Schuyler Towne
| M. Schuyler Towne | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 16, 1983 Burlington, Vermont |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Graphic designer |
| Known for | Lockpicking, NDE Magazine |
M. Schuyler Towne (born December 16, 1983) is a competitive lockpicker and pioneer of the American Locksport movement. He was "first introduced to lockpicking at the 2006 Hackers on Planet Earth conference in New York."[1] At that conference Towne became one of the founding board members of The Open Organization Of Lockpickers US chapter and in 2007 he launched Non-Destructive Entry Magazine.[2] Towne has competed in the Dutch Open[3] at LockCon in the Netherlands and both spoken and competed at DEF CON in Las Vegas.
Kickstarter controversy
In 2010 Schuyler Towne created a project called "Open Locksport" on crowd funding website kickstarter.com. The basis for the Kickstarter project was to provide Towne with funding to produce a range of custom lock picks. The project aimed to raise $6000 US and upon its completion on September 25, 2010 had raised $87,407 US with a total of 1,159 backers. In return for their funding, the Kickstarter backers were to receive various rewards. Those with pledges of $35 US or more would receive lock pick sets of various sizes, with two backers pledging the maximum amount of $2,500 US.
A number of supporters have taken over the Kickstarter projects with initial picks out for delivery. The Repair Board, withdrew from offering support September 8, 2015.[4] Still, as of 2018, the majority of orders have still not been filled, with Schuyler's last login date to Kickstarter listed as June 3, 2016.[5]
References
- ↑ "Competitive lockpicking growing in US popularity" Associated Press, July 28, 2010
- ↑ "Non-Destructive Entry Magazine"
- ↑ "Lockbusters" Wired, February 2005
- ↑ "Repair Board Withdraws: A Last Post from Jason Scott" Kickstarter, September 2015
- ↑ "The Lost Lockpick: Inside one Kickstarter success story gone terribly wrong." Slate, October 2012