Being a roller derby business owner, I am pretty constantly reading derby articles trying to ingest as much derbyformation as possible, and I love them all. I can't get enough of "this is how you start a team without pulling out your hair" to "your name is stupid and mostly offensive, asswad"...but I am paraphrasing. Anyway, when it came time for this one, I have been stumped for days. So I have decided the only way to get through this is to let some legends of the eighties and yep, even the seventies, say it for me. Starting with kenny;

You've got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em

Know when to walk away and know when to run.

-Kenny Rogers

If you didn't get it yet from the goodbyes, my old team the Redneck Daisies, is now resting in pieces... So long Redneck Daisies, 09-11. As early as January, we could see that the team was a little green in the gills, there was an obvious fever, and a bit of a telling rash, things weren't looking optimistic, but we held it together for one last showdown in our team town of Lumby BC. (WE WON!!! And I apparently broke someone's leg, but that's another blog) We straggled on for a few more months until finally, you guessed it, we officially "broke up" yesterday. And yes, this was definitely as sad in ways as any great eighties Power Ballad...seriously, what was so wrong in the eighties other than all the $$#% neon?

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner." ~Patrick Swayze

I think moving on positively is as necessary as explaining to your kids that while you loved the Dukes of Hazzard as a child, it was because you had no idea how racist they were. In any business, - and a team is a business - you have to decide when you are putting out more than you'll ever get back, and how to gracefully cut your losses. Or of course there is the other, much more enjoyable option; succeed. In our case, we will be donating a good chunk of change to some local charities, having one last awesome hurrah with our team, and those of us who wish to continue have already joined a new team. I embraced being a Candy Stryker, joined the Okanagan Shuswap Roller Derby Association and am now getting my ass royally kicked into shape by my new coach and team. So this is goodbye to my fellow Daisies, good luck to those that moved on, and of course "We're a-moving on up" ~The Jeffersons, to the players that came with me! Watch out for the launch of my first, but by far not last, derby calendar, the amazing derby art show (with said calendar) I will be throwing in December "Bumps, Bruises & Other Bad Behavior" With that, it was awesome to get "the wind beneath my wings" (yep, that's right, I threw in a little Bette Midler, so what?) out there in Lumby, and I am so excited for the new year!!!

"Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers!"

xoxo ~Lucy Dynamite and Bruce Willis.

One moment while i use the words "roller derby shirts" and "roller derby apparel" to get myself into Google. :) Just kidding, but not really. I need to get in there!!

Today I am going to talk about keeping a strong image for your derby team and as well for your derby self. I have been reading some great articles in general about this, and I think as the sport keeps growing so exponentially, that the focus on derby is going to have to make building a brand as important to the atchleticism of building a core team. Many other sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding started at this grassroots level and now look at them. People like Shaun White are a perfect example of professionalism and sport promotion in the world of snowboarding . And in our neighbours to the South on wheels you can see many great examples such as Re-AnimateHer of the Rat City Rollergirls. I went to a bootcamp where she discussed at length the importance of representing yourself and your team, and she does it better than most. Rat City in general is an amazing team to study if you are looking to step up your team identity.

It seems in this time of economic turmoil that one of the few upsides will be the benefit for roller derby. More and more people are turning to the sport as individuals - nothing better when you're poor and angry than hitting someone to the floor- but also to quote a derby fan I met the other day "I can't afford to take my family to see hockey at 100 bucks a ticket, but will I pay 15 to see roller derby? In a heartbeat!" I see more and more families coming to watch the sport, which is amazing. I have had some phenomenal moments in derby since my start a year and a half ago, but none come closer than having two cute little girls ask for my autograph and tell me when they grow up they want to play derby! Encouraging our family fans and being part of the communities we're in is very important to the sport.

Right now is an amazing time for myself being a derby business, but also for all of us as individuals in this sport. It's growing so fast it's hard to keep up with the league count, (which you can do on

http://derbyroster.com/ ) and I am so excited to see where it goes in the next few years. But bearing this in mind, it's not really enough to just put yourselves on facebook and call it a day. As a business myself I am on the internet constantly using free sources of social media and researching new ways to put my name "out there" both with my team, as a player and as a small grassroots derby biz.

Back to the importance of your community. Fundraisers for your team are really necessary in the beginning but as you grow and your bouts become profitable try using fundraisers for parts of your community that are in need. Also think of something that has to do with your sport and community of athletes. Breast Cancer Research, and local youth programs are an ideal target. What disease affects women more than breast cancer? And what is more important than giving our youth a chance to excel in sports, and have better avenues and outlets? Anyway, I rant, I don't always make a ton of sense, and I work around the napping schedule of a two year old. :) I will continue more on marketing and branding, but for now check out our shop page which leads you to our etsy page, for more on our roller derby gear, roller derby apparel, cards, stickers, gifts for your derby wife etc..

Derby Love,

Lucy D

Two posts in one day...if people actually start reading this I will be waaay more pumped!

Hhahaha, anyway. I just wanted to show off some new shtuff DerbyLove is putting out right now...like this lil ditty for example. Proving we are really darn good at roller derby tees,, and roller derby apparel, but it's not all we doooo!!!!

Greetings all...or you, since I only know of one person following my ranting at the moment :)

So thanks for reading you, and you too if you're new. I am starting to sound like Dr.Seuss so I will move on...

Back from my awesome trip where I watched some great games (Faster Pussycats beat the Killjoys from the Koots 176 -110, Tacoma's Hellbound Homewreckers took Public Frenemy 152-87) then off I went for four whole days of no derby action. It was weird, but it was wonderful. I left my nerd-box (computer) at home and barked at sealions and watched my two year old chase tiny crabs on the beach. It was rad!

But the point of the story is I had some rethinking and restructuring time to think about wherre DerbyLove is going...don't tell Sam I thought about derby!!So now I am back and ready to launch some amazing new stuff! check out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/blacksheepclothing

as always for the place to buy all my gear.

Todays roller derby apparel launch is not actually roller derby clothing at all!! It's BRUISEBAGS!!!

After a game in Kelowna where I re-tore my torn knee mys sister gave me a clever little homemade bruisebag and EUREKA!! I found a creative new way to cure the pain of derby while also re-cycling my shirts that don't make the cut!! I wanted them to look badass, so the stitching is always rough, as well as the cuts, but the actual seam stitching that keeps it all together is solid! Let me know what you think of the new idea!

Derby Love

Lucy D