#theprojectqhandler

Photos by David Massey and TADJunkies

If you’ve never considered making the pilgrimage west to San Francisco for the unofficial woodstock for Triple Aught Design’s Dogpatch Warehouse Sale, you need to reevaluate your priorities in life.

No other company offers a weekend of adventure and true brotherhood (and sisterhood) quite like this. 

How could an annual retail sale be an adventure you ask? “Project Q”-that’s how. I’ll explain later.  

For some of us out-of-towner TADJunkies, the weekend started off with a few meet and greets, Friday, usually at Magnolia, a watering hole near Dogpatch Base. We met up with fellow junkies at the craft brewery, conveniently located within site of TAD HQ, that also has some legendary BBQ. We were graced by some quick visits from TAD Crew who came by to give us some juicy details about the event. They probably needed some fresh air after being in preparation mode for days but it was the food we needed for the hungry anticipation of what fun that was about to transpire.

Handshakes were shared over cold pints, the first of many over the next 48 hours. 

This year, the store was closed Friday in preparation for the madness that would ensue in coming day.

Depending on your social media involvement or your desire to meet like minded individuals, the DWS is a perfect opportunity to meet up with people you’ve shared posts with or PM’d over the year, or simply chat with other people that enjoy the same gear that you do. In retrospect though, I have regrets. I’m disappointed that I didn’t stop to talk to more people and meet more new friends and of course take more pictures.    

The excitement and anxiety about Saturday morning was palpable. And the thrill of the unknown kept everyone as jittery as junkies like the day your stash runs out.

We decided to roll up to take our first place in line at the steel doors at about 0430. Little did we know, that a crew from South San Francisco had the stones to be there by 0230. And to think we were pretty badass getting there at 0415 last year! HAH! Who in their right minds would get up that early to buy some discounted gear at a sale? Triple Aught Design customers, that’s who! 

There was no rain this year, still a little chilly, but dry for the day. Breakfast sandwiches were hot, coffee was flowing, positivity and conversations were plentiful.

Jay Kap arrives with coffee in hand. 

Ben Thompson: No coffee face. 

We kill time...

By 0600 the line had turned the corner onto 3rd Street with the TADJunkies Admins and TADJunkies Crew near the head of the beast. The street was closed off this year so that all of the small businesses could participate in the sidewalk sales. There was a cool community vibe going on in Dogpatch.

About 30 minutes before the doors opened, TAD Crew came out to welcome everyone to the sale and to thank us for getting up early, coming far and wide, to attend. 

They had some special gifts for those at at the very front of the line, including a highly coveted item of much lore. 

The SERE pouch! There were also some other items like Shemaghs given out. 

The TAD Crew pulled out a box of patches that they let everyone get their paws into. 

From the last person in line to the very first, everyone got a handful of patches and a smile from Raquel, marketing guru.

The TAD Team prepares the Dogpatch for what’s about to happen. 

At 0900, the doors rolled open and the chaos ensued. 

Highlights were, some prototype blue Vector SC’s, a handful of other protos, nicely discounted items, and a tailoring station, where TAD’s own tailor extraordinaire-Anne was there making free alterations to people’s purchases while they waited... 

...some of the racks were picked clean in about an hour. 

...a sneak peak at some of the skills and tools at Rob Pingor’s covert entry CORE Class.

Anne’s tailoring station at left. 

There was also a corner showing off some behind the scenes shots from a recent TAD photo shoot.

There were a few pieces on display of prototype like the M65 Jacket...

and the Rogue Jacket to hint at things that would be dropping. (Rogue Jacket has since been released)

I hurried through the checkout line so I could rendezvous with #TeamJoker to get our Project Q underway.

PROJECT Q:  Starting in 2014, the excitement of TAD’s Saturday event didn’t end when you left with bags of prototype loot. After you got through the checkout line, you and your crew had to gear up to take on Project Q. 

