Skeptical about Chris Roubis

Chris Roubis runs the website http://www.psychics.org.au/. On his site he gives you the truth about 9/11 lets you know how our words and thoughts affect water, gives you the 411 on "twin flames" and soulmates while answering questions like "What race were Adam and Eve?" and giving a thumbs up to Michael Jackson's death. Oh and posting YouTube videos of magic tricks as valid telekinesis and clips of the Psychic detectives TV show as proof of psychic ability. His bio "Chris Roubis who is he?", is my favourite post in the forum (everyone else's too judging by the 170,000+ views). I've put together a short version for you:

I was an unbeatable drag racer who became number 1 on the police hit list but never got caught because I have connections with the Australian federal police. I have a black belt. I became an auto electrician and started painting cars and set up my own business and then I became a body builder and security guard and used to work at adult shows then I started collecting european hand guns. After becoming a graphic designer and setting up my own business my dog died and I became spiritual (by the way, I've always had psychic gifts but had been blocking them out) and now I help animals and young people. I have many "guides" and one of them is a fairy.

I'm not joking. Read it for yourself at his site.

In my opinion the entire post gives the impression that Chris is man who would like to prove something and have a little bit of power. Chris Roubis does indeed have his very own grapic design business called Graphics Australia and has been associated with fast cars - at least in the sense that he was once charged (and later found not guilty) for "...offences relating to the sale and offering for sale of "speed measuring evasion articles".

Chris also has a cute litttle forum about pets that is dedicated to his deceased dog http://www.makia.org.au/ where he posts all sorts of news, links and videos about animals. There is also a PDF of a reading on the site where a medium channels Chris' dog. $50 well spent with the talented psychics over at http://www.hark.net.au/, Chris. I'm suprised it didn't cost more as not only did the medium have to channel a deceased being but she would have also had to learn how to speak dog to understand what your poor pooch was saying. What a wonderful and meaningful existence she must have.

If you want to be confused and amused, check out the reading here. If I was suckered into paying $50 for a reading like that I might be tempted to think "Hey, maybe there's something in this psychic business!"

So why am I writing about Chris Roubis? Surely he is just a multi-talented man who loved his dog and offers free psychic reading to whoever wants one. You can't hold that against him, can you? Of course I can. Chris is offering advice to people who believe he has psychic powers. He does have a "These readings are for entertainment purposes only" disclaimer on his site but it is quite obvious that the majority of people visiting his site aren't just looking for a laugh, they're there to get advice and presumably follow it. And apart from the fact that he is promoting harmful nonsense magic spells and healing crystals . He is encouragning A grade nonsense and *possibly* benefiting from it financially.

An interesting thing about his site is that Chris has a section of his forum for professional psychics to advertise their services. One posted by Chris himself is for readings from a Venita Thomas Martindale (http://www.psychics.org.au/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=93) who has apparently helped the police solve crimes and doctors analyse patients.

When I contacted "Venita Thomas Martindale" about psychic readings and the topic of evidence I was referred to the same YouTube video of the Psychic Detectives program (as well as telling me that "non believers will never believe as far as what their finite minds allow them to"). Apart from the fact that I cannot understand how anything in that video clip constitutes proof of psychic ability, it struck me as strange that this person would offer the same exact "evidence" that Chris had posted on his forum. In fact, the way the email was written was very similar to Chris' style of writing in his forum. Checking the registration of the domain name you'll find that it is registered by http://www.graphicsaustralia.com.au/, Chris' design company.

Does Chris derive his income from psychic sites instead of "trading on stock options making between $500 to $3000 a day" ? The "Jalynn" site offering the psychic readings claims that the proceeds go to "helping people" through a "voucher system", which is a terribly vague statement.