Before I moved across the big pond, I made sure to do lots of New Yorky things: eat everything bagels, go to the new Whitney, ride on the handlebars of a hipster’s fixie, steal something of no monetary value from a self-promoter, kiss Lit Lounge and the lingering traces of East Village grit goodbye, tie up frayed threads of partners past and prospective. Characters I met at shows, on tinder, transferring subways, through friends and friends-of-friends and the claustrophobic scene that is NYC when you were raised a private school brat and your world in infinitely insular. But by far the New Yorkiest thing I’ve done is dating a fist-pumping hedge fund bro who is now tabloid-trashy infamous.
That’s right, kids. Freshman year of college I dated Martin Shkreli: unrepentant capitalist, quoter of Eminem lyrics, embodiment of douchebaggery. The most reviled man in America during this New-York-minute news cycle, which opportunistic politicians have played to their advantage. Martin and I dated long-distance when I was 18 and he was 19. He was working as a junior analyst at Jim Cramer’s Cramer Berkowitz, around the corner from parents’ Midtown apartment in the tenuous post-911 landscape, and attending Baruch College sporadically. His favorite bands were Thursday and Taking Back Sunday, his favorite word austere. We met on the bus home from a Green Day/Blink-182/Saves The Day show at Jones Beach the summer before I frolicked off to hippie dippy liberal arts college. Charming right? A teenage dream. Except it soon became obvious that Martin was a pathological liar, would pretend to cheat on me and brag about it to raise his value in my eyes, so I’d always feel like I was hanging on by a thread, could be replaced, would vie for his approval and forgiveness. Except it backfired, made me think he was pathetic, not desirable.
When we broke up for good, we kept in touch for a while. Had copious bouts of post-break up sex, as per indulgent college-aged kid protocol. I stayed with him for a day or two on the UES after he moved out of an apartment in the Olympic Tower that he had rented from a high school classmate who didn’t know what to do with his inheritance. And then I moved on, like a reasonably well-adjusted emerging adult human. Except when facebook became a thing, in November 2004, Martin began contacting me. First friendly, then increasingly inappropriate and desperate. Unwanted. In April 2008, a full 5-years after we had broken up, he sent me a facebook message alleging, “95% of the time i get off i’m thinking about you.” “ick,” I responded. And it didn’t end there and then.
Because he couldn’t summon my company with his alternately mopey emo boy and manic money-thirsty persona, he began begging me with obscene amount of cash. We’ll never know whether he was serious or bluffing. Either way a fist-pumping exercise in eighties-style douchebag bravado, an emaciated mouse of a man trying to beef himself up with an impressive portfolio, classically conditioned to the sound of the NYSE’s Closing Bell. Funny considering when we were together he never spent money on me unless his friends were standing by the sidelines waving him on, green with envy or antipathy.
See screenshots of relevant conversations below. The first set I copied and pasted from fb to gmail about a year ago, before this whole biotech big pharma price gouging scandal blew up. The next set I took directly from facebook earlier today to prove our correspondence is authentic. Unfortunately you can’t see his side because facebook has made his account, or at least the messages that were sent from it way back when, inaccessible. The third is a message he sent to me from his work email while running the hedge fund Elea Capital Management, further proof that I did in fact know this guy and have rebuffed his continued advances. Obviously I have redacted my last name from the screenshots; otherwise they are undoctored.
The final point of contact, which sadly I didn’t capture, was his attempt to refriend me on facebook this summer. (Never bothered to delete the request; facebook won’t allow me to access it now that his account is under investigation or whatever). I had unfriended him after he solicited me for prostitution and wouldn’t stop pestering me. Unbeknownst to me, his latest attempt came at around the same time he became CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. A friend in finance speculated the surprise contact could be explained by Martin’s sudden acquisition of cash to spend… on women.
Stay classy, baby.
InDefenseOfGettingOff's Blog 
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you write like a bookish 14-year-old. nevertheless, nice scoop!
you write like an asshole.
youre a bitch for going out with him in the first place
These comments are so classy. Anyway, this is amazing. Thank you for posting it. From television interviews and the obvious, everyone can see he’s a giant douche, but now we know he’s a douche to the bone. If he reaches out again, totally go with it to see what other cringeworthy things he says.
why ask your dad about the recession? what does he do?
That’s one secret I’ll never tell. XOXO, Gossip Girl.
Just kidding. I’m not going to be too specific but let’s just say he has extensive business and legal experience.
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you dated the douche. so you must in some ways, like douche bag type guys.
That’s not a nice thing to say about people who’ve been kind enough to date you.
Nailed it Katie..
