Silk Road Founder Ross William Ulbricht Is Good at the Internet but Bad at Art

Upon hearing that Ross William Ulbricht, alleged founder of the multibillion-dollar virtual black marketplace Silk Road, had been arrested in the sci-fi section of his local library, there seemed little to do but delve into some hardcore investigative journalism. And by "investigative journalism" we mean typing "Ross Ulbricht + high school Austin" and "MySpace" and "crazy ex-girlfriend" into Google. We were certain we could uncover something that the Feds, Reddit, and the rest of the media had overlooked—a new window into the life of the entrepreneurial libertarian who has dabbled in criminal activity that allegedly includes money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and hiring a hit man.

We found nothing you could call useful, but we did assemble a rough portrait of this troubled young man who is basically Reddit in human form.

For starters, we learned Ulbricht’s sister’s name, profession, and the suburb she lives in. Thanks to Facebook, we found photographs of his parents sipping cocktails in Vietnam. We discovered that in 2008, Ulbricht was selling his car (a 1990 Honda CRX), that his “likes” vary from drumming to strength training to “anything groovy,” and that one of his favorite movies is The Matrix (no surprises there).

He occasionally shared his thoughts on politics somewhat vaguely—in a Facebook note, he wrote, “Are you free? Yes and no. Freedom is a relative and unquantifiable thing. The question is, ‘How can I be freer?’ and the answer to that depends on YOU." His LinkedIn account is also political and full of not-so-subtle allusions to his illegal activities. “I want to use economic theory as a means to abolish the use of coercion and aggression amongst mankind," he wrote on it. "The best way to change a government is to change the minds of the governed, however. To that end, I am creating an economic simulation to give people a first-hand experience of what it would be like to live in a world without the systemic use of force.”

But perhaps the most interesting thing we discovered on our journey to the center of Ross William Ulbricht's internet presence were these drawings that the supposed criminal mastermind created back in 2006 and shared with pals on Facebook.

Take this drawing, for example, which is accompanied by the caption "natural beauty." Notice the masterful technique of avoiding drawing both eyes by covering one with a shaggy pencil fringe. Also, did those tigers eat her (his?) lips?

In this next piece, "Dropping In," we have a surfer who may or may not be wearing a shirt and also might be surrounded by lightning bolts. To explain the overwhelming photorealism that may confuse viewers, Ulbricht explains in a caption that this image was copied from a surfing magazine. He also takes care to note, "In case you were wondering, these sketches are in chronological order of when I sketched them." Everyone was wondering.

Next up we have "Focused Dreaming," or as we like to call it, "Looks Like Someone Just Purchased One of Those Real Fancy Bongs." This one, which has some some Dali-esque features and complex shading, took a year to complete. It's no wonder one commenter suggested Ulbricht "do tattoo art."

This one is ominously called "Consumed by Unconsciousness" and would look pretty epic on the side of a van.

Here we have "Flow" and "Shaman," where Ulbricht continues his exploration into surrealist themes and/or weed and jam bands.

Ulbricht's final offering is one he drew in high school art class, ambiguously titled "Characters." Notice the distinct nipples. After this, he stopped drawing, or at least stopped showing them to his friends in public forums, and now he's the one getting drawn. Should have stuck with the art, buddy.

Follow the authors on Twitter:

@theinternet69
@_laurabannister

For more crime on the internet:

Everything the Silk Road Founder Did to Get Caught

Cyber Criminals Hate Brian Krebs So Much They Send Heroin and Swat Teams to His Home

Jacob Appelbaum Doesn't Have Much Hope for the Future of Privacy