Paychecks bounced, legacy venues shuttered, evictions, missing taxes.

Pride Holdings Group has faced months of questions surrounding payroll, venue closures, eviction proceedings, taxes and other financial issues. Much of the company's public response has come through memos and press releases.

Until now.

Pride Holdings Group COO Joshua Cooper, who previously headed acquisitions, sat down with OutSFL for an exclusive, two-hour, wide-ranging interview. He discussed mistakes made by the company, financial problems and other controversies. Here, we publish his responses to some of the biggest questions surrounding PHG.

Cooper's responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Accepting Blame

Within the first two minutes, Cooper said, “Yeah, there have been mistakes across the board. There is plenty of blame to go around.” He made similar acknowledgments throughout the interview and at one point used the term “shit show” to describe some situations.

Current and former employees interviewed by OutSFL have said they wanted PHG to publicly acknowledge their complaints about the company's handling of its financial problems.

Why has one legacy venue after another shut its doors?

Cooper said the venues' business models were not profitable. According to Cooper, Lucky's in West Palm Beach was losing about $40,000 per month, while the AquaPlex locations were losing approximately $30,000 to $50,000 per month each.

OutSFL has not independently reviewed financial records supporting those figures.

Cooper said the Lucky's acquisition and closure predated his involvement in acquisitions, but that he is still working to resolve issues stemming from it.

“I started actually vetting the acquisitions,” Cooper said, adding that he believed “nobody had been properly looking at these numbers going in.”

Who Owns What?

Former owners have alleged that liquor licenses, tax records, leases and other documents connected with venues acquired by PHG were not properly transferred. Some have questioned whether those issues could leave former owners responsible for obligations incurred after the sales.

Cooper rejected suggestions that PHG intentionally failed to transfer records. He said responsibility for initiating transfers varies depending on the jurisdiction and type of document, but acknowledged PHG should have done more to follow up.

The Warning Signs

In May, OutSFL reported that AquaPlex in Oakland Park had received a utility shut-off notice and faced eviction. At the time, Cooper denied that the venue was closing and characterized reports about its problems as people trying to “stir the pot.” He maintains that his statements accurately reflected what he knew at the time.

“At that point, nothing was being closed,” he said. “At the time, in all honesty, hand to god, there were no plans to close anything.”

Cooper said PHG's cash flow became so tight that, at times, he chose to delay a utility payment in an effort to ensure more employee paychecks cleared.

What Is Going On with PHG Stock?

On the day of the interview, PHG shares were trading at approximately 2 cents. Cooper said he believes negative news coverage contributed to the decline in the company's share price.

Asked about a sharp decline in the company's share price in April, Cooper said he believes longtime shareholders dating to the company's Parliament House era sold their holdings.

Cooper denied that the decline resulted from the company issuing additional shares to finance acquisitions.

“We have plenty of stock.”

Cooper said PHG still plans to pursue an uplisting to the New York Stock Exchange in 2027.

Joshua Cooper. Screenshot via Greater Wilton Manors, YouTube.