John Wise

Back in the summer of 1999, I kicked off a new company called Alienzoo with the help of Rick Buonincontri as co-founder. Rick is in the back row on the right. In the heady days of internet mayhem where everyone was on their way to being millionaires, we jumped on the hot topic of aliens intending to be a portal to all other-worldly phenomena.

This is Jim Dilettose, who was our resident UFO expert. At this time, Jim was featured in all media, from Art Bell to the Discovery Channel, who were all tapping him for his knowledge and connections in the world of the aliens.

Late nights and heavy partying created not only a dynamic, creative culture but also a highly volatile one. We were supposed to make money and make it fast, but our portal to outer space needed to be fleshed out and then built out; only time wasn’t allowing that as we needed cash flow NOW.

Grant Wiggins, on the left, was our primary creative writer and reporter at large. Caroline Wise in the middle was our chief programmer and Mike Devarennes was our artist responsible for the look and feel of the company.

It was Mike D. who created this incredible poster that 21 years later would still be hanging framed on my wall.

I was the first to leave the company, as the fact of the matter was that Rick raised the capital from friends and family and he needed to protect their investment. It was around this time in mid-August that I think I left while Caroline stuck around a few more months trying to help them smooth out some rough edges while they continued their best to monetize the company. The friction Rick and I encountered would estrange us for more than 15 years before we were able to once again say hello and sympathize with one another about the tumultuous time.