On May 6th Stay Frosty will be 13 years old. Starting this corporation was a huge gamble. The deck was certainly stacked against us. The drama surrounding my un-voluntary expulsion from the Tuskers was in full swing, partly due to my own actions, and partly due to forces outside my control. Well documented elsewhere. We had two members. And we were starting in our home system of Hevrice, right in the middle of the mess we had created.
It should have never worked. We were told over and over again that it wouldn't work. For years other players did everything they could to ensure it wouldn't work. We endured spies. Corp thieves. War declarations. Gate camps. Station camps. Insults. The spreading of lies. And more. It was not a sure thing. In fact, the idea that we would live to see a year - much less 13 - was not something we could have dreamed about at the time.
But despite all of that - we survived. And not only survived but thrived. And there are two main reasons why it all worked, and why it continues to work today. The first is obvious - I am a stubborn fool. I just never give up. I had a firm and unshakeable vision for what I wanted Stay Frosty to be and I've just never wavered from that vision. Anything that deviates from that vision is simply not tolerated. Stay Frosty is what it is, and nothing will change that. And while that sounds simple, try living it every day for thirteen years. It has not been easy. But it has been insanely fun.
The second reason is our pilots. A corporation can't survive on dreams and visions, you need people to make it work. And from the very beginning we had buy-in from a tremendous amount of extremely talented pilots. Some of whom, still fly with us today. Many of whom have gone on to other very successful Eve careers in other parts of New Eden. It is not unusual to see a former Stay Frosty pilot in space doing incredible things. Running Alliances, or other Corporations, or excelling at one thing or another. And I'm proud of every one of them.
At one time the Low Sec eco-system allowed us to field a membership of over 300 pilots. Over the years changes to that eco-system have seen our numbers settle into what I call our "new normal", which is right around the 100 member mark. We simply can't feed more members. Early on in 2013 we fielded 100 members in a fleet once. Now we typically field 10-20 in our Saturday fleets. This has everything to do with how Eve has evolved over the past 13 years. As always one Stay Frosty pilot is worth at least three regular pilots.
We don't have grand designs. Not like you think of them. Stay Frosty exists to perpetuate a play-style. An old-school idea of what Low Sec Piracy is and isn't. That is our eternal goal. We provide a home for players that want to excel at combat, who seek a casual, respectful, and supportive environment in which to pursue the goal of becoming exceptional combat pilots. That's it. There are no hidden agendas involved. All for one and one for all. Solo together. Whatever you want to call it our history is written in 1v1 combat, small gang excellence, and a willingness to take on every fight - no matter the odds. To laugh in the face of danger.
Which stretches all the way back to that very first day. I undocked from one station, alone, and warped to another station to plant a new flag. And in local I typed one word as I was in warp - "YARRR!"
The rest, as they say, is history.
Stay Frosty my friends.