OWN IT!

It’s all in your head…

What this world wants is for you to fail…

We are so fearful of what “might” happen, that we block out something so innocent, but the world has made it a fearful, damning, awful type things. We focus, we have a narrow focus rather on the miniscule things that have us losing focus on the whole, the gigantic, wonderful life.

Shaking off the mind-control which is happening. You feel a rage building inside of you, your eyes darken, your mouth opens and a thunderous roar escapes your throat while fire spits from your stomach. You are awake, you thrash your head around as you start to flap your wings. You can see clearly, as the clouds start to fall, you see no enemy, but you feel its presence as you walk out of the fire. Your scales glisten emerald green in the fire’s light. You breathe in deep, and you roar again, so loudly you break the treetops in front of you and the echo can be heard for miles.

That’s what happens when you snap awake and see that this lie the world has been feeding you, becomes rotten to the senses. You can see clearer, these “dangerous” might-be’s are now just laughable, you feel fuller, your heart becomes softer as your mind becomes sharper. There is NO better feeling when you realize YOU control your destiny, your path, your goals… Not this world, this world wants failure, wants stress, wants separation, and desperation… count on nothing, take everything, believe in yourself!

You throw your tail around and stomp your feet in a defiant victory! You’ve defeated an unseen enemy, you roar in triumph, and as if to call the enemy to stand before you, but in typical coward fashion, they never show. You slowly scan the area around you as the fire’s rage behind you. You look back at what was holding you down, kept you blind, as it burns to ashes, and you are the only phoenix to rise from it. You unfold your wings, you motion them to launch from this oblivion, the stars are bright in the black sky, you launch, and the heat from what was fades away, as the coolness of your future flies around your face. You smile, knowing that you are in control, you are in fact ready to battle this world, and you are stronger than this world, now build upon it, and OWN YOUR LIFE!!

#yearofthedragon #yotd #radiocontrolledeastcoast #rcec

#therushfordfiles #trwrites

A ripple effect of a big fish in a little pond.

With the announcement of Hobbico going bankrupt, it has run shockwaves through the RC community. We all saw the writing on the wall, for the ones that were paying attention anyways; that something bad was taking place with this RC giant.

Companies that are under such heavy financial burdens have a hard time concealing these types of crisis’ with social media at the tips of their fingers. It is crucial for “news breakers” to be first to break a story, leak information, whether the facts are all out or not. With a company such as Hobbico filing for Chapter 11, the leaks as well as the stories came from all types of social media outlets, with some unexpected people and companies chiming in.

Prior to the announcement that Hobbico was filing for bankruptcy, little clue dropping companies were jumping the proverbial sinking ship by announcing that they needed new distributors for their products. Some companies even went as far to shame Hobbico by posting screenshots of money owed, why they were no longer apart of Hobbico, and as to why consumers were not receiving their products.

With such a bold style of business tactics, do we join in, read aloud the complaints, add to the fire with our own fuel? Social media is a dangerous vessel to further ruin one’s reputation, from the poster to the story being posted, no one is safe. The complainer can be shamed for making such outrageous posts where it tries to put the other in a bad light. There is a fine line to publicly shaming someone/company with the hope that everyone will side with you, and ride that wave, without a second thought to those affected, business is ugly.

Do we carry a thought past our own needs for those losing their jobs or the families this will affect? The communities that will be changed because Hobbico is possibly going out of business is a real concern. People should not be an afterthought to our needs for parts and pieces. Most understand business is business, but a families livelihood shouldn’t be adjacent to the cost of closing.

The effect of unpaid bills hurts the smaller companies that count on that income for their business livelihood. Maybe, some companies can survive that big missing piece of inventory, with some layoffs or other money sustaining revenues. The smaller mom & pop stores that relied on Hobbico for distribution of products may suffer a little more, and this may send them straight into closing their doors. The reasons as to why are lengthy, from trying to find a new supplier that carries everything they sell, waiting for shipments, and ordering from new suppliers that often want “x-amount” of dollars to order from to just name a few.

