Hello again! Thanks for being patient while we took the site down to do a little spring cleaning on the backend and make a few changes to improve the site and our mobile apps. We’re back now, better than ever, and excited to tell you all about everything we’ve got planned for the future. But before getting too far ahead of ourselves, we’d like to take a quick moment to highlight a few accomplishments we’ve made over these last three years.
Patreon and Crowd Funding
When we launched Blader Union on May 1st 2017, we set out to offer rollerbladers a news aggregate service that not only provided up to the minute information but didn’t syphon off money from an already cash-strapped industry. We accomplished this by setting up a Patreon campaign that would never benefit Blader Union’s founders directly. Instead any money we receive through our support on patreon is used to cover website administrative fees and projects around the globe.
To date, we’ve launched eight major Crowd Funded projects, countless minor projects, and helped fund several events and contests. Over these last three years we’ve raised $5546.00 through this approach, and over $5000.00 has so far been paid back directly back into skating. This is what has and always will set us apart from the pack. With minimal overhead costs and a dedicated team who wants nothing more than to see blading grow and succeed, we’ve been able to pay out nearly every cent we’ve ever taken in. You can help us grow by becoming a Blader Union patron. But if you can’t afford to support us financially, you can support us by spreading the word about our website and mobile apps.
VOD and Podcast Catalog
Over the years we’ve focused on making sure it was easy to find new VOD listings and Podcasts on the web. VODs have typically been flashes in the pan. Before Blader Union, if you missed the Instagram bio link, or were offline for a few days, you’d miss out on some great videos to purchase or new podcasts everyone was talking about. But we offer convenient directories for both.
Now it’s front and center on our website. We offer banner space to promote VOD’s at the top of Blader Union for free. We just believe in supporting the skaters and content creators who keep our industry thriving. If you believe in the work they do, you can support them by purchasing and downloading their videos without needing to jump through hoops to find it. We do the same for Podcast creators. You can always find the most robust list of current Podcast’s the blading world world has to offer through bladerunion.com
Blader Union Mobile App
Our biggest leap to date was launching the Blader Union app for iOS and Android. We pride ourselves on giving everyone an easily accessible place to find all the latest and greatest blading content at the tips of their fingers. But as the internet becomes increasingly mobile oriented we knew that we needed to adapt. So we launched the Blader Union Mobile App for both iOS and Android on January 1st 2020. If you’re at your local park or skating through the streets and someone asks you where they can buy skates, point them to download the app, scroll to the bottom of any page, and you’ll have instant access to every skate shop worldwide. You can show them all the greatest videos, your favorite vloggers, podcasters, and all the hottest news in the industry. This is the easiest way to support Blader Union without actually donating any money. Just tell people about us! You can find either app by searching your App Store for Blader Union or exploring the Blader Union Mobile App page.
The Future
Our biggest leap forward starts today. We’ve made a few adjustments to the site to help you explore content and share things you find on Blader Union. If you check out our header/hamburger menu you’ll notice that you now have the ability to search our vast catalog of content! By clicking search, and typing your query into the field, you’ll be able to find anything we’ve posted over the last three years. Older edits, VODs, sections, you name it!
We also now have a dedicated page for links to our Mobile Apps. This page can be found in the site’s navigation, and is useful for quick access to install the Mobile Apps on your devices.
Now without further ado, we’d also like to officially welcome three new faces to our team. We hope that each of these individuals will play an integral role in leading Blader Union, and the sport as a whole, into a new decade of prosperity.
Kevon Thompson
Photo by Jonathan Labez - Be-Mag.com
You may know Kevon “Biiz” Thompson as the host of This Week In Blade. Kevon is the embodiment of a positive attitude in blading. He saw an opening that wasn’t being filled by anyone out there and took it upon himself to fill that niche week after week. Last year we brought Kevon and TWIB under the Blader Union umbrella to help promote the show.
We want to continue to provide Kevon the resources needed to produce TWIB and show him the support he deserves for putting together such a fantastic program. So, we’re thrilled to officially welcome Kevon to the Blader Union team. Kevon’s role will continue to see him coming to you weekly as your Big Homie Biiz and host of This Week in Blade.
Stefan Brandow
Stefan Brandow is arguably one of the most talented roof jumpers both on and off skates. Stefan has been pro for a number of companies over his career, and never hesitates to be honest with himself about what he wants and where he wants to go with his future. He’s been a personal friend of Blader Union for the last few years, and always an advocate for the work we’re doing here. We’ve reached out to him in the past for help with design elements, information, collaboration ideas, and more. With his renewed efforts at Outward Co., he’s once again showing everyone that he’s more than just another skater with a hunger for jumping off roofs. We’re extremely proud to officially welcome Stefan to the Blader Union team.
Jon Fromm
Photo by Jonathan Labez - Be-Mag.com
Jon Fromm is possibly the greatest professional skater still actively involved at his level in our sport. A well versed world traveler, Jon is truly an ambassador for skating in every form. He’s risen through the ranks to the very pinnacle of our sport, all while being a positive influence to everyone around him. His skating and hunger for travel have carried him to nearly ever corner of the globe, bringing along his talents and positivity to everyone in every country he visits. With an arsenal of some of the biggest street tricks in skating, he’ll never bat an eye at putting on his skates and skating with anyone of any skill level. Jon’s business mind and engineering background have always been a good balance point when Blader Union needed references or ideas on how to pursue an idea. Some of our greatest steps forward as a company have started from conversations between us and Jon. We’d like to official welcome Jon to the Blader Union team. Jon’s talents both on and off his skates are going to be useful for our future as we press onward into 2020 and beyond. We’re extremely excited to have his help in shaping our future.
Any one of these individuals would bring a lot to the table but we’re lucky enough to welcome them all today. This marks our biggest leap forward as a company and reinforces our commitment to the community. We are here to stay. And things will only get better.
-The Blader Union Team