Episode 32: Pro Sleek Nigeria

      So I mentioned in my last post that I picked up roller skating this year. While I'm still far from being a pro, I'm no longer a beginner and I'm confident enough to skate outside a skating park, as long as the road isn't too busy. I can't pull off any fancy stunts yet though. And what I do when I get to a speed bump is called hopping (usually followed by a goofy landing), not jumping. Problem is there are barely any skates my size so it's either my legs are gonna rip the shoes open eventually, or the size of my feet is gonna drop from all the squeezing. Joining Pro Sleek Skate Club, the skating club at my university, was more than just adding a new hobby to my repertoire. It opened up a new series of events in my life.

           First of all, I became the head of media and publicity of Pro Sleek Nigeria. That's the parent company of Pro Sleek Skate Club, which is the arm within the University of Ibadan. Anything that's worth doing is worth doing well, right? I decided to make an android app that feeds people with stuff from our Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts simultaneously. I'll admit I didn't code the app, I used a third party tool to assemble all the RSS-like features, but the end product is the same. There's a Pro Sleek app and you can download it here.

        So Pro Sleek wants to organize the first Skatathon in West Africa. Many skate clubs in Nigeria already embark on skating marathons just for fun, but now we want to organize a big one that will draw contestants from all over the country. And for that, we needed a proper website where people could pay and register for the event. A blog wouldn't do. So with zero experience in web design, I took a week off from work and focused solely on creating the website, learning as I went along. It's my first time so there's lots of room for improvement, but again, it's functional. If you're not viewing this post from a mobile device (click "switch to desktop mode" if you're using a high-end phone), you should be able to see the site embedded below the text right here. Otherwise, check it out at www.prosleeknigeria.com.

          I really pushed myself to be able to put up the site in one week. Barely slept properly. And my initial effort was so full of design blunders that when some of my friends who are trained in that area saw the site, they took shots all over it. "The logo is Godzilla! It's too big!" and "the colors are all wrong. It's an entertainment site, not a hospital!" are some of the funnier ones I remember, but they really helped me improve it. I'm still making little upgrades every week. That's just the first time I had to get out of my element for Pro Sleek though.

        Not to bore you with details, I'll just summarize by saying that I had to start having meetings with heads of other organizations that can help make our event a successful one. You can visit the website if you really wanna know more. Wish us luck in the maiden edition of the Pro Sleek Skatathon. I hope to post here about the success of the event on November 30th, 2013. Cheers!