8 Question Interview with Timb the Enchanter
Hall of Famer Timb the Enchanter was kind enough to chat with us about SURGE and life as a member of The SURGE Lovers' Hall of Fame. He's sometimes controversial and always has something interesting to say!

1. Tell us about your first time...drinking SURGE, that is!
It was Autumn 1996, and I was shopping at Target for my usual Mt. Dew fix, when I noticed a huge towering stack of SURGE 12-packs standing like gates into a castle of the soda aisle. SURGE was still in its testing phase and many regions of the country hadn't gotten to experience its pure green-flavored bliss yet. My first purchase was a single 12-pack from Target on that trip, along with a single 12-pack of Mt. Dew. This was the classic Pepsi challenge setup. I went home and put them next to each other in the fridge. When they were cold, I tried the SURGE first, and I daresay that the SURGE went fast and those Mt. Dew cans stayed in there for a long time.

In fact, I went back for more two days later, and began this legendary addiction. My roommates made wild accusations that I was the reason that SURGE passed the test marketing phase in Florida. At my peak of consumption, I was putting away a 2-liter of SURGE a day.

2. What is it that separates SURGE from every other beverage?
SURGE was green. SURGE went down clean. A really great SURGE has a bit of a creamsickle aftertasste to it. It was better than Mt. Dew by far. It made the greatest slushies. SURGE was great ice cold out of a gas station cooler on a hot Florida day, and it was even great if you drank it warm right out of a 12-pack in a Target parking lot. SURGE had extreme marketing and it embraced a stereotype in popular youth culture of the mid-90s that I continue to enjoy to this day on a very post-modern level. It was a post-grunge masterpiece that I loved to drink while wearing a flannel shirt as I would dream of lumberjacking in the Pacific Northwest while listening to Alice in Chains. Yeah, SURGE was loud, yet you could enjoy it in silence. SURGE was obnoxoiusly fun. SURGE looked like antifreeze. SURGE marked a wonderful time in my life when I could take things like SURGE for granted. My friends loved SURGE, and they still love SURGE, and they would drive across the nation if it meant replenishing their stockpile. SURGE helped me to stay awake through college and get everything done when the odds were piled up against me. I used to steal SURGE from the video store where I worked. We talked about filling up a hottub with SURGE. I had a dream about SURGE in a fountain machine last night, and they had some imaginary orange variety! SURGE was an ice-breaker. SURGE had personality like no other soda has personality. We bonded over SURGE. SURGE was breakfast. Most of all, SURGE is desirable and hard to find, and its much more desirable now that its basically gone, and though it may sound sappy and superficial, SURGE made me happy. I love SURGE.

3. What was the craziest thing you've ever done for a SURGE?
I chugged a can of SURGE at the bottom of a swimming pool on a cold February morning. I almost died, but it was worth it.

4. If there were a store down the street who still sold 12 packs of SURGE, how much money would you be willing to spend?
Whatever I have left, baby. Whatever I have left. I wouldn't need to pay rent. I could build a big green igloo out of 12-packs.

5. Which do you like better: Old SURGE logo or New SURGE logo?
I have always been a staunch advocate of the old SURGE logo. I was upset when they changed the logo because I think the yellow is a bit too much like Mt. Dew. I liked the splattery black and red thing much better even if it was a bit haphazard. SURGE may have had a sloppy, loud logo, but it was a drink for sloppy, loud folk like me.

6. If Doug Daft, the CEO of Coca-Cola, were sitting across from you right now, what would you say to convince him to bring SURGE back to every store in America?
He would have to explain to me what he's doing outside the window of my apartment, first of all.

I would show him the bottomless petition signatures, tell him about savesurge.org, and then I would explain to him the depths of my obsession with the delicious green nectar of the gods.

Then would come the begging and pleading, kneeling in front of him and crying and tugging on his coattails.

And if that didn't work, I'd take a knife and stick it in his throat. If I kill him, do I get to be the CEO? (Editor's note: No, this doesn't work!)

And then if I was the CEO, I would cancel all of Coca-cola's other drinks, including Coke, and SURGE would be the only thing available. What else do you really need?

7. What does becoming a member of the SURGE Lover's Hall of Fame mean to you?
Being even considered for something like a hall of fame for anything marks some sense of accomplishment, but to be considered for the SURGE hall of fame is a great honor and a priviledge. Other people are probably more deserving of this honor than me, and certainly Eric K. has done more for SURGE than anyone else could possibly do, so its a shame that he made this hall of fame. He would get my vote. My love of SURGE is a thing of legend. I remember when my friends made me a SURGE cake in 1997 for my 21st birthday. SURGE marked a wonderful time in my life filled with creativity, expression, and perpetual change, and to be enshrined in respect to something that I love so dearly, truly is no greater honor. Besides that, its something great to put on my resume.

8. Being a Hall of Famer means that you've dedicated yourself to SURGE as few others have. In your opinion, what is the most important thing a SURGE fan can do to help bring back the drink they love?
Keep trying. If we keep banging on their doors, at some point they are going to have to stand up and take notice. Our efforts may be frustrating and sometimes may feel in vain, but unless we try, we'll truly never know. Keep your fingers crossed. We love SURGE, and if its true that love conquers all, then we can paint the future green.

Back to Timb's Hall of Fame Home