Stay Frosty is 12 years old this week. Our actual birthday happened while I was at Fanfest, so I'm turning it into a week long affair. I have that kind of power.
It became clear early on that in order to control your own destiny in Eve Online you either had to rely on others, or take the reigns and rely on yourself. Such is the nature of this sandbox of ours. I was fortunate early on to be invited into some truly interesting corporations and alliances. And I learned a lot from them all. Especially from the folks in Dissonance, who I often jumped in and out of early on in my career. Later my short time in Tuskers also helped me formulate both the good and bad of corporation management. It also never hurts to add that I have actual CEO/CMO experience out here in the real world. That also helps. My Son and I tried several times early on to grab the timing and moment in several early corporations like The Brutal Company, Inglorious Bastards, and a few others. But the timing just wasn't right. And then came Lucifer's Hammer (which is still going strong inside of A Band Apart) and we finally almost had the formula we needed. Almost.
And then everything came together in a weird confluence of events, some of which were self-created and some of which were pure happenstance. But often it is those moments when you have a chance to grab the reigns and power forward - that truly make a mark. And so it was with the birth of Stay Frosty. An idea five years in the making that was seemingly born overnight. But that would be a gross misrepresentation of what really happened. It wasn't as spontaneous as it might have appeared at the time. But no matter the forge that formed those very early days - the goal was clear from the beginning. And it was a simple one. To build the greatest pirate corporation that New Eden had ever seen. A group of gifted PvP oriented players who would undock and accept the challenges that Low Sec offered them. And face those challenges with humor, determination, and an undying spirit of YARRR!
It has been quite a journey. There can be no doubt that we have more than achieved our goal. Stay Frosty has indeed become the standard bearer for independent piracy in New Eden. And, even more so, the example of how to build both an aggressive PvP organization that is also a bastion of good humor and care for its players. A corp built on a famously strong Code of Conduct. A corp built to promote solo and small gang excellence and share that passion with the universe through ammo exchange and annual record-breaking events like the Frigate Free For All. Even twelve years later we maintain a 50/50 split between solo and small gang which is unprecedented in Eve's history. And soon, we will pass the magic 100k solo kill marks for the corporation - something we've been working towards for a long time.
Stay Frosty works because I am the CEO and I have never wavered. We are an extremely casual group of independent pilots who all bring their own spirit to the group. Some stay a long time and some stay for a short time, but all are important and bring their own unique style and perspective to our group. And we are always looking for more players to join. Our ethos has always been to accept everyone who shows a desire and let them "sink or swim" based on their own determination. We're a mature group of players and we're here to help, but ultimate success is based on your own desire to succeed. This combination of attitude is what has helped us survive for so long and through so many challenges.
I'm extremely proud of every player who has worn the colors of Stay Frosty. And I look forward to what the next twelve years will bring. The adventures are the ones that remain in front of us as we look forward to the future.
YARRR!