What greater view of Hobbico filing for bankruptcy does this have on the RC industry as a whole? When you take a way the infrastructure of such a giant company as Hobbico, you may see some side effects such as, prices of products go up, while supply of the products goes down, and the longer no company steps into that role Hobbico held, the more prices will go up. Production may slow as well as there is no large conglomerate buying up the items for the consumer. Further that, when you remove such a industry giant for so long, you suffer the totality of this gaping hole in consumerism. All communities, families, businesses, and the rc market suffer from this potential loss of a huge company, it is a ripple effect that is an unfortunate result in a major company closing, or at the very least, selling off brands, and/or possibly restructuring.

My humble opinion is to understand that businesses close and open all the time, so that should be a normal experience, but trying to have empathy for those hard working people losing their jobs should be a never ending practice. People always say, “That business is just a machine”, so we shouldn’t be surprised when that machines breaks, and needs to be rebuilt, or be a total loss. Let’s have some compassion for those losing more than just some parts. No person is worth the loss of humanity, and we should all be reminded that the machine will come back, and we can get our stuff, but we shouldn’t be so removed from life that people other than us are affected in a negative way.

Trevor Rushford

RCEC MEDIA

This is our 1st RCEC TV Show! The link is here for you to check out on Facebook!

RCEC TV Episode 1

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This is our 1st poscast of our Live RCTV Show we do once a week on Facebook.l, audio quality is not the greatest this round, it will he way better next week.

RCEC TV Episode 1

Just some thoughts on Sponsorship.

No one that I know of has touched on sponsorship, other than to criticize, make fun of, be jealous of or the best question of How?

I’ve been sponsored with a lot of different throughout my life, from Skating, Biking, band, clothing, to now RC’s. I know quite a bit about it, how it worked before SM, and now with SM. There are pro’s and con’s about sponsorship, from who it is being sponsored, to how they promote, to how they fail or exceed.

I will touch on just RC sponsorship.

This is what sponsors look for in their drivers; not all apply:

Active Social Media Presence.(ASMP) What this means, and what some misinterpret to be. ASMP means you’re posting about what you’re doing with your hobby, comps, builds, sharing others work, etc at least 4-5 times a week. It means you’re engaged with others and you at least enjoy your hobby.

Positivity goes further than you may expect. If you are constantly dogging people and their builds, posts, comments in a negative way, it will spread faster than you being a solid person. More respect and appreciation for your peers will go a long way!

Use of product. This is lost on a lot of people, if you believe in a product, then support it before/during/after in whatever it is you do. You may think, well I’m not promoting something they aren’t giving me, 1st mistake, and sponsorship isn’t for you. Most of your lower tier sponsorships only give a 10-20% discount, mid level to top tier sponsorships give you 30-50% off and Top tier is 50%-Free. The last is rare.

THEY ARE WATCHING… Believe it or not, companies care about their Social Media Presence, (SMP). So they will have someone watching popular people, high-ranked competitors, hashtags, group pages, competition results, and or word of mouth. So they see you being negative or positive, what others are saying about you on SM or at comps.

WINNING IS AWESOME, but not everything. Some companies want winners, but not douchebags, yes, sometimes that goes hand and hand, but it is changing, thankfully. If you’re winning keep it up, but be humble, and be kind, your hard work is getting rewarded, by trophies, prizes, etc, why be a jerk to those that are watching & supporting you at your local tracks, and major events. Sore winners are just as bad as sore winners. Sponsors are watching you on the stand, in the pits, and on the podium.

Building RC’s is also beneficial, some sponsors want to see you build with their products, so don’t be afraid to show off your talents.

Most importantly, just do you. No need to be a counterfeit, no need to put on a show as to what you think others want to see you as. Don’t float around to the latest trend or bandwagon. Which leads me into the next,

Don’t be a sponsor junkie, meaning, don’t just chase any ole sponsor or jump from sponsor to sponsor because one can offer you more. Loyalty breeds loyalty, and if you gain a reputation of jumping ships, you will eventually sink with no ship beneath you. Having a lot of sponsors is ok, but floating around to this or that, will cause friction and a bad reputation.

Misconceptions and or fake news:

What I see others misunderstanding as far as sponsorships.

Sponsorship does not mean every post has to be about them. Yes companies want exposure, but not at the expense of drowning the internet with their product. The issue here is when a company has 50-100 drivers and they all share something all at once, boom, market flooded, consumers annoyed. That’s why some companies/sponsors get labeled with that stigma.

