Robert Jenkins: Ecstasy King of the Starck Club
Robert Jenkins, a former ecstasy manufacturer, dominated the 80s Dallas Starck Club scene, later facing downfall, prison, and ultimately finding peace by the San Marcos River.
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