My Skate Goals

No grand plan, Just self service.

Build/Own a big rink!

Clear cut goal, with an expensive goal post… next!

Find more reasons to skate! aka Skate Events...

okay, doable- so...

1. find the rinks in the UK
2. find the skate groups and event organisers
3. follow ALL of them.
4. create a spreadsheet and regularly check for event posts.....

That started to sound very tedious.

Somewhere along that line, I heard about a decent skate event I had missed because it was only shared in one WhatsApp group I wasn't in…

started looking for skate event pages on Insta.

Found them, but you couldn't really "search" them.

"We need a SkateBrite-" [internal celebration moment] … and that's how YJP was born.

Between conceptualisation way back in early 2023, until the first version of the website in winter 2023, it was just about making it make sense and look nice.

• list all skate events
• make the website decent to look at

THANKFULLY I was also in my UX/UI, Marketing and PR fascination period. Once I saw the first version, and the limitations compared to the standard expectations that skaters (at the time 'I' was the example) would want… My spiral began and It has been a LONG road between then and now!

A corner on the header bar. That is what started my true spiral into rebuilding the site, I wanted a rounded corner on the header bar…

I kept upgrading things, starting with CSS and brand design, then it was the actual function and user experience of the website, and eventually wanting to start again because my overall standards outgrew the previous site builder (and additional stuff would have come with a high cost!).

So I tossed the site builder aside and learnt how to code in an attempt to build a cheap but high functioning website for roller skaters. It was intended to be only for UK and Ireland at this point.

Please note, as I type this, it is 4am, and I am still trying to get the final piece of code working smoothly. I could have launched it two months ago as a very very simple version of itself… but I kept thinking, "that's not what skaters need right now". And that made things worse for myself.

• list all skate events
• make the website decent to look at

It was no longer enough.

The more I researched and learnt about the state of the nations skate experience, I more wanted to support all parts of the skating, even outside the style skating I enjoy, and so, it grew.

• Promote roller skating `/ introduce roller skating to more people
• Introduce casual skaters to other disciplines
• List all skate rinks so skaters know they have a local and can support it
• List all skate groups so skaters can discover new motivations. + skaters can support
• List all skate shops so people can find their gear from places that will actually look after skaters. + skaters can support.
• Help event organisers and groups with their marketing and reach
• +13 more ...

Honestly, If you want more details, you'd be better off asking for my official business plan.

But yeah, I'm not a writer, so this is such a ramble, I'm not even sure if it makes sense… One day I'll write something more concrete!

but for now, Welcome to Your Jam Plug x