So you post a thread about some ahole you turned down and other men call you names. Strange.
Thanks for the support. Yeah, classic victim blaming. My charitable interpretation is Just World Hypothesis: people need to believe the world is a fair place, the consequences are proportional to behavior, so when a decent person gets a shitty deal in a relationship, they rationalize that she must have done something to deserve it, was looking to be mistreated. In any event, I definitely did date Martin for way longer than I should have and put up with way too much. Though probably I could say that about any relationship I’ve been in, his behavior was especially manipulative and malicious. My failing to extricate myself from the situation can be explained by a number of things: 1) Before we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend, he was a super sensitive, shy, timid emo/screamo boy. The longer you are in a relationship, the more justifying you have done and the harder it is to get out. 2) It was long distance so it took longer for me to realize how diabolical he was, to piece together the components of his lies, and I chalked up a lot of the drama to distance. 3) I was very young, relatively inexperienced, and didn’t realize how out of the ordinary his behavior was nor how I was supposed to be treated. The relationship had a semi-positive outcome in that it taught me how to stick up for myself and that I deserved better. 4) When you are a teenager and your sense of self is just emerging, you base your self-concept on your social interactions and how others perceive you. (See: Cooley’s “looking-glass self.”) I let him manipulate me into thinking that I was the problem, that I deserved what I had coming to me. And he had me apologizing so he wasn’t so mad at me.
Or maybe I’m just into douches. Or course, this blog is a compendium of mostly bad experiences. Because no one wants to read lovey dovey shit about guys who treated me well. That doesn’t exactly make for national news.
So what are you a victim of exactly…?
Of men insinuating that women love to play victims.
Yeah, I feel so bad for you. You’re a real victim, this is worse than rape omg…
You’re repulsive, mocking rape.
And the way he treated me is symptomatic of rape culture, men’s entitlement to women’s bodies.
Martin Shkreli clearly is insecure, has very little knowledge of his own self or progress down the path of personhood, but is just as clearly a genius. He is probably the most successful person you know, having been purely self-taught, and has had effected more visible change in the world than half of our generation’s age group combined. He’s made millions of dollars, helped many people with rare diseases, from his own addiction to the pursuit of knowledge and his ability to formulate and follow bold, incisive ideas.
What a douche bag.
I’m assuming this is sarcasm? 1) He is not self-taught. Did his undergrad at Baruch’s business school, got mentored by his superiors at hedge funds, is now a business man. Lies in press releases and on reddit, calling himself a student of biochemistry and pharmacology, saying he helped developed drugs like Al Gore invented the internet. 2) Ummm, I went to NYC private school. Yes, he is the most tabloid-trashy famous person I know personally. But before this scandal broke, not the most successful by a long-shot unless you are measuring success purely in dollar amounts, with no regard for the law or morality.
Thank you for that totally incisive rebuttal, person who is clearly not a sockpuppet!
“Helped” people with rare diseases? How does making meds unaffordable help them?
My conclusion is that being a sociopath is a helpful trait in corporate America. (And probably politics.)
Best comment on here. I fully agree. That guy is also a money hungry greedy lowlife scumbag. A heartless selfish one. The trash is now constantly losing millions at a time. I hope he hits rock fucking bottom and does severe time in a federal prison. Hopefully life.
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I knew this guy was a new strain of douche when he first appeared on the social radar but your post ties a nice, big bow on top. Thanks for contributing to the demise of this chump.
Hahaha “I think the term for that is ‘john’ not ‘slut'”
Solid. You rock, never change.
That’s not exactly much of a good insult. Based on her chat log with Martin, it seems Katie did prostitute herself even if she will never explicitly confirm or deny. Him saying, “you told me a story when you exchanged sex for money.” That is precisely what prostitution is. Then the fact she goes and uses the term John to associate with Martin? If the prostitute is her, then she’s not wrong!
If Katie’s such a catch, why hasn’t she found a nice guy to have children with? She’s only got 3 more years left to conceive a child with her frozen eggs. She must not be a decent woman either! Like attracts like.
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So, would you be able to confirm if the hackers actually did retrieve his phone number and address? I have the info, I am just curious.
As far as I remember, the last time I saw Martin was at a Billy Corgan solo tour show at Webster Hall in 2005. The last time I was at his apartment was well before then, so I have no idea where he currently lives or whether he rents or owns.
Assuming his number is the same as it was last time he texted me, which I believe was more than 5 years ago, I could confirm or deny the number that has been publicly posted. However, I’m not going to. Because even though he is a scumbag, I don’t believe anyone deserves harassment from strangers.
You’re a pathetic cunt for posting that comment. That lowlife scumbag DOES deserve his life to be a living nightmare. He deserves to be harassment from people.
