I'm the CEO and creator of Twirlmate. My life's passion is growing and celebrating the sport of baton twirling.
I started Twirlmate in 2019 because I wanted to help with the following challenges:
The available options for marketing and managing a twirling event are not designed for
the unique needs of our sport.
Parents, coaches, and athletes spend too much time looking for twirling-related events
and mailing in paper entries.
Parents and athletes often experience difficulties finding a new coach or group
when they relocate or are looking for a change.
Coaches and judges, especially those who are newer to the professional side of the sport,
have a hard time making the right connections that will grow their group or get them more involved.
Organizations are missing out on a huge opportunity to gain data-driven insights into the trends
and activity of their businesses.
All of these problems pointed toward an innovative, modern, all-in-one solution for the sport of baton twirling: Twirlmate.
However, it didn't happen overnight. If you'd like to learn more about the making of Twirlmate
and where it's headed next, I invite you to keep reading.
Thank you for visiting Twirlmate. I look forward to making your baton twirling experience the best it can be.
65 participants completed a survey about their involvement and needs in the competitive baton twirling world
September 2018 - September 2019
Initial feature brainstorming and website designing
October - November 2019
Brand development and logo design
December 2019
Feedback from contest directors, coaches, and parents about the first round of designs
January 2020
Multiple rounds of changes to the designs based on community feedback
March 2020 - October 2021
Website development
October 2021
Feedback from contest directors, coaches, and parents about a live prototype
November 2022
Twirlmate Turkey Twirlfest pilots the website with a mock contest consisting of 20 athletes
December 2022
Event directors can create schedules
Get to Know Nathan
Nathan is the CEO and Creator of Twirlmate, LLC. He is a lifelong member of the baton twirling community, having twirled
under the direction of Susan Usher (Ypsilanti, MI) and competed with the 30-time+ NBTA national championship team, the
Saline Twirlettes (Saline, MI) from 1998 - 2012. He was also a twirler for the University of Michigan Marching Band
(2008 - 2012), and was fortunate enough to represent the United States on the international stage at two NBTA world
championships (2000 and 2006), taking home the Men's Solo silver and Men's Rhythmic Twirl bronze medals in 2006.
He holds Bachelor degrees from the University of Michigan in Acting (BFA), Spanish (BA), and Organizational Studies
(BA), as well as a Masters in Human-Computer Interaction (MSI) from the University of Michigan School of Information.
Today he works full-time as a software developer for the University of Michigan Center for Academic Innovation,
designing and building educational technology. He enjoys running, biking, programming, traveling, and of course staying
involved in the twirling world as a part-time coach, judge, and freelance multi-media producer.
2000 NBTA World Championships Birmingham, EnglandMichigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI
