Vanilla Derby would like to Congratulate Mo Payne, Dubbs and PBR of the Sioux City Roller Dames! Earlier this year Vanilla was approached by the ladies to help donate skate set ups for their journey across South Dakota as they would be skating for multiple sclerosis… we automatically said YES and sent out 3 pairs of Brass Knuckles set ups for them to wear on their journey. These amazing ladies have successfully skated all the way ACROSS South Dakota to raise awareness and money for the MS Society! With their hard work and determination, they have successfully raised money and awareness all around the country! Great job girls!

TEAM BLACKBERRY

Out with the old, and in with the NEW!

As MANY of you know… Lehrke and I are on Team Blackberry! For the past 6 months, I was on this old BB that kept dropping calls and never got service. It also was dropped about 50 times, and had scratches all over it. I am ALWAYS on my phone for Vanilla, so it was importnant that I got a phone that didnt drop so many calls….

Thanks to Vanilla Skate Co. I have a brand spankin new BlackBerry Bold! Also with this phone, I got a case, ear piece, car charger, and another leather case. (rebate not included)

I can not tell you all how much it meant for me to get a new phone. I am moving up in the BlackBerry world.

Remember kids… whenever you see Diamond, Tony, or Brandon… tell them Stephanie said TEAM BLACKBERRY!

Viva Las Vegas

From one side of the country to the other, Vanilla is taking over! Jeremy and I just got back from Vegas yesterday, and I must say it was absolutely crazy! Vanilla Derby was in Vegas for Roller Con. Which is basically a roller debry convention that consists of thousands of derby men and women around the world that come and meet for a week of fun, classes, and challange bouts. Of couse, Vanilla Derby had a booth there. This was our first time at Roller Con,  so we didnt know what to expect. Let me tell you, the outcome was amazing. With in the past year, we have grown such a strong following. Jeremy and I got to meet some awesome people and introduce them to Vanilla.

The week went by very fast. From skating on Fremont Street to jamskating at the night club… Jeremy and I made Vanilla known! We finally ended our stay with a nice massage compliments of Vanilla. We put in some hard work the past few days, so Vanilla Skates hooked us up with some amazing massages at the MGM. Jeremy and I felt like noodles after it. I cant explain how much it helped… (for those of you who know me… I am stress bucket!)

Below are some pictures that were taken with in the course of our stay. The First one is the night club, where Jeremy and I battled everyone with our super amazing jamskating skills. The second one is just one of the classes that were being held. (There were about 10 classes a day, with 75 girls in each class) Third and fourth is our booth. Notice the BRAND SPANKIN NEW V2′s… These boots are flippin amazing! Made with top grain leather, and the price stays the same! WOOT WOOT! Get yours now, because from what I can see… they are going fast!

and finally, the last two pictures are of me in Antia’s Tu Tu acting stupid and me getting stopped and searched at the airport.  ”I swear to god I didnt do it!”

This trip was amazing… but im sooo glad to be home!

xoxox,

Stephanie

Hey guys! Here are some of my favorite Vanilla Derby pictures ive come across in the past month or so. We have Alli Gator and Vicious Van Go Go from Mad Rollin Dolls reppin Vanilla, they sent me this picture, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I also have put a picture of Sharron Beavers (from my team, New Jax City Rollers) new tattoo. Its so dope… its the brass knucks with JRG on the bottom of it. She got it on her rib cage… now thats dedication! I snuck one of me in there too… because I look like a mean kitty… and its a great shot of the boots! There is also a photo of DayGlo Divine’s modified boot. She is crazy when it comes to colors, if you know her… you will know that this boot is right up her alley! Last but not least. I have a picure of my team… we were doing out introductions before the bout, I love this picture because all you can see is the Vanilla Derby boots.

Season 5 is going to be flippin amazing!

Vanilla Derby Delay

I just flew out to our warehouse for the week, and after a few important meetings, we as a company have decided not to release the current stock of derby boots we have on our shelf. We will re make every pair, and the new stock will come in next month, along with a complementary toe guard.

We have had some problems with the toe. The boot has a reinforced toe, but the leather needs to be tougher. Out of the 20 pairs/prototypes we have out for testing right now, we have had 3 boots that have the toe box scuffed/worn. Even though its only three, we do NOT want to leave ANY room for error. I realize that some of you have placed your pre-orders and on behalf of my team and company, I apologize. Before you get mad, please ask yourself… would you rather have scuffs… or wait another month? I do agree with Speedyrella when she says that comfort is much higher on her list and ‘look’. Please know, out of the 20 pairs that are out right now, all 20 of the people LOVE the feel. They have had no break in time, and no ‘hot spots’.

Also, please understand where we are coming from on this decision. We are STILL hearing people gripe about our first year products. We are in our FOURTH year now. We made a mistake when we came out with our first year products too soon… and I will NOT make that mistake with the roller derby line. I expect nothing less than perfect with this boot. We are working hard to not only meet but exceed your expectations with our products. I appreciate everyones patience and support as we work out these kinks.

For those of you who have pre-orders, you dont have to do anything unless you dont want them anymore. if you DO NOT want to wait, please contact the place where you put your pre order in and let them know.

Please feel free to E-mail me or the team if you have any questions or concerns at all.
Stephanie@VanillaSkateCo.com

Stephanie Ghentz
Vanilla Skate Co.

WFTDA Nationals

yahoooo!

Hey guys!

12 gauge and I are running the booth in Philly this weekend for WFTDA Nationals…. This weekend has been amazing so far! Its pretty awesome to be able to watch the nations top 12 derby teams battle it out to be known as the best team in the United States. I just finished watching Philly vs Rocky Mountain (CO) It by far was the best game ive seen! Rocky Mountain won… being the biggest upset so far this weekend. Philly 121 RM 128- Overtime.

We got a small sample shipment of our derby boots in yesterday. I haven’t herd a bad thing about them yet! Everyone loves how padded it is… and how it fits their toe box! Ive got tons of girls coming to my booth and asking to try them on and roll around on them! I also got A LOT of interest in Diamonds new boot! Im super excited to be able to skate on my new pair. My new set up consists of the derby boot… red Power Tracks… Qube 8-ball bearings… and Backspin Remix wheels.

Its been a long road towards this weekend… and with everyones help, im happy to say, this weekend has been a success!

Stephanie Gentz

Introducing…

Matomic is Vanilla Derby

Hi guys!

As you all may know, for the past year Vanilla has been expanding. We are now not only making jamskating boots, but now have ventured off into roller derby and speed inline products. We have about 7 new product lines coming out this season… needless to say, the company has been non stop this year! We couldn’t do it with out everyones support! Jamskating still is, and always will be Vanilla’s ‘home base’.

I would like to take this time out to introduce the back bone of Vanilla Derby. You might know both of them as the powerhouses that created ‘Project Mayhem’ …. but now you should see them as the two amazing derby players who represent Vanilla to the fullest!

Drum roll please…

Matt Bertelsen and Mollie Mahan from Dallas, TX. They both had made the switch from jamskating to roller derby before anyone from the jamskating world even thought about it. I contacted them about a year ago and asked them to help me with this new and exciting line Vanilla is doing. They both have helped me tremendously with not only the new derby boot… but with my personal roller derby experience as well.

Miley Virus (Mollie) skates for Dallas Derby Devils and Matomic (Matt) skates for Dallas Deception. Both teams out of Dallas, TX. They both are a huge asset to Vanilla Derby, and are amazing at the unique sport of roller derby. If you are ever in the Dallas area, you should definately check them out! They will be more than happy to teach, help, and answer any questions you have about Vanilla. In the mean time… check them out at

Welcome to the family guys! This year is going to be great!

If you have any questions for them… shoot them an e mail!

Matomic@Vanilladerby.com

Mileyvirus@Vanilladerby.com

xoxox

Stephanie Ghentz

Haunted Houses and Roller Skates!

Its that season again! Vanilla will be traveling around for the distributor tradeshows. Last week we were in VA for the Southeastern Skate Supply tradeshow! It was amazing! We got to see the screening of ‘Whip It’ with all of the other distributors, I skated a derby practice, we went to go carts, we skated a session, and I watched the Packers loose. gggrrrr!

A big thank you goes out to Glenn Ramsey for making this weekend a success for everyone! It was great to see you again! Thank you for inviting us!

This weekend, we will be in Kansas City for the RC Sports Tradeshow. My flight leaves in about 4 hours. Im super excited about tonight because the whole crew (Diamond, Tony, Mike, Me, Brandon, and all the RC Sports guys) will be going to the ‘Edge of Hell’. Its one of the biggest haunted houses in the nation. Wiht 4 floors, and tons of other attractions! It takes 60 minutes to get through it! I have seriously been waiting for this the whole year. We tried to go last year, but it was closed! Tony is going to be my haunted house partner… even though im taller than he is, we will make it work! hahahaha! To see more about where we are going to be tonight go to www.edgeofhell.com

I love this time of year! Even though we are so busy… and it seems like I cant get a moment to just relax… I love being able to see my team. I realized how much I missed them this past weekend. They never fail to make me laugh! I will be planning a trip out to LA to see Diamond, Tony, and Jordan in January!

Thats about it for now… I have to get back to packing. Note to Tony and Diamond: You better not miss your flight. :/

xoxox

Steph

A word from Vanilla Derby’s Miley Virus

MILEY VIRUS WITH DALLAS DERBY DEVILS AND VANILLA DERBY

I just got back from The Southern Fried Smackdown Roller Derby Regionals in Atlanta, GA reppin Vanilla. My team (Dallas Derby Devils)  were one of the top ten teams in the South that got the chance to play for a spot at Nationals.  For me, the most exciting part of the whole weekend was walking into the venue, seeing the Vanilla Derby booth and seeing Stephanie showing everyone our new line of products for this season. My team and I got to see the new derby boot…everyone loves it! I can’t wait to see it on the track. Not only is the design amazing, but the quality is A+. Whats even better is the price… finally something affordable! Everyone from my team got their Vanilla shirts and are very excited, to say the least, about the new boot/products coming out in November. I also skated on the prototype Vanilla wheels this weekend and I loved them. I stuck like a champ on that sport court It was so rad seeing everyone reppin Vanilla this weekend and hearing the announcers also give shout outs to the Vanilla Derby team. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Vanilla Derby. I know it will be absolutely nothing but the best! I am so honored to rep this brand and it gives me that extra push to make myself be the best I can.

Be on the look out November 1st for the new Vanilla derby boot… You wont want to miss it.

Miley Virus

Dallas Derby Devils

Vanilla Derby Team

Rags to Riches

Hey guys!

Its 4am… Ive been sick with the flu… I have been sleeping all day…

and now im on my lap top trying to get some work done! In the midst of returning e-mails and looking at pictures of Brandons new hair… I kind of got mushy for a second. I just would like to take a time out and let everyone know how thankful I am to be apart of this company and to have so many people who support not only Vanilla’s team of skaters, but Vanilla as a whole.

Its crazy how far I have personally come. I can remember FIGHTING to just place at a national competition. I was just a skater. Before I was sponsored, I payed for my own way. I always had to scrounge up money to go and skate somewhere just about every weekend. I did this for about 4 years. I always was slightly jealous of team Reidell. I wanted to go and do shows… I wanted everyone to know who I was… and most of all I wanted to be recognized for my talent.

I remember the day I got sponsored by Vanilla. It was WSA nationals 07′. I finally felt like I made it. I remember Mike handing me money for my gas back home, spending money, and paying for my hotel room. I looked at him, and almost started to cry. I still can remember what he told me “Vanilla will always take care of its skaters. We are for the skaters!” It was the craziest feeling I ever had. Even though no one knew what Vanilla was (except for about 5 of us) I had complete faith that Mike would take his company and make it far in the skating world.

Fast forward about 3 years later… im still here, not only as a sponsored skater, but also the president of Vanilla Derby. With in the 3 years I have been with this company…I have gone to numerous trade shows, created my own boot, I have three posters, a sweet new lap top, I have a cute little Blackberry (that somehow I always manage to break), I have flown everywhere to do shows, and now im on my second boot creation. I also have great relationships with rink owners across the nation. Some, I talk to on a weekly basis.

I am so proud to be apart of this company. My team is like my family…

and im so happy that I am able to share all of these experiences with them. I started out as just a skater… and now Vanilla is my career.

Vanilla has taken me to new heights that I never thought I could achieve.

I now know that Mike was right when he told me that Vanilla is for the skaters. I look back now… and wonder why I was even jealous of Team Reidell.

And now im done being all mushy.

Moral of the story is: Keep working hard… it will all pay off in the end.

xoxoxo

Stephanie