
Bad Trips
How I Went from VICE Reporter to International Drug Smuggler
Slava Pastuk(Author)
Brian Whitney(Co-Author)
Dundurn Group Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 16. June 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-1-4597-4925-2 (ISBN)
Description
The true story of a music editor at VICE who tried to become the coolest reporter the company had ever had - by becoming an international drug smuggler.
In 2019, music reporter Slava P, an editor for VICE media, was sentenced to nine years in prison for recruiting friends into a scheme to smuggle cocaine from the U.S. into Australia. Five of them were already in jail. Immediately, Slava P was internationally infamous. Was he a victim of pressure to commit extreme acts for the sake of a good story? A product of a drug-obsessed work environment? Or a manipulator who pushed vulnerable young people into crime?
Here, Slava P tells his side of the story: what exactly happened and how the precarious, dog-eat-dog atmosphere of a media company can lead the young, the naive, and the ambitious into taking crazy risks.
Bad Trips is a story about drugs, hip-hop, influencers, and glamour, set against the backdrop of one of the world's most influential news and entertainment sites, VICE. Its cast of beautiful young people and semi-famous rappers passes from the seediest apartments to the most elegant of private clubs. Slava P's chronicling of his years at this famous hotbed of excess is a piercing insight into contemporary media culture.
All royalties from the sale of Bad Trips go to co-author Brian Whitney.
In 2019, music reporter Slava P, an editor for VICE media, was sentenced to nine years in prison for recruiting friends into a scheme to smuggle cocaine from the U.S. into Australia. Five of them were already in jail. Immediately, Slava P was internationally infamous. Was he a victim of pressure to commit extreme acts for the sake of a good story? A product of a drug-obsessed work environment? Or a manipulator who pushed vulnerable young people into crime?
Here, Slava P tells his side of the story: what exactly happened and how the precarious, dog-eat-dog atmosphere of a media company can lead the young, the naive, and the ambitious into taking crazy risks.
Bad Trips is a story about drugs, hip-hop, influencers, and glamour, set against the backdrop of one of the world's most influential news and entertainment sites, VICE. Its cast of beautiful young people and semi-famous rappers passes from the seediest apartments to the most elegant of private clubs. Slava P's chronicling of his years at this famous hotbed of excess is a piercing insight into contemporary media culture.
All royalties from the sale of Bad Trips go to co-author Brian Whitney.
Reviews / Votes
Pastuk debuts with a riveting cautionary tale... will strike a nerve with anyone who's ever considered chasing fame for the sake of fame. * Publishers Weekly *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 139 mm
Width: 215 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
298 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4597-4925-2 (9781459749252)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2022
Dundurn Press
€9.49
Available for download
Persons
Slava Pastuk was sent to prison in 2019 for a well-publicized drug smuggling conviction. Before that, he was a culture writer based in Toronto whose work has been featured on VICE, COMPLEX, CollegeHumor, and various other publications. Slava's experience has given him a unique - and, at times, staggering - view of both the media and drug industries.