Troy Dog
Guys, I finally pulled it off! After months of EXTREME negotiations, Team Solitaire and I finally reached an agreement to collaborate! I knew that the rounds were winding down and I knew that Solitaire would eventually come through and they did! They joined the Troy Dog Squad: ELITE Athlete Program for the weekend.
Now if you’ve been following along at home, you’ll know that I hand pick my riders and an extreme and rigorous test must be passed by all of the members who wish to be a member. You can’t just join, ask Cade Clason, as he failed at the first test. We have to accept you as one of our own. It’s no coincidence that Derek Kelley, Justin Starling, and Grant Harlan are doing so well since joining the Squad. It’s truly a team effort by us all to get into the top ten. They bring the results and I bring the exposure and good island vibes. It’s a win-win.
Well, back to the team of cards that you play by yourself. I started talking to team co-owner Chris Elliott at least six months ago and asked if they would be interested in joining forces. Elliot didn’t say no. He was in, but he needed to see if it was cool with the rest of the team and he told me to hang tight. Every weekend since I’ve been keeping tabs on the situation. You know, asking things like, “Hey, when are we doing this?” and “Only a few more to go are we good?” or my favorite, “You do realize your guys will go faster in the Squad, right?’’
Elliott, whom I’ve never met before, coined this collaboration as “Extortiongate”. Which is highly offensive. I just simply wanted his riders on my program. Everybody loves Team Solitaire and I knew that Twitter would absolutely love this. See, if you aren’t on Twitter, you’re missing out. The moto Twitter community is undefeated and we all banter back and forth all of the time. Team Solitaire is an account that I always make sure to engage with. They are my people and have a very fun vibe. It’s a perfect match if I’m being honest.
The collaboration was actually supposed to happen in Nashville when Cole Thompson was supposed to race the 450SX class. Elliott had made a special spot for my logo on the shroud graphics. I was excited to finally see this idea come to fruition, but a mudder put a halt to that plan. The logistics didn’t make sense for Thompson to race and Elliott said that he would do something for me in Denver. I was in Nashville, so although I understood, I still wanted to meet up with the team and have a good time.
Then Denver happened and it was the best case scenario. Interaction was great on social media between the team, myself, and all of you fans out there. We’re still having fun on a “caption this” thread thanks to Thury. Chase Stallo and Jason Crane from the Vanilla Racing Broadcast went over and introduced themselves to the Solitaire guys. They took some photos for me and we made Slaw Dog so mad. You see, our grossest employee Slaw, has been trying to get Team Solitaire to notice him for a couple of years now. Solitaire is nice to him because they are professional, but no one really wants to acknowledge the guy. He was very jealous that I pulled off this collab with the team. That’s why I’m the CEO over here, you know?
The results were fantastic. Each rider went approximately 6-9 seconds faster with my buttpatch on. Thompson finished ninth and Thury finished 18th in the 250SX main event. I’m going to be honest here: Thury did in fact drop his lap times in Denver. The Solitaire team even made mention that the only reasonable explanation for this was because of the affiliation to me and my Squad. It’s never just a coincidence.
In all seriousness, I truly appreciate Team Solitaire for doing this for us. Not only does it help bring exposure to my team of privateers, but it also brings recognition to the website and what we are trying to accomplish over here. It was a very cool weekend for me and one I’ll never forget. Thank you Chris Elliott, Ryan Clark, Cole Thompson, Dominique Thury, and team for being so cool.
