Written by Don Hamstre of Schiavi di Don 
  
  The Faroe Islands had always been high on my list of visitable countries, but I never found a good excuse to go there. That was until I realised that we actually have a quite legendary OCM Manager who mved there. Legendary for quite a lot of wrong reasons as well, but still very much worth a visit. We are of course talking about Frederik of Eksil FG, also known as Benny from Bennysbadekar. I met him at the harbour, and as none of the houses are locked on the Faroe Islands, we just randomly picked one out and sat down in the living room 
  
  
  Why did you start playing OCM? 
  
  My Windows run PC broke down and I only had my Macbook from work. That meant I couldn't play Pro Cycling Manager and I was desperate for a cycling management fix. I tried a few online versions, but OCM was the only one that really caught my interest. 
  
   So what made OCM catch your interest in particular?  
  
  Easy. The best online community I have encountered. 
  
  Excuse me for fishing for more compliments on our awesome community, but what was it that made this one stand out? ;)  
  
  Cast thy line and thou shall catch: Intelligent and industrious people like Holger of Asymm Project, Ichti, and yourself who add extra elements to the experience. Pen pallish conversations with Lamme Frans and Jon Toler. Funny comments from Jolla, Rob from Seeds or Pha That Luang . Charming oddballs like Cider, Delion or Michieltje and even discussions with small peckered geeks like ABK, Finz or Methode. 
  
   So, I think it is time to assess the elephant in the room now. You have had teams banned for cheating multiple times. What kind of cheating was it and why couldn't you resist?  
  
  First, I probably have to explain my approach to gaming when I sad in front of my Commodore/Amiga/PC. I have always looked for a way to "beat" the game by finding and abusing flaws in game design. That could be standing in the corner when fighting swamp monsters in Moonstone or shooting from the exact same spot every time when playing Sensible Soccer. Later on I used cheat codes in games like Doom (IDCHOPPERS etc.) or Warcraft (pot of gold etc). 
  
  When I first started playing OCM I soon realised that I didn't have the patience for the game and I created a few cheat teams. I was banned pretty quickly after that, but kept on playing with a cheat team that was not exposed (the way I was caught was quite spectacular: I Did a Canute on the front page:http://www.cyclingsimulator.com/?page=Archives&id=279). This new main team got banned pretty quickly - to much despair for Pees:http://www.cyclingsimulator.com/?page=Press%20Release&team=ultrajectum&article=7081. 
  
  The infamous Benny of Bennysbadekar soon became a character for me to provoke the game designers. I believe a good game should be designed

so it is not optional to cheat. In OCM it is really up to you if you want to cheat or not. 
  I convinced myself I was a vigilante who could expose the ridiculous transfer system in OCM. However, I got bored with it and let my self get caught. 
  
  To be totally clear, I regret cheating. Mostly because I ruined the fun for other people. Thats not cool! I also fear that I made a few people sad, and that for that, I am really sorry. 
  
  Thanks for your honest answer, I think a lot of people will appreciate the fact that you admit your mistakes publically. Before leaving this subject, I have one more question going through my mind. Did achieving good results, like you did with your old team, get less exciting, or did you still have the feeling that you got those in a fair way? 
  
  Like many others, I am a balloon addict. The results, the forum replies and the messages all gave a small boost of adrenaline and endorphins - it is only in retrospect that the wins have a sour taste. 
  
  Very recognizable :) Now on to the more fun parts. With your current team, you have once again moved towards the upper end of the rankings. Which are the results that you are most proud of?  
  
  Definitely the hipster classic Vejle-København. More generally speaking I am proud of winning af div 1 race within just 5 seasons - much faster than I did with any cheat team! 
  
  What is also a bit hipster, is your focus on the Faroe Islands. I myself am fascinated by them as well (one of my own cheat teams was from the Faroe :p), but what made you decide to promote Faroe cycling this much?  
  
  It actually has no real life origin, it is purely based on the OCM-universe. I was a big fan of NECFTW and Pétur Snælaugursson was the star. I started producing Faraoan talents with cheat teams and when I started a new and clean team Farao Islands was an obvious choice. I was acually really close to changing nations and one point, but I am really happy that I didn't. 
  
  Apart from the great Snealaugursson, you have created some Faroe legends yourself. Which is your personal favourite self-made Faroe rider?  
  
  Definetly Hafsteinn Sveinlaugursson. Former #1 in the world and still a few good years in him. A great talent who never got a chance is Guðmar Unnsteinnsson. He could have been the best cobbler, but he stranded at another cheat team - the infamous Team Revolutie. He is ranked as sitxth best cobbler ever trained.
  
  And so we've arrived at your current situation with Sveinlaugursson. What are your goals with him over the upcoming seasons?  
  
  I will be dropping the tours, except Nederlandse, and go hard at hitting #1 one more time. I've bought new LOs's and hope that he will be able to do it. Completion is pretty tough atm and especially Robin van Zijp is scary! 
  
   As

this interview is taking some time, this hunt for #1 might already have finished. ;) 
  So do you have any more long term based goals?  
  
  First of all: Ouch! Secondly, I do have a long term plan that I am working on. I've spent quite a few dollars on FR-equipment and I've got a 210+ TTer of the talent feature. So in this case 2 and 2 equals a new TT-branch with a Faraoan TT-superstar as the front figure. 
  
  However, I am also working on a specialized FR-team for the niche races and I am afraid I might be stretching the finances a little too thin. 
  
   Nothing wrong with a bit of ambition reaching beyond financial possibilities ;). 
  Are you also ambitious with the Faroe NT, and how is the future of Faroe OCM looking to you?  
  
  The future of the Faroe NT depends on my talent feature and weather or not a decide to make cheat teams again. 
  
   Haha, let's hope the talent feature will deliver greatness then :p 
  But you will not go and train Faroe riders who are a lesser prospect just to endorse the NT?  
  
  My main focus is the success of my own team. However, I will continue to sell mediocre Faroan talents at hire price (40k). 
  
  Now on to something different. During your time as ocm-manager, a lot has changed in the game, althought change has seem to come more slowly over the recent seasons. Which changes did you like best/least and how do you see the future of ocm? 
  
  The captain has bonded ship and we are all sinking. OCM is a dying game, but if you like the way it, whats the problem!? However, I am quite concerned that Chris is leaving. Him and Ichti have been keeping the ship afloat for a while and I have a hard time seeing who is going to take over. 
  The main problem is that the rules are not implemented through game design - it is up to your won conscience if you want to follow them or not. The OCM-community is quite rare in this case, as we see very few people abusing the large holes in this antiquated game 
  
  Have you got anything that you would like to share with my readers, like a tip, a funny remark, or something else? 
  
  Don't cheat 
  
  Climbing or Sprinting? Climbing (!!) 
  Training or Bennyficial deals? Tough one. My doctor prescribed training. 
  Forum or Chat? Forum 
  Classics or Tours? Tours. More red balloons. 
  Rider Rank or Team Rank? Team rank 
  Petur or Hafsteinn (or even Ottar)? Petur. Got the most out of his talent. 
  Real Life or No Life? Thug life 
  
  Would you too like to be interviewed by The Don? Tough luck! Because The Don picks his victims out by his own choice and there’s nothing you could do about that!