and glitz. The Starck Club was its "unchecked id."
• Location: Under a highway overpass.
• Patrons: Socialites, suburbanites, and "less-savory party people."
• Music: New wave and techno, pioneering DJs.
• Design: Interiors by Philippe Starck.
• Notable Attendees: Prince, Tom Cruise, Cyndi Lauper, George W. Bush.
• Ecstasy's Role: United everyone in a euphoric experience of dancing, drinking, and connection.
• Jenkins' Role: Partying, supplying pills in bulk, and architect of the debauchery.

Jenkins' Background:

• Grew up in Tarrytown, West Austin.
• Father: Dentist and inventor.
• Mother: Junior League leader, personal shopper for Neiman Marcus.
• Exposure to Counterculture: Via a friend's mother in the Austin music scene and artist Jim Franklin.
• Military School: Sent to Admiral Farragut Academy for getting caught with quaaludes. Introduced to more hardened hustlers.

Partnership with China Bob (Bob Carson):

• Met at Austin College in Sherman.
• Carson's Background: Sold pot since junior high.
• Connection to a Big-Time Dealer: Carson's dad connected them to a marijuana and cocaine dealer in Richardson.
• Scale of Operations: Witnessed a professional drug operation, dealing with large quantities.

Ecstasy Business:

• Legality: MDMA was legal until 1985.
• Early Operations: Jenkins made small batches of ecstasy and sold them at a gay club.
• Rob Widdowson and "Heaven": Creation of an MDMA alternative to bypass the law.
• Industrialization: Fake companies, pill presses, mass production.

Marketing and Sales:

• Starck Club Success: Gaining access and becoming known.
• Marketing Tactics: Food coloring, anise oil to create novelty.
• Hierarchical Structure: Multiple layers of dealers.

Paris Expansion:

• Partnership with Eric Kimmel: A fashion magazine publisher.
• New Market: Paris fashion scene for ecstasy.
• The Bust: Police raid, Kimmel's arrest.

Downfall and Arrest:

• Kevin's Betrayal: Set up by a friend caught in a marijuana operation.
• Conviction: Aiding and abetting the weed farm.
• Sentence: 37 months in prison.

After Prison:

• Relationship with parents: Renewed through weekly visits and cooking.
• New Job: Construction, tilt-wall business.
• Marriage: Married Missy Conner.

Present Day:

• Living by the San Marcos River in a Blue Bird bus.
• Regrets: Attacking Eric Kimmel.
• Relationships: Close to Bob Carson and Missy Conner.
• MDMA Today: Legalization for therapeutic uses in some countries