The Steel Closet on our launch party

Our friends at The Steel Closet did a write-up on our launch party, with pictures!

Launch party reax

• Thanks to everyone who came out to our launch party!
• The turnout was extraordinary. The club was at capacity by midnight, and there was still a block of people in line outside.  All night I was told about the craziness outside.  Pictures or it didn’t happen.
• Sorry to everyone (especially our friends) who wasn’t able to get in. There was nothing we could do.
• Sorry to those of you who weren’t supposed to pay but did. I’m finding out what happened.
• Sorry to the 18-20 year olds who were discriminated against for their inability to legally purchase alcohol.  Being <21 was like having leprosy.  Being >21 was like having a FastPass and/or being a Jedi.
• I rented a U-Haul to transport our caps to the premises.  It was incredibly satisfying rolling down in a U-Haul to your own launch party.  I recommend it.  Even though it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to turn on the headlights.  (Hint: pull the knob on the left of the steering wheel.)
• Sorry it took a while for me to post this blog, but I was waiting for pictures.  But it’s going to be a while before I get them, since we stupidly didn’t bring our own camera.  I blame the bastard who stole my DSLR @ Green Valley Ranch, Las Vegas a year ago.  And my iPhone’s low megapixel count.
• Special thanks to Diane Padre, Amanda Arce, Pauline Isidro, Carlo Maclang, Jessie Ramos, Casey Callangan, Dante Marino, Dino Mayorga, Troy Phi, Team Millennia, VENT, and 4ONE.

Launch Redesign

Welcome to the new look of FITIZEN.COM! Aside from the new look, these are the major features:

• “TOP 5″ RANKING SYSTEM
  Instead of the numerical rating system of the beta site, you now have a “TOP 5,” where you can put your favorite 5 fitteds on the site. Depending on where you put it (1st, 2nd, …5th), it gets a certain number of points, which we total at the end of the every month, when we choose a winner.
• QUEUE
  When you add a design to your TOP 5, but your 5 slots are full, the newly added design is added to your Queue. Keep in mind though, you can only hold 10 fitteds in your Queue at a time. Whatever fitted is on top of the Trash icon won’t be there when you come back.
• FORUM
  We finally got the forum integrated, so join or start discussion threads.

A few things:

• Our ONLINE STORE won’t be open until Monday, so check back.
• Let us know if you experience any problems by posting in our forum.

Lastly, a fond final look at our beta site.

AND THE WINNER IS…

LAUNCH PARTY FLYER

TEAM MILLENNIA

The other night RJ and I visited Team Millennia, one of the dance teams performing at our launch party on October 9.  We only planned to make a quick announcement, but ended up staying for their entire practice, mildly nostalgic for the days when he and I used to dance.

It’s gonna be a big year for TM, and not just because they have the biggest team they’ve ever had (over 40).  They’re also going to be auditioning again for the next season of America’s Best Dance Crew, and they have a really good chance.  If you watched last season, they made it to the televised audition, but unfortunately (because of the talent and uniqueness of the teams in the West division) they were cut on the first episode by the judges.  But if that didn’t happen, they would’ve made it far.

Count on it this year.  If you could bet on ABDC, I’d put good money on TM because their experience already puts them ahead of the competition.  Now, they have 2 seasons of ABDC to study and know what kinds of teams make it far and how they can differentiate themselves.  And lastly, what happened last year is fresh in their minds, so they’ve got hunger and humility.  A dangerous combination.

STATE OF THE UNION

That’s a cheesy ass title, but I wanted to let you know how things are going, because we’re absolutely ecstatic about the response we’ve been getting so far. Aside from the new designs and new users we’ve been getting, we’ve been working on three things:

• Planning our launch party
• Manufacturing the designs that have won so far
• Redesigning the web site for launch

And everything’s on track.  The launch party is going to be a big deal.  It’s taking place at Element Hollywood on Thursday, 10/09/08 @ 9:30PM, and we hope you can make it.

• 18 and over
• Dance performances by Team Millennia and VENT
• Raffle for custom painted fitted caps by Dino Mayorga (myspace.com/dinomayorga)
• Go-go dancers with nothing but FTZN stickers on their unmentionables
• Lots of giveaways
• More info TBA

As for the redesign of the web site, here’s a clue: it’s black.

Okay, here’s one more: the voting system is completely different.

So, are you going to be at the launch party or what?!

GOING PUBLIC

Sorry for the lack of updates on the blog recently. We’ve been hard at work preparing for our official launch.
We created the flyer below to spread the word, beginning our company’s gradual emergence from secrecy.
You may notice that we’ve upped the prize from $250 to $1000 for this month and beyond.

So stay close. We’re doing big things this month, and we want you to come along for the ride.

(Click either to enlarge.)

The timer reset! What the f@#k!?!

Don’t be alarmed people. The world isn’t coming to an end. Because of some extraneous circumstances, we have to push the date of our launch back a month. That just gives us more to make everything right. More time to get our manufacturing process on point. to iron out the kinks in our site, and to plan…

THE BANGINGEST, FRESHEST, MOST DOPEST LAUNCH PARTY EVER PLANNED IN THE HiSTORY OF PLANNING BANGING, FRESH, AND DOPE LAUNCH PARTIES!!!! (shout out to 4one syndicate).

It’s gonna be crazy, yo. We’ve got alot in store, so keep your calendars marked. Our new launch date is 10/09/08. More will be announced as time draws nearer.

But now that we have more time to breathe, we also have more time to implement features that we couldn’t offer. Do you guys have any suggestions for anything you wanna see on the site? We wanna hear from you. So HOLLA AT US!

PREVIEW: HOMEPAGE REDESIGN

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