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“I think the term for that is ‘john’ not ‘slut’”
WON
Don’t listen to the assholes, sooner or later everybody dates someones shitty. I’ll resist judging you for the screamo references too- it was a solid article, and I laughed. Thanks for that. I’ll be back.
Seriously though, just listen to James Brown or the Cramps.
Ok, I’ll STFU. Cheers
*finishes rotgut liquor drink, is stupid*
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Noods would be good. Shkreli-Emo-N00ds. The New York Post would probably throw you a few bucks too.
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This is phenomenal. And a great piece of writing… Wrote about this and linked to you in my piece …thanks.. http://paradiseofstorm.com/2015/09/28/is-martin-shkreli-the-face-of-beauty/
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Without any judgement on your situation (and, really..why do people feel the need to judge?)…you are a great writer…candid (very), and refreshingly so. You write objectively even about your own responsibility to things some people would normally find ways to blame another on…you write as though you are younger than what you probably are (30ish?), but your voice is that of today’s youth, too…you capture a lot in your direct, in-your-face-matter-of-factness….it is lovely. I hope you continue to write….I will be a reader of yours no less! ; )
Thanks! Not sure where you are from, but 31 (my age) is quite young by NYC standards.
For me, being 43…yes, 31 “seems” young. Perhaps even more so by NYC standards. Please keep writing. I don’t faithfully read on blogs daily, but I do come back on here and read here and there. I enjoy reading your posts…
Hey, thanks for sharing ur past experience with this terrible guy!
I was wondering if you can explain his current behaviour with deep psychic problems/traumas he experienced during childhood/adolescence?
Do you anything about his relationship with his parents or his time in albania/crotia?Have u ever met his parents?
Has he mentioned anything where he sees himself in the future? Did he have many friends while you were in a relationship with him?
Has he mentioned any problems with his appearance (e.g. he felt too short, not a symmetric nose etc.).
Was he hot-tempered?
Thanks in advance!!
Jim
No, I can’t because I’m trained as a social psychologist and we think explaining current behavior in terms of “deep psychic traumas” is preposterous bullshit. I’m not even sure what that means, nor did I know him during childhood or adolescence.
No, I never met his parents. Only his brother and older sister. Feel sorry for them. His time in Albania/Croatia? As far as I know he’s never set foot in either country.
Yes, he had friends of varying degrees and types. Also hordes of randos who used him for his party house.
That is a ridiculous question about body dysmorphia.
Actually, I think that BDD question would shed some further light on whether he felt the need to compensate. Not sure why it’s so ridiculous.
But the most pressing question is, of course, how is he in the penis department. I vote for ‘barely adequate yet well groomed’ and my friend votes for ‘fun size twix bar’.
The question remains, though – and I think I’m speaking for the entirety of the world here: was he as minimalistically endowed as every single one of his actions seems to imply?
Can we stop bashing dudes with small dicks? Not everyone with a small penis is a power-hungry asshole who feels like he has something to prove. And most people with small penises don’t need to pay women to have sex with them.
You’re absolutely right, but that doesn’t mean the opposite isn’t true. The social pressure surrounding the subject seems to foster some of the most obnoxious Napoleonic complexes in living memory. For the far majority of my friends’ ex-boyfriends, you could pretty much pinpoint which ones were in the bottom percentile endowmentwise – pretty much by assessing how Martin Shkreliesque they were.
There is extreme social pressure for sure, which is unfortunate considering I know many women who would be happy with guys expending more effort on oral and less shoving their dicks inside expectantly. I happen not to be one of them. Even so, my experience with unusually small penises is that the owners are humble and have tried twice as hard to please me. Eager to take instructions, almost grateful. Of course, generalizations from limited experiences. Regardless of my bloated numbers overall, size extremes are still relatively small portions of the bell curve. This guy comes to mind:
https://indefenseofgettingoff.com/2010/06/14/the-guy-with-the-smallest-penis-ever-to-be-seen-part-2-2/
https://indefenseofgettingoff.com/2010/06/14/the-guy-with-the-smallest-penis-ever-to-be-seen-part-4-2/
In any event, I understand where you are coming from and respect your hunch; those who believe they are lacking might be flashy in another arena to compensate. (The younger man’s proverbial mid-life crisis motorcycle, perhaps.) He certainly had all the status-seeking markings and wished to use me as an accessory rather than an independent being with value. I made it clear that I was in no way down to be the finance equivalent of a political wife. Not that he was advanced enough in his career for it to be a legit concern at that point, but those who are social climby are always monitoring, padding, and tinkering with their images. It never sit right how he treated me in public: as an instrument to his advantage.
