Hello,

I am Lauren Lakeberg, The Disc Golf Photographer. I wanted to write this first news post on the Dellwood Disc Golf website because I am the one that redesigned it for them.

I cannot even begin to express how fun it was to put together this re-design. For years, I have been sending Sean and Sheila tips on marketing, all the while they have been swamped with running events and everything they do in shop. Ultimately, I think they were overwhelmed so we had a meeting one day at the pro shop to discuss an official media plan.

The thing about Sean and Sheila is that they have this very distinct vision of what their brand should be, and describing it as a “brand” almost doesn’t feel right because of how pure and true to life they are.

As Sean echoed where his passion really is, “it is that we are a vibe and a culture.” I couldn’t agree more, and in that moment I was quiet because I was simply soaking it in. The thing is, my entire WHY, my entire existence when I work in the field photographing disc golf and promoting it is the culture. That is literally the one and only thing that has kept me here.

I left there thinking, I know they are so tired and they are preparing for the biggest event coming up, The Clash. I felt like we almost didn’t even need the meeting. They could have just said “just do it” and I would have said “okay, no problem.” But at the same time it was necessary, because I learned so much more about them and it gave me such a glimpse into how I could help them really simplify their workflow.

There is only a finite number of people that I care for and will work this hard for. Besides my immediate family and friends, there is the disc golf community and the local J-Town Club and surrounding communities. Plus, I really enjoy finding creative solutions for complex marketing and logistical issues (that is the hidden nature of my beast).

I designed this website for the community. It communicates to the disc golfer just starting out, those playing The Canyons for the first time, the seasoned professional and the stats nerds (like me). It is meant to communicate and serve you in a way that I could have only wished existed when I started playing in 2004.

I am so very grateful for all of this signs that pointed to, THIS HAS TO HAPPEN. Between all the 11s that guided me into the right direction: pulling into the parking lot at 12:11 for our first meeting to do this, the hummingbird in the Dellwood Disc Golf shop (and it being 9:11 when I tried to capture it on my phone), Mercury in Retrograde and the impropteau photoshoot with JJ just in time to get him on the Dellwood team.

I may never know exactly what all of those signs mean, but I just know things are simply meant to be. There were so many odds and ends to re-designing this, so many 180’s, what ifs and what the’s.

Copying things over from the old website was such a delight. As I would think of things to add to this, things that had to go in the team biographies I was finding that Sheila had already written them.

It is a project that was all encompassing and if I could sum it up in a song it would be Broken by Jack Johnson. Because (lyrics):

Without you I was broken
But I'd rather be broke down with you by my side
I said without you I was broken
But I'd rather be broke down with you by my side

Besides YOU (the disc golf community) my inspiration comes from, but is not limited to: Chris Brenholtz my dog Eco, family and friends, John H. White (Keep in Flight™), Riding Giants, Dog Town and Z-Boys, Diane Hamer, Amy Laskowski, Juliana Korver, David Goggins, Jesse Itzler, Sarah Blakely, Laird Hamilton, Gabby Reece, Sara Sinclair, Courtney Dauwalter, Ash Dykes, Kelly Slater Wave Company, our National Parks, The Office, color and contrast, The Home Depot website, Jenna Kutcher, The Goal Digger Podcast, Camp Wandawega, Annah Meintzer, Marina Paul, YETI, Malloy Brothers, Free Solo, 180 Degrees South, Chris Burkard, that snowflake that fell in my eye and showed me a rainbow, Sam Hurd, NessaK Photography, Dan O’Day, Igor Demba (“the best things in life are on the other side of fear), India Earl, Rich Roll, Mike Posner, John Joseph (The PMA Effect), Tinker Hatfield, Danica Patrick, Matthew McConaughey, Zat Rana, SURFER Magazine, Nathaniel Rateliff, Angus and Julia Stone, Chet Faker, Kaleo, Brett Dennen, Tammy at Fresh Thyme, the woman that runs by my house every day, Chris McCandless, Wayne Glabe, myself and all of the wild free spirits out there that know the only way to do anything is to just start.

Sean and Sheila, working with you has been amazing. I don’t think I will ever get the chance in life again to work with a VIBE like you, that is on the same VIBRATION as me. Frequencies are amazing. Thank you for trusting me.

This is just something that really makes my soul feel right, because for me having such an extended history with the local J-Town Club and disc golf culture as a whole, I have long felt that I am essentially the keeper of those memories. Knowing that those memories live and die with me does not settle well with me. I just know in my heart that you are the stewards of our culture. Let’s preserve that.

I really hope you enjoy this experience, if you get a chance please sign the The Canyons Guest Book, we would love to hear your stories and experiences.

PJ Love and Keep in Flight™

-Lauren

P.S. I dated this post April 1, 2017 because that was the grand opening day of the Dellwood Disc Golf Pro Shop (this post was actually written June 6-13, 2021). And just know that more than half of these ideas weren’t born during our initial meeting with Sean and Sheila. It was a creative evolution process to get to what you see today on a 15-day Squarespace trial. Plus 17 years of my experience diving deep into disc golf as professional player and media person with a pro’s eye and a rookie spirit, and 18 years as a Communications Coordinator for a bankruptcy turnaround management firm in Chicago, IL. My biography is also on the Dellwood staff page, I am so excited for the opportunity.

Listen to Lauren Lakeberg’s interview on Unstable Discourse