We weren’t planning on creating online rollerskating programs. We didn’t even know that was possible because we’d never had to consider it before.
Where we were before the pandemic.
Picture a sunny March 2nd, 2020, in BC’s coastal mountains. Rolla Skate Club founders Carla & Lucy (aka BiznessTime – formerly “Booty” – and Luludemon) had gotten away for their bi-annual strategic planning retreat and were looking ahead to big things for the rest of the year ahead! (Cue the chuckles.)
As they walked and talked in the crisp but sunny mountain air, they knew that Rolla Skate Club Vancouver was on fire – we had over 300 members coming into the club about once a week or more. We were doing a rocking live events business, with “Sparkle Parties” (for the littles) and “Skate Jams” (for the young at heart) every weekend, and had started selling tickets for our Vancouver Rollerskate Festival in April, that was sure to be absolutely huge!
With the first Club in great shape, Carla and Lucy started looking to expand. 2020 was the year they would launch a Rolla Certified Instructors course and Licensing opportunities so folks could open a Rolla Skate Club in their communities, all over.
Two weeks later, we were shut down completely by the pandemic.
If this wasn’t a blog and was a movie instead, here’s where we’d have a “down in the dumps” scene, and then the “roll up our sleeves and get to it” energetic montage would start. Maybe Dolly Parton’s 9-to-5 would be the soundtrack as we started to create our very first online rollerskating programs…
CUE THE MONTAGE
Casual Zoom meetups with our members, to connect… Curating weekly content to keep them safe, skating, and mentally held together… Zoom fails and tech challenges with microphones and recordings! Oh my! Starting live classes on a regular schedule that anyone could come to…Finding rollerskaters from across the globe are coming to try out our classes. A big weekend of filming and months of editing to launch our Rollerskating 101 course online. Re-opening the Vancouver Club! And then closing. And re-opening. Repeat!
Bizzy and Lulu are pretty sure Rolla Skate Club hasn’t quite gotten to the triumphant finale of this crazy movie just yet. But the journey has been quite a ride!
To tell the story of that ride and how we got here, Thinkific, the (Vancouver-grown) software company that built our course-delivery platform, reached out to us to learn more about how we had transformed our business to take rollerskating online.
Not quite a year since that strategic planning retreat, the Rolla Skate Club expansion train is starting to get back on its rails, and Bizzy and Lulu and our whole team here invite everyone to get on board and find that joyful piece in life.
How to connect with Rolla Skate Club:
To Roll with Us:
- In Vancouver > Take a class!
- From Anywhere > Check out our Online Rollerskating Programs for all levels, from complete beginner to roller derby champ.
- To Scratch your Entrepreneurial Itch: Become a Rolla Certified Instructor or open a Rolla Skate Club in your community! Contact Us to learn more.