“From Antivirus to Antibiotics, McAfee Searches for a Last Cure”

John McAfee might be his own worst enemy—at least when it comes to the press. When I arrived in Belize, Quorumex staffers were still reeling from what they felt was a hit piece of McAfee in Fast Company, which painted McAfee as an arrogant huckster on the run from lawsuits in the United States, including one lawsuit that poses that McAfee’s recklessness caused the death of two men in a flying accident.

McAfee had donated a boat valued at one million dollars to the Belizean Coast Guard. Fast Company implied this was to prevent the Coast Guard from harassing his fledgling water taxi service.

This accusation was one of the first things that McAfee brought up to me after my arrival in Belize. But first: John McAfee’s wig.

By far my most ambitious reporting project, I consider this piece about a new biotech startup in Belize to be fundamentally a failure, as I was unable to prove one way or another the fundamental efficacy of their product. It was a good experience, but ultimately inconsequential.

I did learn one new lesson: working with a great illustrator can make even a mediocre piece shine.