RRFC (Retro Ryan Fan Club) #1 - November 1998



Newsletter #1 - Nov. 1998

The great Mr. T once said, "You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you're from."

So I've decided to start re-sharing all those great memories with you once again.  I'm sure there are many Ryan-Fans out there who never got to see the original RFC Newsletters and 'Zines, so this is a great way to get accquainted with them.

For some of you, it'll be a nice trip down memory lane.

And some of you will just point and say, "I fucking had that thing on my bedroom floor for weeks!"

So let's take a look at the very first Ryan Fan Club Newsletter, as well as the original application form for membership.  (Note: Sadly, I no longer have any original RFC Membership cards in my vault, so if any Ryan-Fans still has one, I'd love to get a scan of it)

The history of how the Fan Club came to be is documented like crazy.  Long story short: it was a joke that backfired, and I had my own fan club.  I really did have piles of application forms back in '98 in my bookbag.  It was hand-written and photocopied by a really cute girl who worked at this place called Copy Express.  Her extreme attractiveness led me to do all of my photocopying there until 2004.

People who joined also received a letter of membership and a card (still sad I don't have one anymore).  From looking at it, you can see, it looks nothing like me.  And not just because I have long hair in that tiny photo.  The style was very crisp, clean, and lacked anything remotely to do with my crazy personality.  That all would change the following month.

As for the first Newsletter, it kicked off the regular articles the fans came to love for years, including The Toxika Files (written by my cat), a Top 10 List, and Yo Ryan! What's Been Goin' On?

Looking back at this first one today has brought me great frigign' joy, and a few laughs too.  If you like, I can continue to upload the others in future installments.

- Ryan