Masterminded by a man known as “The Handler”, Project Q is sort of a choose your own adventure-scavenger hunt, but geocached, then sprinkled with mysterious San Francisco trivia, all in fast forward. This year, the rules were pretty much the same, but stakes were higher and the competition was fierce. There were more teams this year, more dead drops and more check points.

#TeamJoker is in play, heading to another location.

Leaving Grace Cathedral heading to another location. 

This year saw the innovation of using social media as a tool to keep track of team points as well as posting clues and it upped the game, as each team was able to see where they stood in the line up on the Tumblr page.

“We loved the idea of Q being interactive in the physical world as well as the digital world...”, said The Handler, ‘[social media] added a sense of urgency and a drive to keep pushing forward in the Q Arena, so it really helped promote the behavior we wanted out of the participants.”

Teams of three were given vague information in an envelope with a starting point.  We had to decipher the clue using any means necessary. You had to think on your toes, gaining intel in any way possible. 

We were sent to locations and once we got there we had to photograph our team card and report back to The Handler via SMS to get the next clue.

2014’s Project Q was themed on the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. 2015 took on a more sinister and shadowy theme of CIA and tradecraft. All the clues had a common thread of the history of espionage or CIA activity in the city of San Francisco. As we cracked clues, a dark past of some of the most clandestine operations unfolded. Some hints were:

-641A: the secret room where the NSA started a data mining program in 2003, screening internet traffic and communications of millions of domestically and abroad, located at the AT&T building on Folsom St.

Another interesting clue was: 

-Operation Midnight Climax: or MK-ULTRA, a Central Intelligence Agency operation that covertly dosed unwitting Americans with LSD in San Francisco and New York City from 1953 to 1964. The clue lead us to 225 Chestnut Street in Telegraph Hill, where the CIA had a safe house.

 “The L-shaped apartment boasted sweeping waterfront views, and was just a short trip up the hill from North Beach's rowdy saloons. Inside, prostitutes paid by the government to lure clients to the apartment served up acid-laced cocktails to unsuspecting johns, while martini-swilling secret agents observed their every move from behind a two-way mirror. Recording devices were installed, some disguised as electrical outlets.”---from SFWeekly (Read More Here)

A side journey lead us to labyrinths all over the city like Eagle Point offering an impressive view of the bay. Who knew SF had so many labyrinths?  Locations for clues were sometimes far between and certainly not linear, The Hyatt Regency in Downtown...

Jack Early Park in Telegraph Hill, even back to Dogpatch, to the building home to TAD HQ where teams tried to shim a padlock, integrating some CORE class skills. 

There were rumors that a member of one team was taken hostage and detained in handcuffs. 

It was a non-stop adventure ending in an epic gear raffle. All teams had to be back by 1700 to debrief and to wrap up the day. 

The teams were awarded points for standings and those points earned you raffle tickets. Some participants were awarded points for outstanding or unusual performances. For instance, one participant got a few extra tickets for running Project Q on foot! 

Almost everyone got something from the raffle after it was over, we realized how hungry we were. Unfortunately Magnolia was booked with another large party...

so in the spirit of “adapt and overcome”, The TAD Team kept the Dogpatch open for us and we ordered pizza and drinks and finished off the night there. 

The TAD team and The Handler arduously planned and executed a great weekend to end a great year and I thank them for that.

In summary, DWS/PJQ was an opportunity to score some gear, get to know some fellow TADJunkies and to meet TAD Crew face to face and see the city…very quickly. In 2014, I came for the gear, but left with new friends, and in 2015, I came for the camaraderie and left with just a few pieces of new gear. 

The phenomenon of the Dogpatch Warehouse Sale and the powerful concept of community that surrounds TAD, can only be experienced authentically in person. 

Personally I am truly grateful to my wife and daughter for letting me go for the weekend, and for the friends I’ve made at TAD, at TAD Junkies and at the event. 

For both the DWS and for Project Q, the most exciting part was the thrill of the hunt because the pursuit is everything.