Only winners get sponsorships, only people with big social media accounts/presence get sponsored. Yes, this is 100% accurate, but not all there is. I have seen positive people that have not won anything, or not have a huge ASMP get some sponsorship love. Therein lies the jealousy aspect.

Companies are in the business of making money, period. So don’t be jealous of those who can help those companies make more money, while helping those who help them. You throwing rocks from the side, is why they don’t choose you. They are watching.

I’ll end this long article on a few points.

Yes, some sponsors want a strong ASMP, because business trends say that’s important for the future of any business as we progressively move forward in the industry; so naturally those companies will want those types of drivers/builders.

Yes, some sponsors think that a winning performance is the key to a solid selling product. So they will look for those winners, those achievers. Nothing wrong with that.

Sponsorship isn’t for everyone, for a variety of reasons, make sure you are ready, as it is a responsibility, not just a logo on your car.

Sponsorship is a cool aspect to your career, whether it’s racing, building, or being an awesome person, but don’t let that sponsorship define you, or change you. It’s just a nice confirmation that you have been doing something they like, so stay the course.

EVEN if you do all of these things, and are a pillar of your rc community, you still may not get sponsored, but don’t let that get to you, because you’re in this hobby for the love it, not the fame of it. Remind yourself that when you’re feeling neglected from the sponsorship aspect of the hobby.

I’m sure there is a lot more I can cover, but here’s a start, and I am ready for any type of conversation, bot arguing, about this! Negativity will get deleted as my intention here is to help us learn, and grow as a hobby.

Thank you from RCEC.

2018 begins with this reflection, and perspective.

5 years ago Woodchuck aka Robert Kuck III and I created an event that is known as Shred The Ledge, and a group called RCEC. We went from 4 dudes at the 1st event we ever did called Concrete Crawl to our latest creation called Ledgestock last year. We have created an RC community based on family, positivity, fellowship, brotherhood, and more.

Our family has grown in such a way that Rob and I feel proud of what we’ve created, and as our family pushes out into other rc communities promoting that same mentality Rob and I started, makes both of us catch feelings. With the addition of Tim Landers to the RCEC Staff we are excited to see what 2018 brings with him now standing with us at the comps.

We have gone all over the US spreading the RCEC Mentality, and it has caught on with many other people. We’ve wheeled with some amazing people, and have even become close friends with them. With All the short comings of social media, it was instrumental in our growth, and meeting some AMAZING people. Social Media is how Rob and I met, and it’s never been right ever since. Haha

We want to say thank you to the RCEC family, the supporters, the sponsors, and everyone else who has played a part of what we have become. The haters keep fueling our fight, while the creators keep giving us life. We have top tier style competitions with the BEST drivers in the world competing in them.

2018, in our 5th year, we will continue to push for more community growth, more purposed fun driven events, traveling, and supporting more of the entire rc community!

Thanks to you all, and have an awesome 2018, see you on the trails!!

#thebestisyettocome #hopeyourereadyfortheride #radiocontrolledeastcoast

Wake up 2018!!

Wake up! Happy New Year YOTD

As the crisp air comes calling, you breathe a hot breath and open your eyes. You lift your head up off the ground and survey the land laid out before you. You brush off that – what was – thought, as you can not change the past. You see the morning sun crest the mountains as you lift your wings and stand into a well earned stretch. The trees around you shake as you flap your wings half heartedly, as if to shake the dust off.

Today is your day, don’t let circumstance be your story. It is a new year, it’s a new day, a new hour, a new minute, take what time you can, and own it! We are all afforded the same day, what we do in that day varies on effort, on desire, with PURPOSE!

As you walk the ground shakes, the trees tremble as you pass by, and the world becomes yours. You can and will take today and OWN IT, why? Because you are DRIVEN WITH A PURPOSE!!! LIVE in that FORCE!!

As you lift your eye towards the sky to launch into your day, you dig your toes into the ground, you pull your wings back, and smirk with knowing full well you control your destiny… Your legs bend, your spine stiffens and as you push off the ground, you scream a war cry that echoes on your soul and in the forest around you… OWN IT!!!

#yearofthedragon #radiocontrolledeastcoast #yotd #yotd2018 #motivateyoursoul

STL