Love that “Shkreliesque” has now become a thing. If only people could be decent human beings to compensate for perceived lacks…
Hah, those were some great reads, thanks for that. I’ll be sure to bookmark your blog for future reading.
You seem like a DB yourself…
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Your post was an interesting and fun read giving a voyeuristic insight into the privileged assholes we love to hate. But your expanations and rebuttals in the comments blew me away with your intelligence and introspection. I have bookmarked to read more of your blog later. And for those who want to vilify you for your association with him, who amongst us has not dated a manipulative jerk while in college?
Thanks for your support! Writing can be draining for me as the topics I’ve been covering are emotionally challenging or politically delicate. It’s nice to know someone appreciates my work beyond the salacious intrigue. When people arrive here they are often surprised because it’s far from what they envision when they hear “sex blog.” Self-consciously, I’ve hoped their compliments aren’t comparable to when someone calls a Black person “articulate.” As in, “you are pretty smart for a slut” (because, implicitly, we don’t associate sexual women with smarts).
It’s funny how finger pointing gets redirected based on gender roles. A man gets out of a shitty relationship with a woman and people call his ex a crazy, manipulative bitch. A woman gets out of a shitty relationship with a man and instead of it being something about him, it is ascribed to her identity. She must be into the douche type or have done something to deserve mistreatment. Must have provoked him. Sigggh.
Totally, nearly everyone has been in an unfortunate relationship at one point or another. (Some people are categorically awful and some dyads are fundamentally incompatible.) And I think young people are more susceptible to staying in them because they have fewer points of comparison.
I read every response you’ve made Katie, as a first time visitor to the site. I feel for you, as nearly every wide-held ‘sentiment’ here is not quite specific to the bowels of the internet…
I can’t even call it “well-intentioned ignorance” at this point. People want you to mirror their reality, without even looking in the mirror with a dose of conviction or critical thought. Unfortunately, it doesn’t correlate with ‘natural selection’ :p
I appreciate you telling your story without a tad of seeking self-validation and suspect other people will continue to find meaning and inspiration in it.
Stay strong and keep laughing, cause otherwise it’s easy to loose sight. Office Space always does it for me.
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta. I’d like to imagine that is the song Martin listens to on repeat as he fantasizes about buying black friends.
😀
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Hi Katie, thanks for sharing. I am a reporter for the NY Post and would love to speak with you on the phone in more detail if you feel up to it. Please contact me via email I would really appreciate it! mlicea@nypost.com
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Katie’s a moron too.
Said the guy who couldn’t even write his own pitiful attempt of staying anonymous correctly… Must be true then,,,
@Katie: Awesome article! I hope the backlash from victim blaming cowards like the moron above me is limited to the few idiotic messages that those imbeciles shat into the comment section.
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Typical female that loves douche bags.
This article reads like it was wrote by some bratty high school student.
This comment reads like it was wrote by someone who didn’t go to school.
Written…
Great read. The karmic smack down this man is receiving today is an early Christmas present.
I call him byungsin
Why would any self respecting person admit to dating this scumbag?
A douchebag could not exist without a dirty cunt to receive its cleansing fluid. A woman does not kiss and tell, regardless of the notoriety of the kissee. You are as disgraceful as that bastard who sold out that bimbo Christine O’Donnell to Gawker a few years back. You should have stuck with the prick. You two were made for each other.
You are willfully ignorant as to how douchebags and vaginas work, because vaginas are self-cleansing and douches introduce “dirty” fluid into them. Nothing healthy about a vag being transformed into a field of flowers.
Yes, women sign NDAs upon dating new men. It’s the modern day pre-nup. Wouldn’t want to be unladylike and kiss-and-tell. Way better to harbor assholes and abusers in a code of secrecy and silence. Men are allowed to do whatever they see fit with dirty cunt rags like me, and it is a woman’s fault for speaking up. That’s the ultimate violation.
Humbled, I will accept my disgrace.
As far as my memory goes, the person who wrote about his one-night-stand with Christine O’Donnell was a champion, exposing her hypocrisy in trying to impose her Christian Conservative values on her constituents when she herself didn’t abide by them.
I don’t believe Martin and I were made for each other because I believe in the laws of random segregation of independent assortment.
Great post about that imbecile of a so called man. I am glad you realized what kind of a loser that he is, not was, and did not give in. Big ups to ya.
If anyone else insults you for your blog, fuck em. They only wish the could be like you.
k you all are batshit. and gf you are a template of so many millions who have lived before you. your following a unoriginal path in life. gl
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Was he an abuser?
yes, emotionally