The same mind that created SickFreak Inc., Adrian Bourgeois, accounting senior from Raceland, has switched gears from humor to a more serious style with his book “Message to the Masses,” which was officially released on Tuesday.

“Message to the Masses” is a collection of 60 poems that Bourgeois has written over the past year about many different topics.

“The collection ranges in various topics from love, government, success, struggle and everything in between,” Bourgeois said. “I pride myself in being able to give the reader a little bit of everything. In this book, people will find the classic style of poetry along with spoken word, and I even sprinkle in a few haikus every now and then to provide a sense of rhythm.”

Bourgeois has copies of his book available to buy both in person as well as through his Web site, www.wix.com/messagetomasses/info, which also launched on Tuesday. The book costs $12 with an added shipping cost when purchased online.

While he has been writing for a long time, Bourgeois said that he never had the desire to gather his poems and make a book. He started out by posting a few of his works, some with videos, on Facebook and received feedback from his friends.

“I realized I had potential to reach out and make a person’s day a little better with my words,” he said.

Bourgeois also received inspiration from speech instructor Farren Clark, who supported him with positive feedback to his posts on Facebook.

” ‘Message to the Masses’ is truly all Adrian,” Clark said. “He’s got a tone that is creative with confidence, and when you speak to him and read his words, you know that it’s him.”

Clark also said how much of a compliment it was for a student to mention that he was a part of something they have done.

“Adrian’s done a lot, and I can’t wait to see what else he has to offer,” Clark said.

Bourgeois said that Clark was a strong motivating factor in this process, and when he mixed Clark’s words with his own life experiences and real emotion, “Message to the Masses” was the result.

After receiving feedback from his family and friends, Bourgeois began looking for a path that would benefit both himself and potential readers.

“I actually got a call back from AuthorHouse Publishing Company, and I spoke with a consultant on possible ways to handle this book,” he said.

Bourgeois eventually decided to publish “Message to the Masses” through Lulu.com, a web-based self-publishing company.

“Through self-publishing, I have been in total control of the process,” he said. “It has been a lot of work, but it is also very rewarding.”

Last year, Bourgeois was known for being the creator of the Internet crime-fighting squad known as SickFreak Inc. Bourgeois, along with his roommate, Derek Matherne, art senior from Destrehan, would enter Yahoo chat rooms and pose as underage children in an attempt to locate and eventually stop online child-predators.

Since SickFreak Inc. was known best for its comedic antics, it could be a bit surprising to see that Bourgeois has a more serious, poetic side. On the contrary, he has been writing for much longer than he has been catching child-predators—sometimes using his writing talent to make lyrics for the songs on SickFreak Inc.’s Web site.

“I understand that people may question the importance, and they may ask why they should care, but I believe people should understand that I’m doing this for no reason other than showing people that this is passion and dedication,” he said.

While he may be currently occupied with the release of his book, Bourgeois still has love for his online crime-fighting.

“I can’t say that I prefer one over the other because my personality is flexible to where I enjoy making people laugh, but I also enjoy being creative and expressing my feelings,” he said. “Besides, it’s like asking which child I prefer! However, I can say that ‘Message to the Masses’ is by far more meaningful because this is the first time I have stepped out on a limb in such a big way to show people who I am.”

Bourgeois explained that while he does have his books for sale, money is not what is most important to him.

“If someone were holding $12 and wanted to buy my book to only read once, and someone else had no money but wanted to read it because they were going through a tough time in life, I would give the book away before I would sell it,” he said. “In the end, that’s what this is all about.”

Whether it is by catching predators over the Internet or by sharing his soul through words, Bourgeois is set on making the world a better place for everyone.

“I just want people to understand that my purpose is truly to set a positive example in my community,” he said. ” ‘Message to the Masses’ is for anyone who ever dreams of rising above negativity. This is my attempt to give back all the knowledge, love and inspiration I have received over my years.”

Adrian Bourgeois, accounting senior from Raceland, hopes to intrigue the minds of readers with his poems in “Message to the Masses.”